舌尖上的航海丨第27集 “尋求獼猴桃”的特使

請旅客們注意！前方就要到達目的地一泰山島，大家要注意安全。

一艘過海渡輪緩緩靠近一座小島，岸邊潛浪使渡輪搖晃不已。

《航?！冯s志社記者遲嗚隨著旅游的人群，沿著舷梯登上小島。

遲嗚出身于江蘇北部一個漁民家庭。這里是當年秦始皇派特使徐福東渡日本的啟航處一徐福村。

徐福村離秦山島一步之邀。秦山島位于黃海中部連云港海域，是秦始皇親自登臨的地方。種種原因，做為《航?！冯s志社記者的遲嗚還未在此登山祭?！皡荨边^。

相傳在這里登山祭海的秦始皇感動了海神。海神派龍女向他敬獻寶珠，至今島上還留有“授珠臺”遺址。

秦山島西部腳下，有條鵝卵石鋪的小路，一直伸向大陸，大約三十多里路。但是恁風吹浪打，潮起潮落，此路千余年來未曾消失。相傳是秦始皇所筑，當?shù)厝朔Q為”秦山神路”。

遲嗚是專程考查這條“神路”的。

在此之前，遲嗚先后考查了秦始皇多次登臨的山東半島的成山頭，瑯玡臺，芝罘島，碣石山…搜集了許多有關(guān)秦始皇在東海巡防的傳說和故事，特別是成山頭的傳說最為精采引人。

據(jù)《齊地記，濟略記》記載，成山頭在膠東半島的東端，當秦始皇的車騎逶迤引至此地時，只見仙山云霧繚繞，大海煙波浩渺時，秦始皇禁不住拈須概嘆：“仙境呵，天盡頭矣！此刻，這位桀驁不訓，自為無所不能的君王突發(fā)奇想，要興建一座跨海大橋，以便步行，或者跨著戰(zhàn)馬，乘駕鑾去拜訪海上的神仙。

秦始皇朝著聳立的山峰，大聲下令：“石頭下海！”

石頭果真列著隊，一塊塊地“走”向大海。

秦始皇嫌有的石頭走的太慢，就揮動長鞭，鞭打慢走的石頭。石頭被打的遍體鱗傷鮮血淋漓。至今，山東城陽山的石頭都象人一樣的站立著，面向東方，巍巍東傾，好象列隊相隨而行的樣子。據(jù)說是按秦始皇的御旨行事的。石頭呈赤色，似乎隱隱約約還可以看到鞭打的“痕跡“。

在城南山南側(cè)的峭壁下，有四塊巨石依次排列，伸向東南方向。隨著潮起潮落，時隱時現(xiàn)，宛如壘砌的橋臺，據(jù)說這就是秦始皇建造跨海大橋的遺址一海上神橋。

當然，這只是美麗的神話故事。

此次隨旅游團去秦山島的，還有幾位日本朋友。

當這些日夲朋友得知遲嗚來自徐福東渡日本的啟始港徐福村時，熱情地握住遲嗚的手，連聲說“太好了，我們是來自日本的祝島，就是徐福當年尋求長生不老藥的地方?！?/p>

還未等遲嗎反應(yīng)過來，對方緊接說了句：“就是我們那里的野生獼猴桃。”

遲嗚一下驚呆了！徐福東渡日夲尋求“長生不長藥”的故事，早在中學歷史課時就學過，從未聽說“長生不老藥”是“獼猴桃”。

從秦山島歸來，遲嗚帶著誠懇求教的心情，來到日本客人下榻的賓館。

日夲客人不僅揭開了“長生不老藥”之迷，還講述了當年徐福在日本的許多傳說和故事。

這些傳說和故車，至今還在日本民間廣泛流傳。

傳說徐福登陸時，當?shù)厝嗽O(shè)酒相迎，徐福舉杯一干而盡，然后投杯于水中，以表示對新地的投契。不料水杯浮于水面，冉冉朝海中漂去。不久該處現(xiàn)出一座小島，人們叫它“浮杯島”。至今小島仍然屹立海中。

在日夲富士町古湯溫泉鄉(xiāng)豎立著一尊《溫泉之神》的塑象，塑像高大傳神，是徐福與一位日本女子的合像。傳說當年該鄉(xiāng)土著酋長設(shè)宴款待徐福，並讓自的掌上明珠阿辰陪席。不料席間倆人產(chǎn)生感情。但是，徐福身負重任，無法顧及兒女情長，便贈寶劍淚別。后來，阿辰郁郁而死。當?shù)剜l(xiāng)民為其塑像迠祠，稱為”阿辰觀音“。與此同時，為徐福和阿辰合像，尊稱《溫泉之神》。

最為有趣的是，日夲家族自稱是徐?；蚯厝撕笠岽笥腥嗽?。曾任日本前首相的羽田孜卸任后，曾專程來到中國江蘇的徐福村，公開聲稱自已是秦人的后裔，他的先人都是以“秦”為姓，直到明治維新時才改為日本化的“羽田”。在日語中，“秦”和“羽田”發(fā)聲相同。至今，日本還有以“秦”為姓的人。

當遲嗚問起“長生不老藥”和“獼猴桃時，日夲朋友笑著解釋說：“這種中國人說的《長生不老藥》，在日夲古藉中稱為《千當》。大小如核桃，汁濃，味甘。傳說食后可任千年不死，聞一聞可增壽多年。徐福當年登陸的祝島處于瀨戶內(nèi)海，被九卅，夲卅和四國三島環(huán)繞，人煙稀少，探尋不易。所以十分神秘。其實就是《野生獼猴桃》，該桃營養(yǎng)價值高，但是把它當做《長生不老藥，就有些夸張和可笑了。”

聽完日夲朋友的講述，遲嗚收獲不小，握住日夲朋友的手，說：“中日人民的友誼源遠流長！”

歸來后，遲嗚在采訪手記里寫道：徐福東渡日夲意義深遠，他把一個身處蠻荒世界的民族，帶進了物質(zhì)和文明都先于他們幾百年的文明之中。秦始皇是中國歷史上第一位海洋探險的組織者。航海給人類社會文明和進步帶來無法估量的影響，我們要永遠記住那些航海探險家的功績。

“Attention all passengers, we will soon be arriving at our destination of Mount Taishan.

Please mind your safety and belongings.”

A cruise ship sailed slowly towards a small island, rocking back and forth to the beat of

the waves that rolled off the shore.

A reporter from a nautical magazine named Chi walked amongst a group of tourists onto

the island.

Chi came from a fishermen family in a village in Jiangsu, China named Xu Fu Village.

Xu Fu Village was where the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang once sent his envoy, the Xu

Fu, to sail east to Japan - Xu Fu Village.

Xu Fu Village was only mere minutes away from Qinshan Island. Located in the center

of the Yellow Sea, near the Lianyungang area, Qinshan Island was a beautiful place where

Qin Shi Huang himself often visited.

Many reporters from the Nautical Magazine frequented Qinshan Island to report on

interesting tourist attractions and historical stories, but this was the first time Chi ever stepped

foot on this fascinating island.

When he was very young, Chi heard about a local legend surrounding the island.

Because Qin Shi Huang visited Qinshan Island so many times and continually showed his

love for the gorgeous landscape and peace that surrounded the area, one of the Dragon Gods

of the Sea was moved by his passion and appreciation of nature, and sent a messenger to

bestow many treasures upon Qin Shi Huang. Even today, tourists can visit the platform where

Qin Shi Huang received his gift from the Dragon God.

Near the shores of the Western coast of Qinshan Island, there was a cobblestone path

that extended for around thirty miles into the heart of the land. But unlike many other seaside

roads, this path had survived the beating of rising tides and violent waves for thousands of

years, and remained perfect still for anyone to walk on. Locals claim that this road was paved

by none other than Qin Shi Huang himself.

Chi travelled to Qinshan Island specifically to look for this path and to uncover its

secrets.

Before he arrived, Chi researched the spots where Qin Shi Huang was known to spent

time at, in order to search for the cobblestone path, including the Chengshan Tou, Luang Pao

Tai, Zhi Fu Island, and the Jieshi Mountain… He gathered all the stories he could find about

Qin Shi Huang’s voyages and travels, and found that the most captivating tale was the one

about Chengshan Tou.

According to an old Chinese poem, Chengshan Tou was located in the eastern section of

the Jiaodong Peninsula. As Qin Shi Huang arrived to the Chengshan Tou on his carriage, he

was awestruck by the majestic mountains that stretched above the clouds, the powerful ocean

swell that cast a burst of mist above the shoreline and said out loud to himself, “This must be

paradise; a land where mountains reach up into sky and where oceans have no edge.”

In that moment, the Emperor felt a newfound storm brewing in his heart. He became

determined to build a bridge that connected the mainland to the island, which would allow

him to pay visits to paradise on any day of his choosing, whether it was on horse or by foot,

nothing was going to stop him.

He looked towards the towering peaks, and bellowed, “Line up the stones!”

In traditional Chinese culture, the Emperor took on the role of the Mandate of Heaven,

and everything under the sky obeyed his orders with no question. Immediately, the stones

lined up by themselves, and one by one, they paved a road over the mountains and the sea.

But Qin Shi Huang thought that some of the stones moved too slowly, so he took out a

whip from his backpack and began whipping the stones. The stones broke apart and bled, but

continued to order themselves according to Qin Shi Huang’s wishes. They remain sturdy and

motionless even now, in a uniform and organized manner, exactly the way Qin Shi Huang

wanted.

These rocks have a dark red color, and some say they can even see the markings of Qin

Shi Huang’s whip on the surfaces of the rocks.

On the southern side of the Chengshan Tou, four large rocks stood in a line facing the

east. They rise and fall out of view with the tides, appearing like the legendary hidden bridge

built by Qin Shi Huang himself.

But of course, the legends of Qin Shi Huang’s bridge was nothing but a wonderful story.

On Chi’s voyage to Qinshan Island, he met a Japanese tourist who took the same ferry

and the two travelers struck up a conversation. When Chi told him that he came from Xu Fu

Village, the Japanese tourist answered delightedly, “What a coincidence! I come from

Tsushima, Japan, the city where Qin Shi Huang’s envoy Xu Fu visited to search for his fruit

of immortality.”

As if reading Chi’s mind, the Japanese tourist immediately followed, “The fruit was

none other than Japan’s wild kiwis.”

“Kiwis!” Chi’s jaw dropped in surprise. He had heard about the story of Xu Fu and his

search for immortality all the way back in middle school, but he never knew that the fruit of

immortality was something as simple as peaches.

Curious, Chi paid the Japanese tourist a visit at his hotel after the two finished their tour

of Qinshan Island. The Japanese tourist was pleased to meet someone as interested in history

as he was, and gave Chi a full account of why and how Xu Fu wanted to search for kiwis

from Japan.

The otherwise little known story of Xu Fu and kiwis was a popular folktale amongst

Japanese locals.

When Xu Fu first arrived in Japan, locals served him sake to welcome him into the

country. In order to show his appreciation for the Japanese people’s hospitality, Xu Fu drank

an entire glass of sake and tossed the glass into the sea, only to see it unexpectedly float on

the water and drift towards the sea. Soon, an island appeared in the direction that the cup

floated to, and people refer to the beloved tourist island now as The Island of the Floating

Cup.

A statue of Xu Fu and a beautiful Japanese lady stood tall in the Japanese city of

Kyushu. The statue became known as the God of Onsen, and legend has it that when Xu Fu

visited Fukuoka, the town chief hosted a banquet for Xu Fu and asked a gorgeous local girl

named Tatsu to accompany him. Xu Fu and Tatsu fell in love, but because Xu Fu was

burdened with the responsibility to search for the fruit of immortality for Qin Shi Huang, he

sadly bid his goodbyes to Tatsu and Fukuoka, and left a majestic sword to her as a souvenir. Without her love by her side, Tatsu soon passed away from heartsickness. The local

villagers commemorated Tatsu and Xu Fu by building a statue of the two lovers outside the

hot springs, in a shrine they dedicated to Tatsu. Eventually, the statue was affectionately

referred to as “The God of Onsen” by locals and tourists alike.

Even more interestingly, some locals of Fukuoka believe that they themselves are related

to Xu Fu and Qin Shi Huang. One such believer was Tsutomu Hata, the former Prime

Minister of Japan. After Hata left office, he made a special trip to the village of Xu Fu in

Jiangsu, China and claimed to be a descendant of the Qin people, explaining that his

ancestors in the Hata clan used to have the surname “Qin”, and only changed their last name

to Hata during the Meiji Restoration Period. In Japan, the characters for “Qin” and “Hata” are

quite similar, and some Japanese people have kept the last name “Qin” even now.

When Chi asked about the fruit of immortality and kiwis, his newfound companion

smiled, and told him, “The so-called fruit of immortality that the ancient Chinese people

spoke of is known as “kiui” in Japan. They come in the size of a walnut, and are very juicy

and tasteful. In ancient times, folklore spread that a single bite of the kiui allowed people to

become immortal, and even just a smell could extend people’s lives for many years.”

He continued, “The waters that Xu Fu sailed to back then was the Seto Inland Sea,

surrounded by the cities of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, which was sparsely populated and

difficult to find. The region appeared mysterious, and the fruit of immortality that people

spoke of there was just an ordinary kiwi, and though it is high in nutritious value, calling it a

“fruit of immortality” may be a little exaggerated.”

Chi finally found out the story beneath a tale he had heard about ever since he was a

child, and shook his new friend’s hand tightly before he left to continue on his journey. “It’s

incredible to see how long-lasting the friendship between our countries has been. I hope it

continues for many more years,” Chi said.

As Chi boarded yet another ferry, he dribbled down in his notes that Xu Fu’s journey to

Japan was substantial and meaningful, reaching the hearts of people in a remote area of Japan

and introducing them to foreign cultures while learning about their own customs and beliefs.

Qin Shi Huang also became the first organizer of maritime exploration in Chinese history,

inspiring others and allowing them to travel to places that they wouldn’t even otherwise

dream of. Traveling at sea has brought immeasurable influences to a variety of civilizations

and immense progress to human history, and the adventures of those seafarers should never

be forgotten.