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子”品牌青鱼。这一“种桑养鱼共荣、生态良性循环”的生产方式，对我国北方养鱼和世界养鱼业产生了巨大影响。上世纪90年代正式被联合国教科文组织和粮农组织授予“桑基鱼塘”养鱼法。如今，我国保存最完整的就属荻港一带十万余亩桑基鱼塘。
下午1时,荻港的阿春鱼塘四周围满了观看的人群,其中有一百多个摄影发烧围着篝火吃鱼汤饭Bonfire adds a touch of warmth to the New Year Fish Soup Dinner. 友举着相机抢拍捕鱼镜头。鱼塘里渔民
夜幕降临，戴着鱼面具、穿着传统服饰的村民，燃起熊熊篝火，煮起正宗鱼汤饭，载歌载舞庆丰收，水乡古村呈现一派欢乐祥和、喜迎新年的喜庆场景。2012年1月8日下午至夜晚，开塘捕鱼写春联、水乡婚礼农家乐、祭拜鱼神唱渔歌、捉鱼跳舞狂欢夜等鱼文化系列活动在湖州荻港渔庄火爆举行。
一
浙江湖州荻港村，是一个具有千年历史的水乡古村落。四面环水，河港纵横。青堂瓦舍，临河而建的荻港自古就有“苕溪渔隐”之称，前人曾有诗句留影了往昔荻港的画面：“倚港结村落，荻苇满溪生。黄昏渔火光，不见一人行。 ”养鱼是当地百姓主要经济来源，古时就有“一家一户皆鱼塘，夫妻双双养鱼忙”的诗文，养鱼致富，耕读传家，长期以来形成深厚的农耕文化。
荻港门前屋后，绿桑成荫，鱼塘连片，小桥、流水及逶迤的街面廊屋，构成养鱼水乡独特景观。现今原汁原味的古村遗韵更是赢得了著名文学家舒乙笔下“这是最好的江南小镇”的赞誉。
养鱼、捕鱼、卖鱼、钓鱼、观鱼、吃鱼、祭鱼等一个个闪光点串联成异彩纷呈的荻港鱼文化。“塘里养鱼，塘岸植桑”，荻港以其“桑基鱼塘”的传统养鱼方式，即“挖地为塘以养鱼，挖塘泥堆成土基，种植桑树养蚕，蚕粪蚕蛹作为饲料喂鱼”的生态循环型农业模式，养殖出举世闻名的“乌金
们穿着橡皮渔服正在用大网围捕鱼群,只见银鳞闪烁,鱼跃人欢。突然，一条偌大的鱼儿蹦得半空高,大家齐声呼叫起来。网越收越紧,鱼越聚越多。一位渔民双手捧着一条几十斤重的大青鱼乐呵呵地给大家看,岸上的一架架相机立即按下了快门。起网装船了，渔船上装满了鲜蹦活跳的鱼儿,有青鱼、鳙鱼、鲫鱼、鳊鱼、鲢鱼、鲈鱼、鳜鱼、白条鱼、汪刺鱼……鱼满舱、人欢笑,一派喜庆丰收的景象。
一阵锣鼓声响起,大红灯笼，金色喜字，伴着欢快的唢呐鼓乐，当头戴凤冠、身穿霞帔的新娘被四人花轿“晃”出来时，荻港渔庄一下就给“闹”了起来。长长的迎亲队伍簇拥着新人过小桥、穿古亭，来到一艘装饰成鲤鱼状的迎亲船上,从抱子孙桶、系同心锁，再到拜天地等一系列古老的婚礼仪式无不透出荻港古村独特而富有魅力的水乡民俗文化气息。
那边来自杭州、湖州、嘉兴的书法家和书法爱好者正在泼墨挥毫,书写着充满鱼文化意蕴、祝福荻港繁荣昌盛的春联。围看的村民、来宾不时发出一阵阵赞叹声。写好的春联挂满了用养蚕大竹匾布置起来的围墙：“龙腾虎跃春光好；鸟语花香荻港新”、“春来鱼儿肥；日照芳草绿”、“丽日和风百花娇；丰衣足食万家富”、“千里莺啼绿映红；水村山郭酒旗风”等等。翰墨飘香,一副副春联洋溢着浓浓的年味和美好的祝愿。
二
获港渔庄宾馆前的大广场,敲锣打鼓，舞狮舞龙，热闹非凡。渔民们奏起了欢快的“渔家乐”。你瞧，这小船、渔桶、网
开塘捕鱼喜获丰收
A big catch at a fishpond in Digang
斗、鱼叉、菱桶都是渔民们养鱼的工具，通过这些道具演奏出欢快、喜庆、动听的打击乐。荻港悠久的养鱼传统，不仅铸就“乌金子”鱼品牌，更催生了荻港人自己的渔乐文化。渔家乐所表现的内容，包含了江南水乡渔民生产和丰收的全过程:春天鱼苗下种，夏秋喂食养殖,年终捕鱼丰收。渔家乐充满了欢乐喜庆的气氛，表达出农民劳作的艰辛和丰收的喜悦。近几年，“渔家乐”如一支奇葩，绽放在新农村建设的春风中，先后走进了南太湖音舞节和中央电视台。还在上海农博会、杭州国际童装节上展现独特的魅力。除了“渔家乐”打击乐队，村里还有青年舞龙队、少年武术队、老年扇子舞队、京剧表演队等文艺团队十余个。正是这些民间文艺队伍演绎出活色生香的水乡渔村的民俗文化。
此次活动最吸引眼球的莫过于荻港充满鱼文化特色的篝火鱼汤饭了。大广场一隅是复原的渔村民间大厨房，一只只鱼形的大柴灶排列在前，炊烟袅袅，灶上叠着高高的竹蒸笼,渔庄里的厨师正在烹烧各种鲜鱼。广场上摆开了数十桌圆桌子。和孚镇旅游办主任章金财向我们介绍说,鱼汤饭是鱼文化的一个亮点。渔民通过一年来的辛苦劳作，过年之际，正是渔业丰收季节，左邻右舍用丰收的大鱼、酒菜来招待帮工、相互庆贺，一起围坐吃鱼汤饭，庆祝丰收。至今荻港村家家户户还保留着这种民俗。
夜晚6点时分,长达70米的篝火被点燃。荻港渔庄董事长徐敏利女士迈着轻快的步子登台为此次鱼文化民俗活动致词。她的热情洋溢的讲话刚毕,热烈的掌声、震耳的鞭炮声、激越的鼓乐声响成一片。一队舞龙队舞起了青龙,雄狮猛虎腾跃跳挪,戴着各种面具的人们唱起了渔歌、跳起了舞蹈,整个广场欢腾了。主持人宣布篝火鱼汤饭即渔家婚宴开席。鲜嫩可口的鱼菜、犹如奶汁般润滑的鱼汤端上了桌面,大家热热闹闹地围坐在一起,一边看着表演,一边吃着鱼汤饭。
说起鱼汤饭，不能不说荻港的陈家菜。据悉,陈果夫对烹饪十分讲究。他是湖州人,故特聘他妻子朱明老家荻港的烹饪高手施庆生掌勺陈家厨艺。施庆生的传人现在就在荻港渔庄任大厨，即陈文学、钱荣华和吴杰三位大师。2006年7月，陈果夫全家十四人专程来荻港渔庄与钱荣华师傅相聚。故地重游，激动不已。为此，钱师傅亲手做了一桌丰盛的陈家
戴着面具载歌载舞
Dancers wearing masks celebrate Spring Festival.
菜，陈家人品尝后都赞不绝口，陈果夫女婿沈华祝老先生当即挥毫写下“传承陈家菜肴精华”墨宝，赠给荻港渔庄。陈家菜是荻港鱼文化中不可或缺的组成部分。于是在活动现场，主持人请出了这几位陈家菜传人。他们齐声说:“各位客人晚
请大家好好品尝陈家菜！”原来这次鱼汤饭中还有声名 ,上好
远扬的陈家菜肴呢!
三
祭拜鱼神的仪式开始了。
桌案上放上猪头、鲤鱼、葱蒜、年糕、水果，点上蜡烛，燃起三炷清香。由徐董事长领衔的祭拜人员恭恭敬敬地叩头三拜。 —拜，祈祷来年风调雨顺；二拜，祝福全天下阖家欢乐；三拜，祈求来年渔业丰收。在祭拜礼仪中，渔民们欢欢喜喜迎接新一年的到来。
各地的节庆、民俗活动中多有祭祀。祭太阳神、月亮神,祭黄帝、妈祖、大禹等等，这些其实都是一种民间崇拜。荻港的祭祀就是民众表达对鱼神的崇拜,对一年丰收的感恩,对来年好年景的祈盼。
篝火熊熊燃烧，唱吧，跳吧，欢乐的人群围着篝火载歌载舞，一队队“鱼群”、“小虾”、“小蟹”，共26支队伍，200多 人依次唱着舞着。和着悠扬的“梦里水乡”音乐，人们跳起了摇船舞、捉鱼舞，唱起优美的水乡谣：
“船橹吱呀，微波荡漾/一路摇曳一路笑/摇过春夏秋冬/摇破满天星空/开心的渔民们回来啦/摇起我们的小渔船/载着我们的丰收鱼……”
歌声此起彼伏，这边歌谣刚歇，舞台那边又唱起了《小小荻港村》歌曲……
荻港村党委副书记、荻港渔庄董事长徐敏利从小在水乡长大，对水乡鱼的特性、品种了如指掌，并与鱼结下了不解之缘。她在接受记者采访时说：“水乡民俗文化源远流长，这
吊臂香端庄且高雅
Village girls stage a performance.
次鱼文化活动富有荻港特色，独具乡土风情。我们发掘它，是为了传承它；传承它，是为了弘扬它。今天在现场给大家服务并表演的都是渔庄的200多位员工。他们的辛勤工作营造出红红火火过大年的节日氛围。我们会将这些活动作为传统文化传承下去，以此来激发干部群众创业干事的热情，促进荻港经济、文化发展。欢迎你们以后再来采访，那时我们一定会搞得更好。”
熊熊篝火映照出一张张幸福的笑脸，欢乐的人们放飞着好心情。一阵阵爆竹声、劲歌声、欢笑声在渔村的夜空久久回荡……它预兆龙年的水乡大丰收,荻港的明天更美好！□
By Zhang Ke, our staff reporter
Digang, a village specialized in fish farming since very ancient times, holds its annual grand Spring Festival celebrations on the af-ternoon of January 8, 2012 and the revelry goes all the way into the night.
Digang is a village in an area crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with ponds in northern Zhejiang. Fish farming has been the vil-lage’s economic pillar for at least a thousand years. In the ancient times, the lifestyle at Digang was simple and stable for centuries. A household took care of a few fishponds and people educated them-selves by studying classics. Those who came out well in imperial examinations got appointed to official positions. Those who did not stayed home and continued to take care of family fishponds.
The world-famous mulberry-dyke-fish-pond system of China was invented in Guangdong, a province in southern China, but it is in and around Digang that the system is well preserved and is about 6,700 hectares large, which is actually the largest and best-preserved mulberry-dyke-fish-pond system in China.
Digang has been rediscovered by scholars, poets, tourists, pho-tographers over the last 20 some years. In some people’s eye, the village is the best prototype of villages in the south of the Yangtze River Delta.
The first celebration of the big day takes place at Ah Chun fish-pond, a private business, at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. More than 100 photographers are there to capture the harvest on their cameras. Dressed in one-piece rubber overalls, the fishermen wade into the pond and begin to pull in a big net. As the big net begins coming in, fish jump. Bystanders cheer and photographers click away. Smiling from ear to ear, a fisherman carries a big fish over to the photogra-phers. They click away madly.
The second celebration is a traditional village wedding. A group of people comes to the bride’s home to accompany her all the way to the bridegroom’s home. The procession is composed of a small band, a sedan chair carried by four men, red lanterns. The proces-sion goes through the village and arrives at the riverside where a
EXCLUSIVES新春特稿
渔村巾帼舞起青龙
The women dragon-dance team at Digang Village is
ready to stage its biggest annual show.
carp-shaped boat is waiting. At the wedding, people see many tradi- At six o’clock in the evening, bonfires, which are placed in a row
tional household appliances. as long as 70 meters, are lit. After the director of the fish restaurant
The third celebration is a a gathering of calligraphers from makes a brief thank-you speech and the village’s dragon-dance team
Hangzhou, Huzhou and Jiaxing as well as village enthusiasts. They stages a noisy happy performance, the banquet begins. As it turns
write couplets for the Spring Festival as the lunar new year is the out that three of the chefs from Digang Fish Restaurant are disciples
time households across China put up new couplets. The couplets of Shi Qingsheng, a chef who cooked for Chen Guofu (1892-1951),
created on the spot are placed on the large bamboo plates leaning a high-ranking Kuomintang official. Chen was from Huzhou and
against walls. The large flat plates are vessels for silkworms to live his wife was a native of Digang. Shi worked for the Chen family for
in when the silkworm farming season starts in the spring. years. The chef not only trained disciples but also passed his recipes
The large square in front of Digang Fish Hotel serves as the ven- to them. The three chefs all work at Digang Fish Restaurant now. In
ue for musical performances staged by villagers and all the pieces July 2006, 14 descendents of the Chen family came to Digang Fish
are associated with fish farming. The tools from everyday work Restaurant to meet Qian Ronghua, one of the three disciples of Shi
such as buckets, harpoons, landing nets, miniature boats are all used Qingsheng. □
as percussion instruments. The
band has appeared in various tel-
evision programs. Digang boasts
about ten performance teams
such as dragon dance team, mar-
tial arts team, fan dance team,
and Peking Opera club.
The most attractive event that
day is the outdoor fish soup din-
ner that evening on the square.
In one corner of the square is a
large kitchen shed established
for the occasion. Chefs from
the Fish Restaurant are busy
preparing various fish dishes. It
turns out that the Spring Festi-
val is a time for fish harvest. A
household usually entertains its
neighbors and helps with a fish
soup dinner. The feast has been
a tradition for centuries. For that
evening, dozens of tables are set 水乡婚礼别开生面
A traditional wedding boat parades through the river network on its way to the bridegroom’s
up on the square.
home.
下午1时,荻港的阿春鱼塘四周围满了观看的人群,其中有一百多个摄影发烧围着篝火吃鱼汤饭Bonfire adds a touch of warmth to the New Year Fish Soup Dinner. 友举着相机抢拍捕鱼镜头。鱼塘里渔民
夜幕降临，戴着鱼面具、穿着传统服饰的村民，燃起熊熊篝火，煮起正宗鱼汤饭，载歌载舞庆丰收，水乡古村呈现一派欢乐祥和、喜迎新年的喜庆场景。2012年1月8日下午至夜晚，开塘捕鱼写春联、水乡婚礼农家乐、祭拜鱼神唱渔歌、捉鱼跳舞狂欢夜等鱼文化系列活动在湖州荻港渔庄火爆举行。
一
浙江湖州荻港村，是一个具有千年历史的水乡古村落。四面环水，河港纵横。青堂瓦舍，临河而建的荻港自古就有“苕溪渔隐”之称，前人曾有诗句留影了往昔荻港的画面：“倚港结村落，荻苇满溪生。黄昏渔火光，不见一人行。 ”养鱼是当地百姓主要经济来源，古时就有“一家一户皆鱼塘，夫妻双双养鱼忙”的诗文，养鱼致富，耕读传家，长期以来形成深厚的农耕文化。
荻港门前屋后，绿桑成荫，鱼塘连片，小桥、流水及逶迤的街面廊屋，构成养鱼水乡独特景观。现今原汁原味的古村遗韵更是赢得了著名文学家舒乙笔下“这是最好的江南小镇”的赞誉。
养鱼、捕鱼、卖鱼、钓鱼、观鱼、吃鱼、祭鱼等一个个闪光点串联成异彩纷呈的荻港鱼文化。“塘里养鱼，塘岸植桑”，荻港以其“桑基鱼塘”的传统养鱼方式，即“挖地为塘以养鱼，挖塘泥堆成土基，种植桑树养蚕，蚕粪蚕蛹作为饲料喂鱼”的生态循环型农业模式，养殖出举世闻名的“乌金
们穿着橡皮渔服正在用大网围捕鱼群,只见银鳞闪烁,鱼跃人欢。突然，一条偌大的鱼儿蹦得半空高,大家齐声呼叫起来。网越收越紧,鱼越聚越多。一位渔民双手捧着一条几十斤重的大青鱼乐呵呵地给大家看,岸上的一架架相机立即按下了快门。起网装船了，渔船上装满了鲜蹦活跳的鱼儿,有青鱼、鳙鱼、鲫鱼、鳊鱼、鲢鱼、鲈鱼、鳜鱼、白条鱼、汪刺鱼……鱼满舱、人欢笑,一派喜庆丰收的景象。
一阵锣鼓声响起,大红灯笼，金色喜字，伴着欢快的唢呐鼓乐，当头戴凤冠、身穿霞帔的新娘被四人花轿“晃”出来时，荻港渔庄一下就给“闹”了起来。长长的迎亲队伍簇拥着新人过小桥、穿古亭，来到一艘装饰成鲤鱼状的迎亲船上,从抱子孙桶、系同心锁，再到拜天地等一系列古老的婚礼仪式无不透出荻港古村独特而富有魅力的水乡民俗文化气息。
那边来自杭州、湖州、嘉兴的书法家和书法爱好者正在泼墨挥毫,书写着充满鱼文化意蕴、祝福荻港繁荣昌盛的春联。围看的村民、来宾不时发出一阵阵赞叹声。写好的春联挂满了用养蚕大竹匾布置起来的围墙：“龙腾虎跃春光好；鸟语花香荻港新”、“春来鱼儿肥；日照芳草绿”、“丽日和风百花娇；丰衣足食万家富”、“千里莺啼绿映红；水村山郭酒旗风”等等。翰墨飘香,一副副春联洋溢着浓浓的年味和美好的祝愿。
二
获港渔庄宾馆前的大广场,敲锣打鼓，舞狮舞龙，热闹非凡。渔民们奏起了欢快的“渔家乐”。你瞧，这小船、渔桶、网
开塘捕鱼喜获丰收
A big catch at a fishpond in Digang
斗、鱼叉、菱桶都是渔民们养鱼的工具，通过这些道具演奏出欢快、喜庆、动听的打击乐。荻港悠久的养鱼传统，不仅铸就“乌金子”鱼品牌，更催生了荻港人自己的渔乐文化。渔家乐所表现的内容，包含了江南水乡渔民生产和丰收的全过程:春天鱼苗下种，夏秋喂食养殖,年终捕鱼丰收。渔家乐充满了欢乐喜庆的气氛，表达出农民劳作的艰辛和丰收的喜悦。近几年，“渔家乐”如一支奇葩，绽放在新农村建设的春风中，先后走进了南太湖音舞节和中央电视台。还在上海农博会、杭州国际童装节上展现独特的魅力。除了“渔家乐”打击乐队，村里还有青年舞龙队、少年武术队、老年扇子舞队、京剧表演队等文艺团队十余个。正是这些民间文艺队伍演绎出活色生香的水乡渔村的民俗文化。
此次活动最吸引眼球的莫过于荻港充满鱼文化特色的篝火鱼汤饭了。大广场一隅是复原的渔村民间大厨房，一只只鱼形的大柴灶排列在前，炊烟袅袅，灶上叠着高高的竹蒸笼,渔庄里的厨师正在烹烧各种鲜鱼。广场上摆开了数十桌圆桌子。和孚镇旅游办主任章金财向我们介绍说,鱼汤饭是鱼文化的一个亮点。渔民通过一年来的辛苦劳作，过年之际，正是渔业丰收季节，左邻右舍用丰收的大鱼、酒菜来招待帮工、相互庆贺，一起围坐吃鱼汤饭，庆祝丰收。至今荻港村家家户户还保留着这种民俗。
夜晚6点时分,长达70米的篝火被点燃。荻港渔庄董事长徐敏利女士迈着轻快的步子登台为此次鱼文化民俗活动致词。她的热情洋溢的讲话刚毕,热烈的掌声、震耳的鞭炮声、激越的鼓乐声响成一片。一队舞龙队舞起了青龙,雄狮猛虎腾跃跳挪,戴着各种面具的人们唱起了渔歌、跳起了舞蹈,整个广场欢腾了。主持人宣布篝火鱼汤饭即渔家婚宴开席。鲜嫩可口的鱼菜、犹如奶汁般润滑的鱼汤端上了桌面,大家热热闹闹地围坐在一起,一边看着表演,一边吃着鱼汤饭。
说起鱼汤饭，不能不说荻港的陈家菜。据悉,陈果夫对烹饪十分讲究。他是湖州人,故特聘他妻子朱明老家荻港的烹饪高手施庆生掌勺陈家厨艺。施庆生的传人现在就在荻港渔庄任大厨，即陈文学、钱荣华和吴杰三位大师。2006年7月，陈果夫全家十四人专程来荻港渔庄与钱荣华师傅相聚。故地重游，激动不已。为此，钱师傅亲手做了一桌丰盛的陈家
戴着面具载歌载舞
Dancers wearing masks celebrate Spring Festival.
菜，陈家人品尝后都赞不绝口，陈果夫女婿沈华祝老先生当即挥毫写下“传承陈家菜肴精华”墨宝，赠给荻港渔庄。陈家菜是荻港鱼文化中不可或缺的组成部分。于是在活动现场，主持人请出了这几位陈家菜传人。他们齐声说:“各位客人晚
请大家好好品尝陈家菜！”原来这次鱼汤饭中还有声名 ,上好
远扬的陈家菜肴呢!
三
祭拜鱼神的仪式开始了。
桌案上放上猪头、鲤鱼、葱蒜、年糕、水果，点上蜡烛，燃起三炷清香。由徐董事长领衔的祭拜人员恭恭敬敬地叩头三拜。 —拜，祈祷来年风调雨顺；二拜，祝福全天下阖家欢乐；三拜，祈求来年渔业丰收。在祭拜礼仪中，渔民们欢欢喜喜迎接新一年的到来。
各地的节庆、民俗活动中多有祭祀。祭太阳神、月亮神,祭黄帝、妈祖、大禹等等，这些其实都是一种民间崇拜。荻港的祭祀就是民众表达对鱼神的崇拜,对一年丰收的感恩,对来年好年景的祈盼。
篝火熊熊燃烧，唱吧，跳吧，欢乐的人群围着篝火载歌载舞，一队队“鱼群”、“小虾”、“小蟹”，共26支队伍，200多 人依次唱着舞着。和着悠扬的“梦里水乡”音乐，人们跳起了摇船舞、捉鱼舞，唱起优美的水乡谣：
“船橹吱呀，微波荡漾/一路摇曳一路笑/摇过春夏秋冬/摇破满天星空/开心的渔民们回来啦/摇起我们的小渔船/载着我们的丰收鱼……”
歌声此起彼伏，这边歌谣刚歇，舞台那边又唱起了《小小荻港村》歌曲……
荻港村党委副书记、荻港渔庄董事长徐敏利从小在水乡长大，对水乡鱼的特性、品种了如指掌，并与鱼结下了不解之缘。她在接受记者采访时说：“水乡民俗文化源远流长，这
吊臂香端庄且高雅
Village girls stage a performance.
次鱼文化活动富有荻港特色，独具乡土风情。我们发掘它，是为了传承它；传承它，是为了弘扬它。今天在现场给大家服务并表演的都是渔庄的200多位员工。他们的辛勤工作营造出红红火火过大年的节日氛围。我们会将这些活动作为传统文化传承下去，以此来激发干部群众创业干事的热情，促进荻港经济、文化发展。欢迎你们以后再来采访，那时我们一定会搞得更好。”
熊熊篝火映照出一张张幸福的笑脸，欢乐的人们放飞着好心情。一阵阵爆竹声、劲歌声、欢笑声在渔村的夜空久久回荡……它预兆龙年的水乡大丰收,荻港的明天更美好！□
By Zhang Ke, our staff reporter
Digang, a village specialized in fish farming since very ancient times, holds its annual grand Spring Festival celebrations on the af-ternoon of January 8, 2012 and the revelry goes all the way into the night.
Digang is a village in an area crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with ponds in northern Zhejiang. Fish farming has been the vil-lage’s economic pillar for at least a thousand years. In the ancient times, the lifestyle at Digang was simple and stable for centuries. A household took care of a few fishponds and people educated them-selves by studying classics. Those who came out well in imperial examinations got appointed to official positions. Those who did not stayed home and continued to take care of family fishponds.
The world-famous mulberry-dyke-fish-pond system of China was invented in Guangdong, a province in southern China, but it is in and around Digang that the system is well preserved and is about 6,700 hectares large, which is actually the largest and best-preserved mulberry-dyke-fish-pond system in China.
Digang has been rediscovered by scholars, poets, tourists, pho-tographers over the last 20 some years. In some people’s eye, the village is the best prototype of villages in the south of the Yangtze River Delta.
The first celebration of the big day takes place at Ah Chun fish-pond, a private business, at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. More than 100 photographers are there to capture the harvest on their cameras. Dressed in one-piece rubber overalls, the fishermen wade into the pond and begin to pull in a big net. As the big net begins coming in, fish jump. Bystanders cheer and photographers click away. Smiling from ear to ear, a fisherman carries a big fish over to the photogra-phers. They click away madly.
The second celebration is a traditional village wedding. A group of people comes to the bride’s home to accompany her all the way to the bridegroom’s home. The procession is composed of a small band, a sedan chair carried by four men, red lanterns. The proces-sion goes through the village and arrives at the riverside where a
EXCLUSIVES新春特稿
渔村巾帼舞起青龙
The women dragon-dance team at Digang Village is
ready to stage its biggest annual show.
carp-shaped boat is waiting. At the wedding, people see many tradi- At six o’clock in the evening, bonfires, which are placed in a row
tional household appliances. as long as 70 meters, are lit. After the director of the fish restaurant
The third celebration is a a gathering of calligraphers from makes a brief thank-you speech and the village’s dragon-dance team
Hangzhou, Huzhou and Jiaxing as well as village enthusiasts. They stages a noisy happy performance, the banquet begins. As it turns
write couplets for the Spring Festival as the lunar new year is the out that three of the chefs from Digang Fish Restaurant are disciples
time households across China put up new couplets. The couplets of Shi Qingsheng, a chef who cooked for Chen Guofu (1892-1951),
created on the spot are placed on the large bamboo plates leaning a high-ranking Kuomintang official. Chen was from Huzhou and
against walls. The large flat plates are vessels for silkworms to live his wife was a native of Digang. Shi worked for the Chen family for
in when the silkworm farming season starts in the spring. years. The chef not only trained disciples but also passed his recipes
The large square in front of Digang Fish Hotel serves as the ven- to them. The three chefs all work at Digang Fish Restaurant now. In
ue for musical performances staged by villagers and all the pieces July 2006, 14 descendents of the Chen family came to Digang Fish
are associated with fish farming. The tools from everyday work Restaurant to meet Qian Ronghua, one of the three disciples of Shi
such as buckets, harpoons, landing nets, miniature boats are all used Qingsheng. □
as percussion instruments. The
band has appeared in various tel-
evision programs. Digang boasts
about ten performance teams
such as dragon dance team, mar-
tial arts team, fan dance team,
and Peking Opera club.
The most attractive event that
day is the outdoor fish soup din-
ner that evening on the square.
In one corner of the square is a
large kitchen shed established
for the occasion. Chefs from
the Fish Restaurant are busy
preparing various fish dishes. It
turns out that the Spring Festi-
val is a time for fish harvest. A
household usually entertains its
neighbors and helps with a fish
soup dinner. The feast has been
a tradition for centuries. For that
evening, dozens of tables are set 水乡婚礼别开生面
A traditional wedding boat parades through the river network on its way to the bridegroom’s
up on the square.
home.