“接天蓮葉無窮碧，映日荷花別樣紅?！痹谥腥A各地，在中華各族，蓮荷之韻，綿長(zhǎng)悠遠(yuǎn)。

2012年7月，浙江省武義縣柳城畬族鎮(zhèn)的十里蓮花長(zhǎng)廊，花開壯觀，白的、粉的、紅的、淡紫的、間色的，單瓣、復(fù)瓣、重瓣、重臺(tái)、千瓣，異彩紛呈，令人驚嘆、陶醉。

蓮花花開季節(jié)為6月至9月，7月怒放。為把畬鄉(xiāng)的蓮花打造成亮麗的旅游名片，柳城畬族鎮(zhèn)組織當(dāng)?shù)禺屶l(xiāng)藝人，編排頗具民族特色的畬鄉(xiāng)風(fēng)情表演節(jié)目，每逢周六、周日以十里蓮田構(gòu)筑舞臺(tái)，進(jìn)行表演，吸引了全國(guó)各地游客前來賞花品蓮和采風(fēng)、寫生、攝影。

武義地屬山區(qū)，有不等帶狀小盆地，多豐富的微量元素和有機(jī)微生物，湖沼池塘適宜植蓮。據(jù)宣平舊志記載，當(dāng)?shù)匕傩辗N蓮藕始于唐顯慶年間，后來以“宣蓮”名世?！疤熨n宣平黃金土，地育宮廷白玉蓮?！边@“宮廷白玉蓮”在清嘉慶六年(1802)被列作貢品，與福建的建蓮并稱“江南二寶”，兩者又與湖南的湘蓮一起成為中國(guó)三大名蓮。1958年，宣平撤縣，盛產(chǎn)宣蓮的一部分地域劃入武義，武義繼承并發(fā)揚(yáng)光大了這一名牌土產(chǎn)的傳統(tǒng)。

蓮子的養(yǎng)生價(jià)值很早已被肯定，其子、花、房、須、蕊、葉、衣、蒂、梗、節(jié)皆可入藥，渾身是寶。俗諺說宣蓮:“蓮過七里垅，功價(jià)同人參?！毙徶畬?shí)顆大粒圓、肉酥細(xì)膩、清香味美、營(yíng)養(yǎng)豐富，藥用價(jià)值更高。

蓮葉田田，荷枝盈盈。蓮荷的象征意義在中國(guó)文化中非常突出，在武義柳城，已經(jīng)滲進(jìn)畬鄉(xiāng)的山水和畬民的心田。民間相傳，宣蓮是由一對(duì)金童玉女從觀音的蓮座上帶入凡間、落到柳城壺源的。宣蓮傳說烙印下塵土事實(shí)，輕揚(yáng)著貼近習(xí)俗、感受生活的原始、樸素、自然的氣息。

歲月過往，蓮荷的形象更逐漸深入到畬族人生活的方方面面。他們的服裝飾品特色鮮明，其與家具器皿的紋樣，建筑雕刻、窗花剪紙的圖案，不乏蓮影;即便他們喜愛制作的米糕、羹湯，也不失蓮味;至于他們擅長(zhǎng)的山曲對(duì)唱，以及故事、民歌，同樣多少含有蓮韻。

畬族人賀生常用布鞋裝飾，母親給生產(chǎn)的女兒一定要送一雙小布鞋。這些鞋的鞋面上必定繡上一朵鮮紅的荷花，鞋幫上飾以兩束細(xì)長(zhǎng)的青綠色柏枝:荷呈吉祥，柏表無疆。父母年滿花甲，出嫁女兒要送長(zhǎng)壽鞋，鞋面取湖青色，繡一枝蓮藕抽出兩柄梗，一柄為蓮花，一柄為子實(shí)累累的蓮蓬;鞋底為白色，有蓮藕、蓮花、蓮子共生的圖案，飾以云紋。其中寄托畬族人對(duì)生命的理解與期待。

畬族人請(qǐng)客吃飯，冰糖宣蓮羹是必不可少的甜食，其湯色玉黃，潔白滾圓的“伏蓮”(夏季采摘的蓮子)鑲嵌其間，色香味撩人無比。此外，拔絲宣蓮、蓮燉什錦、蓮子八寶飯等，也鮮明地體現(xiàn)出他們對(duì)宣蓮的喜愛之情。

華東地區(qū)最大的畬族鎮(zhèn)柳城深處的小巷尚保存著一些老屋，沿屋檐排成的幾何圖形，恰似一朵朵綻放的蓮花;斑駁零落的墻面上一幅幅活靈活現(xiàn)的并蒂蓮藕、蓮子呈祥等圖案穿插在八仙過海、觀音送子、梅雀賀春等畫面之中……

“三月三”畬族歌會(huì)，歷有傳統(tǒng)，馳譽(yù)遠(yuǎn)近，從1994年起，由柳城鎮(zhèn)與麗水市老竹畬族鎮(zhèn)、麗新畬族鄉(xiāng)和松陽(yáng)縣板橋畬族鄉(xiāng)聯(lián)合舉辦。熱情奔放的對(duì)歌中，一部分以尖尖初荷為媒，頌揚(yáng)畬族人民如純潔蓮花一般燦爛美麗的生活，展現(xiàn)出生生不息、興旺不止的農(nóng)村新景象，同時(shí)造就了浙江獨(dú)樹一幟的民族特色活動(dòng)。

1993年、1996年、2006年，武義縣暨柳城畬族鎮(zhèn)舉辦了中國(guó)宣蓮節(jié)，將這一傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)事演繹為盛大的文化活動(dòng)。2006年，柳城又建設(shè)了3000多畝的十里荷花物種園，已先后引進(jìn)世界各地300多個(gè)水生優(yōu)良蓮種，包括大賀蓮、建蓮、石蓮、菜蓮、牡丹蓮、睡蓮、娃娃蓮……還有太空蓮，以實(shí)現(xiàn)荷花四季開放的目標(biāo)。彎環(huán)逶迤，移步換景。物種園內(nèi)有水亭、水閣、水軒、水榭，有蓮文化長(zhǎng)廊，有立體養(yǎng)殖池，還有農(nóng)家樂旅舍。荷田如詩(shī)，蓮鄉(xiāng)如畫。每年初夏之際，當(dāng)?shù)谝欢湫『汕那拈_放，人們便陸續(xù)而來，流“蓮”忘返，直待到寒雨殘荷的深秋早冬。

以十里荷花物種園為核心、為基礎(chǔ)，今日畬鄉(xiāng)柳城正朝著“十里荷花、百里森林、千年古剎、萬畝茶園”的方向發(fā)展。

(本文攝影:張建成)

Lotus Signifies Culture of She Ethnic People

By Zhang Jiancheng

Wuyi， a mountainous county in central Zhejiang， has many wonders to offer to the world. Lotus serves as a huge tourism attraction. Lotus planting is a century-long tradition in Wuyi， a mountainous area with quite a few narrow and long basins where ponds and lakes gravitate.

History says local people began to plant lotus as a farm product in the Tang Dynasty (618-906). In ancient times， the place was known as Xuanping and the lotus produced here was known as Xuan lotus. In 1802， Xuan Lotus was listed as a tribute to the royal house and was considered one of the three major lotuses in China. In 1958， part of the lotus-planting area of Xuanping came under the jurisdiction of Wuyi County due to a government rezoning.

In this part of Wuyi where lotus flourishes and blooms， She (pronounced like sir without the r sound) ethnic people live. Liucheng Town is actually the largest She community in eastern China.

It would probably be hard to say whether the minority people moved in and incorporated lotus into their lifestyle or whether they have had lotus with them since primitive times and it spread to local Han people or whether they learned about lotus from Han people and adopted it. However， it is evident that lotus is a big part of She people’s life. The auspicious plant is a prominent component of the garments， architecture， music， folktales， food， and art of the She people.

She people love lotus. Their traditional garments are adorned with lotus patterns. Their houses flaunt the carved images of lotus flowers. Their paper-cutting designs feature lotus flowers for window decorations. When a daughter gives birth to a baby， the daughter’s mother needs to bless the daughter with a pair of small-sized cloth shoes embroidered with a bright red lotus flower. When parents reach the age of 60， a married daughter needs to present them with pairs of shoes embroidered with longevity symbols of lotus flowers and lotus seedpods growing on a lotus root. A lotus seed soup sweetened with crystal sugar is a treat for guests at a home banquet.

Though it was not until the 1950s that Xuanping was incorporated into the county through the rezoning， Wuyi has firmly incorporated lotus into its culture. In 1993， 1996 and 2006， Wuyi County has held China Xuan Lotus Festival in Liucheng Town. In 2006， the town built a large lotus garden measuring 200 hectares and introduced more than 300 species of lotuses from all over the world. The lotus garden is a living encyclopedia of lotuses. With pavilions of various kinds built along ponds， people can appreciate blooming lotuses all over the summer. Tourism planners and marketers call the lotus garden the 5-kilometer-long corridor of lotuses.

Nowadays， July， August and September are the long lotus season in Liucheng. Tourists come to appreciate lotus blossoms in various shapes and colors.

Every third day of the third month on lunar calendar witnesses a folksong festival held in Liucheng， jointly held by Liu Cheng and two other She towns in Lishui and Songyang， Zhejiang. In their folksongs， lotus is a big part.