范姜家是一個特殊的家族，他們的姓氏起源於新屋，縱使現在全世界皆有他們的足跡，但對范姜族人來說，新屋始終是他們最初的發源地。乾隆元年（1736）范姜家族的老祖先--范姜殿高，輾轉來臺，尋求發展，從下淡水（新竹縣南寮漁港）登陸後到現今的新屋地區開墾，之後更帶領其他家族成員至新屋地區進行大規模的拓墾活動。從赤手空拳到沃野千里，今日要了解范姜家族的拓墾史，則必須先由當時清政府的治臺政策及漢人與平埔族間的矛盾開始談起，唯有將隱藏於拓墾時代的政治、族群關係深入探討後，才能夠從中體會范姜家族的拓墾史。因此，本研究著重在范姜家族的拓墾階段，希冀透過較完整且深入的研究，能夠因此更加瞭解范姜家族拓墾時期（1736-1895年）的歷史。

Family of Fan-Jiang is a very specific family, whose surname comes from Xinwu. Even though they spread worldwide, for all the members, Xinwu still remains their initial cradle. In the first year of Chang-long (1736 AD), their ancestor (Fan-Jiang, Dan Kao) moved to Taiwan by ship. He got off the ship at Down Tamsui (Nanliao) and went to Xinwu to clear the land. Then he led other family members there for the large-scale clearing. From the waste land to the fertile fields, if we want to know more about the history of their clearing, we have to start the study from the ruling-Taiwan policy of the Ching Dynasty and the contradiction between the Han people and the Pingpu tribes. Only when we enquire further into the politics hidden in the clearimg period and the relations among the different tribes can we understand the clearing history of the Family of Fan-jiang. The research focuses on their clearing stage, hoping to rebuild the past of their clearing through the whole and detailed study.