本文為臺灣車鼓小戲《桃花過渡》追本溯源，探討它脫胎自明代潮州實事「蘇六娘」的流播與衍變過程。首先以全面鳥瞰的方式，對於閩廣臺三地各種不同藝術形式與內容的《桃花過渡》進行觀察與整理，初步爬梳各式《桃花過渡》所呈現的多種類型：進而由縱向的歷史脈絡，從源頭始流即潮州傳說「蘇六娘」為生發之端芽，整理其歷經潮地傳說的附會、閩臺歌謠的渲染、說唱的鋪陳，終於成為臺灣車鼓戲中迴異其趣的嶄新面貌，逐步分析它由原本不容於法的男女私戀，在流播過程中因審美趣味的擇選而擷菁取華、改形換貌為笑鬧喜劇的始末源流；繼而橫向地比對、分析各劇種《桃花過渡》之結構內容異同，從中探討不同地區的民間審美觀對於同一創作題材可能進行或顯或隱的運用與改造;最終以此為例，總結探討民間文學奧妙的流播與衍變，大體上受到「呈現載體的文學體裁對此題材的擇取與改造」、「流播時空的轉變」、以及「傳播者對傳播內容的審美取向」等因素的影響，而呈現靈活多變、創新恣意的特質。

This paper traces the development of the Taiwanese cart-drum skit, Tauhua guodu from its origins in the Su Liuniang legend of the Chauzhou area during the Ming dynasty. First, we take a general look at the different artistic forms and versions of the Tauhua guodu story in the Min area, the Guangdong region, and in Taiwan to get an idea of the different ways in which the story was presented. Next, we look at the story over time, taking the Chauzhou legend of Su Liuniang as the starting point and seeing how elements were added on in tellings of the story in Chauzhou and how the story was spiced-up and fleshed-out in folksongs and recitings in both the Min area and in Taiwan until it ended up as something completely new and different in the form of a cart-drum play in Taiwan. In that process, we also see how aesthetic pressures and preferences result in the transformation of the story of an illicit love into a farcical skit. Next, we compare the struc ture and content of different versions of the story to show how the aesthetic tastes of various regions can result in changes, both obvious and subtle, in the way the same story is told. Finally, using the Tauhua guodu as an example, we show that in the transmission and evolution of folk literature the tendencies for the literary vehicle to select and transform its topic, for changes to occur as the spatial and temporal context shifts, and for the aesthetic leanings of the performer to influence the telling of the story all work towards producing a high degree of variance and creativity.