在嘉兴，老外们感受中国民俗

戚永晔

端午时节，伴着初夏徐徐而至的清风，行走在江南的大街小巷，到处散发着悠悠粽香，连空气中都弥漫着棕叶的芬芳。

今年端午，我去了嘉兴，遇到了不少老外。老外们因为各种原因来到中国，惟独这时节，却为了同一个原因聚首嘉兴，感受中国民俗。

演一场风情

来自韩国的美女金熙真不是第一次来中国。但今天，她却在嘉兴，第一次零距离体会到中国民间的端午味道。

今年端午期间，嘉兴举行了盛大的民俗文化节，并邀请美国、俄罗斯、德国、澳大利亚、意大利、韩国、加拿大等国与嘉兴市结为友好城市的市长（副市长）共同出席欣赏。

恰巧，金熙真的故乡江陵也是嘉兴的友好城市。来自当地艺术团的她，作为友谊的使者，和姐妹们一起，在嘉兴大剧院举行的精彩的开节晚会上，登台为各国友人们献上一曲民俗歌舞《青山别曲》，美妙空灵的舞曲，让大家感受到了韩国的端午气息和中华文化。

演出间隙，金熙真告诉我，韩国称“端午”为“上日”，意为神的日子。按照传统风俗，在端午这一天要吃“艾子糕”，喝益仁汁。妇女们用菖蒲汤洗头发或饮用菖蒲水，或用菖蒲露化妆，称为“菖蒲妆”。江陵端午祭期间的祭祀仪式主要来自神话传说，他们所祭祀的神灵有大关岭山神、洞城隍等十二位之多，有着繁琐的祭祀仪式。如果从迎神的“前夜祭”算起，一般要举行五个昼夜；如果从“山神祭”算起到送神止，时间长达廿多天；如果从“谨酿神酒”算起，则长达一个月。

对于中国的端午，金熙真也不吝赞美：“嘉兴的端午很热闹，我在每个人眼里都看到了孩子般的快乐。这里有很多好吃的好玩的东西，我最喜欢吃嘉兴粽子、喝绍兴黄酒。”

尝一口味道

美国小伙子托尼，是端午那天我在嘉兴梅湾街西舞台遇见的。当时，他正举着个大相机，挤在人群里，对着看台一边欢呼一边猛拍。

看台上，正在举行的是裹粽子大赛。

头一次见到这场面的托尼被一众粽艺师裹粽子的麻利劲给吸引住了：折叶、灌米、加馅、扎线，几个动作一气呵成。

我告诉他，在嘉兴，粽艺师平均每天裹粽八小时，每人每天能裹上两三千只，最厉害的一分钟裹七只。

反应机敏的托尼立马算出来了：“天哪，10秒钟不到就能裹一只粽子！”见他有点不信，我拿出手表计时。不一会儿，托尼感叹地说：“我盯了两个人，差不多15秒裹一只，从取粽叶到裹完粽子扔进筐。”

看完比赛，托尼意犹未尽，和我一起来到嘉兴当地随处可见的五芳斋快餐店里吃午饭。小伙子胃口不小，一个人就消灭了一只大肉粽、一只蛋黄肉粽、一只豆沙粽，外加一大碗馄饨。吃完后，他咂咂嘴说：“真香啊，晶莹剔透、口感香滑，比我们国家的三明治强多了。”

临别，我告诉托尼，其实端午期间，嘉兴不止粽子好吃。在伍相祠举行的子胥庙会里，还有香酥蟹、竹筒饭、烤乳鸽、铜锣烧这些来自北京、安徽、福建、云南等多个省市的风味小吃和烤香肠、冰激凌、榴莲酥、打年糕这些来自德国、韩国、泰国、朝鲜等多个国家的经典美食组成的美食节，不妨去尝尝。

小伙子欢天喜地地去了，他的表情，凝聚了一个吃货端午期间在嘉兴的幸福。

赛一回龙舟

北华大学的留学生艾瑞克也是前来嘉兴“赶端午”的老外，不过他有个特殊的身份——龙舟运动员。

端午期间，第三届世界大学生龙舟锦标赛在嘉兴举行。虽然天公不作美，一直下着滂沱大雨，但一点都不妨碍来自美国哈佛大学、加拿大多伦多大学、英国利物浦大学、中国复旦大学、南开大学、香港科技大学等国内外知名高校的37支龙舟队600多名大学生在湘家荡旅游度假区上演一场群龙争斗、劈波斩浪、你追我赶、奋力争先的国际水准龙舟赛事。

艾瑞克对我说，他非常喜欢中国传统文化，尤其向往江南。他之前在澳门、北京、广州也参加过龙舟赛，这次能借参赛的机会来嘉兴领略一下江南风情，觉得十分幸运。“我喜欢湘家荡，这儿环境、气候都特别好，一派江南韵味！可惜这次比赛时间安排紧凑，我希望下次能再来嘉兴游玩！”

主办方告诉我，世界大学生龙舟锦标赛是大学生领域最高水平的龙舟大比武，首届于2010年在中国天津举行，第二届于2011年在美国加州长堤落幕；通过前两届比赛，该锦标赛在国际上已经有相当知名度；第三届赛事能够“花落”湘家荡，背后还凝聚着嘉兴方面的积极努力。

确如本届龙舟赛《开幕致辞》中所说，这是嘉兴市“首次举办国际性龙舟赛事，它对嘉兴展现特有的地域文化、日新月异的城乡面貌，扩大对外交流、提高城市知名度，发展体育、旅游、文化事业必将发挥积极作用”。无数和艾瑞克一样的大学生，在这里感受了嘉兴的优秀、江南的美好，并把这样的印象带回自己的国家。

今年嘉兴端午节给人的惊喜，在于全国性和国际化的融合。除了龙舟赛、开节晚会这些交流盛会之外，还有嘉兴国际友城文化发展交流会等活动，让嘉兴端午文化走出嘉兴、走向世界，体现的是自身的强烈自信。

在节日筹备中，探索城市文化的全新定位；在古老祭祀中，寻找节俗文化的真实内核；在学术研讨中，引领全国端午习俗的保护；在普天同庆中，构筑共同的幸福精神家园。这是嘉兴在端午民俗文化品牌打造上未曾间断的探索和追求——端午期间的嘉兴，给了我们这样的回答。□

（本文照片由作者提供）

Foreigners Enjoy Duanwu Festival Celebration in Jiaxing

By Qi Yongye, our staff reporter

June 23, 2012 marked Duanwu Festival in China, also known as Dragon Boat Festival. I celebrated the festival in Jiaxing, the central city in northern Zhejiang, a coastal province in eastern China. I met some foreigners there. They were in China for various reasons, but we were in Jiaxing for the same Duanwu Festival.

In 2012, Duanwu Festival was a three-day long weekend celebration across China. Jiaxing invited mayors and vice mayors of its twin cities in the United States, Russia, Germany, Australia, Italy, South Korea and Canada over to celebrate Duanwu Festival together. The city held a folk cultural festival to mark the important festival.

Kim Heejin, a young woman from South Korea, had been in China many times, but it was this year in Jiaxing that she first sampled Zongzi. Zongzi, steamed glutinous rice wrapped up in bamboo leaves, is a must for Duanwu Festival in China. Kim was from Gangneung, a sister city of Jiaxing since May 1999. She and many other women were in Jiaxing to stage a show to let people know how South Korea celebrates the Dano Festival, a distinctive Korean version of the original Chinese Duanwu Festival. She gave me a detailed description how Dano Festival is celebrated in South Korea. Usually they hold a five-day celebration in offering various sacrifices to various gods. The ceremonies last more than 20 days if the sacrificial ceremony in honor of the mountain god is counted in. The whole celebration lasts more than a month if wine brewing for the festival is included. Kim commented warmly on the Duanwu Festival celebration in China, saying that she saw childlike happiness in everyones eyes, that there was so much fun everywhere, and that she favored Zongzi made in Jiaxing and yellow rice wine made in Shaoxing.

When I saw Tony, a young American, he was directing a big camera at people on a big stage, clicking away and cheering. We were in a street in Jiaxing. On the stage, a competition of making Zongzi was in high swing. Tony was amazed by the fast-moving and artfully ambidextrous fingers. I said that the fastest record for Zongzi making was seven a minute. Tony calculated and wowed, finding the record incredible. I got out my wristwatch and began to time a master on the stage. The master spent about 15 seconds making one. After the competition, Tony and I went to Wufangzai, a famous Zongzi restaurant chain headquartered in Jiaxing. We had Zongzi there. Tony said he liked Zongzi very much and found it better than sandwiches. It turned out that Tony was a foodie and was eager to try some more exotic foods at the Folk Culture Festival in Jiaxing.

Eric, a foreign student from Beihua University in Jilin, province in northeastern China, came to Jiaxing as a member of his universitys dragon boat team. The team took part in the 3rd World University Dragon Boat Championship held in Jiaxing on 21st June. The championship was part of the gala celebration of Duanwu Festival in Jiaxing 2012. Eric was one of nearly 500 foreign students in Jiaxing for racing their dragon boats. The 37 participating universities included Harvard University, the University of Toronto, University of Sydney, Fudan University, Nankai University, and the National University of Singapore.

Eric said that he liked the Chinese culture very much. He had been to dragon boat racing in Macao, Beijing and Guangzhou. He felt lucky for the opportunity to race in Jiaxing in the south of the Yangtze River Delta, famed for centuries for its scenery and prosperity.

Celebrations of Duanwu Festival in Jiaxing in 2012 were a big event for the locals. The city government aimed to integrate the domestic activities with the international ones, showing confidence in going international and promoting Jiaxing through cultural events.□