玉芬是林央文事件中的第二號頭目，但他離起事後不到一個月即為義民所擒，並被肢解，而後以桶貯之，送到鹿港向增援的福建陸路提督任承恩請功。然而民間的傳說中卻將玉芬說成是連乾隆皇帝對他的死都深表遺憾，在見到王芬的頭時還說:「玉芬大哥，我豈是要你死！」 即使傳說和史實大相逕庭，但目前為止臺灣有三家以王芬(或稱王勳、玉恩公)為主祀的廟，一是沙鹿福興官(出生地)、鹿港福靈宮(埋骨處)、寶成企業，這在臺灣民間來說並不多見。 本文除前言、結論外共分四部分，先自正史中查明王芬遇難的經過，再分析民間傳說與正史不同之處，再依序說明王芬如何由人到神，最後介紹王憲堂如何重新塑造王芬，使他成為符合當前政治情況的所謂「獨臺英雄」。

Wang Fen was the second-highest ranking member of the Lin Shuang-wen rebellion, and within a month of the rebellion’s collapse was captured by local i-min “righteous people,” dismembered, and presented to Jen Ch’eng-en, Governor­General of Fukien and leader of the Ch’ing reinforcements at Lukang. Yet in popular legend he is remembered quite differently--the story is told that Emperor Ch’ien­lung received the news of his death with great sorrow, and upon seeing his head, exclaimed, “Brother Wang Fen, could it be that 1 wanted your death!” Despite the vast discrepancy between popular legend and official record, there remain in Taiwan three temples dedicated to Wang Fen--Sha-lu’s Fu-hsing kung (Palace of Rising Fortune), Lukang’s Fu-ling kung (Palace of Fortune-Granting Power), and one within the Pao-Cheng Enterprise Tower complex. Few other personalities figure so prominently in Taiwanese folk tradition. The present essay, in addition to a preface and conclusion, features four sections. First, it examines the account of Wang Fen’s death given in historical records, and then proceeds to analyze the differences between this account and that of popular legend. Next, it discusses the process of Wang Fen’s deification. Finally, it concludes with an explanation of how Wang Hsien-t’ang recreated Wang Fen as a “Hero of Taiwanese Independence.”