嚴禁棍番勒索惡習碑記
The stele insctriptions of prohibition on extortion behavior
1886 ✦ ──── 光緒 12 年 the 12th year of Guangxu reign
中國歷代官府治理社會的慣習之一是，對於官府認定為重要的告示事項或事蹟，為了避免張貼的紙張告示終會因為風吹日曬雨淋而毀壞，往往將告示內容鐫刻於石碑，以期告示能夠永久留存。清朝治理臺灣亦延襲此一作風，因此，當時於臺灣各地樹立了甚多與社會規範相關的告示、示禁、須知、以及與地方興修建築之由來典故相關的碑碣（石碑）。
本件古碑拓本是屬於示禁類，內容首先記述由多位士紳聯名向官府訴說的地方問題，謂當時的「棍番」（自稱番社管理人之惡番）往往藉勢欺人，地方上如有喜慶婚喪之家，即假藉「社規」之名目，率眾要脅，富者任其索求，貧者即遭凌虐，希望官府杜絕此惡習。碑文中接著明白指出，自此告示之後，嚴禁在庄民有喜慶喪葬等事之時，率眾任意索取錢財或酒禮，違者將從嚴究辦。
此一碑文末尾並載明須將此告示張貼於大肚堡沙轆街，以週知大眾。此一註記反應了當時官府推動週知政令之作法：以木板雕刻一份告示的內容之後，刷印為多份紙張的告示，以便張貼於各處，但另又將重要告示內容鐫石為碑，以期示禁之令能長久為世人所知。
本碑立於清光緒12年（1886），現在碑文中所謂的張貼告示已不存在，但碑碣尚存，且有自石碑拓得之碑文與碑碣影像，刊印於多種書刊之中。
One of the conventions of governments that have administered Chinese society throughout history was to have announcements deemed important or historic by the administration, carved onto stone stele to avoid paper posters being blown away or destroyed by natural elements. This was adopted by the Qing Dynasty when it controlled Taiwan and therefore all over Taiwan at that time, erected stone steles with announcement regarding social norms such as prohibitions, bulletins and which depicted public facilities were being constructed or renovated.
This stele inscription was the kind to announce prohibitions. The content first listed the names of local gentry who had expressed their concerns about local problems, deemed that the ‘thugs’, i.e., those who self-proclaimed as leaders of aborigines, had been used to cheat and bully local residents. Then followed with the incidents that during weddings or funerals at the area, those ‘thugs’ would assemble their crowd and take the pretext of ‘social regulations’ to extort money from residents, they threatened the rich to get what they sought, they mistreated the underprivileged; it was hoped that local authorities could put an end to such abuses. The inscription finally clearly indicated the announcement from the government authority that henceforth, during celebrations of wedding or in occasions of funeral, exacting any form of money or gift was strictly prohibited, and that violators would be subjected to justice.
The end of the inscription instructed that the stele be placed on one of the major roads, the Sha-lu Street of the Da-du Sub-district, to notify the public. This annotation reflects the methods local authorities of the time used to disseminate governmental decrees: the message would be printed by block printing, typically be printed on paper and posted in public places. In the case that the decree was deemed to be of utmost importance would it be carved in stone and thus ensure that this mandate would be known to all for ages to come.
This stele dates back to 1886. The printed version of this decree is no more in existence, but the stone stele with inscriptions of the decree remained. Before the inscriptions became obscured by the passage of time, rubbings of it were taken, and reprinted in several publications.
