日治時期的臺籍菁英，在臺灣為國民黨統治後，多半離開了政治的場域。而蔡培火是少數在日治時期曾參與反殖民體制運動，在戰後仍活躍在政治場域中者。但過去關於蔡培火的研究，散見於歷史、語文、社會科學等領域，且多著重於日治時期，少著墨於戰後國民黨統治時期的表現。因此，本文希望兼顧前後兩期，分析蔡培火如何在政權的更迭間，調整他的姿態，適應不同的政治環境，也分析其在政治上的影響，進而理解他參與政治活動的動機。

After WWII, Taiwan was fall into the rule of KMT, lots of the Taiwanese elites retreated from the political field. However, Tsai Pei Huo is one of the handful people who did not retreat. Most studies of Tsai Pei Huo concentrated on his activities under Japanese governance, but few discussion ever tried to explore his political participation under KMT governance. Therefore, this article not only tries to inquiry how Tsai Pei Huo adapted to the different regimes, but also to re-evaluate his political influence under KMT governance.