袁瑾 蕭放

編者按：“花木知時令，鳥鳴報四時。”大自然中，動物的蟄眠、復蘇、始鳴、繁殖、遷徙，植物的萌芽、長葉、開花、結果、凋落，還有冰霜的凝結、消融等，無不隨著時令而動，周而復始，于是它們本身也就成了季節(jié)輪換的標志，被稱為“物候”。

物候有節(jié)律，苒苒其華。 以下是從《二十四節(jié)氣在江南》中節(jié)選的“立夏篇”，可以從中體味到一份節(jié)令趣味與一種物候之美的傳承。

立夏，二十四節(jié)氣之七，夏季的第一個節(jié)氣，在公歷5月5日至5月7日交節(jié)。俗諺云：“斗指東南，維為立夏，萬物至此皆長大，故名立夏也?！薄傲ⅰ保_始 ;“夏，假也”，“假”是“大”的意思。《禮記 · 月令》記載立夏時“螻蟈鳴，蚯蚓出，王瓜生，苦菜秀”。此時，螻蟈開始聒噪，蚯蚓滑膩的身體在土壤中鉆進鉆出，鄉(xiāng)間的田埂上瓜菜方舒，萬物已褪去了春日的青嫩之色。江南早稻種植區(qū)已開始插秧，蠶寶寶也相繼進入了三眠、大眠，豐收即在眼前。

“燕子銜春去，薰風帶夏來?！北M管距離氣象學意義上的夏天還有一段時日，但人們習慣上將立夏作為“夏之首”。此后，江南各地氣溫明顯升高，雷雨增多，悶熱潮濕的雨季漸漸拉開了帷幕。古時，這一天皇帝要率領文武百官到皇城南郊迎夏，禮服、配飾、馬匹、車旗皆為朱紅色，以表達對豐收、安康的希望。春光將逝，人們未免有惜春的傷感，于是擺酒飲宴送春歸去，稱為“餞春”。故有詩云：“無可奈何春去也，且將櫻筍餞春歸。”（吳藕汀《立夏》）

春夏輪替，日漸炎熱，自然之序;農事紛繁，蠶事大忙，農事之時。品種多樣的飲食、豐富有趣的娛樂等立夏習俗活動，便是人們尊重自然時序，將自身融入其中的有益嘗試。

稱人胸掛蛋，孩兒“滾”個夏

立夏日時有一項十分有趣的習俗——稱人。稱人，必得以傳統(tǒng)桿秤稱，一般在空地上架起一桿大木秤，秤鉤上掛一把椅子，大家輪流坐到上面，稱一稱體重。有的則懸大秤于院中大樹樹杈上，男女皆稱，其中以稱老人和孩子為主。還有的掛在屋內的房梁上，婦女之間互相稱量，所謂“立夏稱人輕重數(shù)，秤懸梁上笑喧閨”（清秦榮光《上?？h竹枝詞 · 立夏》）。

待來人坐上秤，司秤人一邊調節(jié)秤砣在桿秤花星上的位置而使桿秤平衡，即俗稱的“打秤花”，一邊說吉祥之語。稱老人時要說“秤花八十七，活到九十一”;稱姑娘時要講“一百零五斤，員外人家找上門。勿肯勿肯偏勿肯，狀元公子有緣分”;若上秤的是個小孩子，要說“秤花一打二十三，小官人長大會出山。七品縣官勿犯難，三公九卿也好攀”。打秤花亦有講究，只能“里打外”，不能“外打里”，即秤砣只能往外移，不能往里移，意為只能加重，不能減輕，不然則視為不吉利。如果稱出來的斤兩尾數(shù)恰好逢九，則必須多報一斤，俗信以為九代表盡頭，不吉利。有的地方給小孩子稱重時，還會在小孩子口袋里放兩塊石頭，不光為增加體重討個吉祥之意，還有長壽之意。不過時至今日，世人多以瘦為美，稱人報數(shù)著實考驗司秤人的機敏。

關于此俗的來歷，民間傳說與三國時劉備之子劉禪——“扶不起的阿斗”有關。相傳三國時，劉備因為常年征戰(zhàn)，便命武將趙云護送自己唯一的兒子劉禪去東吳，交與孫夫人撫養(yǎng)。劉禪到達吳國時正好是立夏日，孫夫人一見劉禪便十分歡喜，可又憂心照顧不周，落下后娘不盡心的話柄。于是，孫夫人當著趙云的面，用秤把劉禪稱了稱，到了第二年立夏日，又給劉禪稱體重，然后告知劉備，以示自己精心照料之意。

稱人的習俗起于何時、何地，已難以追溯，且江南各地對立夏稱人的寓意說法不一。

立夏日有吃蛋的習俗，俗話說“立夏吃蛋，石頭踩爛”，意思是說立夏時吃蛋可以強身健體，預防夏日酷暑常見的食欲不振、消瘦倦怠等苦夏癥狀。立夏時所吃的蛋，種類不少，常見的有雞蛋、鴨蛋和鵝蛋。立夏前一天，人們便會開始煮蛋。煮蛋時，水中要加上茶葉末或者胡桃殼，再放入料酒、鹽、醬油、桂皮等，蛋殼在沸騰的湯汁中漸漸變紅，滿屋充溢著香氣。

立夏之日，家中長輩將煮好的蛋裝入五彩絲線編成的蛋套中，掛在孩子們的脖子上，垂在胸前。俗信以為“立夏胸掛蛋，孩子不疰夏”，且五彩線也有消災祈福、消暑祛病的寓意。人們認為如此便可以無病無災地“滾”（意即“混”）一個夏天了。在江南一些地方的方言中，“滾”與“混”發(fā)音十分相似，此俗也被笑稱為“滾夏”。不過，孩子們得到這顆蛋后，并不急著吃，而是常常聚攏起來，拿各自的蛋，開始進行“斗蛋”游戲。

斗蛋游戲的規(guī)則很簡單，蛋分兩端，尖者為頭，圓者為尾。斗蛋時，兩兩相拼，頭頭相撞、尾尾相擊，一直撞到其中一方蛋殼破裂為止。如此這般，一個一個依次斗過去，蛋頭勝者為第一，稱為“蛋大王”，蛋尾勝者為第二，稱為“蛋小王”。斗蛋時，孩子們還會把自己的蛋裝扮一番。其中，女孩常常在蛋殼上畫小雞、小鴨、小貓等圖案，顯得活潑可愛;男孩畫的卻是老虎、獅子、犀牛等力大無窮的猛獸，表達必勝的決心。不過，若是斗蛋輸了，誰也不會垂頭喪氣，因為斗破的蛋總是在一片歡鬧中被“堂而皇之”地吃了。正所謂“立夏吃一蛋，力氣長一萬”，小小的游戲滿是吉祥的寓意。

烏飯防烏蚊，乞米燒夏飯

“田里囡，雪式白，到義烏李宅，宿一夜，七日八日洗勿白?！边@是金華民俗學家曹松葉寫于20世紀30年代的《謎語的修辭》一文中所記錄的一則謎語。謎底便是江南一帶立夏必吃的烏米飯。傳說釋迦牟尼的弟子目連為了讓餓鬼纏身的母親吃到食物，便用一種名為南燭的樹葉搗碎出汁以染米，做成烏米飯送去，餓鬼見此米飯色黑而不敢吃，他的母親才得以果腹。由此，民間就開始流傳起立夏前后吃烏米飯的習俗。

其實，烏米飯是一種紫黑色的糯米飯，用南燭（又稱烏樹）葉搓碎后的汁水浸染糯米而成。南燭葉并非金貴之物，鄉(xiāng)野間便可采摘，立夏前幾日，城鎮(zhèn)中也有商販兜售，采買起來也十分方便。

立夏吃烏米飯不講究儀式，亦不供佛祭祖，連下飯菜肴也不需準備，只在黑紫色的糯米上撒些綿軟的白糖或是桂花糖即可，入口甘甜，孩子們尤愛這軟糯清香的口味。俗話說“吃了烏米飯，烏蚊子不來咬”。烏蚊子是夏季常見的蚊子，正式名稱為烏頭按蚊，體形如米粒般大小，被叮咬后，令人奇癢無比。這個防烏蚊子的方法在民間便這樣流傳了下來，至今仍常被老人們提起。

烏米飯在唐代就已盛行。當時被稱作“青精飯”或“烏飯”，為道家齋日的餌食，有延年益顏的功效。宋代以后，佛教寺廟也開始將青精飯作為齋食，尤其是在農歷四月初八浴佛節(jié)，信眾們多以此飯供奉佛祖。明人李時珍《本草綱目》卷二十五“谷之四”中記載：“此飯乃仙家服食之法，而今釋家多于四月八日造之，以供佛。”

烏米飯的制法古今不一。宋時將浸好染色的米蒸熟成飯，曬干。制成后，米粒堅硬，貯存、遠攜都十分方便。到了明代，又有“九蒸九曝”的講究做法，先將米蒸熟，曬干，再浸入南燭葉汁水，蒸熟曬干，如此總共九次才成。當代生活中，烏米飯講究當天做當天吃，將南燭葉洗凈，舂爛加水浸泡，取其烏青汁，往其中投入糯米，待米呈墨綠色后撈出略晾，再將烏青汁入鍋與米同煮，煮熟后飯色青紫，清香撲鼻。

從現(xiàn)代營養(yǎng)學的角度看，烏米飯對身體是大有益處的。南燭葉性平、味酸，糯米味甘性溫，兩者結合具有明目烏發(fā)、補氣益腎、安神止咳等諸多作用，而且烏米飯口感清甜，頗合人們在夏日時的脾胃。

說到煮飯，立夏日，孩子們常常成群結隊、歡天喜地地到郊外露天煮飯，稱為“燒夏飯”。燒夏飯，也叫“抖夏夏米”，是流行于孩童間的立夏野炊活動。據(jù)民國洪如嵩增補的《杭俗遺風》記載，立夏前一日，各家孩子要向鄰家乞討一鐘或一碗米，“謂之抖夏夏米”。立夏日，孩子們在露天煮飯，飯煮好后，“分送前日之化米家，每家一小碗，飯上或置青梅、櫻桃、白薺不等，謂兒童食之，可免疰夏云。時人名之曰‘燒夏夏飯’”。此俗在湖州則被稱為燒“野火飯”。野外燒飯十分簡單，先在地上挖一個坑，再用幾塊石頭、磚頭搭好灶，隨后架起鍋，將米、豆、筍、肉等一起倒入其中，倒入菜油，加水悶燒。不過對于孩子們來說，燒夏飯時起火并不容易，常常點了就熄滅，此時田間或者小路上常會遺留有農人剪下的桑條，將此撿來，再加上枯竹葉，點燃后火勢很猛，頗為好用。

按慣例，做立夏飯所用的米、豆、筍等都須向鄰居乞討而得。孩子們可以隨意到別家竹園里挖筍，田地里采豆子，主人家看到了，非但不會責罵，反而會高興地應允。討米、野外生火，孩子們自比乞丐，如吃百家飯，看似游戲，實則寄托了父母希望他們身體強健的心愿。

立夏嘗三新，坐吃“七家茶”

至立夏，茶葉采摘基本完畢，市面上瓜果菜蔬品種豐富，人們便歡歡喜喜地開始了各種嘗新活動?！皣L新”，即“嘗鮮”，就是在立夏之日品嘗時鮮食物。

民間有俗語“立夏嘗三新”?！叭隆币部梢哉f“三鮮”，有地三鮮、樹三鮮和水三鮮之分。至于“三鮮”的具體內容，江南各地并不一致，然大同而小異。

立夏時吃筍則有可健腳之說。寧波人稱為吃“腳骨筍”，當?shù)厮渍Z說“立夏吃腳骨筍，一年腳骨健健過”。吃“腳骨筍”重在形似，選野山筍或者烏筍最好，細細長長一株，形如腳骨。紹興人則稱為吃“健腳筍”，周作人《兒童雜事詩 · 立夏》云：“新裝杠秤好稱人，卻喜今年重幾斤。吃過一株健腳筍，更加蹦跳有精神?！敝谱鹘∧_筍時講究不用刀切，使整根筍連帶筍殼在柴火中煨熟，再剝殼而食。而在義烏一帶，吃法又有所不同，筍須得剝殼后再下鍋煮熟后食用。俗信食用時必須得一口氣吃完一株筍，才能有健腳功效，爬山挑擔就不會吃力了。

杭州人立夏會烹茶饋贈鄰居，稱為“七家茶”。明人田汝成《西湖游覽志馀 · 熙朝樂事》記載：“立夏之日人家各烹新茶，配以諸色細果，饋送親戚比鄰，謂之七家茶。彼時，富豪人家以此為機，攀富競奢，果皆雕刻，飾以金箔，而香湯名目，若茉莉、林禽、薔薇、桂蕊、丁檀、蘇杏，盛以哥汝瓷甌，僅供一啜而已?！惫锞?，茶湯名貴，茶具奢華，僅僅為了讓對方喝上一口茶，可見富貴人家炫富之態(tài)。親朋好友在立夏時坐飲七家茶則更有睦鄰、消夏之意。蘇州一帶，每逢此日，鄰里之間都會拿出蜜餞，一般多為青梅、金橘、蠶豆、桃片、玫瑰花、紅棗，再配上大麥茶，一起烹煮后共同分享。當?shù)厮仔乓詾楹攘似呒也?，夏天便不容易長痱子。舊時浙江鄉(xiāng)村，農家左鄰右舍之間會互相贈送豆、米，并煮粥，叫作“七家粥”，大家共同食用七家粥，可使鄰里同心，共同開始夏耕夏種。

Lixia， the seventh of the 24 Chinese solar terms， is the first solar term of summer and usually falls between May 5 and 7. Although it doesn’t really usher in the summer meteorologically， Chinese people still see it as the beginning of summer. After Lixia， the temperature in Jiangnan （south of the Yangtze River） rises substantially and thunderstorms tend to visit more frequently， marking the start of a sultry， damp raining season. This is a period for fully engaging in all kinds of farm work， enjoying various seasonal foods and trying out different activities to have fun.

On the very day of Lixia， one interesting thing that people ritually do is weighing themselves with a traditional Chinese steelyard. They would find an open space outdoors to set up a giant wooden steelyard with a chair hanging on its hook. Then everyone takes turns to sit on the chair to be weighed， while the weighing of children and the elderly is handled with special attention. On some occasions， a steelyard is hung on the beam inside the house for women to weight one another. When the person to be weighed is seated still on the chair， the one in charge of the steelyard would adjust the sliding weight to balance it out while saying some auspicious words.

Legend has it that the people-weighing ritual on Lixia has something to do with a historical figure of the Three Kingdoms period （220-280） — Liu Shan （207-271）， the son of Liu Bei （161-223）. Yet as to how the story goes exactly and what does the ritual symbolize， people of different regions tend to have their own theories and the original version is practically untraceable.

There is another Lixia custom： eating eggs. People believe that eating eggs on Lixia is good for their health， and could prevent summer diseases such as bad appetite， weight loss and tiredness. The kind of eggs consumed on Lixia comes in a wide variety， and the most common ones are chicken eggs， duck eggs and goose eggs. A day before Lixia， people would start to cook the eggs. When the eggs are boiling， they would add some tea dust or walnut shells into the water， and then put cooking wine， salt， soy sauce and Chinese cinnamon as well. As the eggshells gradually turn red in the broth， the whole house would be filled with pleasant aroma.

When the holiday comes， the seniors of every household would put each cooked egg in a bag knitted by five-hued silk threads and put such bags around their children’s necks， one egg for each child. The children， after getting the egg， usually would not hurriedly eat it up， but gather to play a game with it called “egg fight”.

The rules are quite simple： between the two ends of the egg， the pointed one is the “head” while the round one is the “tail”; during each round， one kid holds his or her egg in hand to hit another kid’s egg， head against head or tail against tail， until either party’s eggshell cracks; then the winner with an uncracked egg in hand challenges the next person， so on and so forth. In the end， the kid winning with the egg head claims the “big king”， and the kid winning with the egg tail claims the “small king”.

To prepare for this game， children always decorate their eggs by drawing some patterns on the shell. Girls would paint cute little animals like chicken， ducklings and kittens， and boys favor ferocious beasts including tigers， lions and rhinos， which shows their determination to win. But even if they lose， no one will get upset because they could just go on and eat the cracked egg squarely， surrounded by the cheering， joyous crowd.

One seasonal food for Lixia in Jiangnan is black rice. It is a kind of glutinous rice with a purple black color. The color is produced by immersing the rice inside the juice of the Asiatic bilberry leaves， which are readily available in the wilderness or easily found on the urban stalls several days before Lixia.

No rituals need to be performed for eating black rice. The only thing necessary to do before eating is sprinkling some soft white sugar or osmanthus sugar on top. It tastes mellow and sweet， especially loved by children. As an old folk saying goes， eating black rice protects you from black mosquitoes. Therefore， it becomes a traditional custom passing down for generations and is often brought up by the senior to date.

The black rice is cooked differently throughout history. In the Song dynasty （960-1279）， the dyed rice was steamed and then dried， giving it a really hard texture， which made it convenient to store and carry away. During the Ming dynasty （1368-1644）， a more sophisticated way of steaming for nine times and drying for nine times was developed. Now， eating black rice always follows a rule of consuming it on the same day it is freshly made.

From a perspective of modern nutriology， the black rice is quite wholesome. The mild Asiatic bilberry leaves offer a sourness， and， combined with the mellowness from the glutinous rice give the black rice a freshly sweet taste， which especially agrees with people’s stomach during the hot summer.

Another rice cooking related Lixia activity is cooking outdoors with all borrowed or self-collected ingredients， a popular kind of picnic for children.

People also love tasting seasonal foods on the day of Lixia， given that tea plucking is almost finished， and a rich variety of fruits and vegetables are circulating on the market. According to folklores， there is a certain tradition of specifically tasting three types of new food， which slightly vary among different regions in Jiangnan.

For Hangzhou and Suzhou locals， they also make a special kind of tea to share with neighbors and friends on the day of Lixia. Tea drinking is a smart way to enhance good-neighborliness and while away the hot summer. People tend to believe that drinking the tea would lessen the possibility of growing heat rash during the summer.