“走近華鎣，走近華鎣，不說它的人杰，不說它的地靈，要說它的幺妹兒喲，華鎣山的幺妹子最多情。她在青山里長來，綠水里生，十八的幺妹悄悄長成人。華鎣山的幺妹是滿山的紅杜鵑，看也看不盡來，數(shù)也數(shù)不清；十八的幺妹是道好風(fēng)景，看也看不盡來，數(shù)也數(shù)不清，她回頭一笑喲，偷走你的心來勾走你的魂！”

一首《華鎣山幺妹兒最多情》的民歌，使四川省華鎣山成為眾多有情人神往的地方。

幺妹，是華鎣山民間賦予未成年女子和年輕漂亮女子的一個愛稱。而滑竿抬幺妹，在華鎣山已有1250多年歷史。據(jù)民間所傳，早在唐至德年間（公元756—758年），華鎣山的高登山、寶鼎相繼建立寺廟，香火鼎盛，每天朝拜的人絡(luò)繹不絕。當(dāng)時，未出嫁的女子即幺妹按習(xí)俗是不能出門的，更不能上山朝拜，煞是寂寞。華鎣山麓一張姓大戶，有一雙長得如花似玉的女兒，父母視為掌上明珠，呵護備至。但他們看見那些香客自由地上寶鼎朝拜，心兒早就飛上了山，然而由于封建思想的桎梏，姊妹倆只好在閨中惆悵，幾年下來，美若天仙的她們竟?jié)u漸地郁悶成病，父母找來多個高醫(yī)診治均不見效，此時一秀才聽說此事，略一思索，便道：“這有何難？二月十九日后，你們出點錢，找個由頭舉辦個比賽，將鄉(xiāng)里想上山去拜佛觀光的幺妹都抬上去，這不就遂意了嗎？”張大爺聽了此話，找來有威望的族人商量，決定舉辦“滑竿抬幺妹，祈求五谷豐”比賽。于是每年三月，這個地區(qū)都要舉行抬幺妹比賽活動，漂亮的幺妹被抬上華鎣山拜佛觀景，奪得第一、二、三名的不但能獲重獎，還能當(dāng)面相親，找到如意郎君。這個活動后來由于朝代更迭、戰(zhàn)亂兵荒，慢慢疏荒了。

近年來，華鎣市充分發(fā)掘和利用山區(qū)這一民俗文化資源，古今結(jié)合，文經(jīng)聯(lián)姻，相繼舉辦了五屆滑竿抬幺妹大賽。每次大賽不僅融入了新的內(nèi)涵，而且參與的人越來越廣，越來越多，其壯觀場面讓人驚嘆！

2000年11月，華鎣市與浙江衛(wèi)視聯(lián)合舉辦了當(dāng)代第一屆“華鎣山八公里滑竿抬幺妹比賽活動”，50名被100個壯漢抬著的幺妹，在數(shù)萬名觀眾的簇擁下，沿著溪口鎮(zhèn)至寶鼎黃龍寺彎彎曲曲的山道快速出發(fā)，雖然路途較長，但滑竿和觀眾你追我趕，誰也不甘落后。那熱鬧壯觀的場景，使沉寂多年的華鎣山蘇醒了，沸騰了！爾后，2002年4月該市又舉辦了“第二屆滑竿抬幺妹大賽”，當(dāng)日華鎣久雨放晴，空氣清新，鎣城華鎣山廣場壩至華鎣山小山壩4公里的道路兩旁，人山人海，爭相目睹華鎣幺妹的風(fēng)采和華鎣漢子的強悍。44位敦實的漢子抬著22位漂亮的幺妹，你追我趕，競相奔逐，朝著華鎣山中的小山壩進發(fā)。在路旁觀看的市民樂呵呵地說：“這個活動搞得好，抬幺妹是我們?nèi)A鎣山的一個品牌呵！”2003年4月，該市在慶華鎮(zhèn)天龍山舉辦了“第三屆滑竿抬幺妹大賽”。當(dāng)時，正是桃花盛開的季節(jié)，壯實的漢子，靚麗的幺妹，怒放的桃花，把天龍山點綴得分外妖艷和煽情。

特別是2004年春天舉辦的首屆“華鎣山幺妹節(jié)”，更是把滑竿抬幺妹活動推向了高潮。幺妹節(jié)上，首先推出的是“華鎣山靚麗幺妹大賽”。來自川東北地區(qū)的近100名選手通過預(yù)賽、復(fù)賽、決賽及選手自我介紹、才藝表演、體形展示，3名冠亞季軍、7名“十佳幺妹”和8名最清純、最時尚等幺妹脫穎而出。這18名幺妹組成的“靚麗幺妹團”，作為華鎣山幺妹品牌，參與外界交流活動?！办n麗幺妹大賽”一結(jié)束，幺妹節(jié)上的又一臺好戲——“華鎣山第四屆滑竿抬幺妹大賽”又拉開帷幕。是年的大賽較前幾屆更是盛況空前，18名“靚麗幺妹團”成員成了形象大使，與其他90名幺妹分別坐上108抬滑竿，由216名壯漢抬著，冒著紛紛春雨，行進于萬人簇擁的十里長街，氣勢恢弘，讓人嘆為觀止。之后的幾天里，“幺妹團”成員又深入華鎣山天然大盆景和黃花梨基地等旅游景區(qū)，向游人充分展示華鎣山幺妹的風(fēng)采。后來在2005年春天在華鎣市舉辦的“梨花節(jié)”期間，該市又借勢在飄香的梨花中舉行了“第五屆滑竿抬幺妹大賽”。

近兩年來，隨著華鎣山區(qū)群眾生活水平的提高，年輕人的婚禮形式正在悄然改變，具有本土特色的“滑竿抬幺妹”，漸漸成了他們婚禮中的首選。拿他們的話說，這種形式既可傳承歷史，同時還節(jié)儉樸素，何樂而不為呢！是啊，曾獲全國民間體育活動項目金獎和四川省第一批省級非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)殊榮、被推選為2008年北京奧運會展演項目之一的“華鎣山滑竿抬幺妹”，不僅在華鎣山區(qū)結(jié)成厚實的文化板塊，而且融入了山區(qū)群眾的現(xiàn)代生活之中。

Beauties Launch Hundreds of Sedans in Mountain

By Qiu Haiying

The Huaying Mountain in southwestern China’s mountainous Sichuan Province is proud of a 1，250-year-old local tradition， which has been revived in recent years. It is an annual tradition of young men carrying unmarried girls through the mountain for sightseeing.

The tradition started in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The mountain became a destination for pilgrims during the dynasty when two Buddhist temples were built there. The local custom forbad unmarried girls to walk outside their houses freely. Two daughters in a rich family were distressed to sick by the taboo. Doctors could do nothing to relieve the daughters of the sickness. The worried father asked a scholar for advice and the latter came up with a clever solution， suggesting， “Why not host a competition every year in March to carry all the unmarried girls， in sedan chairs， to the temples if they wished to pay a visit?”

It was a good idea. Thus was born a tradition. Every year， a carrying competition would be held in March. On the day， a carrying race was staged. Unmarried girls were carried in sedan chairs and carriers raced to see who could carry their girls to the destination first.The first three winners would win abundant awards and even could decide who they wanted to marry after a big blind date with a large group of young admirers on the spot. The event went on for years and then it disappeared in history as dynasties replaced each other and wars interrupted peaceful life.

The tradition has been revived in the Huaying Mountain recently as part of a program to help local tourism flourish and help economy take off. So far， five competitions of carrying girls through the mountain have been held since November， 2000.

The first event was jointly hosted by Huaying City and the Zhejiang Satellite TV. One hundred contenders carried fifty girls in sedan chairs and walked eight kilometers on zigzagging mountain paths. The race started at Xikou Town and ended at the Yellow Dragon Temple. The carriers moved fast and raced one another and thousands of spectators chased the sedan chairs to look at beauties.

In the following years， the race took place in different parts of the mountain and created ecstatic sensations， as local tourism authorities learned how to organize the event better and attract more attention.

In the spring of 2004， nearly 100 girl candidates went through a beauty contest before 18 were chosen as ambassadors of the girl-carrying festival. Later the winners group joined another 90 girls and took 108 sedan rides carried by 216 men. The parade went through streets， attracting thousands of local residents and tourists. In the following days， the parade proceeded to other scenic areas in the mountain. In the spring of 2005， the fifth girl-carrying festival was held.

Just like a good solution to a dilemma in the first place， the girl-carrying ritual is now regarded by young people today as a solution. As local residents in the mountain area enjoy a better life， young newlyweds are beginning to include a sedan-chair parade as part of their wedding ceremony. In this way， they are able to enjoy a decent wedding celebration within a budget， introduce historical and cultural elements into their shared life， and eliminate some costly wedding extravagancies.

Now the event is no longer local. The beauty-carrying gala， a gold-medal winner of China’s folk sports events and an intangible cultural heritage of Sichuan Province， has been recommended as one of the demonstration performances for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games.

(Translated by David)