一个海外游子的忆念

●汤 钰



一个海外游子的忆念

●汤 钰

汤钰在美国收到《文化交流》后总是第一时间阅读。 Tang Yu in USA is a diligent reader of Cultural Dialogue.

汤钰与她的先生迪龙乔其（世界著名法学专家）在一起。Tang Yu and her husband, a jurisprudential scholar of world renown

中国是世界上的文明古国之一。我是杭州人，出国前毕业于浙江大学，在世界银行工作了几十年，曾为祖国的教育事业作过一些贡献。

故乡，对于一个远离家乡的游子来说，既神圣又陶醉，魂牵梦系，尤其身在异国，浓浓的乡愁难以排遣。我离开祖国已超过了一个甲子，感谢《文化交流》编辑部数十年如一日，寄来杂志，给我送来极大的温暖。《文化交流》是我和祖国、家乡联系的精神纽带。每到时间，我就盼望着《文化交流》杂志的到来，拿到后欣喜万分，欢喜这本精美杂志的还有我身边的许多中外友人，等着我将内容介绍给他们。外国朋友们每看到我，就竖起大拇指高叫Zhejiang Cultural，这已经成为我的“雅号”。

我是《文化交流》杂志的忠实读者。杂志中的很多文章都感人肺腑，我最感兴趣的是三方面：一是中外友人的友谊和感情；二是“美丽中国”“美丽家乡”的介绍；三是有关家乡的新事新貌，中国文化的故事传说。杂志的内容美不胜收。比如家乡的西湖、大运河申遗成功，成为世界的文化遗产。这让我们海外游子兴奋不已，备感骄傲。美丽的西子湖、古老的大运河流淌着我剪不断的乡愁。杂志中介绍的绍兴黄酒的文章，既给我带来了思念中的绍兴风情，又令我忆念伟大的鲁迅先生和他的三味书屋、百草园以及他笔下的咸亨酒店、文人孔乙己和茴香豆“茴”字的四种写法。我把这些讲给外国友人听了，还请他们品尝我珍藏的绍兴酒，都说好香、好喝，“我们也到浙江去”。

汤和塑像A Statue of Tang He

浙江人文荟萃，名人辈出。汤和就是一位浩气凛然的民族英雄，家父兄长都是汤和的后裔。公元1387年，明代爱国名将汤和奉朱元璋之命，出巡山东、浙江沿海抗倭，筑卫所城59处，征兵民5.8万余，戍守海疆。为了组建抗倭军队，汤和下令“民户四丁以上者以一为戍卒”，汤和将地方武装、明代驻军和自己率领的抗倭部队联成一个整体。有倭寇来犯，就以所筑的城为基地，正规军与地方部队联合作战，奋勇抗击、追歼；平时一边训练一边耕作，做到自给自足。由于汤和带的军队来自四面八方，各有不同的姓氏，这些士兵后来就在宁村繁衍生息，至今宁村的姓氏有百个之多，有百姓村之称。

汤和逝世后，朱元璋追封他为“东瓯王”，谥“襄武”，并御赐楹联曰：“千年不朽勋臣府；万古长青信国祠”。乡民缅怀汤和的恩泽，将汤和尊为神明，户户立牌位供奉。

明嘉靖七年，巡按御使请命于朝，在浙南要塞宁村所城内建立“东瓯襄武王汤和庙”，奉汤和为民族英雄，祭祀不断。立庙后，各户把牌位集中到庙里供奉，每年农历正月初九和七月十五定为公祭日，称“宁城庙会”。由于汤和庙一度改称“城隍庙”，故而又衍化出“城隍爷出巡”活动。汤和庙驰名于温州地区，四季香火鼎旺。

温州宁村七月十五汤和文化节历史悠久。近年宁村的“七月十五汤和文化节”相继入选市级、省级、国家级非物质文化遗产名录。我从杂志中看到《文化交流》的采编人员深入温州龙湾宁村，采写并发表了好几篇文章，以纪念民族英雄汤和，这使我为之感动、欣慰。

“月是故乡明”。我到美国已经工作、生活了六十多年，每每心系祖国和故乡的发展变化。如今，中国已作为大国屹立在世界民族之林，祖国的强盛使我们身处异国他乡的游子深感自豪。我常常忆念家乡的湖光山色，缅怀民族英雄汤和，做一个旅居海外的堂堂正正的中国人。

Some of My Reminiscences

By Tang Yu

I was born in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province in eastern China. I graduated from Zhejiang University. I worked for World Bank for decades. In my work years, I also taught back home. I have been away from my motherland for more than 60 years. I miss her. I want to say thank you to people at the Cultural Dialogue, who have sent me the publication over the past decades. The magazine ties me in with my motherland and my home province. I am always happy to expect the arrival of new issues ofCultural Dialogue. When one issue comes, my happiness knows no bounds. I am not the only reader of the magazine I receive regularly. Many friends, Chinese or otherwise, like to hear me talk about the articles I have read. They endearingly call me “Zhejiang Cultural”, which is my nickname.

温州龙湾宁村的汤和公园及抗倭英烈之墓Tang He Park and a tomb in honor of martyrs who died in battling the invading Japanese pirates

I have been reading Cultural Dialogue for decades and many stories and features have touched my heart. Three kinds of stories interest me most: friendship and emotions of people, stories about beautiful places across China and across Zhejiang in particular, and news about my home province and articles about Chinese culture. Vivid in my memory of reading Cultural Dialogue are the stories about the successful bidding for World Heritage inscriptions of the West Lake and the Grand Canal of China, both being cultural and historical hallmarks of my home province, stories about Shaoxing wine and about Lu Xun. I shared these stories with my foreign friends and shared the yellow wine with them. They all said good wine and wanted to visit Zhejiang.

温州宁村“七月十五汤和文化节”巡游的一个场景Ningcun in Wenzhou holds a Tang He Festival on the 15th day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar.

One set of stories was especially impressive. They were about my ancestor Tang He, who fought the invading Japanese pirates in coastal Shandong and Zhejiang provinces in the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1387, the emperor instructed Tang to fight the pirates from Japan. Tang built 59 fortresses along the long coast and recruited 58,000 militiamen. The united military forces were composed of militiamen, government units and the army under the command of Tang He. The militiamen lived around the fortresses. While they were not engaged in military actions, they farmed to support themselves. The system worked.

After Tang He passed away, a memorial temple was built in the fortress city Ningcun where the general has been worshipped as a demigod. After the temple took shape, local households sent their individual memorial plaques to the temple. Twice a year a public memorial service is held to commemorate the hero. In history, it was known as Ning Fortress Temple Fair. Tang He became a town god in later years. A parade was annually held. The temple attracts a lot of local visitors. Tang He Festival is now inscribed on the national list of intangible cultural heritage. I have read all the articles about the fortress and Tang He in Cultural Dialogue.

I have lived and worked in the USA for more than six decades. I am concerned with the development and changes of China and my home province. As China is becoming an international power, I am deeply proud of the prosperity she enjoys. I often search my memory of the landscape in my homeland and the national hero Tang He. After all, I am still Chinese in the heart even though I live away from China.