許梓桑是日治時期基隆重要地方領袖，曾任基隆街長、區長及臺北州協議會員等職，服務鄉里近半世紀；中元祭乃日治時期基隆此一海港城市最受矚目的傳統節慶活動，其規模遠較媽祖、城隍爺、開漳聖王及日本神社等祭典來得盛大。本文實將日治時期基隆重要地方領袖與傳統節慶活動整合討論，特別關注的是，許梓桑當時不僅具備重要政治身分，在社會地位上，他同時擔任基隆許姓宗親會會長、慶安宮管理人，以及基隆同風會會長。三種角色在基隆中元祭的傳統節慶活動裡，實肩負不同職掌與工作，如基隆中元祭自清咸豐五年開始即由地方上十一姓輪流負責每年主普（外壇）普度工作，許姓即為其中之一；慶安宮則是基隆最受重視、屬海神信仰的媽祖廟，亦每年中元普度內壇所在地；基隆同風會乃以改良社會風俗為主要任務之新式社團，且有殖民政府的支持力量。三種不同性質團體在基隆中元祭此一重要地方傳統節慶活動中，其影響如何？而三種角色齊集許梓桑一人之身，其又該如何扮演？這些問題以往鮮為人注意，亦少有探究分析者。本文即針對上述課題尋求解答，提供學界參考了解。

Xu Zi-sang was an important local leader in Keelung during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. He was appointed as the chief of Keelung Street, the chief of Keelung District, and the congressman of Taipei Prefecture; serving the local people for almost half a century. The Keelung Mid-summer Ghost Festival was the most prominent traditional festival in this seaport city during the colonial period, and the scale of festival activity was much bigger than other worship ceremonies or festivals, including Matsu, Cheng-huang, Kai-zhang Sheng-wang, and the Japanese Shinto shrine ceremonies.This article will discuss the leaders of places which were important to the Japanese Colonial Government and traditional festival activity in Keelung during their colonization. Xu Zi-sang in particular, was not only an important political figure, but also a prominent man in local society at that time. He had three roles to play: the leader of the Xu Clan, the administrator of Qing-an-gong, and the head of the Tong-feng-hui. The Xu Clan was one of a group of eleven, who had cyclically taken responsibility for the running of the festival ceremonies and celebrations since the fifth year of the Qing Dynasty Xianfeng Emperor (1855). Qing-an-gong was the most revered Matsu temple in Keelung, a site of deliverance for the pious who prayed to the sea god, and also the site where the Mid-summer Festival ceremony took place. The Keelung’s social customs. Thus, each of his positions had different obligations in the traditional Keelung Mid-summer Ghost Festival activities.How did these groups of distinctly different natures influence the most important traditional local festival in Keelung during the Japanese Colonial Period? How did the Xu Zi-sang play the trinity role? These issues have hardly received any attention in the past, and few of them have been analyzed in detail. This paper attempts investigate the issues mentioned above in order to enhance reference material on this topic for the academic circle.