古村石步杨梅红

陈伟权

漫步在余姚市石步古村，可见榴花红，枇杷黄，一小时内却遇不上三五人，古村一片静悄悄。只有在杨梅季节，因那里的茡荠种杨梅风味特佳，来自宁波、杭州、上海的汽车首尾相接，游人云集。这个村与时下古村旅游多有不一样处，石步村在明、清两代时就撰有《石步志》。循《石步志》来访古寻幽，意趣盎然！

石步山遐思

聚族群居山之隈，白云深处竹篱开。

前江估客乘潮返，后海鱼盐入市来。

这首选自《石步志》的竹枝词为里人叶兆翔所写，记述石步地处锦绣的宁绍平原上丘陵地带，古系慈溪县西乡，今属余姚市东部，归属三七市镇，谓翠屏山的四明山余脉，其中有许多小山。石步山就是其中之一，漫山翠竹葱茏，山麓清溪澄碧，从前要跨越清溪，没造小桥，却有整齐排列的10多个石墩，厚重而高出水面，供行人跨越上路通向杜湖岭和五磊山。有人认为石步地名由此而来。更为奇观的是石步山有巨岩石壁突兀，伸到清溪边上，石壁上刻有观音，书有“正大光明”字样。溪边的野芹、野茭白衬托翠竹林边石刻佛像。

据县志、宗谱所记：石步始祖叶世儒，字道传，“官四明教授”，北宋庆历年间从处州松阳迁至石步。后来鄞江、鸣鹤、马渚等地的叶姓人氏都源岀石步。

石步村现在的地域，和旧志上记的大体一致，周边多旅游文化胜迹，东边靠近田螺山遗址、古县城慈城，南边20分钟车程可达河姆渡遗址博物馆，西边是有名的羊角田，今称大霖山，北边紧连低平的杜湖岭，毗连五磊寺和鸣鹤古镇，古村古韵处于浓重的文化氛围中。

故泽黄公潭

今日石步村大溪宽绰，小溪隐隐。在村东南的黄公潭，与河姆渡关系渊薮。河姆渡原称黄墓渡，因秦末汉初黄公终老之地而得名。当时黄公活动在姚东地带，史书所记黄公是有名的商山四皓之一。吕后为巩固其子刘盈的太子地位，争夺皇位，设计请四皓为刘盈后盾。后来四皓知晓，这是中了吕后采用张良的计谋，四皓便隐逃外出，黄公来到浙东。有一年大旱，黄公为村民解干旱若渴之悬，认准石步水源挖潭得救。《石步志》上记：“适逢禾苗枯槁，居民束手无策。”黄公手指一小潭，说“此潭可以开浚”，他和村民一起挖土“至五六尺许，源泉涌出”，顿成大潭，水质“清澈寒冽异常”，“自后干旱无虑，人蒙其赐，逐名曰黄公潭”。

历经两千年后，黄公潭水文地质变化，沉积淤泥，当时石步村民还没用自来水，天又大旱。村民叶良通知道黄公潭的来历，记得从前潭水冬天冒热气，夏天冰凉，脚浸潭水难以耐久。于是，叶良通个人出资，用挖掘机清淤10多天，挖出大批淤泥，泥中还有不少瓦罐器皿，黄公潭泉涌重现，水清冰洁。叶良通出资以后，村民又自动筹款，装置自来水管，建造房子，开全镇建造自来水厂先河。10多年后，保护黄公潭的水质依然值得关注，临近杨梅苑住家出资也稍加修葺，潭水流经渠道，滋润两旁苗木，穿越农庄，入江通海。

安雅堂旧事

乐善好施是中华民族的传统美德，也是践行社会主义价值观的重要体现。进入石步古村，文化礼堂旁的欢乐大舞台前，有可供千人看戏的场地，亭榭台阁，粉墙黛瓦，一派古韵新风中，每年有批村民出资日夜演戏，有几年会连续上演七八天。古村早时人才辈出、好事多多，留存的古宅，佐证着村人的善举故事。

清朝道光年间，乡绅叶俊秀携儿子叶封、叶仁建安雅堂，嘱后代不忘善举。县志记载，现在称为石步村的上义庄，原谓“叶氏安雅堂义庄”，在道光十一年（1832），里人叶氏继承先辈之志，捐银六万三百两零建义庄一所，置田一千四百亩零，山十六亩零。如今的安雅堂，虽是余姚市文物保护点，岌岌可危，但台门、石窗依旧，由安雅堂建设的上义庄曾立有诰封牌楼，村老回忆气势恢宏，至今未留遗迹。却有石步三进堂尚在，有“上义庄牌楼，三进堂门楼”俗谚。三进堂墙上还贴有官报。建造三进堂时，有乞丐长坐施工场地乞讨，施工泥水匠、木匠对他十分难堪，但那乞丐就是赖着不走。后来三进堂主人闻知，予以款待，乞丐酒醉饭饱之后，一走了之。时值冬天，那乞丐坐地之处，刹时开绽两朵荷花，传说是神仙所化，成了吉祥先兆。

古村留有翁文灏存诗耐人寻味。鄞县人翁文灏曾任国民政府的行政院長，是我国第一代著名地质学家，毛泽东称道他是“有爱国心的国民党军政人员”。翁文灏七岁丧生母，后母叶秀芬是石步人，知书达礼，待他视同己出。翁文灏曾说后母是他一生中影响非常重大的两个人之一，直至1965年，他有《少年杂忆·石步》诗，记述外婆家的回忆：

佳境慈溪到外家，山容树色美难加。水从石出真清澈，步逐坡登见曲斜。

安雅堂名存往迹，沧桑世变待新芽。犹留故泽昭然在，雅堂款宾谊可夸。

诗中前四句写外婆家山容树色，村中低坡曲径，石出水清;后四句写人文情意，有安雅堂古宅、黄公潭故泽以及外婆家的盛情款待。如今人到石步，也可共享古风古韵。

叶家大屋记

石步村民说起叶家大屋，几乎是妇幼皆知。大屋坐北朝南，三面有台门，两层楼重檐，围墙高耸，比屋顶还高，正屋三间两弄，侧屋厢房多间，内有前后两个天井，墙头、樑枋多有传统的砖雕木刻，为麒麟、龙凤等吉祥画图。据悉，叶家大屋也为叶氏建于清代道光年间，一度家道败落，转卖给王姓人家，所以叶家大屋当地又有王家大屋之称。中法战争时，大屋主人后代叶生阳为山东货主运货到宁波，货船在镇海外被法国军舰劫持。后来叶生阳通过在法国人处任翻译的安雅堂叶姓人氏疏通，货船得以放还。从此叶生阳深得主人信任，并把独养女儿婚嫁给他，叶生阳继承岳家遗产，叶氏再度中兴，大屋从王姓人家赎回，叶氏后人也有就读燕京大学的。如今围墙上藤蔓丛生，仿佛记着这里来过许多达官名流、革命志士，驻村的工作队、土改队也住过叶家大屋。

抗日战争时期，大屋也是新四军三五支队同志的落脚点。人们知道以梁弄为中心的四明山，为全国抗日根据地之一，殊不知当年谭启龙、何克希带领的抗日队伍，从浦东渡过杭州湾上岸，到达三北地界，先在鸣鹤、石步驻足，革命势力逐步向四明山发展，当时革命队伍上四明山，石步是必经之路，然后过姚江、经车厩，再由杜徐岙走向梁弄。1942年至三五支队北撤，叶家大屋曾是慈西（丈亭）区委所在地，钱忆群、朱敏、项耿等众多革命先辈都住过大屋。1945年3月，在石步祠堂召开慈溪县抗日民主政府成立大会，宣布谢仁安为县长，大屋一度成了县府的驻地。endprint

時代的痕迹，历史的凭证，叶家大屋如今已是余姚市文物保护点。

杨梅亦迷人

石步村有土特产的优势，有杨梅、西瓜、竹笋等，尤以杨梅为最。

余姚杨梅中国红。在上海、杭州等城市一些地摊上的下乘杨梅，常打着余姚杨梅的名义招客，与石步相连的横河地方，1978年由余姚划入慈溪，也有打慈溪杨梅的牌子，受人青睐。

杨梅“其形如水杨，而味似梅，故名。”这《本草纲目》所记只是个概说，一时一地只食一种杨梅，甜中带酸，往往难以比较杨梅优劣，其实，不同产地，不同品种，滋味各异，有的甚至大相径庭。据《浙江省农业志》记，全省有64个杨梅品牌，介绍“优质品种，首推茡荠种，其原产地在三七市镇石步村张湖溪。”“在村的老鹰尖，呈现一片古杨梅林”。杨梅时节，“红实缀青枝，烂漫照前坞”。品尝杨梅，欢歌笑语荡漾在林间。1983年产在石步8229号单株果实，经宁波市组织专家品味评审打分，名列第一。对此，上海新民晚报登出杨梅王的图片新闻。难怪古代苏东坡感叹：“西凉葡萄，闽广荔枝，未若吴越杨梅。”

优质杨梅树品种四季常绿，树结名果，既生态，又有经济效益。江南地区的气候最适宜杨梅树生长，海拔10-500米的山地都可种植，茡荠种杨梅还适宜种在瘠薄的土地上，并成为扶贫山区的举措之一。据石步村民张训林反映，余姚的杨梅苗畅销云南、贵州、江西、福建、江苏等地，一年以春秋两季移植杨梅苗为宜。到石步采购杨梅苗的人多，市场看好，张训林父子两人今年春季销售杨梅苗金额达20多万元。

目前余姚、慈溪两地种植杨梅面积近9万亩。地跨余姚三七市、丈亭和慈溪横河的优质茡荠种杨梅上市，设有杨梅王国观光景点，可供游客领略元代平可正写的杨梅诗境界：“五月杨梅已满林，初疑一颗值千金。味胜河溯葡萄重，色比泸南荔枝深。”如今，世界流行天然色素，余姚杨梅被誉为中国红，其可爱的自然色彩为全球注目。空运保鲜杨梅到法国的餐桌上，一颗紫红色的杨梅浸入盛满白葡萄酒的玻璃杯中，赏色品味，怡心悦目。一颗杨梅价值一二美元！

Shibu： A Mountain Village

By Chen Weiquan

Shibu Village， nestled in the Siming Mountains in eastern Zhejiang， is different things to different people.

To archaeologists， it is a 20-minute drive to Hemudu to the east， an archaeological site that points to a Neolithic culture of about 7，000 years ago. Tianluoshan Site， another key site that traces back to Hemudu Culture， is also in close neighborhood.

Historians take great interest in the history of the village. Located in the east of Yuyao， a county-level city under the administration of Ningbo， Shibu has a long history. Historians are not certain why the village is called Shibu， or stone steps. Someone said that the village was named after a stone-step bridge that crosses a stream near the village. The county annals and the villages ancestry books record that the village was started by Ye Shiru， a scholar who brought his family there in the Northern Song Dynasty （960-1127）. Over the past centuries， the family grew and many family members moved away to other parts of the county.

Local legends have it that one of the four sages who helped the crown prince hold onto his position and eventually get to the throne in the early years of the Han Dynasty （202BC-220AD） fled from court infighting and came to live as a reclusive in the east of Zhejiang. One year， a drought hit the region and the sage led local residents to a small pond in Shibu and asked them to dig there to make it a big pond. Local residents dug a hole about 2 to 3 meters deep and water emerged and formed a large pond. The pond was later named after the sage. The pond has been dredged and now serves as a source for the waterworks of the town.endprint

Architects and historians love the ancient houses in the village. One of the houses is Anya House， first constructed in 1832. The spacious compound is now a cultural heritage site under the protection of Yuyao City Government. The compound used to have a memorial archway adorned with a plaque with an inscription by an emperor. The archway is no more. The compound has three rows of houses.

Weng Wenhao （1889-1971）， a pronounced geologist， wrote two poems about the village in his last years. He is regarded as the founder of modern Chinese geology and the father of modern Chinese oil industry in literature. From May to November 1948， he served as prime minister of the Republic of China. His stepmother was a native of Shibu Village. In his childhood， he was brought to the village several times. In 1965， he wrote two poems in fond memory of the village and his stepmother and grandmother.

Ye is the paramount surname with the largest population in the village， as testified by Ye Family Big House， a large compound with three gates on the fa?ade. The gates are highly adorned with outstretched double eaves. The big house has experienced the ups and downs of the Ye family. The house was first constructed in the early decades of the 19th century. The family that owned the house came down in the world and sold it to a family surnamed Wang. During the Sino-French War （1883-1885）， Ye Shengyang， a son of the Ye family that had built and owned the house， helped his boss to get back a cargo ship held in custody by French navy near Ningbo. The boss liked the young man very much and Ye Shengyang married the bosss daughter. After inheriting the business， Ye Shengyang bought back the house his ancestors had built. The family flourished again. Some of the descendants went to college.

The big house was used as a safe house during World War Two. A dispatch of the New Fourth Army， under the leadership of the Communist Party of China， was stationed at the house for a while before the troupers moved deep into the Siming Mountains and set up their bases there. In March 1945， the Cixi County government was set up there to fight the Japanese invaders.

The house now is a historical site under the protection of Yuyao City.

In the eyes of tourists， Shibu Village is equal to waxberry. In May every year， tourists come from neighboring cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou to spend a day in the village and buy waxberry， the best in Yuyao. states that Shibu offers the very best of the 64 waxberry species in the province. Strangely enough， waxberry loves infertile soil. For this reason， many remote regions across the country adopt waxberry as a measure to lift people out of poverty. Shibu sells waxberry saplings to farmers across the country. One sapling farm， operated by a father and his son， sold waxberry saplings in the spring of 2017 and pocketed more than 200，000 yuan.endprint