相见无杂言?但道桑麻长

余连祥

习俗，指的是在各地广为流传并且约定俗成的规范化流程。在江南，民间的蚕事习俗，历史悠久，影响广泛，是百姓文化生活的一种表现。

进蚕香

阳春三月，杭嘉湖蚕乡的西湖香市十分兴盛。据清代范祖述的《杭俗遗风》记载：

乡下者，下至苏州一省，以及杭嘉湖三府属各乡村民男女，坐航船而来杭州进香……准于看蚕返棹，延有月余之久……其进香，城内则城隍山各庙，城外则天竺及四大丛林。

“上有天堂，下有苏杭”，春天的杭州，正是桃红柳绿、百花争艳的时节，江浙一带的蚕农正可以利用这一空闲时间，借佛游春，祈求蚕花丰收。为了祈求当年的蚕花丰收，烧香客可谓广结善缘，几乎是见庙就烧香，见佛就磕头，真诚祈求释道各神灵客串当一次蚕宝宝的保护神。

乌镇一带的香客还有一种奇怪的习俗。据茅盾的散文《陌生人》描述：杭州岳坟前跪着秦桧和王氏的铁像，上杭州烧香的乡人一定要到“岳老爷坟上”去一趟，却并不仅为瞻仰忠魂，还要摸跪在那里的王氏的铁奶;据说经此一摸，蚕花能够茂盛。

祛白虎

杭嘉湖自古就有“五日寒食共清明”之说，即自清明前四天的寒食节起，蚕农就忙着过清明了。蚕农照例要上坟祀祖，不过是在寒食节至清明前日进行。

还在寒食节，杭嘉湖蚕乡的蚕农就开始家家包粽子，而且要包上好多。粽子既方便又美味，是上坟、轧蚕花和招待客人的必备品。清明粽子品种多样，有枣子粽子、赤豆粽子、咸肉粽子，还有一种只有糯米没放其他东西的粽子，俗称“白肉粽子”。招待客人时，要放上一碗糖。当地有关粽子的谜语为“青壳田鸡活剥皮，白糖沾沾好东西”，其出典就在于此。

除了包粽子，还要做“甜麦塔饼”和清明圆子，后者形如蚕茧，外加一只名为“白虎”的像形圆子。

蚕农把有害于蚕宝宝的“白虎”之类的鬼邪和病毒、虫害之灾称为蚕祟。当地习俗，腊月十二祭蚕神是为了得到蚕花喜气，祈求来年蚕花丰收，而清明前一天的诸种仪式，意在祛除蚕祟，保佑蚕宝宝平安无事。这一天主要通过挑青、赶白虎、画灰弓和贴门神来祈求祛除蚕祟。

俗云：“清明螺，赛只鹅。”清明时的螺蛳最肥，且没有幼螺，其味极为鲜美。不过吃清明夜饭时，吃螺蛳的方法非同一般。那天的螺蛳是不能剪去屁股的，得用针或洗帚篾丝把肉挑出来吃，俗称“挑青”。吃罢清明夜饭，要把螺蛳壳抛撒在瓦楞上。据说，“沙拉”“沙拉”的声响能赶走躲在瓦楞中的老鼠，而老鼠是蚕宝宝的大敌。夏天，瓦楞上会生长一种俗称“瓦蛭”的毛毛虫，这种“瓦蛭”冷不丁掉到人身上，刺得人既痛又癢，自然也会伤害蚕宝宝。瓦楞上有了完好无缺的螺蛳壳，“瓦蛭”就会躲进去做窝，也就不会掉下来伤害到蚕宝宝。那晚的螺蛳壳不剪去屁股，原因就在这里。

“祛白虎”是在祭祀好灶神和蚕神后进行的。蚕农先将一白虎形的米粉圆子弃置于三岔路口，再在蚕室前后的稻场上用石灰画上弧形的弓箭，意谓射祛白虎。最后是在大门上贴上门神，用意为神荼和郁垒把守大门，白虎之类的蚕祟不准进入蚕室。对于这种习俗，清周煌的《吴兴蚕词》作了很好的描述：

好是风风雨雨天，清明时节闹桑田。

青螺白虎刚祠罢，留得灰弓月样圆。

轧蚕花

当地谚云：“清明圆子两头尖，吃了要发颠。”清明时节，正是蚕农颠来颠去“轧蚕花”的日子。所谓“轧蚕花”，是指清明时节，蚕农们竞赴附近寺庙祭拜蚕神。由于人潮如涌，拥挤不堪，有了“轧”的情景。这种习俗在善琏、含山、新市、乌镇等地十分盛行。茅盾的散文《香市》就回忆了那时的乌镇普济寺轧蚕花的欢快热闹的情景。

不过轧蚕花以含山最为热闹，近年来已演变成为闻名中外的含山“蚕花节”。含山位于湖州与桐乡的交界处，高不足百米，但是，“山不在高，有仙则灵”。相传蚕花娘娘在清明节化作村姑踏遍了含山土地，留下了蚕花喜气，此后谁脚踏含山，谁就会把蚕花喜气带回去，得个蚕花廿四分。正是含山的仙气，把方圆几十里的蚕农吸引来了。

含山轧蚕花时的重头戏为龙舟竞渡。宋张先的《木兰花·乙卯吴兴寒食》（上阙）：“龙头舴艋吴儿竞，笋柱秋千游女并。芳洲拾翠暮忘归，秀野踏青来不定。”可见在宋代就有清明时龙舟竞渡的习俗。

正清明的含山，格外热闹，方圆几十里的蚕农汇集在这弹丸之地，其拥挤状况可想而知。更何况，还有随之而来的小商小贩，耍猴的、变戏法和映西洋镜的。

俗云：“含山滩上比老婆。”那天，蚕妇都要穿绸裹绢、簪银戴金、面施脂粉，妆扮得格外俏丽。在德清新市，有一条“蚕花弄”，清明那一天，姑娘插戴许多蚕花，去这条弄中挤。如果哪位姑娘身上的蚕花被小伙子纷纷挤落，她就有资格成为“蚕娘”，且能养得好蚕;如果哪位姑娘没人理睬，身上的蚕花完好无损，就没有资格成为蚕娘，只能来年再去“蚕花弄”碰运气了。在练市一带，轧蚕花时蚕妇要披上绢质披肩，任男人拉扯披肩，俗称“扯蚕花绢头”。这类习俗都是上古时期性崇拜的遗风。

“轧蚕花”时，最为抢手的要算是蚕花了。蚕妇们都争相购买蚕花来插在头上。相传，西施离越适吴时，途经杭嘉湖蚕乡，把一种蚕花分送给蚕妇，预祝蚕花丰收。那一年，果然是家家丰收。相沿成习，杭嘉湖蚕乡的广大蚕妇就有了簪戴蚕花的习俗。

所谓蚕花，是一种用纸或绢剪扎而成的彩花。蚕花形如月季或玉兰，插在竹制的花箪上出售。茅盾的小说《春蚕》就写了四大娘簪戴蚕花之事。含山滩上尽管有众多的小吃摊，但蚕农为了省钱，一般是自带粽子的，唯有买蚕花的钱，蚕农是决不会省的。蚕花为蚕妇平添一分妩媚，也增强了她们养好春蚕的信心。于是簪戴蚕花成了蚕妇的一种特殊装饰习俗，朱恒《武原竹枝词》写道：

小年朝过便焚香，礼拜观音渡海航。

剪得纸花双鬓插，满头春色压蚕娘。

“轧蚕花”的重头戏是在含山塘的河面上上演的。当地蚕农称宽大的河流为“塘”。含山脚下古运河俗称“含山塘”，宽阔的河面给蚕农竞展雄姿提供了水乡特有的舞台。但见塘河里大小船只摩舷撞艄;擂台船上，各路拳师雄姿勃发，或一人表演，或两人对打，或舞刀弄棍，大显身手;标竿船上，以高高竖起的粗壮毛竹为标竿，爬杆者轻舒猿臂，表演各种惊险的杂技动作，令人惊叹;快船捉对赛快，紧锣密鼓，浪激飞舟。含山上、塘岸上、山塘桥上，挤满了围观者。他们或呼喊加油，或拍手叫绝，或欢呼胜利，或扼腕叹息，其情绪之激动，不下于球迷观看足球赛。

桐鄉市芝村一带的“龙蚕会”，其盛况不下于含山“轧蚕花”。此俗又称“芝村水会”。每年清明节，蚕农用两只农船并列，搭成一体，船上搭佛台，将芝村龙蚕庙中的蚕花娘娘抬置其上，以千张、豆腐干等素食作供品。蚕农们则从四面八方摇船汇集于芝村漾，向蚕花娘娘朝拜，祈求蚕花茂盛。祭毕，再将蚕花娘娘抬回龙蚕庙。随后，各地来的船只就在水上表演各种节目，如“摇快船”“龙灯船”“台阁船”“标竿船”“打拳船”。三五天会期后，蚕农们才尽兴而返。

嘉兴近郊的“闹清明”另有一番热闹情景。此俗又称“划船会”，每逢清明日，各村出一条“踏白船”，用松毛做棚，鸣锣鼓，在船上作各种表演。有的人簪戴蚕花，作妇人装束，先翻叶仙诗，预卜叶价高下;有的则把蚕、称茧、缫丝等事，以卜蚕丝之丰歉。还有人作田夫装，表演栽秧、踏车、耘苗、割稻、打稻等农事，以卜田岁之丰歉。也有人在船上表演拳脚功夫的。

各地“轧蚕花”以正清明为最盛，一直要持续到谷雨边。

杭嘉湖蚕乡的蚕农把赛龙舟安排在清明时节，自有其道理在。当地谚云：“小满动三车。”“三车”是指丝车、油车和水车。在机械化缫丝没有兴起以前，当地蚕农都是自家缫丝，且那时种的又是单季稻。所以，端午前后，当地蚕农正忙于做丝、榨取菜油和车水种田，没有工夫像外地人那样忙乎过端午节。而清明时节，蚕乡已是桃红柳绿、百花争艳、春意盎然了。加上清明时节相对空闲，利用蚕忙前的空闲时间，借助明媚的春光，大家借蚕嬉春，乐上一乐，岂不是赏心乐事？于是，乐观、务实、善于变通的蚕乡人也就随机应变，将端午节的乐事提前到清明时节了。清明节，实在是蚕乡的狂欢节。更何况，如此狂欢，还是宜于蚕事的呢！

In springtime in Jiangnan， a series of rituals and festivities will start as silkworm farmers begin to prepare for the start of their annual work. Silkworm farmers and their family members from the north of Zhejiang and the south of Jiangsu flock to the West Lake in Hangzhou and visit all temples there， even including the City God Temple and General Yue Feis Memorial Temple. The springtime pilgrimage to Hangzhou is of course supposed to seek blessings from heaven.

In Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain where sericulture thrives， silkworm farmers celebrate the Qingming Festival as if it were Spring Festival. Some even go so far as to say that some silkworm farmers even consider the Qingming Festival more important than the Spring Festival. The festivities for the Qingming Festival start on the Cold Food Festival， four days before the Qingming Festival in early April. To entertain visiting relatives and friends， families make ， a rice dumpling （a pyramid-shaped mass of rice glutinous rice and stuffing wrapped in bamboo leaves）.

One day before the Qingming Festival， a set of rituals is held to exorcize evils and vermin that might damage silkworm farming. The rituals are supposed to keep silkworm rooms free of bad things.

Around the Qingming Festival， silkworm farmers go to local temples to pray for blessings from Goddess of Silkworm. The best known celebration centers around Hanshan， a hill on the border between Huzhou and Tongxiang. Local legends have it that the goddess disguises herself as an ordinary village woman and visits Hanshan， leaving footprints which emit the aura of good luck all over Hanshan. Attracted by this belief， silkworm farmers flock to Hanshan. They walk all over the hill， to get the aura from the footprints left by the goddess.

The crowd is the biggest on the day of Qingming. Residents from all over the region gather there. The large gathering is also a fashion show for wives. They wear best silk garments and jewelry to show off how their husbands love them. For young women who are not yet married， it is also a day to find young men they want to date. On the day， women wear a silk or paper flower in their heads. The flower is called Silkworm Flower. These women， married or single， may be thrifty about other things， but they never hesitate to open their purses to buy a good handmade flower and wear it in a showy manner on their heads.

An ancient canal by Hanshan gives an opportunity for big boats moored there to form a performance stage of all sizes. People perform Kungfu and stage acrobatic shows on boats. Boat races on the canal draw large crowd of spectators. They excitedly cheer the competitors from the canal banks. The atmosphere is electrifying.

In Tongxiang， Dragon Silkworm Festival attracts large groups of visitors. The spectacle is all the hustle and bustle in Hanshan. A statue of Silkworm Goddess is placed on a platform consisted of two boats roped together. Silkworm farmers from all over the region come to pray to the goddess. After the ceremony， the statue is carried back to the Dragon Silkworm Temple. Then boat shows begin and last about three to five days.

The Qingming Boat Show in Jiaxing features a special celebration. A village sends one boat out to participate in the show. All these boat shows are about silkworm farming and rice farming. Actors who are men can dress up like a woman featuring a silk flower in the head. They pray to the god of mulberry tree leaves and seek a divination on the prices of mulberry leaves. Some performers put on a show illustrating the whole process of silkworm farming. They seek a divination about whether the raw silk they reel from cocoons can sell a good price this year. Some people are dressed up like rice farmers imitating the manner of working in rice paddies for a divination about a bumper harvest. Kungfu performances are also part of the boat shows on the Qingming Festival.

The Duanwu Festival on May 5th on the lunar calendar is largely ignored in the sericulture region in the north of the province as silkworm farmers dont have time for the Duanwu festivities. That is why they organize their boat races around the Qingming Festival.