越地长歌 声声不息

郑梦莹

浩荡的历史长河里，越国存续了1800年——从夏朝直至秦朝建立前。越王勾践卧薪尝胆，三千越甲可吞吴;谋士范蠡，忠以为国，智以保身……一段段千古传奇，是这个盛极一时的古国留给后世的历史背影。

穿越两千年，越韵款款来。风云变幻的历史长卷，今可在纸上细读。不久前，一部堪称“新时代《越绝书》”的专著——《浙江通志 · 越文化专志》（下称“《越文化专志》”）在绍兴首发。该专著为新编《浙江通志》113卷中的一卷。

磨一剑    成经典

八年磨一剑，出鞘成经典。《越文化专志》于2013年7月启动编纂，2021年10月出版。在2017年12月形成初稿后，浙江省人民政府及省地方志办公室分别于2017年、2018年、2019年组织业内专家对其进行审核，此后又先后由浙江人民出版社组织专业力量进行多次审校和修改。

在春秋战国的刀光剑影中，越国是“春秋五霸”之一，也是与“战国七雄”并肩而立的东南强国，更曾在长达一百多年的时间里挥斥中原，号令天下。

开卷细览，“绝书”未绝，历史的风起云涌在眼前纵横交错——

“越”古老    “越”灿烂

在传统汉语语境中，“越”和越文化有多种含义，其中最核心最基本的含义就是越国文化。《越文化专志》提出，越国文化是浙江先民在先秦越国时期创造的物质文化、精神文化与制度文化的总和。

越文化的灿烂，我们从一把剑说起。

2017年，《国家宝藏》节目播出，深埋2500多年而不朽、至今仍剑光可鉴的越王勾践剑，再次勾起一段旷世传奇。这把被称为“天下第一剑”的稀世宝剑，堪称中国古代青铜剑铸造巅峰之作、世界冶金史传奇。看着寒气逼人的剑刃，千年前的盛况宛在眼前。

中国科学院研究员华觉明曾这样形容越国铸造工艺之精细 ：“恪守技术传统要求铸造技术和表面质量精益求精，这正是上古铸师的世代追求。”

越国出土的青铜器种类繁多，且数量十分可观，《越文化专志》一书对越国青铜器冶铸业的史料记载、出土数量、分部区域等情况进行了较为全面的梳理，兵器、礼乐之器、农业用器……体现着当时高超的铸造工艺。

事实上，越国曾与楚、齐、晋“四分天下而有之”，越文化的空间范围也就不限于今浙江——越国统治的中心地区。与此前的诸多研究成果往往囿于越国大后方——浙东地区甚至越国古都绍兴附近不同，《越文化专志》大大拓展了视野。

青铜冶铸只是越国“画像”的一个小侧面。《越文化专志》的内容涵盖越国文化的发祥基础，越国兴衰史及社会政治制度、学术思想、农业、商业、城市交通、文学艺术等方方面面。对越文化进行如此全面、全局的梳理研究，在此前不曾有过。

全书共分十二章，共计70多万字，字里行间，勾画出越国物质文化、精神文化和制度文化的灿烂成就。

不可否认的是，除了家喻户晓的传奇故事、国家宝藏，大部分人对越国本身的历史知之甚少——毕竟并不是每个人都是史学家。

越国歷史文化是浙江先民、南方独特的於越民族对中华民族乃至东亚文化的重大贡献。“著书立说，是希望更多读者能够更全面、系统地了解越文化，这是历史留给后人的一笔丰厚的遗产。”浙江省越文化传承与创新研究中心（绍兴文理学院越文化研究院）教授、《越文化专志》主编潘承玉说。

凝心血    铸经典

2000多年前的历史尽收眼底，同时，《越文化专志》还为人们品读越文化提供了另一种视角。本书在对相关文献做了详尽研究的基础上，对不少存疑之问或传统看法提出新的观点——

比如，历史上，越国都城曾几次变迁。在迁都绍兴之前，越国都城何在？诸暨？德清？武夷山？皖南？甚至湘南？学界众说纷纭已久。

对此，书中在第二章、第五章进行了探讨，并提出，《越绝书》和《水经注》所说的“无余旧都”“嶕岘大城”——越国迁都绍兴之前，都城的具体位置，就在绍兴城区会稽山以南，今平水镇政府的若耶溪（平水江）边。

又如，越族的流散，也是公众较为关注的一个话题。越国灭亡以后，越人去哪里了？又产生了哪些影响？

本书在引述相关专家研究的基础上，将此分别放置于战国末期、秦汉时期和三国时期这三个历史时期进行记载和阐述，提出在持续的历史变动中，随着於越民族的流散及华夏内外各族的交融，越文化经历了逐渐向外扩散的过程，影响了其他地区的文化发展，成为中华文化中最具有海洋性、最早“走出国门”的地域文化之一。

诸如以上问题，《越文化专志》在立足大量文献、研究成果和考古发现的基础上，对诸多似是而非的问题作出审慎澄清、重新梳陈于世。

在漫长的编纂出版过程中，课题组付出大量心血。为了让人们对越国历史形成更清晰的认识和了解，书中还配以大量的遗址遗迹和出土文物的图片。

前两天，《越文化专志》编纂团队给笔者发来一张文物的照片，拍自无锡鸿山遗址博物馆。

那是一枚展柜中静静陈列的玉飞凤，长3.2厘米、宽2.6厘米、厚0.5厘米，造型优美，雕刻有许多精美的花纹。这枚拇指大小的珍品，由越国贵族墓出土，是中国最早出现的“微雕工艺”之一。

团队成员感慨，如果不是跑到博物馆展厅亲眼所见，断然不会有如此直观的感受，“在网上查阅到的资料图，其实做了放大处理。实际看到的其实是很小一枚，越发赞叹越国玉器阴刻工艺的精美”。

编纂期间，课题组还调研走访了中国国家博物馆、故宫博物院，上海、湖北、湖南、海南等地博物馆及众多越国文物收藏单位和重要考古发掘现场。

白纸黑字的背后，是学者们对越国千年历史文化的守望和耕耘——是谓“看似寻常最奇崛，成如容易却艰辛”。

之江长    文脉远

来到绍兴府山公园，脚步在越王台城楼下停留。站在古朴的城墙上、古老的苍天柏树下、古意的“古越龙山”碑前，一个疑惑涌上心头——越文化的精神内核是什么？6B069CAA-809D-4DEA-A7FE-1587EFDCFA75

如果用一個字概括，潘承玉认为，那就是“越”。

“越”字，甲骨文、金文中作“戉”，“戉”本指战斧，是上古越族的重要礼器。“代表着刚强、韧劲，代表硬骨头精神——这个字太有魅力了。”他说。

如果是两个字，那就是“胆剑”——“胆”代表刻苦和坚忍，“剑”代表奋发向上、精益求精。“胆剑精神”实质上就是越国的政治文化精髓，是对越国历史文化的高度概括。

长久以来，越文化一直吸引着历代学者孜孜追溯，由此形成绵延至今的“越学”。

从《越绝书》《吴越春秋》两部奇书算起，有关越国文化史的研究已长达2000多年。唐代韩愈、明代杨慎、清代朴学大师黄以周等都有“越学”成果问世;

112年前，鲁迅曾向友人倾诉自己的愿景，“开拓越学，俾其曼衍，至于无疆”;1936年，蔡元培牵头发起“吴越史地研究会”，“越学”的现代研究就此开启……

时间来到21世纪。2008年，浙江专题部署文化大省建设，并于2011年正式发文启动编纂总数约1.2亿字的《浙江通志》。第111卷是《越文化专志》——这卷唯一以“文化”命名的专著，足能体现越文化在《浙江通志》框架体系中是特别的存在。

修史修志，加强文化建设。“从地方志的角度看，这是一种升格记述，目的是为了突出浙江文化的地域特色，突出越文化在整个文化版图中不可或缺的作用。”《浙江通志》副总纂颜越虎说。

“十年生聚，十年教训。”颜越虎认为，卧薪尝胆、发愤图强的越族精神、越国精神是中华民族精神的重要组成部分，代代相传、历久弥新。

之江长，文脉远。赓续“越学”，利在千秋。

越国历史文化是浙江文化的主要根脉所在。潘承玉说，全面梳理越国历史文化，意在化古为新，激活其中以“胆剑精神”为核心的不朽生命力。

听，越地长歌，声声不息。轻轻翻开这本装帧精美、典雅厚重的专著，古韵在指间缓缓流转淌——那是历史深处的回响。

Everlasting Melodies of the Yue Culture

By  Zheng Mengying

In the river of history， the State of Yue has survived for 1，800 years — from the Xia dynasty （ca. 2070-1600） until the establishment of the Qin dynasty （221-207 BC）.

Now we could see this historical legend unfolding like a painting scroll before our eyes — a monograph titled the Yue Culture Chronicle was first launched in Shaoxing， one of the 113 volumes of the new “Zhejiang General Chronicle” series.

The Yue Culture Chronicle was compiled starting in July 2013 and finally published in October 2021. After the first draft was completed in December 2017， the Zhejiang provincial government and the Office of Local Chronicles Compilation invited relevant experts to review it in 2017， 2018 and 2019 respectively， and then the Zhejiang Peoples Publishing House organized several professional reviews and revisions.

In the traditional Chinese context， “Yue” and “Yue culture” have various meanings， among which the most essential is the culture of the State of Yue. The Yue Culture Chronicle suggests that Yue culture is the sum of material， spiritual and institutional culture created by Zhejiang ancestors during the pre-Qin period.

Let us unveil the splendor of Yue culture with a sword. In 2017， the sword of King Goujian of Yue was introduced by a TV program National Treasure. Buried for more than 2，500 years， this sword is still an immortal legend to this day， known as “the worlds first sword”. Looking at its chilling blade， we seem to be looking at the grand scene over a thousand years ago. Hua Jueming， a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences， once described the fine bronze casting of Yue as “seeking excellence in both the casting techniques and quality — that was what the ancient casters did”.6B069CAA-809D-4DEA-A7FE-1587EFDCFA75

Yet bronze casting is only a small part of Yues history. The content of the Yue Culture Chronicle covers the foundations of Yue culture， the history of the states rise and fall， as well as its social and political systems， academic thoughts， agriculture， commerce， urban transportation， literature and art. Such a comprehensive and holistic study of Yue culture has never been done before.

The book is divided into twelve chapters， totaling more than 700，000 Chinese characters， and between the lines it depicts the splendid achievements of Yues material， spiritual and institutional cultures.

“The book is compiled in the hope that a larger number of readers can understand Yue culture more comprehensively and systematically. It is a rich historical heritage for future generations，” said Pan Chengyu， chief editor of the Yue Culture Chronicle.

At the same time， the book also provides another angle for appreciating the Yue culture. Based on a thorough study of relevant literature， the book offers new perspectives on a number of questions or traditional views.

For example， the capital of the State of Yue changed several times throughout history. Before the capital was moved to Shaoxing， where was the capital of Yue？ Zhuji， Deqing， Wuyishan， southern Anhui， or even southern Hunan？ The academic community has been divided at this issue for a really long time.

Another example is the exodus of the Yue people， which is also a topic of great public concern. After the fall of the Yue state， where did the Yue people go？ And what social impact did they create？

Based on numerous documents， research results and archeological discoveries， the Yue Culture Chronicle clarifies and re-sets out many specious issues.

The editorial team has invested a lot of efforts during the lengthy compilation and publication process. In order to help readers get a clearer understanding about the history of the State of Yue， a large number of pictures of the ruins and excavated artifacts have been added to enhance the contents. Meanwhile， the team also visited the National Museum of China， the National Palace Museum， and museums in Shanghai， Hubei， Hunan， Hainan ... as well as many relevant cultural relics collection units and important archeological excavation sites. With their academic rigor， the scholars are safeguarding and exploring the thousand-year history and culture of the State of Yue.

What is the spiritual core of the Yue culture？ If we use one word to summarize it， Pan Chengyu believes it is “Yue”. The character “Yue” is written as “Wu” in the inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells and in the bronze inscriptions of Shang （ca. 1600-1046 BC） and Zhou （1046-256 BC） dynasties， which originally refers to a battle axe， an important ritual weapon of the ancient Yue tribe. “It represents the spirit of strength and toughness … what a charming character，” said Pan.6B069CAA-809D-4DEA-A7FE-1587EFDCFA75

If we use two words， then they are “guts” and “swords” — “guts” represents hard work and perseverance， and “swords” means striving for excellence. The spirit of “guts and swords” is the essence of the political culture of Yue， and a great summary of Yues history.

For a long time， the Yue culture has been attracting scholars of all generations， who have conducted relevant studies since over 2，000 years ago. Two masterpieces Yue Jue Shu and Wuyue Chunqiu are believed to mark the start of the study on the State of Yue. From Han Yu （768-824）， Yang Shen （1488-1559）， and Huang Yizhou （1828-1899）， to Lu Xun （1881-1936） and Cai Yuanpei （1868-1940）， there are many historical figures who have made great achievements in the research on the State of Yue.

In 2008， authorities in Zhejiang started a project of cultural construction， and in 2011 officially issued a document to initiate the compilation of “Zhejiang General Chronicle” of about 120 million characters in total. The 111th volume is the Yue Culture Chronicle — the only monograph named after “culture”， which is a clear evidence of Yue cultures special significance within the framework of the “Zhejiang General Chronicle”.

Experts believe that the Yue Culture Chronicle will provide important spiritual support for shaping Zhejiang into a great province of culture in the new era. “Historical resources need constant innovation and enrichment. The history and culture of Yue is the first major contribution to human history and culture by Zhejiang ancestors and the unique Yue people of southern China.” According to Pan， the comprehensive combing of Yue culture is intended to transform the ancient into the new and stimulate its vitality.

Now we are able to listen to the everlasting melodies once filled the land of Yue. Gently flipping this elaborate， elegant book， we could hear the ancient rhythm slowly flowing through every page — that is the echo of the depths of history.6B069CAA-809D-4DEA-A7FE-1587EFDCFA75