一個海外游子的憶念

●湯 鈺

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一個海外游子的憶念

●湯 鈺

湯鈺在美國收到《文化交流》后總是第一時間閱讀。 Tang Yu in USA is a diligent reader of Cultural Dialogue.

湯鈺與她的先生迪龍喬其（世界著名法學專家）在一起。Tang Yu and her husband, a jurisprudential scholar of world renown

中國是世界上的文明古國之一。我是杭州人，出國前畢業于浙江大學，在世界銀行工作了幾十年，曾為祖國的教育事業作過一些貢獻。

故鄉，對于一個遠離家鄉的游子來說，既神圣又陶醉，魂牽夢系，尤其身在異國，濃濃的鄉愁難以排遣。我離開祖國已超過了一個甲子，感謝《文化交流》編輯部數十年如一日，寄來雜志，給我送來極大的溫暖。《文化交流》是我和祖國、家鄉聯系的精神紐帶。每到時間，我就盼望著《文化交流》雜志的到來，拿到后欣喜萬分，歡喜這本精美雜志的還有我身邊的許多中外友人，等著我將內容介紹給他們。外國朋友們每看到我，就豎起大拇指高叫Zhejiang Cultural，這已經成為我的“雅號”。

我是《文化交流》雜志的忠實讀者。雜志中的很多文章都感人肺腑，我最感興趣的是三方面：一是中外友人的友誼和感情；二是“美麗中國”“美麗家鄉”的介紹；三是有關家鄉的新事新貌，中國文化的故事傳說。雜志的內容美不勝收。比如家鄉的西湖、大運河申遺成功，成為世界的文化遺產。這讓我們海外游子興奮不已，備感驕傲。美麗的西子湖、古老的大運河流淌著我剪不斷的鄉愁。雜志中介紹的紹興黃酒的文章，既給我帶來了思念中的紹興風情，又令我憶念偉大的魯迅先生和他的三味書屋、百草園以及他筆下的咸亨酒店、文人孔乙己和茴香豆“茴”字的四種寫法。我把這些講給外國友人聽了，還請他們品嘗我珍藏的紹興酒，都說好香、好喝，“我們也到浙江去”。

湯和塑像A Statue of Tang He

浙江人文薈萃，名人輩出。湯和就是一位浩氣凜然的民族英雄，家父兄長都是湯和的后裔。公元1387年，明代愛國名將湯和奉朱元璋之命，出巡山東、浙江沿海抗倭，筑衛所城59處，征兵民5.8萬余，戍守海疆。為了組建抗倭軍隊，湯和下令“民戶四丁以上者以一為戍卒”，湯和將地方武裝、明代駐軍和自己率領的抗倭部隊聯成一個整體。有倭寇來犯，就以所筑的城為基地，正規軍與地方部隊聯合作戰，奮勇抗擊、追殲；平時一邊訓練一邊耕作，做到自給自足。由于湯和帶的軍隊來自四面八方，各有不同的姓氏，這些士兵后來就在寧村繁衍生息，至今寧村的姓氏有百個之多，有百姓村之稱。

湯和逝世后，朱元璋追封他為“東甌王”，謚“襄武”，并御賜楹聯曰：“千年不朽勛臣府；萬古長青信國祠”。鄉民緬懷湯和的恩澤，將湯和尊為神明，戶戶立牌位供奉。

明嘉靖七年，巡按御使請命于朝，在浙南要塞寧村所城內建立“東甌襄武王湯和廟”，奉湯和為民族英雄，祭祀不斷。立廟后，各戶把牌位集中到廟里供奉，每年農歷正月初九和七月十五定為公祭日，稱“寧城廟會”。由于湯和廟一度改稱“城隍廟”，故而又衍化出“城隍爺出巡”活動。湯和廟馳名于溫州地區，四季香火鼎旺。

溫州寧村七月十五湯和文化節歷史悠久。近年寧村的“七月十五湯和文化節”相繼入選市級、省級、國家級非物質文化遺產名錄。我從雜志中看到《文化交流》的采編人員深入溫州龍灣寧村，采寫并發表了好幾篇文章，以紀念民族英雄湯和，這使我為之感動、欣慰。

“月是故鄉明”。我到美國已經工作、生活了六十多年，每每心系祖國和故鄉的發展變化。如今，中國已作為大國屹立在世界民族之林，祖國的強盛使我們身處異國他鄉的游子深感自豪。我常常憶念家鄉的湖光山色，緬懷民族英雄湯和，做一個旅居海外的堂堂正正的中國人。

Some of My Reminiscences

By Tang Yu

I was born in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province in eastern China. I graduated from Zhejiang University. I worked for World Bank for decades. In my work years, I also taught back home. I have been away from my motherland for more than 60 years. I miss her. I want to say thank you to people at the Cultural Dialogue, who have sent me the publication over the past decades. The magazine ties me in with my motherland and my home province. I am always happy to expect the arrival of new issues ofCultural Dialogue. When one issue comes, my happiness knows no bounds. I am not the only reader of the magazine I receive regularly. Many friends, Chinese or otherwise, like to hear me talk about the articles I have read. They endearingly call me “Zhejiang Cultural”, which is my nickname.

溫州龍灣寧村的湯和公園及抗倭英烈之墓Tang He Park and a tomb in honor of martyrs who died in battling the invading Japanese pirates

I have been reading Cultural Dialogue for decades and many stories and features have touched my heart. Three kinds of stories interest me most: friendship and emotions of people, stories about beautiful places across China and across Zhejiang in particular, and news about my home province and articles about Chinese culture. Vivid in my memory of reading Cultural Dialogue are the stories about the successful bidding for World Heritage inscriptions of the West Lake and the Grand Canal of China, both being cultural and historical hallmarks of my home province, stories about Shaoxing wine and about Lu Xun. I shared these stories with my foreign friends and shared the yellow wine with them. They all said good wine and wanted to visit Zhejiang.

溫州寧村“七月十五湯和文化節”巡游的一個場景Ningcun in Wenzhou holds a Tang He Festival on the 15th day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar.

One set of stories was especially impressive. They were about my ancestor Tang He, who fought the invading Japanese pirates in coastal Shandong and Zhejiang provinces in the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1387, the emperor instructed Tang to fight the pirates from Japan. Tang built 59 fortresses along the long coast and recruited 58,000 militiamen. The united military forces were composed of militiamen, government units and the army under the command of Tang He. The militiamen lived around the fortresses. While they were not engaged in military actions, they farmed to support themselves. The system worked.

After Tang He passed away, a memorial temple was built in the fortress city Ningcun where the general has been worshipped as a demigod. After the temple took shape, local households sent their individual memorial plaques to the temple. Twice a year a public memorial service is held to commemorate the hero. In history, it was known as Ning Fortress Temple Fair. Tang He became a town god in later years. A parade was annually held. The temple attracts a lot of local visitors. Tang He Festival is now inscribed on the national list of intangible cultural heritage. I have read all the articles about the fortress and Tang He in Cultural Dialogue.

I have lived and worked in the USA for more than six decades. I am concerned with the development and changes of China and my home province. As China is becoming an international power, I am deeply proud of the prosperity she enjoys. I often search my memory of the landscape in my homeland and the national hero Tang He. After all, I am still Chinese in the heart even though I live away from China.