舌尖上的航海丨第29集 集裝箱里“招鬼“的水蜜桃

《亞歐之星號(hào)》是艘集裝箱船。正在碼頭吊裝集裝箱。

吊完最后一箱集裝箱，太陽(yáng)已經(jīng)噙山了。

船上輪機(jī)長(zhǎng)畢云飛還在集裝箱周圍轉(zhuǎn)悠。

這是一只特殊的冷藏集裝箱，專門運(yùn)送蔬菜鮮果。

畢老軌（船上對(duì)輪機(jī)長(zhǎng)的俗稱）將最后固鎖檢查完畢，又測(cè)了箱中的溫度，才走進(jìn)船艙的歺廳。誰(shuí)知?jiǎng)傋跉x桌前，值班水手跑了進(jìn)來(lái)；”畢老軌，冷藏集裝葙的溫度計(jì)出了問(wèn)題！”

畢老軌急匆匆趕到甲板上。原來(lái)溫度計(jì)壞了。換上新的溫度計(jì)，畢老軌剛要離開(kāi)，集裝葙的報(bào)井器又轟轟響起來(lái)。

“真是招鬼啦！”畢老軌不禁叫起來(lái)。

這只冷藏箱里裝有浙江奉化生產(chǎn)的水蜜桃，準(zhǔn)備運(yùn)往日本，對(duì)箱內(nèi)溫度要求極高。

終于修好了。原來(lái)為了趕時(shí)間，裝卸工違犯了操作規(guī)程，使集裝箱擦碰了艙蓋板，造成集裝萌內(nèi)電線線路出了毛病。急得滿頭大汗的畢老軌，長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)喘了口氣，笑呵呵地說(shuō)”都是箱內(nèi)水蜜挑招的鬼?yè)v的！也是對(duì)裝卸工的懲罰?！?/p>

“水密桃招鬼?yè)v的亂？對(duì)裝卸工的懲罰！”人們望著畢老軌笑嘻嘻地樣子，不禁喊起來(lái)：”這里有故事！”

畢老軌綽號(hào)叫畢三多：見(jiàn)識(shí)多，知識(shí)多，故事多，是船公司有名的”海上故事大王”。老家就在浙江奉化，是當(dāng)?shù)赜忻乃厶曳N植大戶。對(duì)水蜜桃獨(dú)有情種，經(jīng)常給船員講有關(guān)水蜜桃的故事。

”就講一叚水蜜桃招鬼的故事吧！”

畢老軌望著大伙期盼的目光，慢條思理地講起了一叚水蜜桃的傳說(shuō)。

大伙聽(tīng)完畢老軌有聲有色的講述，連連拍手稱贊：”畢老軌不愧為畢三多，講的太棒了！”

《亞歐之星號(hào)》抵達(dá)日本橫檳港。貨主星野對(duì)水蜜桃保鮮十分滿意，聽(tīng)說(shuō)畢老軌親自過(guò)問(wèn)，還講了一叚水蜜桃的故事，十分感激和好奇。

中國(guó)的水密桃在日本十分暢銷。星野專門請(qǐng)畢老軌到家里做客。

應(yīng)星野的要求，畢老軌講起了水蜜桃的故事。

挑原產(chǎn)于中國(guó)，在殷商文化遺址中就發(fā)現(xiàn)了桃核。桃樹(shù)最早野生在中國(guó)陜西，甘肅和西藏。

中國(guó)古絲綢之路開(kāi)辟后，桃樹(shù)翻山越嶺傳入了克什米爾，烏茲別克，后又傳入波斯。后來(lái)有人從波斯引種桃樹(shù)的人，以為是波斯的所產(chǎn)，還將桃樹(shù)的學(xué)名為“波斯果”，其實(shí)是誤傳。

印度的桃樹(shù)是從中國(guó)的古代海上絲路引進(jìn)的。唐三藏曾在《大唐西域記》里記載這叚經(jīng)歷：桃樹(shù)相傳從中國(guó)甘肅傳過(guò)來(lái)的，印度人稱桃為“中國(guó)果“。

航海家哥倫布發(fā)現(xiàn)美洲新大陸后，桃樹(shù)隨歐洲移民進(jìn)入了美洲。開(kāi)始桃樹(shù)不適應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)仫L(fēng)土氣候，開(kāi)花多，結(jié)果少。直到十九世界初期，經(jīng)過(guò)園藝家的努力，桃樹(shù)才在美洲大陸安了家。如今，美國(guó)是產(chǎn)桃大國(guó)之一。生物學(xué)家達(dá)爾文對(duì)中國(guó)桃進(jìn)行硏究后，得出結(jié)論：歐洲桃有中國(guó)桃的血脈，美洲桃是中國(guó)桃的“孫子輩”。

桃樹(shù)在中國(guó)國(guó)|內(nèi)傳播更為復(fù)雜。早在秦漢時(shí)期，桃樹(shù)就從遙遠(yuǎn)的西部翻山越嶺來(lái)到山東，《孔子家語(yǔ)》里曾有記載：孔子陪魯哀公時(shí)，哀公賞賜孔子一枚桃和一把忝子（小黃米），讓孔子用忝子去掉桃毛食用。

桃樹(shù)至今有千余種品種。中國(guó)就有八百余種。中國(guó)江蘇的水蜜桃名楊天下。在清朝王象晉所著的《群芳譜》記載：水蜜桃獨(dú)具邑有之，而顧尚寶西園所出尤佳。顧尚寶是明朝松江府進(jìn)士顧名士的弟弟，1559年在上海迠了個(gè)園林，取名”露香園”，專門種植水蜜桃。

清朝光緒九年，浙江奉化果農(nóng)從上海帶回”露香園”水蜜桃的品種，加以改造，取名”玉露”。取瓊漿玉露之義。一時(shí)名聲大燥，銷路大增。。

此次，集裝葙里裝的水蜜桃，就是當(dāng)年浙江奉化果農(nóng)從上海引起進(jìn)的”玉露”品種。

講到這里，星野高興地站了起來(lái)：”太好了！“。邊鼓掌邊追問(wèn)：“集裝葙里水密桃招鬼的故事呢？”

畢老軌笑著說(shuō)：”這是中國(guó)民間對(duì)桃的一種傳說(shuō)。自古以來(lái)，人們似乎將好兆頭和壞名聲都強(qiáng)加在桃身上，食桃能長(zhǎng)壽，桃木制作的家具能避邪…，但是，有人卻說(shuō)桃能招鬼，會(huì)惹事生非。這是由一個(gè)中國(guó)歷史故事引起的?！?/p>

接著畢老軌講了一個(gè)在民間傳播久遠(yuǎn)，桃”招鬼”的傳說(shuō)。。

說(shuō)一年，齊國(guó)的士大夫晏嬰遇到公孫勝三名大將軍，認(rèn)為他們持功自傲，末向他施禮，便跟齊景公說(shuō)，這三人居功自做，早晚是國(guó)家的禍患。齊景公說(shuō)三人都是勇士，可如何是好。晏嬰朝齊景公耳語(yǔ)幾句，並喚人拿來(lái)兩個(gè)挑子。當(dāng)時(shí)桃子是十分珍稀的貢品。

三人被傳到宮里。齊景公對(duì)他們大肆煲獎(jiǎng)后，讓他們計(jì)功而食桃。結(jié)果有二人自持功高，搶先拿了桃。第三個(gè)人說(shuō)，論我的功勞還不能吃一個(gè)桃嗎！前二人聽(tīng)了，覺(jué)得此人功勞確實(shí)比自己大，自已如此做法太貪婪了，便羞愧地刎脛自殺了。第三人見(jiàn)了，無(wú)比痛悔，為了一只桃子，彼死而我活，實(shí)在不仁不義，也自殺了。

后來(lái)，人們說(shuō)，三人先后在宮里刎脛自殺，純因太貪婪太居功自傲，引起桃的不滿，招來(lái)了鬼，迷住了三人的心竅，讓三人自責(zé)身亡。從此，民間就有了桃招鬼的傳說(shuō)。

聽(tīng)完畢老執(zhí)的講述，星野緊握住畢老軌的手：“過(guò)去只知道水蜜桃是世界人民喜愛(ài)的水果，不知道還有這么多好聽(tīng)的故事，中國(guó)的文化真是源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)，太豐富多采了！”

畢老軌講的這叚故事，被船員放到《船員網(wǎng)》上，引起了眾多網(wǎng)友的點(diǎn)贊：“航海給人們帶來(lái)太多精采的故事，我們向海員致敬！希望網(wǎng)上登臷更多這樣的故事！”

張濤系中國(guó)航海學(xué)會(huì)科普專家、中國(guó)遠(yuǎn)洋海運(yùn)作家協(xié)會(huì)副主席、中國(guó)知名海員作家、“一帶一路”應(yīng)用型海事 人才研究院特聘研究員。作為遠(yuǎn)洋船長(zhǎng)，其在工作之余，筆耕不輟，為宣傳航海文化做出了較大貢獻(xiàn)，被譽(yù) 為“當(dāng)代弘揚(yáng)航海文化有突出貢獻(xiàn)的航海人”。先后在人《民日?qǐng)?bào)》《中國(guó)建設(shè)》《海事大觀》《航海》《中國(guó)海 員》等報(bào)紙雜志上發(fā)表了大量文章，并出版了《我們都是無(wú)產(chǎn)者》《船長(zhǎng)與黃金》《路娃航海記》《船長(zhǎng)風(fēng)云 錄》《海上天方夜譚》《舌尖上的航海》等十余部近百萬(wàn)余字反映航海經(jīng)歷的文藝作品。其中《我們都是無(wú)產(chǎn) 者》和《海上天方夜譚》獲國(guó)家優(yōu)秀作品獎(jiǎng)；《路娃航海記》獲中國(guó)航海學(xué)會(huì)特別貢獻(xiàn)獎(jiǎng)；《舌尖上的航?！吩?在國(guó)內(nèi)多家網(wǎng)站和報(bào)紙雜志上發(fā)表及刊登，受到廣大讀者，特別是航海愛(ài)好者的熱烈歡迎和好評(píng)；同時(shí)被譯 成英文，受到外國(guó)青少年和航海愛(ài)好者的喜愛(ài)。 2021年3月，江蘇航運(yùn)職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院設(shè)立了“張濤海員作家”工作室。希望此工作室能夠創(chuàng)作出更多更好的作 品來(lái)弘揚(yáng)和發(fā)展海洋文化！

The sun began to set as the crew of the Star of Eurasia finished loading freight into the

cargo steamship.

Its captain, Captain B, paced around the ship as he began his final security inspections

for the cargo. Unlike many other steamships, the Star of Eurasia had special refrigerated

containers and only transported fruits and vegetables.

Captain B inspected every corner of the ship and made sure that the containers were at

the correct temperatures, then retreated into the crew cafeteria for dinner. But just as he sat

down to begin his meal, a sailor rushed in and shouted, “Captain! There’s been an issue with

the fruit storage area’s thermometer!”

The captain immediately ran out to the deck and checked the broken thermometer.

Sighing, he removed it, installed a new one, and finally began walking back to the cafeteria to

eat.

However, just as he began to walk away, the emergency sirens at the storage area started

to ring at full volume.

“What is wrong with the storage today?” Captain B muttered under his breath.

Captain B checked through the containers, and realized the storage box that had been

making trouble was the one transporting peaches grown and harvested in Zhejiang, China.

These peaches were on their way to Japan, and required very specific temperatures in order to

keep their freshness.

Captain B shook his head and asked a shiphand to fix the sirens and thermometer for

him. But because the shiphand was tired and in a rush, he misplaced the container cover,

which pushed into the ceiling of the storage cabin and messed up the wires and electric circuit

system of the entire ship. Captain B wolfed down his dinner and rushed back to site with a

head full of sweat, crossed his arms, and said, “The shiphand could have been more careful,

but all these mistakes can be blamed on the peaches!”

“Peaches?” The crew asked, staring at Captain B. “What do you mean?”

The crew sat down next to Captain B and anticipated a story. They had always known

the captain as someone who was full of fascinating trivia knowledge and historical facts

about seafaring. Coincidentally, Captain B hailed from the town of Fenghua, Zhejiang, where

those peaches also came from.

Captain B thought about the personal connection and love for these large, delicious

peaches, and slowly recounted a legend he knew about how peaches could sometimes

summon spirits and fairies.

When he finished, his crew burst into applause. “That was amazing!” They cheered,

complimenting the attention to detail and the expressive way that Captain B told his story.

Soon, the Star of Eurasia arrived at the Port of Yokohama in Japan. The Japanese

retailer, Kenji, was very satisfied with the peaches he received, and when he heard that

Captain B knew a mystical story surrounding the fruit, he was so curious that he invited

Captain B to his house as a guest and asked him to tell the story.

Learning of the immense popularity that his hometown fruit received abroad, Captain B

happily shared the tale of peaches with Kenji.

Peaches were first found in China thousands of years ago. The pit of peaches were

discovered in the ruins of the Yin Shang Dynasty, in places that we know as Xiamen, Gansu,

and Tibet today.

After the inception of the Silk Road, peaches were transported from China to Kashmir,

Uzbekistan, and later Persia. Peaches became so widespread that European travelers believed

that they were from Persia itself, and even gave it the nickname “Persian apples”.

Peach trees in India were also grown from peach pits and seeds that were brought over

from China. This trade was even mentioned by the monk Tang Sanzang in the famous novel,

Journey to the West, which claimed that Indian farmers even referred to peaches as “Chinese

berries” at one point in history.

After Christopher Columbus brought European culture to the Americas, peach trees

were also transported to a new home. Initially, those peaches were not accustomed to the

harsh weather conditions of America, and blossomed into flowers instead of yielding fruits. It

wasn’t until the 19th century, after years of efforts from botanists and farmers, when peaches

finally found a home in the United States. Now, the US is a major producer and exporter of

peaches. American peaches are considered the grandchildren of Chinese peaches, as even

though they bear certain differences to their ancestors, many traces of identical DNA can still

be found in each fruit.

However, the history of the spread of peaches in China itself is quite complicated. In the

Qin Dynasty, travelers hiked over many mountains and floated past countless rivers to bring

peaches from Western China to the city of Shandong, located in the East. In the book The

Family Sayings of Confucius, authors recorded that after Confucius accompanied Duke Lu on

a journey, Duke Lu gifted Confucius with a peach and grains of yellow rice so that Confucius

could remove the peach hairs with rice before enjoying the fruit.

Today, thousands of varying types of peaches are available for consumption. There are

over 800 types in China alone, the most famous among them being the Jiangsu peaches. In

the Qing Dynasty’s famous novel Book of Qunfang, author Wang Xiangjin wrote that every

single peach was uniquely flavored, and that the most juicy, most exquisite peaches were

found in Gu Shangbao’s garden. Gu Shangbao was the younger brother of a famous scholar

from the Songjiang province in the Ming Dynasty named Gu Mingshi, who built a sanctuary

in Shanghai in 1559 named Lu Xiang Garden that specialized in growing and harvesting

delicious peaches.

In the ninth year of the Qing Dynasty, farmers from Fenghua, Zhejiang purchased

peaches from the Lu Xiang Garden in Shanghai. Because of their special and mouthwatering

taste, the farmers nicknamed the peaches “Yulu”, which means jade dew. The sales of

peaches in China skyrocketed, and reached new heights of popularity.

The peaches that are exported from Zhejiang even now are grown from the descendants

of the Yulu variety.

Kenji listened to Captain B’s story and took large bites of the peach that Captain B

shipped to him. “That’s wonderful,” He said, “But what do peaches have to do with

summoning spirits and fairies?”

Captain B laughed, and told Kenji, “That is only a legend passed around by Chinese

farmers. Ever since ancient times, Chinese people associated superstitions and good fortune

to the valuable peach. They said that eating peaches allowed people to achieve longevity, and

that furniture made from peach pits could ward off evil. Nevertheless, some suspected that

peaches brought bad luck instead of good, and could summon spirits or negative energy. This

belief was caused by a Chinese historical event.”

Captain B then went on to explain that one year, a great scholar named Yan Ying from

the Chinese state of Qi came across three generals named Gong, Sun, and Sheng, who did not

salute or address Yan Ying when he stopped to say hello. Yan Ying sensed their pride and

inflated ego, so he told Duke Jing of Qi that these three men were too conceited and that their

pride would give rise to conflicts within the military. But Duke Jing told Yan Ying that the

three generals were warriors and too strong against any authority, and he was at a loss of

ways to discipline them.

Yan Ying pondered for a moment, then whispered into Duke Jing’s ear and asked for

two peaches. At the time, peaches were still rare and exquisite delicacies.

The three generals were summoned to the imperial palace. At Yan Ying’s suggestion,

Duke Jing praised the generals for their good work and presented them with two peaches to

eat on account of their merits. The first two warriors each believed that their merits were

greater than that of all others’, and snatched the peaches away and ate them rapidly.

The third warrior was furious at not receiving a single peach, and exclaimed, “I work so

hard for the country every single day, do I not deserve a prize, too?”

The first two generals realized that perhaps they had been too stubborn and selfish, and

were ashamed of themselves for not sharing some of their rewards. Embarrassed, they

retreated from the palace, never to be seen again.

The last general felt guilty for the disappearance of his friends, and felt that a single

peach was not worth the loss of two great warriors for the country. Ashamed, he also

retreated from his position, never to be seen again.

Later on, this event became passed around amongst Chinese citizens as a legend which

said that the three warriors’ greed and pride angered the peach, which summoned spirits and

fairies to settle their dispute. Some said that the three generals could not look past their own

arrogance, and each slit their own throats. Thus, ancient Chinese villagers believed that

sometimes, peaches could bring spirits and bad luck.

Kenji was astonished and extremely impressed by Captain B’s story. “Before, I thought

that peaches were nothing but a widely beloved fruit from China. I never knew so many

stories could come from a simple peach! Thank you for not only bringing these fruits over,

but also for sharing such interesting cultural and historical tales with me!”

Zhang Tao is an expert in the fields of navigation, maritime history, and nautical science. He is involved in the Chinese Institute of Navigation, and is the vice president of the Chinese Association of Maritime Authors, a well-known Chinese author of subjects related to seafaring, as well as a distinguished researcher for the nautical analysis of the “One Belt One Road” Initiative. Aside from leading sailing crews as an esteemed captain of many Chinese ships, he works tirelessly in his spare time and has made important contributions to nautical culture and history. He has been described as “a navigator with momentous involvement in the promotion of seafaring culture in modern times”. He has published articles in People’s Daily, China’s Construction, Maritime Spectacle, Sailing, and Chinese Sailors and more magazines and newspapers. His authorial works include We Are All Proletarians, The Captain and Gold, Lu Wa’s Sailing Journal, The Captain of Wind and Clouds, Fairy Tales from the Sea, and The Taste of Seafaring, all of which reflect and promote the experience and culture of seafaring to millions of readers. Among his works, We Are All Proletarians and Fairy Tales from the Sea have won the National Outstanding Novel Award; Luwa’s Sailing Journal won the Outstanding Contribution Award from the Chinese Institute of Navigation; and The Taste of Seafaring has been published on multiple Chinese websites and magazines, attracting new waves of readers and audiences and acclaim from those with particular interest in sailing. The Taste of Seafaring has now been translated into English and is beloved by youths and nautical enthusiasts worldwide. In March of 2021, the Jiangsu Shipping College established the Zhang Tao Sailing Author’s Workshop. Hopefully, more wonderful stories and writings will come to fruition with the help of the workshop, and inspire people from all across the globe to learn about maritime culture!