薰风带夏，万物长

袁瑾 萧放

编者按：“花木知时令，鸟鸣报四时。”大自然中，动物的蛰眠、复苏、始鸣、繁殖、迁徙，植物的萌芽、长叶、开花、结果、凋落，还有冰霜的凝结、消融等，无不随着时令而动，周而复始，于是它们本身也就成了季节轮换的标志，被称为“物候”。

物候有节律，苒苒其华。 以下是从《二十四节气在江南》中节选的“立夏篇”，可以从中体味到一份节令趣味与一种物候之美的传承。

立夏，二十四节气之七，夏季的第一个节气，在公历5月5日至5月7日交节。俗谚云：“斗指东南，维为立夏，万物至此皆长大，故名立夏也。”“立”，开始 ;“夏，假也”，“假”是“大”的意思。《礼记 · 月令》记载立夏时“蝼蝈鸣，蚯蚓出，王瓜生，苦菜秀”。此时，蝼蝈开始聒噪，蚯蚓滑腻的身体在土壤中钻进钻出，乡间的田埂上瓜菜方舒，万物已褪去了春日的青嫩之色。江南早稻种植区已开始插秧，蚕宝宝也相继进入了三眠、大眠，丰收即在眼前。

“燕子衔春去，薰风带夏来。”尽管距离气象学意义上的夏天还有一段时日，但人们习惯上將立夏作为“夏之首”。此后，江南各地气温明显升高，雷雨增多，闷热潮湿的雨季渐渐拉开了帷幕。古时，这一天皇帝要率领文武百官到皇城南郊迎夏，礼服、配饰、马匹、车旗皆为朱红色，以表达对丰收、安康的希望。春光将逝，人们未免有惜春的伤感，于是摆酒饮宴送春归去，称为“饯春”。故有诗云：“无可奈何春去也，且将樱笋饯春归。”（吴藕汀《立夏》）

春夏轮替，日渐炎热，自然之序;农事纷繁，蚕事大忙，农事之时。品种多样的饮食、丰富有趣的娱乐等立夏习俗活动，便是人们尊重自然时序，将自身融入其中的有益尝试。

称人胸挂蛋，孩儿“滚”个夏

立夏日时有一项十分有趣的习俗——称人。称人，必得以传统杆秤称，一般在空地上架起一杆大木秤，秤钩上挂一把椅子，大家轮流坐到上面，称一称体重。有的则悬大秤于院中大树树杈上，男女皆称，其中以称老人和孩子为主。还有的挂在屋内的房梁上，妇女之间互相称量，所谓“立夏称人轻重数，秤悬梁上笑喧闺”（清秦荣光《上海县竹枝词 · 立夏》）。

待来人坐上秤，司秤人一边调节秤砣在杆秤花星上的位置而使杆秤平衡，即俗称的“打秤花”，一边说吉祥之语。称老人时要说“秤花八十七，活到九十一”;称姑娘时要讲“一百零五斤，员外人家找上门。勿肯勿肯偏勿肯，状元公子有缘分”;若上秤的是个小孩子，要说“秤花一打二十三，小官人长大会出山。七品县官勿犯难，三公九卿也好攀”。打秤花亦有讲究，只能“里打外”，不能“外打里”，即秤砣只能往外移，不能往里移，意为只能加重，不能减轻，不然则视为不吉利。如果称出来的斤两尾数恰好逢九，则必须多报一斤，俗信以为九代表尽头，不吉利。有的地方给小孩子称重时，还会在小孩子口袋里放两块石头，不光为增加体重讨个吉祥之意，还有长寿之意。不过时至今日，世人多以瘦为美，称人报数着实考验司秤人的机敏。

关于此俗的来历，民间传说与三国时刘备之子刘禅——“扶不起的阿斗”有关。相传三国时，刘备因为常年征战，便命武将赵云护送自己唯一的儿子刘禅去东吴，交与孙夫人抚养。刘禅到达吴国时正好是立夏日，孙夫人一见刘禅便十分欢喜，可又忧心照顾不周，落下后娘不尽心的话柄。于是，孙夫人当着赵云的面，用秤把刘禅称了称，到了第二年立夏日，又给刘禅称体重，然后告知刘备，以示自己精心照料之意。

称人的习俗起于何时、何地，已难以追溯，且江南各地对立夏称人的寓意说法不一。

立夏日有吃蛋的习俗，俗话说“立夏吃蛋，石头踩烂”，意思是说立夏时吃蛋可以强身健体，预防夏日酷暑常见的食欲不振、消瘦倦怠等苦夏症状。立夏时所吃的蛋，种类不少，常见的有鸡蛋、鸭蛋和鹅蛋。立夏前一天，人们便会开始煮蛋。煮蛋时，水中要加上茶叶末或者胡桃壳，再放入料酒、盐、酱油、桂皮等，蛋壳在沸腾的汤汁中渐渐变红，满屋充溢着香气。

立夏之日，家中长辈将煮好的蛋装入五彩丝线编成的蛋套中，挂在孩子们的脖子上，垂在胸前。俗信以为“立夏胸挂蛋，孩子不疰夏”，且五彩线也有消灾祈福、消暑祛病的寓意。人们认为如此便可以无病无灾地“滚”（意即“混”）一个夏天了。在江南一些地方的方言中，“滚”与“混”发音十分相似，此俗也被笑称为“滚夏”。不过，孩子们得到这颗蛋后，并不急着吃，而是常常聚拢起来，拿各自的蛋，开始进行“斗蛋”游戏。

斗蛋游戏的规则很简单，蛋分两端，尖者为头，圆者为尾。斗蛋时，两两相拼，头头相撞、尾尾相击，一直撞到其中一方蛋壳破裂为止。如此这般，一个一个依次斗过去，蛋头胜者为第一，称为“蛋大王”，蛋尾胜者为第二，称为“蛋小王”。斗蛋时，孩子们还会把自己的蛋装扮一番。其中，女孩常常在蛋壳上画小鸡、小鸭、小猫等图案，显得活泼可爱;男孩画的却是老虎、狮子、犀牛等力大无穷的猛兽，表达必胜的决心。不过，若是斗蛋输了，谁也不会垂头丧气，因为斗破的蛋总是在一片欢闹中被“堂而皇之”地吃了。正所谓“立夏吃一蛋，力气长一万”，小小的游戏满是吉祥的寓意。

乌饭防乌蚊，乞米烧夏饭

“田里囡，雪式白，到义乌李宅，宿一夜，七日八日洗勿白。”这是金华民俗学家曹松叶写于20世纪30年代的《谜语的修辞》一文中所记录的一则谜语。谜底便是江南一带立夏必吃的乌米饭。传说释迦牟尼的弟子目连为了让饿鬼缠身的母亲吃到食物，便用一种名为南烛的树叶捣碎出汁以染米，做成乌米饭送去，饿鬼见此米饭色黑而不敢吃，他的母亲才得以果腹。由此，民间就开始流传起立夏前后吃乌米饭的习俗。

其实，乌米饭是一种紫黑色的糯米饭，用南烛（又称乌树）叶搓碎后的汁水浸染糯米而成。南烛叶并非金贵之物，乡野间便可采摘，立夏前几日，城镇中也有商贩兜售，采买起来也十分方便。

立夏吃乌米饭不讲究仪式，亦不供佛祭祖，连下饭菜肴也不需准备，只在黑紫色的糯米上撒些绵软的白糖或是桂花糖即可，入口甘甜，孩子们尤爱这软糯清香的口味。俗话说“吃了乌米饭，乌蚊子不来咬”。乌蚊子是夏季常见的蚊子，正式名称为乌头按蚊，体形如米粒般大小，被叮咬后，令人奇痒无比。这个防乌蚊子的方法在民间便这样流传了下来，至今仍常被老人们提起。

乌米饭在唐代就已盛行。当时被称作“青精饭”或“乌饭”，为道家斋日的饵食，有延年益颜的功效。宋代以后，佛教寺庙也开始将青精饭作为斋食，尤其是在农历四月初八浴佛节，信众们多以此饭供奉佛祖。明人李时珍《本草纲目》卷二十五“谷之四”中记载：“此饭乃仙家服食之法，而今释家多于四月八日造之，以供佛。”

乌米饭的制法古今不一。宋时将浸好染色的米蒸熟成饭，晒干。制成后，米粒坚硬，贮存、远携都十分方便。到了明代，又有“九蒸九曝”的讲究做法，先将米蒸熟，晒干，再浸入南烛叶汁水，蒸熟晒干，如此总共九次才成。当代生活中，乌米饭讲究当天做当天吃，将南烛叶洗净，舂烂加水浸泡，取其乌青汁，往其中投入糯米，待米呈墨绿色后捞出略晾，再将乌青汁入锅与米同煮，煮熟后饭色青紫，清香扑鼻。

从现代营养学的角度看，乌米饭对身体是大有益处的。南烛叶性平、味酸，糯米味甘性温，两者结合具有明目乌发、补气益肾、安神止咳等诸多作用，而且乌米饭口感清甜，颇合人们在夏日时的脾胃。

说到煮饭，立夏日，孩子们常常成群结队、欢天喜地地到郊外露天煮饭，称为“烧夏饭”。烧夏饭，也叫“抖夏夏米”，是流行于孩童间的立夏野炊活动。据民國洪如嵩增补的《杭俗遗风》记载，立夏前一日，各家孩子要向邻家乞讨一钟或一碗米，“谓之抖夏夏米”。立夏日，孩子们在露天煮饭，饭煮好后，“分送前日之化米家，每家一小碗，饭上或置青梅、樱桃、白荠不等，谓儿童食之，可免疰夏云。时人名之曰‘烧夏夏饭’”。此俗在湖州则被称为烧“野火饭”。野外烧饭十分简单，先在地上挖一个坑，再用几块石头、砖头搭好灶，随后架起锅，将米、豆、笋、肉等一起倒入其中，倒入菜油，加水闷烧。不过对于孩子们来说，烧夏饭时起火并不容易，常常点了就熄灭，此时田间或者小路上常会遗留有农人剪下的桑条，将此捡来，再加上枯竹叶，点燃后火势很猛，颇为好用。

按惯例，做立夏饭所用的米、豆、笋等都须向邻居乞讨而得。孩子们可以随意到别家竹园里挖笋，田地里采豆子，主人家看到了，非但不会责骂，反而会高兴地应允。讨米、野外生火，孩子们自比乞丐，如吃百家饭，看似游戏，实则寄托了父母希望他们身体强健的心愿。

立夏尝三新，坐吃“七家茶”

至立夏，茶叶采摘基本完毕，市面上瓜果菜蔬品种丰富，人们便欢欢喜喜地开始了各种尝新活动。“尝新”，即“尝鲜”，就是在立夏之日品尝时鲜食物。

民间有俗语“立夏尝三新”。“三新”也可以说“三鲜”，有地三鲜、树三鲜和水三鲜之分。至于“三鲜”的具体内容，江南各地并不一致，然大同而小异。

立夏时吃笋则有可健脚之说。宁波人称为吃“脚骨笋”，当地俗语说“立夏吃脚骨笋，一年脚骨健健过”。吃“脚骨笋”重在形似，选野山笋或者乌笋最好，细细长长一株，形如脚骨。绍兴人则称为吃“健脚笋”，周作人《儿童杂事诗 · 立夏》云：“新装杠秤好称人，却喜今年重几斤。吃过一株健脚笋，更加蹦跳有精神。”制作健脚笋时讲究不用刀切，使整根笋连带笋壳在柴火中煨熟，再剥壳而食。而在义乌一带，吃法又有所不同，笋须得剥壳后再下锅煮熟后食用。俗信食用时必须得一口气吃完一株笋，才能有健脚功效，爬山挑担就不会吃力了。

杭州人立夏会烹茶馈赠邻居，称为“七家茶”。明人田汝成《西湖游览志馀 · 熙朝乐事》记载：“立夏之日人家各烹新茶，配以诸色细果，馈送亲戚比邻，谓之七家茶。彼时，富豪人家以此为机，攀富竞奢，果皆雕刻，饰以金箔，而香汤名目，若茉莉、林禽、蔷薇、桂蕊、丁檀、苏杏，盛以哥汝瓷瓯，仅供一啜而已。”果物精美，茶汤名贵，茶具奢华，仅仅为了让对方喝上一口茶，可见富贵人家炫富之态。亲朋好友在立夏时坐饮七家茶则更有睦邻、消夏之意。苏州一带，每逢此日，邻里之间都会拿出蜜饯，一般多为青梅、金橘、蚕豆、桃片、玫瑰花、红枣，再配上大麦茶，一起烹煮后共同分享。当地俗信以为喝了七家茶，夏天便不容易长痱子。旧时浙江乡村，农家左邻右舍之间会互相赠送豆、米，并煮粥，叫作“七家粥”，大家共同食用七家粥，可使邻里同心，共同开始夏耕夏种。

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.