文/周華誠

六月常山稻田風(fēng)光。The rice fields in June at Changshan county.

六月，中國南方省份已經(jīng)進(jìn)入梅雨季節(jié)。大雨，中雨，小雨，陣雨，有時(shí)有雨，陰轉(zhuǎn)小雨，中到大雨，暴雨如注。雨以各種不同的姿態(tài)輪番出場，撲向大地。我們終于在這密集的雨群中覓得一個(gè)間歇。

吃飯的時(shí)候還下著雨，我們到了田邊雨勢轉(zhuǎn)小，真的要下田時(shí)，雨就止了。此時(shí)山巒明凈，四野清晰，空氣如洗，泥土的氣息與植物的氣息在村莊里飄浮。大家脫了鞋襪，把腳伸進(jìn)泥土。細(xì)膩的泥水在趾間滑動(dòng)。左手一把秧，右手把一棵秧苗插進(jìn)泥土之中。

誕生于田間的腳下觀

手把青秧插滿田，低頭便見水中天。

六根清凈方為道，退步原來是向前。

這幾句詩里，隱藏著插秧的技術(shù)要領(lǐng)。一是必須低頭和彎腰。低頭和彎腰是與田野進(jìn)行親密接觸的首要條件。彎腰使得人呈現(xiàn)一種低微謙卑之態(tài)，低頭是把視野變小，把世界觀變成腳下觀。這個(gè)時(shí)候我們看見水，看見泥，看見水中有天，看見天上有云，看見水中有自己，也看見水中有蝌蚪。二是必須手把青秧。手把青秧，使得我們站在田野中間時(shí)不再百無聊賴，我們每個(gè)人都在操持正事。手把一只手機(jī)使我們聯(lián)通全世界，手把一株青秧就使我們聯(lián)通土地。此刻我們放棄了全世界，只為了腳下的土地。我們手執(zhí)一株青秧，彎下腰身，伸出手去，以手指作為前鋒，攜帶著秧苗的根須，植入泥土之中。泥土微漾之間，一種契約已經(jīng)生效：你在泥間蓋上了指紋，每一株青秧都將攜帶著你的指紋生長。

插秧的技術(shù)要領(lǐng)還包括一些似是而非的規(guī)定動(dòng)作。比如雙腳與肩平，分開站立，同時(shí)盡量少移動(dòng)雙腳。雙腳戳在泥中，并不是要把腳插在田里生長。如果一雙腳在田間站滿五個(gè)月，腳下會(huì)生根，頭上會(huì)開花，并結(jié)出沉甸甸的糧食，麻雀將會(huì)光臨，并在頭發(fā)中間筑巢，或許會(huì)有小雀育出。這是稻草人的故事。我們不是稻草人，所以我們腳下不會(huì)生根，我們走來走去，但事實(shí)上應(yīng)該少走動(dòng)。腳的少走動(dòng)，使我們把精力集中在手上，插秧的效率將得以提高，而腳坑的減少也不會(huì)使一株秧落入陷阱一般的空虛中。

1. 2017年，中國“雜交水稻之父”袁隆平院士為作者所在的常山縣五聯(lián)村題詞——“耕讀傳家”。2.“父親的水稻田”教會(huì)孩子們很多關(guān)于土地和自然的秘密，也把快樂帶給稻田。1.An epigraph written by academician Yuan Longping (1930-2021), China’s “father of hybrid rice”, for Changshan county’s Wulian village, extoling its farming and education traditions. 2.The “Father’s Rice Fields”program has taught children many secrets about earth and nature, and brought joy to the rice fields.

還比如說，插秧其實(shí)是一種倒退行為。倒退的時(shí)候你其實(shí)是看著眼前的田野被成績所覆蓋，于是，得到鼓舞，得到信心，得到一種心靈的豐富與充盈。你將看不見令人感到恐慌的空白。它們終將被填滿。你只是在倒退，倒退，一抬頭看見青秧又多了數(shù)百行，多了數(shù)千行。你距離最初植下的第一株秧又遠(yuǎn)了好多。它越來越渺小。你倒退著倒退著，終于腳后跟觸碰到了田?。硪环N底線），于是心里一陣欣喜。這種欣喜有時(shí)又是極為平靜的。它更多的時(shí)候，代表的是你對自己的一種滿意度。

這一切我們不會(huì)對下田插秧的孩子說。雖然他們?nèi)藬?shù)眾多，有一二十個(gè)，從遙遠(yuǎn)的城市或幼兒園或課外培訓(xùn)班或游樂場所而來，他們將十分需要稻田大學(xué)校長對他們講述一些關(guān)于田野的故事。但是睿智的校長同志什么也沒有說。校長只是舉起一株秧，把這株秧舉給他們看。然后校長彎下腰身，把這株秧穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地安放進(jìn)了大地。

孩子們總是會(huì)了解這一舉動(dòng)的意義的，不是在今天就是在明天。或許在兩年后，或許在二十年后。

父親帶著孩子來到田間。他手上拿著稻秧，俯身與孩子耳語。事實(shí)上他們內(nèi)心都隱藏著一個(gè)希望，恨不得把自己知道的這個(gè)世界的所有秘密都傳授給年幼的孩子。

這時(shí)他會(huì)想起自己的父親，曾經(jīng)對自己耳語過的那些話。那些話具體的章節(jié)與指向的事實(shí)都已經(jīng)模糊不清，早已在時(shí)間里飄散，但是耳語的動(dòng)作與意義卻清晰無比地流傳下來。

他不會(huì)告訴孩子一屁股跌進(jìn)泥水中是什么感覺。除非孩子自己真的一屁股跌進(jìn)泥水中，這種感覺才能被準(zhǔn)確地傳達(dá)。所以看到孩子搖搖晃晃踉踉蹌蹌地行走在泥水中間時(shí)，他一點(diǎn)兒也不緊張，他甚至有一點(diǎn)兒希望孩子腳下能滑一下，小小地滑一下，然后果真，孩子一屁股坐進(jìn)泥水中。

世間的另一些大俠

還有一些大俠遵循著自古以來的習(xí)慣，沉默不語。

作者創(chuàng)立的稻田文化品牌“父親的水稻田”，包裝盒里有米也有書。The products, including rice and books, from the brand “Father’s Rice Fields”,created by the author.

“拱墅·常山”山海協(xié)作文化走親活動(dòng)在“父親的水稻田”舉行。圖為稻田春社藝術(shù)作品展示。Artworks are seen at an event held at the “Father’s Rice Fields”.

他們在練習(xí)一種絕世武功。很多時(shí)候這個(gè)世界的人們并不怎么理解他們。村莊中的大部分人樂于接受新鮮事物，他們總是很快地知道哪些地方最缺什么工種，哪些地方的老板開工資最慷慨大方，他們洗干凈了腳就奔赴那些地方去了，過年的時(shí)候帶回很多年貨和現(xiàn)金，過幾年在村莊里把樓房就造得又高又漂亮了。

另一些大俠—毫無疑問是極少數(shù)—他對自己年復(fù)一年蓋進(jìn)泥土中與青秧一起生長的指紋堅(jiān)信不疑，或許是指紋拴住了他，誰知道呢。他有些懼怕外面的世界，他只對父親教給他的關(guān)于莊稼的那些事情熟稔于胸，胸有成“稻”，底氣十足，喉嚨梆梆響，對此他是有發(fā)言權(quán)的。而對于田野之外的事情他不予置評，甚至帶著摒棄的態(tài)度。他有時(shí)也試圖遮掩自己的心虛和怯懦，面對那些過年的時(shí)候帶回很多年貨和現(xiàn)金的人，總是底氣不足。所以他從人群里折返，又回到莊稼中間，用一把年久不必修的鋤頭，這里挖兩下，那里挖兩下。起先那把鋤頭有些滯，有些冷，漸漸地那把鋤頭開始熱，開始熟，繼而開始柔，開始活，開始行云流水，開始凌波微步，開始蝴蝶穿花，開始鷂子翻身，開始風(fēng)擺荷葉，開始葉底藏花，開始風(fēng)起云涌，開始長虹掛天。然而最終是以點(diǎn)到為止，以馬踏殘雪收尾。他歇下鋤頭，望向遠(yuǎn)處天邊下的青山一片，抽煙。

很少有人知道，這是一種功夫。

也很少有人知道，這是一種門派。

如果我是周星馳，我會(huì)來拍一部這樣的電影。這一次很幸運(yùn)地，我們在田野中間遇到了他們。我們向他們討教一招半式，他們起先很遲疑，后來很高興，覺得終于遇到了知音。這些年已經(jīng)極少有人對他們的武功感興趣了。

安放進(jìn)故土大地的秧

就這樣，我與父親一起，穿過江南的梅雨季節(jié)，去田里插秧。我離開這個(gè)叫常山的故鄉(xiāng)已經(jīng)多年，離開這片叫稻田的土地已經(jīng)很久。

現(xiàn)在，我回來了。

在我的身后有幾十個(gè)人，他們都是從大城市而來。最遠(yuǎn)的一個(gè)，是從一個(gè)叫作倫敦的地方來的。來干什么，只是為了插秧。

父親抬起頭，在這個(gè)煙雨朦朧的清晨，這位稻田大學(xué)校長同志面向稻田所有的來賓舉起手來。他的手中有一株青秧。他把這株青秧舉給大家看。然后，他彎下腰身，恭恭敬敬地，把這株秧，穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地安放進(jìn)了大地。

Plant Your Seedling Firmly into the Ground

By Zhou Huacheng

In June, the southern provinces of China have entered its rainy season. Heavy rain, moderate rain, showers, drizzles ...different types of rain take turns to hit the ground, in the middle of which we finally had a respite.

It is still raining while we are eating, but when we are approaching the fields and ready to go down, the rain turns smaller and stops. The hills are refreshingly clear, and the rain washed air is filled with an earthy, botanical scent. Everyone takes off their shoes and socks, gets down into the mud, and begins to plant seedlings into the mud.

There are certain technical essentials to follow in rice planting.First, you must lower your head and bend down, which is to show a modest gesture and for your view to narrow down and focus.Second, you must hold the green seedlings in your hand to make sure you are engaged in the business. The technical points also include some prescribed movements. For example, you should stand with parted feet, level with your shoulders, while moving your feet as little as possible. Or rice planting is actually an act of going backwards. When you are stepping back, you are in fact looking ahead at how far you have achieved with this field, and thus filled with inspiration and confidence.

All this we will not say to the children who are trying to do rice planting here, although they have come from distant cities in quite large numbers and are eager to learn about such stories. They will understand the significance of rice planting one day, maybe in two years or twenty years, if not now.

A father takes his child to the field. He holds rice seedlings in his hand and leans down to whisper to the child. The truth is that all parents have a hidden hope to pass on all the secrets they know about the world to their children. At that moment, he remembers the words his father used to whisper to him. The specific words have been blurred and drifted away in the course of time, but the act and meaning of whisper itself has been passed down with unmistakable clarity.

He will not tell his child what it was like to fall on his butt into the muddy water. This feeling could only be accurately conveyed when the child himself/herself falls into the muddy water. Therefore, when seeing his child staggering and stumbling in the muddy water, the father is not nervous at all. At some point,he even hopes that the little fellow would have a little slip under his feet, a tiny little slip. And his hope is indeed answered — the child suddenly sat on his/her butt in the muddy water.

There are also some great kung fu masters who have been habitually silent since ancient times. They are practicing a supreme form of martial arts — which is not well understood by common people — in the fields only, and know their crops from inside out.As to things outside the fields, they just could not care less. If I were Stephen Chow, I would come here and make a movie about them.This time, luckily, we met them in the middle of the field, and asked them to teach us a trick or two. They were hesitant at first,but soon felt happy because they had finally met their soulmates— very few people are interested in their martial arts these days.Together with my father, I walk into the rainy season of the(south of the Yangtze River) region and towards the fields to plant rice seedlings. I have been away from my hometown Changshan for many years, and away from the rice fields. Now, I am back. Behind me are dozens of people, all of whom come from big cities. What do they come here for? Just to plant rice seedlings.

It is a drizzly morning. My father looks up, takes a green rice seedling in his grip and raises his hand in front of all the guests.Holding this plant up high for everyone to see, he then bends down,and respectfully places the seedling firmly into the ground.

作者正在田間插秧。The author plants rice seedlings in the field.