席梦麟：上海崇明国际生态岛之往事4月

Chapter 4    好神奇，大自然也会吟诗

上巳游春捞蝌蚪，

寒食圆子不停口，

清明戴柳花染袖，

谷雨择桑田岸走。

Chapter 4  How amazing, nature can hum verses!

Spring tour coincides withtadpolefishing,

Cold food season produces steamed buns non-stopping,

Pure Brightness Festivaldyes the sleevesyellow,

Grain Rain enablesMulberry leaves to grow.

终于盼来了寻春踏青的出游季，班主任宣布春游的日子要比揭晓三好学生评奖名单的时刻更激动人心。“气清景明，万物皆显”的盎然春意在每个孩子小小的胸膛里都起伏着翩翩联想。

The news that the spring outing day is finally settled excites the whole class much more than the Excellent Student of the Year prize announcement. The beauty and vigor of spring is imagined in every child's mind and booming in their small chests.

花草鸠雀的婉悠气象自不待言，刚刚从蚕籽里爬出的小蚕宝宝，小黑线一样在面粉、棉花等保暖材料里仰着头，嗷嗷待哺地找寻着桑叶的气息；水桥边澄澈见底的河水面上浮满了才出生的小蝌蚪，灰黑的大脑袋奋力地甩着瘦削的小尾巴在春水里觅食寻乐；日益挺拔的芦苇夜夜冒青，入水的根部开始爬满螺蛳，懒洋洋地在一派春光里凭风而舞，野蛮生长。“无处不飞花”的明媚朝气在此刻春深似海的崇明洋溢开来。

The flowers, grasses and birds are the heralds of spring for sure.In addition, the small silkworms that have just climbed out of the silkworm seeds, like numerous small black lines, are looking for the breath of mulberry leaves. The crystal clear river is full of newly born tadpoles whose gray heads are struggling to directing their thin little tails in the spring water for fun. The increasingly straight reedsseem greener over night, whose roots are dwelled by snails, lazily dancing in the wind. The bright and energetic atmosphere is dispersed all around the island for the time being.

如今孩子们可以立足整个上海作为春游目的地，八九十年代的春游则千篇一律到南门的瀛洲公园。初中的孩子会申请骑车前往，低年级的孩子就都由班主任带领着坐公交，那时的公交也不存在包车一说，统统公交站排队上车，所以总会遇到出门办事的居民和春游的孩子们恰巧一路车，但凡上车的居民，无论男女老少，统统会被让座，搞得这一天和学雷锋日一样热闹。美中不足的，就是总有个把孩子一路晕车，车靠站停稳后的一刹那，箭步向下翻江倒海，卸货结束立马兴冲冲地奔回队伍，唯恐因此错失些精彩之处。

Nowadays, children can travel the whole Shanghai for spring destinations, but in the 1980s and 1990s, students go to Yingzhou Park without exception. The only exception lies in the way they go to the park, as for junior high school, they will apply for a bicycle ride, while kids in the lower grades will be led by the class teacher take the bus. No chartered bus is available at that time, thus all the bus stops will witness the children queuingtogether with other passengers.As a result,the passengers on that particular daywill be offered the seats by the youngsters who volunteered to stand by, regardless of gender or age. It thus even reminds one of the Lei Feng Memorial Day last month. The unfortunate child who has car motion sickness, nevertheless,will immediately rushed back to the team right after the sickness gone.

捞蝌蚪属于必修活动，尽管不属于学校的项目购买范围。此时的蝌蚪尚幼，所以有捕龙虾的网兜是靠不住的，其实仅仅一个小碗，甚至饮料空瓶就能收获甚多，因为蝌蚪大多不怕人。还传说中医里有一剂方子，就是抓住蝌蚪后，用凉开水换洗养三日左右，便可就着凉开水将蝌蚪一同吞服，是祛毒消肿的上佳良方。事实上，生食的勇气几乎千里挑一，但养蝌蚪的经历倒是人见人爱。

Tadpole catching, although not belong to the school's project, is the favorite of all kids. As these baby frogs or toads are still too young, there is no way to catch them by nets. In fact, a small bowl or even a bottle of empty drink can achieve the purpose as long as most of them are not afraid of people. It is well known that there is a prescription in the Chinese medicine practitioners: raisethe tadpoles in the cold boiled water for three days until they are clean enough for one’s stomach, then swallow them alive. It is said to be a good prescription for sputum poisoning and swelling. In fact, the courage of taking such prescription is one thing, and the willingness to raise such creature is another story.

但过程并不总是美满。如果发现群体中出现了某个受伤的小蝌蚪，那不下一天就会被同伴瓜分完，而不久又一只原本看来健康无恙的小蝌蚪重蹈覆辙，每每至此，就会唏嘘小蝌蚪居然找的不是妈妈，而是弱肉可食的同伴。多年后当读到达尔文总结大自然的进化中“始终有一双无情的剪刀手”，就会联想到这幅场景，再后来，读到亚当·斯密《国富论》里又提及市场经济里一把无形的手，那只沦为同类口中食的不幸蝌蚪就会浮现在眼前。

However, the raising process is not always happy. For example, if there is a wounded tadpole in the group, the unlucky baby will be eaten up by its companion within one day.Soon a little one that seems to be healthy and innocent a couple of minutes ago will be repeat the tragedy. Every now and then, one come to realize that it is no the mother these creatures are looking for but some food to survive. Anyway, it follows Darwin’s summary of the nature evolution that “there is always a pair of ruthless scissors,” which coincide with Adam Smith’s analogue of “ invisible hand”.

后来明白，也许是要遵循能量守恒的原理，日渐蓬勃的生命就要以某种形式吸纳和牺牲他物来保全自己，因而对逝者的缅怀在这个风和日丽的季节也会显得格凝重。始自远古的春祭仪式可能就是源于这种心理。白居易“棠梨花映白杨树，尽是生死离别处”描述的也是这番寒食祭扫的场景。

Later in the middle school education, one starts to understand that everything has to follow the principle of energyconservation. Thus the growing and livingwill absorb and sacrifice the dying to preserve prosperity on the whole. Therefore, the memory of the deceased will be dignified and emphasized in this windy and sunny season. The spring ritual from the ancient times might have originated from such conclusion. The tomb-sweeping scene of this season is about to begin.

寒食在尚未合并给清明之前，顾名思义就关于饮食，青团便是产物之一，不过崇明孩子的印象中，青团远没有圆子的童年烙印深刻，知名度也远不及这个相传宋代起传承的点心。

The cold food festival initially is different from the pure brightness festival, whose merging gives birthto a dessert other than sweet green rice ball, whose popularity is far less than the steamed rice bun that was passed down from the Song Dynasty.

圆子是每逢各种节庆或者红白喜事都童叟无欺、喜闻乐见的食物，新糯米磨成粉后，反复推擀出的皮韧性更足，手捏出一个小酒杯状，用调羹填入事先准备好的馅儿，馅儿的大类分咸甜两种口味，咸味又主要分萝卜丝芯和盐齑芯，甜馅大多分为豆沙和芝麻。最考验手工能力的就是小酒杯的外皮填满后，双手像做瓷器一样，旋转着杯托慢慢封口。四种口味就凭封口的不同形状用来作区别，圆形是甜糯松润的豆沙，带个尖角的是黏腻似蜜的芝麻，椭圆是爽口清脆的萝卜丝，扁圆则是酸香酥脆的盐齑。讲究的人家还会用小指甲大小的黄杨木印章在圆子顶上印上馅儿名或不同点数加以区分。末了，圆子的底部再加一段芦苇的青叶便于手拿就算是成品了。贪吃的孩子两三个是绝对不会觉得饱的。

The Chongming steamed bun, know as Yuanzi in its dialect, is a food that can apply to each festival and event celebration. The making process follows several steps. Firstly, the glutinous rice, after grinding into flour, should be rolled repeatedly into bun skin before shaping into little wine cupsthat can fill the stuffing. The fillings are broadly divided by salty and sweet taste, as for the former,radish and pickled alfalfa take the main role, while for the later,red beans and sesame take the lead. Moreover, the most critical part of making a Yuanzi is the manual process of pinchingthe outer skininto a ball by sealing the flour cup at last. Four flavors are differentiated bythe shapes as well as the marks left on Yuanzi. The round shape represents sweetness from red bean paste, while the round with a sharp edge means sesame, and the oval the radish, the oblate the alfalfa. The rich family will additionally use a small nail-sized boxwood seal to mark at the top of the Yuanziwith a different name or a different number of points. Last but not least, the bottom of the dessert will be attached with a piece of green reed leaves for easy handling. The mouth-watering Children will not be satisfied until two to three buns have been taken.

“清明不戴柳，来世变猪狗”在崇明也同样适用，都有个当兵梦的男生看惯了抗战剧，戴着自编的柳冠，学着电视剧里的剧情，埋伏在草堆里作战，女生则担心枝条上有毛毛虫的潜伏不敢效仿。但是不妨碍她们把这踏青的热情转移到油菜花上。金黄色的花蕊里裹着招蜂引蝶的香蜜，赶在蜜蜂之前“偷蜜”的方法是用手指轻折花瓣和蕊簇拥着的花柱顶端，蜜糖就存在这个花柱中，然后在花柱折口处轻轻一吸，就能尝到清甜的润蜜。这一口蜜的代价是脸蛋、袖子、甚至衣领都要被金灿灿的花粉粒沾染上，作案痕迹要对着镜子才能清除完毕。

"No willow crown on head in Qingming (Pure Brightness) will be cursed into a pig or dog in your next life" is a rhyme well known throughout the country. Therefore, boyswho have soldier dream will wear the self-made willow crowns, imitating the hero they admire in TV dramas, ambushing in haystacks for a war game. The girls, however,for fear of encountering caterpillars on the branches, will not join the game. However, it does not prevent them from transferring the enthusiasm to honey picking from the rapeseed flowers. The golden yellow flower shows its sweet honey to the bees as well as the children. Those who taste the rawhoney need only gently suck the honey from the flower heart. However, the price of the stolen honey is heavy as well. The face, sleeves, and even the collar will be contaminated with the golden pollen grains, which can only be wiped clean with the help the mirror.

谷雨的到来常会伴着一场淅淅沥沥、知时节的好雨，乍听起来和养在鞋盒子里食桑叶的蚕宝宝一样欢腾和满足。桑树经过被雨水的催生后，“绿叶成阴子满枝”的态势立马显现，所以在采择时要特别小心野蚕的偷袭。据说那灰白相间的野生小家伙因为怕被飞鸟啄去，躲在桑叶隐蔽的背阳面，同时，它还是家蚕的天敌，因而小蝌蚪的惨案在和家蚕同育的过程中在所难免。不过这还是听闻居多，野蚕那狰狞的尖黑脑袋相对于虎头虎脑、置于手中感觉晶莹透凉的家蚕而言，实在令人提不起家养的兴趣，还是放归桑树颠，自生自灭的为好。

The arrival ofGu Yu is often accompanied by the pattering rainy season, sounds like jubilant and satisfying silkworms that are well fed. The mulberry trees are especially fresh after rain, so the wild silkworms, hiding in the leaves back for fear of getting smashed by the birds, are easilybrought home unintentionally. However, the comparatively ugly wild silkworm is said to be able to eat up the innocent domestic wormswithout notice. Therefore, releasing the wild to the wildand keep the domestic home will be the ideal solution.

四月就是这样，在青团刚蒸完上餐桌的同时望着刚下锅的圆子，在油菜地里忍不住掰几株鲜妍放桌上作摆饰，在雨天还得打着伞为蚕姑娘挑选安全无虞的口粮。