今年4月16日至20日，巴黎·中國(guó)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)藝術(shù)節(jié)首次在法國(guó)巴黎舉行，開(kāi)幕式上我國(guó)80多件珍貴的非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)代表作閃亮登場(chǎng)，其中來(lái)自浙江的樂(lè)清龍檔與寧波萬(wàn)工轎特別讓人矚目和青睞。

樂(lè)清龍檔被安排在展廳最顯眼的位置，那金光閃閃的龍首對(duì)著大門(mén)，龍身在展廳蜿蜒盤(pán)旋，那宏偉氣勢(shì)，讓開(kāi)幕式上的參觀者一齊露出驚羨的目光。這些貴賓分別是參加聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織176屆執(zhí)行局會(huì)議的各國(guó)執(zhí)委、各國(guó)常駐聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織代表以及法國(guó)社會(huì)名流和各界人士，他們對(duì)精美絕倫的樂(lè)清龍檔的那精湛工藝、栩栩如生的戲曲人物造型驚嘆不已！法國(guó)電視臺(tái)、中央電視臺(tái)、鳳凰衛(wèi)視、人民日?qǐng)?bào)、中國(guó)文化報(bào)等都對(duì)樂(lè)清龍檔的展出給予充分的報(bào)道。

展覽期間，不少國(guó)外參觀者觀看了樂(lè)清龍檔后，饒有興趣地問(wèn)站在一旁的龍檔制作者：“為什么神仙哪咤只會(huì)跑不會(huì)飛？為什么哮天犬敢咬孫大圣？……”最令人難忘的是有位在法的中國(guó)留學(xué)生用相機(jī)拍下了龍檔的每個(gè)部位，并不斷向龍檔制作者之一的黃北討教，第二天這位留學(xué)生又到展廳詳細(xì)詢問(wèn)了“龍檔歷史、來(lái)源、用處及其制作”等系列問(wèn)題，中國(guó)代表團(tuán)官員看到樂(lè)清龍檔，也顯露出親切感和自豪感，他們向外國(guó)朋友介紹：這就是我們中國(guó)的龍！

樂(lè)清龍檔據(jù)傳始于明代，至今已有500多年歷史。龍檔這一民間燈彩游藝活動(dòng)除了當(dāng)?shù)乩习傩沼脕?lái)娛樂(lè)外，還蘊(yùn)涵著人們的美好祝愿：樂(lè)清地處浙江南部沿海，緊靠甌江口岸，由于古代堤渠連年失修，風(fēng)災(zāi)、洪災(zāi)頻繁，民不聊生，為祈求風(fēng)調(diào)雨順，純樸的百姓當(dāng)時(shí)便用樟木等制作龍檔，希望龍檔顯示神靈為地方消災(zāi)保平安。據(jù)地方史料記載，清朝康熙年間，樂(lè)清西部各鄉(xiāng)周?chē)闉?zāi)嚴(yán)重，農(nóng)作物大片受淹，百姓深受其害，于是人們制作龍檔希望它顯示神威保一方平安的愿望更為強(qiáng)烈了！清同治年間，樂(lè)清西部鄉(xiāng)村舞龍檔活動(dòng)最為盛行，每年元宵節(jié)前后，各村都拉出自己的龍檔進(jìn)行游行活動(dòng)，并將龍檔聚集一起相互評(píng)比。正因?yàn)檫@種相互比較，使得樂(lè)清龍檔制作工藝得到繼承和發(fā)展。如清末民初樂(lè)清柳市區(qū)湖頭鄉(xiāng)的雕花名手黃福昌，在龍檔的亭臺(tái)樓閣和首飾亭雕刻上別具一格，使龍檔制作更為精美，黃楊木雕名家王鳳祚是30年代龍檔雕刻高手，他對(duì)龍檔制作也作了許多改進(jìn)。隨著歷史的發(fā)展，樂(lè)清的木雕龍檔從形式到內(nèi)容都有大的進(jìn)步，已從原來(lái)簡(jiǎn)單的單人立體圓雕發(fā)展成一塊木頭雕“雙人”和“三人”的戲劇鑲檔人物，如今已經(jīng)達(dá)到五人雕以及群雕手法。群雕不僅豐富了龍檔雕刻的內(nèi)容，也顯示了時(shí)代感和生活氣息，使樂(lè)清龍檔成為一種絢麗多姿而又獨(dú)具地方特色的民間燈彩工藝。

但隨著改革開(kāi)放以及溫洲輕工業(yè)的興起，不少龍檔制作藝人棄藝從商，目前在樂(lè)清專門(mén)從事龍檔制作并能完整制作整條龍檔的僅剩黃氏一家，58歲的黃德清和38歲的兒子黃北是黃家龍檔制作的第三、第四代傳人，在家庭環(huán)境熏陶下，黃德清從小就喜愛(ài)雕刻藝術(shù)，16歲就開(kāi)始隨父學(xué)藝。1993年黃德清發(fā)現(xiàn)祖父1920年雕的龍檔用木輪連接的人物能自由運(yùn)動(dòng)，就革新用銅齒輪來(lái)代替木齒輪，再用微型電動(dòng)機(jī)來(lái)帶動(dòng)人物活動(dòng)。其子黃北也癡迷于龍檔藝術(shù)，20歲美術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)后，他白天上班，晚上潛心學(xué)藝，龍檔雕刻技藝不斷進(jìn)步，很快就成了父親的好幫手。樂(lè)清龍檔藝術(shù)以立體圓雕為主，結(jié)合浮雕、鏤雕，并將建筑藝術(shù)、油漆彩繪藝術(shù)和刺繡工藝、竹絲編織工藝集于一體，這讓黃德清、黃北父子覺(jué)得要掌握和發(fā)展這工藝，得下苦功，于是他們一有空就鉆研古典小說(shuō)和連環(huán)畫(huà)，還特別喜歡溫州鼓詞和古裝戲。

前往巴黎展出的龍檔，是黃德清和黃北父子耗時(shí)兩年完成的得意之作，這條樂(lè)清龍檔全長(zhǎng)約35米，共13檔，除去檔頭、檔尾，檔身為11檔，共24節(jié)。每檔有大檔背和小檔背各一塊，檔板二塊，在檔頭、大檔背、小檔背及檔尾之間都由一塊塊檔板相銜接。全檔共由126個(gè)故事、700多個(gè)人物組成，其中的故事情節(jié)都取材于戲曲、傳說(shuō)和古典小說(shuō)，尤以四大名著中的故事為多。如《三國(guó)演義》里的“天水關(guān)”、“夜戰(zhàn)馬超”、“水淹七軍”、“回荊州”、“鳳儀亭”；《水滸》中的“野豬林”、“十字坡”、“飛云浦”；《西游記》中的“八卦爐”；《楊家將》中如“金海灘”、“轅門(mén)斬子”；《說(shuō)岳全傳》中的“岳母刺字”、“二龍山”，還有《隋唐演義》《西廂記》《紅樓夢(mèng)》《白蛇傳》《萬(wàn)花樓》等古典名著中典故等。據(jù)黃德清介紹，檔頭的龍頭雕刻最見(jiàn)功力，不僅龍眼神光炯炯，龍須翹然伸展，龍口還含著一顆直徑13厘米的龍珠。龍珠采用鏤空雕刻，分為5層，層層都可以轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)。龍檔以朱紅漆為底色，貼金描彩，并配有各色繡有吉祥圖案和吉祥語(yǔ)的彩旗。

Dragon Scriptures on Display in Paris

Ruan Jing

From April 14 to 20， 2007， the China Art Festival for Intangible Cultural Heritages was held in Paris， France. Of more than the 80 exhibits that highlighted the essence of the Chinese cultural heritage， a large-scale sculpture named Yueqing Bench-Dragon was the very centerpiece in the exhibition hall. Representatives attending the 176th session of the Executive Board of the UNESCO， permanent representatives of nations to the UNESCO and French social celebrities were dazzled by the craftsmanship of the sculpture that stood for the dragon image of China.

The dragon sculpture as a folk art started in Yueqing， a county in the south of Zhejiang Province， about 500 years ago in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and it comes out in various forms. A dragon can consists of separate household benches decorated by different households in a village. These benches are put together to form the body of a long dragon and follow a dragon head specially made. On important occasions such as festivals， harvest celebrations and ceremonies for good weather， such a mighty dragon， decorated with lanterns， can dance through a village in a street procession.

The tradition originated for the purpose of praying for peaceful weather in Yueqing， a coastal county near the river mouth of the Ou River in southern Zhejiang where floods and typhoons frequently hit and ancient dams were often damaged in such disasters. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， the dragon dancing grew into a large-scale lantern celebration in the first month of a year. The dragon sculptures inspired village artists?imagination and expressed best wishes for heavenly blessing for a peaceful and prosperous life. Scenes from legends， classic novels and local operas appeared in the sculptures.

Competitions for the best dragon among villages spurred folk artists to innovate and perfect their art. Around the beginning of the 20th century， Huang Fuchang， a sculptor of Yueqing， developed a unique style to carve miniature pavilions. In the 1930s， a master of boxwood carving named Wang Fengzuo improved the sculpting art for the bench dragon in Yueqing. In the beginning， artists could only carve one three-dimension figure on a single piece of wood. Now five or more figures can be carved on a single piece.

The bench dragon on display in Paris was created by Huang Deqing and Huang Bei. It took the father-son team two years to complete the 35-meter-long masterpiece.

The sculpture consists of 24 sections and represents 700 figures in 126 scenes from classic novels. The 58-year-old father says that the dragon head， with its shiny eyes and upturned antenna， highlights the most dedicated efforts and the art. The pearl in the mouth of the dragon head measures 13 centimeters in diameter; the hollow pearl has five layers and each can turn. The benches， painted in vermilion， are decorated with small banners which flaunt colorfully embroidered auspicious designs and prayers.

Yueqing， in economically prosperous Wenzhou， has lost many of its bench dragon artists to the huge allures of other businesses and professions. The Huangs is the only family in Yueqing that still makes dragons professionally. The art has been in the family for four generations. Huang Deqing started to learn the carving from his father at 16. In 1993， Huang Deqing， inspired by a piece created in 1920 by his grandfather in which the figures could move around on wooden wheels， improved on his grandfather’s design and moved his figures on copper gears driven by a micro motor. Huang Bei， a graduate from an academy of fine arts， started at 20 to learn the art from his father and mastered the art. Pretty soon， he became his father’s assistant.

The bench dragon is more than sculpture. It combines three-dimensional， relief and openwork carving as well as painting， embroidery and bamboo weaving and architecture. In order to carve impressive scenes， the father and son study classic novels， local folk arts and operas.

(Translated by David)