本文為系列研究林燿德之首篇，從學界未曾注意之少年林燿德早期創作開始，探索少年林燿德心靈／思想／個性的生成背景及創作發源。學界咸認林燿德生有叛骨，背離傳統，且曾因溫瑞安事件生命有重大轉折，本文搜集整理林燿德早期未公開資料，提出不同看法。蓋林燿德來自傳統仕人家庭，深受傳統思想浸淫，需要傳統人情濡潤，終究形成他傳統仕人的氣質與價值觀。此乃他內心寫作的背景，後續研究將與文本互相印證。筆者初步認為，林燿德從少年到成年的意義是：從感性書寫到知性思維、從小我眷戀到關懷集體人類、從閱讀歷史文明到探索宇宙奧秘、從追蹤範本到破章法、解文類、立新意，此四大課題，將於下篇〈分裂與跨越：成年林燿德及其文學視域研究〉再做探討。

This paper is the first in a series of study on Lin Yao-de and his writings. In this paper, I examine Lin's early works that have not yet received critical attention in order to discover the nutrients for his mind, thoughts, and personality.Most scholars assumed that Lin was critical and anti-traditional in nature and that Wen Rui-an incident was a major turning point of life for him. However, growing up in a traditional (Chinese) family, Lin was conventional in many ways. By examining many unpublished manuscripts of his early years, I come to a conclusion that Lin was educated to conform with the traditional sentiments, value, and characteristic of the scholar. This family background shaped his mindset in writing and this influence will be demonstrated with textual evidence.In my preliminary research, the changes of Lin’s writings from his teenage to adulthood could be observed in the following four aspects: from being sentimental to intellectual, from expressing private emotions to holistic concern, from studying human civilization to exploring cosmic mysteries, and from tracing literary canons to breaking relevant conventions, deconstructing genres and constructing novel ideas. These aspects will be discussed in the next paper, ”Split and Cross: Study on Adult Lin Yao-de and his Literary Fields of Vision.”