蔡惠如（1881－1929），為日治時期台灣政治運動之重要參與者，對日治時期新舊文學之發展，也有相當的貢獻。然而資料匱乏，不論在台灣文學或史學領域，關於蔡惠如的研究成果都相當有限，且仍有諸多不足或錯誤。本文利用近年新發現的史料，修正先前的錯誤描述，進而重新討論其生平事蹟與作品意涵，建構較為清晰的蔡惠如生命圖像。資料來源包括：田野調查所得之原始文獻、日治時期報紙雜誌、近代相關人物日記等。在說明資料來源及其價值之後，正文內容涵蓋「生平考察」與「文學活動與創作」兩大部分，前者分成兩節，詳細勾勒他從早年經商生涯，到中年投入民族運動的轉變歷程。後者則從文學角度，討論其文學活動與作品的思想意涵，其寫作文類涵蓋古典詩詞與白話散文體，正是1920年代台灣新文學萌芽時期的特殊現象，而結合前文關於其生平事跡的考察，將有助於理解：蔡惠如為何從傳統漢文化的捍衛者，蛻變為傳播新時代啟蒙思想的先驅人物。透過蔡惠如的個案，也可以為日治時期新、舊世代知識分子的文學表現與思想傳承之相關研究，提供另一鮮明例證。並修正日治時期「台灣新、舊文學」二元對立的論述模式。正文之後，並有附錄「蔡惠如相關原始史料：櫟社題名錄、照片與相關書信」，來源多為傅錫祺家屬提供。

Tsai Hui-ru (1881-1929) is one of the important political activists during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. However, current research of his life and works is very limited and insufficient with misunderstandings. This paper tries to decipher Tsai's life picture and modify the misunderstandings by using newly-found materials, which include original data collected from fieldwork, newspapers and magazines from the colonial period, and dairies from relevant figures. This paper consists of two parts: his personal life, and his activities and writings in literature. The first part draws attentions to the process in which he starts his early life as a businessman and later devotes himself to the Taiwanese nationalist movement. By looking into his literary activities and works with reference to his personal life, the second part hopes to understand the way in which Tsai becomes an intellectual pioneer who advocates the importance of enlightenment from a defender of traditional Han culture. This case study on Tsai may provide an example of looking at the transformation of intellectuals between the old and the new age during the colonial period.This paper is followed by an appendix under the title of ”Newly-found Materials of Tsai Hui-ru: the Li Society, Pictures and Letters.”