青田，与世界共脉动

雨田

青田华侨陈列馆墙上有几张老照片，黑白色调泛起岁月侵蚀的微黄，似在静诉一段流逝的记忆。照片中众人皆西装革履，大多眉目清秀，梳着标致的民国西装头，在当时应是很绅士的做派。这可能是青田华侨留给人们最深的印象。每每到了这里，来自世界各地的参访者都迫切地想知道，与中国其他侨乡相比，这些老照片背后隐藏着青田侨乡怎样的文化个性？

“首先，青田华侨史，并非源于修铁路、挖金矿的经历， 而是经商，所以最典型的形象便是商贩。因为常年在外行商， 维持体面形象是必须的，久而久之，西装革履就成为青田华侨的重要标识之一。”言小海在一旁解释道。谈及青田的华侨故事，这位从事侨史研究的本土学者言语中充满自豪。在青田县华侨史料征集办公室工作，常需要对征集到的老照片进行身份辨认，通过联络华侨后人，还原一个个尘封多年的故事。多年努力下，青田的华侨史被不断完善，青田侨乡文化的个性，也慢慢清晰起来。

侨史——与世界共脉动

记得一位学者曾这样概括性地划分近代出洋的中国人：出西洋者，多为贵家子弟;出东洋者，多为知识分子、革命党人;下南洋者，十之八九为贫苦大众。直到此番接触到青田的华侨史，才发现原来还有这样一群“下西洋”的中国人，他们一无官方背景，二无万贯家财，仅靠一双手和聪明的头脑，漂洋过海到西洋谋生。欧洲也因此成为青田人的主要旅居地。反观国内其他几处侨乡，广东江门五邑华侨主要分布在北美、澳大利亚等地;广东潮汕、福建泉州华侨则多分布于东南亚。这种地域上的差异也让青田形成独具特色的侨乡文化。

“因欧洲是近代以来的世界中心，故青田人的移民史实际上与世界历史尤其是20世纪世界历史的进程密切相关。”言小海这样说道。在他的研究中，往往能在一个小家族故事中窥见大历史。

追溯起来，在清朝晚期，就有少数青田人到海外谋生， 在异国他乡拼搏出一条生路。早期青田人，小部分选择行程较近的日本，也有部分前往北美，而更多的则前往欧洲，他们通过马六甲海峡经印度洋、苏伊士运河进入欧洲;甚至还有人通过陆路，经西伯利亚铁路进入欧洲，其间经历莽莽森林、 广袤苔草原野，途中的艰难险阻，难以想象。

自1911年后，青田迎来了第一次出国高潮。“一战” 时，青田不少青壮年踊跃报名赴欧参与战场服务，他们见证了战场残酷的厮杀，战后留下来的成了最早的青田华侨群体;“一战”到“二战”期间，青田人前往欧洲的人数加速增长，除了做苦工，他们大多成为流动小商贩，足迹遍及欧洲城市与乡村 ， 兜售各类小商品;“二战”时，留在欧洲的青田商人在战争的炮火中身陷险境，他们依旧背起行囊行商，穿梭于各国边境，九死一生……“二战”结束、新中国成立之后，外出谋生的青田人一度减少，直至改革开放后再次迎来高潮。他们或到国外创办实业， 带动乡人致富;或顺应全球化时代的步伐，回国投资创业，利用国内资源与廉价劳动力，进行国内外产业联动，将“Made in China”销往全球。

此外，海外的青田华侨、青田籍侨胞还为国家实现和平 统一而不遗余力，曾于2000年成立“全球华侨华人推动中国和平统一大会”，推动全球华侨华人和平统一运动。时至 今日，欧洲的德国、西班牙、法国、比利时、瑞典、丹麦、 保加利亚等主要国家，以及南美洲巴西、非洲喀麦隆等国家的华侨华人中国和平统一促进会的主力皆是青田籍侨胞。

发展至今，青田的 54 万人口中，就有33万华侨在海外打拼，可谓“家家有华侨，人人是侨眷”。旅居国从早期的 西班牙、意大利、法国、奥地利、荷兰、荷兰等国，扩散至 东欧的俄罗斯、波兰、匈牙利甚至南美的巴西、巴拉圭等国，分布国家和地区由原来的40多个增加到128个，号称“全球 24 小时都有青田人在沐浴阳光”。

侨民——拥抱海洋的山里人

行商足迹遍及全球的青田人，常被人誉为“东方犹太人”。但青田人对此并不苟同，在他们看来，古时犹太人因亡国而被遣散四方，是一种强迫之下的迁徙。而让青田人倍感自豪的是，他们祖上并非出于人为强迫，或被坑蒙拐卖成为苦力而出国，而是一种主观上的积极进取，他们迫切希望走出深山，与命运抗争。早年青田华侨多找亲友筹借银元，到国外后，辛辛苦苦积攒所得，千方百计往老家寄钱;也有经过自身拼搏致富者，不忘提携、接济初来乍到的同乡。毕竟在异国他乡，逆境多顺境少，他们只能依靠自己的力量，抱团取暖，共渡难关。

事实上，青田的华侨史也是一部青田人走出大山的奋斗史。

翻开青田资料，便可见一番“先天不足”的心酸：青田全县面积2493.34 平方公里，山地便占89.7%，溪河塘库占5%，耕地仅占5.3%， 素有“九山半水半分田”之说。据史载：“（青田）重山复水， 高深险阻，无平原广野林麓蔽泽之饶，民生其间，梯山为田， 窖薯为粮，终岁勤苦而不得一饱，何其苦也。”青田民谚“青田三件宝：火笼当棉袄、火篾当灯草、番薯丝吃到老”，正是山區贫苦农民生活的真实写照。青田华侨发源地山口、方山、山炮、孙山、阜山等皆以“山为名”，可见侨乡与山区环境息息相关。

在古时，贫瘠的自然环境一旦遇上天灾人祸，便会让青田人迅速陷入苦难深渊。据《青田县志》（1990 年版）记载：明崇祯十年，“大饥荒，百姓上山挖蕨根为食，并以观音土和米粉蒸食充饥”;清道光十四年，“大旱，饥荒……百姓吃秕糠、草根、麻叶，加以疫病流行，死亡十之二三，户口骤减”……民以食为天，青田山区人民处于如此极端恶劣的生存环境中，无以为生，自然萌生异地闯荡之念。全国闻名的几大侨乡多出自沿海地区，而青田则是内陆山区的侨乡，青田人身居大山，却毅然选择拥抱海洋，书写出一部山区侨乡崛起的传奇。

侨乡——与石雕之乡相互成就

青田的华侨史，还与石雕密切相关。青田石雕随着青田人的脚步而远销海外，开创了青田石雕国际贸易的先河。 早在晚明时期，中国资本主义萌芽出现，沿海地区商品贸易日趋活跃。青田涌现了一批弃农经商的石雕商贩，他们肩挑手提，走南闯北，到繁荣的城市、港口、码头及景点摆摊设点，沿街叫卖。早期青田华侨也有人贩卖石雕筹集出国盘缠。石雕可谓是华侨打开异国大门的钥匙。在晚清到民国初年，青田人携精美石雕远赴欧美参加赛会（博览会），让西方人领略到东方石雕之美，也成为早期的中国文化成功输出的典型范例。

青田石雕創造过博览会上的辉煌：1853 年，青田石雕在南美洛易赛会上展出;1893年，石刻商人参加意大利都灵赛会;1896年，又参加欧洲万国博览会;1899 年，青田旅法华侨获法国政府允许，在“巴黎赛会”上出售青田石雕;1905 年 20 位青田石雕艺术家和石雕商人前往美国圣路易“世界万物博览会”。其间多次斩获博览会大奖，如1915年美国办“太平洋万国博览会”，青田商人精选青田石雕前往参展，并获工艺美术类最高奖项——银奖。

随着青田石雕日益声名远扬，在海外需求的刺激下，青田人进一步激发外出闯荡的决心，使出国谋生在青田形成群体效应。另一方面，石雕远销海外又促进了青田石雕技艺的成熟以及人才培养，使青田石雕技艺不断创新，同时吸收西洋艺术的长处。青田人根据外国人的审美、市场需求的变化不断调整石雕风格，充分发挥了青田人灵活多变的优点，造就了青田“石雕之乡”的美誉。所以，华侨之乡与石雕之乡可谓相互成就。

青田已故老华侨林子才曾留下一首以青田鼓词形式写成的“十字歌”，其开头四句为：“一字青田出石岩，山口王君创利先。聪明雕巧成古董，雕成古玩进洋关。先到洋关卖青石，哄骗洋人是古岩。洋人买去当宝贝，感动后阵人出番。” 青田人与石为伍，以石为生，于是就有了青田石一样的性格。在漫长的历史进程中，逐步形成了鲜明的“大气开放，创业天下”的青田精神，以石雕开辟了通向世界的奋斗之路。

侨情——欧陆风情与田园乡村相融

青田，常被誉为浙江离欧洲“最近”的县。欧陆风情与山村田园风光和谐相融，成为青田侨乡的又一显著特质。

中西合璧，早已烙在青田人的生活方式上。在这里，你可以漫步罗马式的广场，品一杯醇香浓郁的意大利特浓咖啡，在闲逸中度过一个布拉格式的浪漫午后;也可以在深山里尝一回红烧田鱼，在山水林泉中体会诗意栖居;你可以不出国门购遍全球，放心选购价格媲美原产地的进口商品;还可以在石刻治印中，感受金石文化的高深奥妙……青田侨乡风情，诠释了西式高雅与中式清逸并行不悖;既有都市的国际化，又兼具乡村人家的烟火气。

而作为凝固的艺术，青田的建筑也能直观反映出侨乡风情。花旗街、裕堂别墅、临江路、新大街，不同年代、风格各异的欧式建筑藏身于全县各地。在乡村，教堂、洋楼与本土的寺庙、道观相依并存;在城区，蓝色穹顶的国土局、地中海风格的银行、德式民居等齐聚一街，巴洛克风、新古典主义、维多利亚风等多种风格融汇、碰撞，为青田所用，并被青田所成就。

Qingtian， a County of the World

By  Yu  Tian

On the wall of Qingtian Overseas Chinese Exhibition Hall there are a few old photos in black and white， quietly telling the faded memory of the past. Most of the people in the photos are dressed in a Western style with sharp suits and shiny leather shoes， obviously gentleman-like in the old days， which set visitors wondering： compared to their counterparts， what is so unique about the overseas Chinese of Qingtian origins？

“First， it is worth noting that the history of the Qingtian overseas Chinese does not start from building railroads or digging gold mines， but from business， so the most typical image about an overseas Chinese of Qingtian origin is a businessman，” explained Yan Xiaohai， a scholar in Qingtian county of Zhejiang’s Wenzhou city specializing in the history of overseas Chinese. “Because it is always necessary to look decent while doing business， overtime， for the Qingtian overseas Chinese suits gradually became an important means of livelihood.” It is the job of the Overseas Chinese Historical Statistics Collection Office of Qingtian County to identify the people in the old photos by contacting their descendants and restore each of their stories which have been buried deep for ages. Thanks to their persistent efforts since years ago， the history of the Qingtian overseas Chinese has been enriched gradually and their general characteristics have been slowly shown to the public.

A scholar once described the Chinese who went abroad in the modern era in this way： those who headed to the West were mostly sons of noble families; those who headed to the East were mostly intellectuals and revolutionaries; and those who went to the South were mostly poor people. It was not until we ran into the history of Qingtian overseas Chinese did we discover that there was a group of Chinese who went to the West with no official background and little wealth but only bare hands and a bright mind. Europe thus became their major destination， nurturing a unique culture for the Qingtian overseas Chinese.

“Europe has become the center of the world since modern times， therefore the emigration history of Qingtian people is actually closely related to the world history， especially the history of the 20th century，” which is how Yan puts it. In his research， the course of history as a whole could always be observed through some story of a single family.

As early as in the late Qing dynasty （1616-1911）， a small number of Qingtian people went overseas to make a living， facing unimaginable hardships and dangers without doubt.

After 1911， Qingtian saw the first peak of its people going abroad， and the number of Qingtian people going to Europe between World War I and World War II increased exponentially. After the founding of People’s Republic of China， the number decreased until the second climax appeared right after the Reform and Opening-up. Settling down overseas， those Qingtian pioneers either set up companies helping the locals get rich together， or returned to China to make investments and start their own business， in line with the pace of globalization. By leveraging the abundant resources and cheap labor in China， they have managed to link up the industries at home and abroad， and sell the “Made in China” merchandises to the rest of the world.

In addition， overseas Chinese of Qingtian origins have spared no effort to realize the peaceful reunification of China. In 2000， the “Global Overseas Chinese Conference for the Peaceful Reunification of China” was established to promote the peaceful reunification movement of overseas Chinese worldwide.

So far， among the population of 540，000 in Qingtian， there are 330，000 working and living abroad， so it is safe to say that for Qingtian people， “there are overseas settlers in every household and everyone is a relative to an overseas settler”. The number of countries and regions where Qingtian folks have settled down has increased from slightly over 40 to 128： from Spain， Italy， France， Austria， the Netherlands to Russia， Poland， Hungary and even many South America countries like Brazil， Paraguay， etc.

The Qingtian people are so well traveled that they are often called the “Jews of the East”. However， they themselves simply do not agree with this， for the Jews， as they believe， were forced into a dispersed migration in ancient times for historical reasons. Qingtian people are actually very proud of the fact that their ancestors did not leave their homeland because they were forced to， but because they were eager to fight against their fate.

In fact， the history of Qingtian overseas Chinese is also a history of Qingtian people trying to get out of their mountainous land. If you take a look at the geographic statistics of Qingtian， you can see how harsh the natural conditions are set for this place： the total area of Qingtian county is 2493.34 square kilometers， where the mountains account for 89.7%， streams， rivers and ponds account for 5%， and arable land only accounts for 5.3%. This extremely harsh environment has left them practically nothing to live for.

The history of overseas Chinese in Qingtian is also closely related to stone carvings. Brought overseas by Qingtian businessmen， they have been well received， paving the way for large-scale international trade afterwards.

With the growing fame of Qingtian stone carving， the overseas demand has further made the Qingtian people determined to go abroad to make a living out of this local treasure. On the other hand， the export of stone carvings has contributed to the improvement of Qingtian stone carving techniques and the cultivation of talent in the industry， which has given Qingtian the reputation of “the hometown of stone carving”.

Qingtian is often referred to as the county “closest” to Europe in Zhejiang. The harmonious fusion of the European style and local rural scenery has become another distinctive characteristic of Qingtian.

The cultural combination of East and West has long been influencing the lifestyle of Qingtian people. Here， you can stroll through a Roman-style square， sip a cup of rich Italian espresso， and spend a romantic Prague-like afternoon in leisure; you can also taste braised fish in a restaurant hidden in the mountains， and explore a poetic way of living in the nature; you can do some global shopping， and buy imported goods at prices just like in their countries of origin; you can also experience the profound culture from Qingtian stone carving and seals.

In Qingtian， there is such elegance coming in both a Western way and an East way， creating a unique atmosphere of international modernity and rural hospitality combined.

As a kind of solidified art， Qingtian’s architecture can also visually reflect the style derived from the century-old practice of emigration. The European-style buildings of different eras and in various forms are hidden all over the county， including Huaqi Street， Yutang Villa， Linjiang Road and New Street. In the countryside， churches and Western-style buildings coexist with local temples and Taoist temples; in the downtown， the blue-domed Land Office， Mediterranean-style banks， German-style houses can be seen with other buildings in Baroque， Neoclassical and Victorian styles， harmoniously together in the small county of Qingtian.