舌尖上的航海丨第27集 “寻求猕猴桃”的特使

请旅客们注意！前方就要到达目的地一泰山岛，大家要注意安全。

一艘过海渡轮缓缓靠近一座小岛，岸边潜浪使渡轮摇晃不已。

《航海》杂志社记者迟呜随着旅游的人群，沿着舷梯登上小岛。

迟呜出身于江苏北部一个渔民家庭。这里是当年秦始皇派特使徐福东渡日本的启航处一徐福村。

徐福村离秦山岛一步之邀。秦山岛位于黄海中部连云港海域，是秦始皇亲自登临的地方。种种原因，做为《航海》杂志社记者的迟呜还未在此登山祭海“参拜”过。

相传在这里登山祭海的秦始皇感动了海神。海神派龙女向他敬献宝珠，至今岛上还留有“授珠台”遗址。

秦山岛西部脚下，有条鹅卵石铺的小路，一直伸向大陆，大约三十多里路。但是恁风吹浪打，潮起潮落，此路千余年来未曾消失。相传是秦始皇所筑，当地人称为”秦山神路”。

迟呜是专程考查这条“神路”的。

在此之前，迟呜先后考查了秦始皇多次登临的山东半岛的成山头，琅玡台，芝罘岛，碣石山…搜集了许多有关秦始皇在东海巡防的传说和故事，特别是成山头的传说最为精采引人。

据《齐地记，济略记》记载，成山头在胶东半岛的东端，当秦始皇的车骑逶迤引至此地时，只见仙山云雾缭绕，大海烟波浩渺时，秦始皇禁不住拈须概叹：“仙境呵，天尽头矣！此刻，这位桀骜不训，自为无所不能的君王突发奇想，要兴建一座跨海大桥，以便步行，或者跨着战馬，乘驾銮去拜访海上的神仙。

秦始皇朝着耸立的山峰，大声下令：“石头下海！”

石头果真列着队，一块块地“走”向大海。

秦始皇嫌有的石头走的太慢，就挥动长鞭，鞭打慢走的石头。石头被打的遍体鳞伤鲜血淋漓。至今，山东城阳山的石头都象人一样的站立着，面向东方，巍巍东倾，好象列队相随而行的样子。据说是按秦始皇的御旨行事的。石头呈赤色，似乎隐隐约约还可以看到鞭打的“痕迹“。

在城南山南侧的峭壁下，有四块巨石依次排列，伸向东南方向。随着潮起潮落，时隐时现，宛如垒砌的桥台，据说这就是秦始皇建造跨海大桥的遗址一海上神桥。

当然，这只是美丽的神话故事。

此次随旅游团去秦山岛的，还有几位日本朋友。

当这些日夲朋友得知迟呜来自徐福东渡日本的啟始港徐福村时，热情地握住迟呜的手，连声说“太好了，我们是来自日本的祝岛，就是徐福当年寻求长生不老药的地方。”

还未等迟吗反应过来，对方紧接说了句：“就是我们那里的野生猕猴桃。”

迟呜一下惊呆了！徐福东渡日夲寻求“长生不长药”的故事，早在中学历史课时就学过，从未听说“长生不老药”是“猕猴桃”。

从秦山岛归来，迟呜带着诚恳求教的心情，来到日本客人下榻的宾馆。

日夲客人不仅揭开了“长生不老药”之迷，还讲述了当年徐福在日本的许多传说和故事。

这些传说和故車，至今还在日本民间广泛流传。

传说徐福登陆时，当地人设酒相迎，徐福举杯一干而尽，然后投杯于水中，以表示对新地的投契。不料水杯浮于水面，冉冉朝海中漂去。不久该处现出一座小岛，人们叫它“浮杯岛”。至今小岛仍然屹立海中。

在日夲富士町古汤温泉乡竖立着一尊《温泉之神》的塑象，塑像高大传神，是徐福与一位日本女子的合像。传说当年该乡土著酋长设宴款待徐福，並让自的掌上明珠阿辰陪席。不料席间俩人产生感情。但是，徐福身负重任，无法顾及儿女情长，便赠宝剑泪别。后来，阿辰郁郁而死。当地乡民为其塑像迠祠，称为”阿辰观音“。与此同时，为徐福和阿辰合像，尊称《温泉之神》。

最为有趣的是，日夲家族自称是徐福或秦人后裔大有人在。曾任日本前首相的羽田孜卸任后，曾专程来到中国江苏的徐福村，公开声称自已是秦人的后裔，他的先人都是以“秦”为姓，直到明治维新时才改为日本化的“羽田”。在日语中，“秦”和“羽田”发声相同。至今，日本还有以“秦”为姓的人。

当迟呜问起“长生不老药”和“猕猴桃时，日夲朋友笑着解释说：“这种中国人说的《长生不老药》，在日夲古藉中称为《千当》。大小如核桃，汁浓，味甘。传说食后可任千年不死，闻一闻可增寿多年。徐福当年登陆的祝岛处于濑户内海，被九卅，夲卅和四国三岛环绕，人烟稀少，探寻不易。所以十分神秘。其实就是《野生猕猴桃》，该桃营养价值高，但是把它当做《长生不老药，就有些夸张和可笑了。”

听完日夲朋友的讲述，迟呜收获不小，握住日夲朋友的手，说：“中日人民的友谊源远流长！”

归来后，迟呜在采访手记里写道：徐福东渡日夲意义深远，他把一个身处蛮荒世界的民族，带进了物质和文明都先于他们几百年的文明之中。秦始皇是中国历史上第一位海洋探险的组织者。航海给人类社会文明和进步带来无法估量的影响，我们要永远记住那些航海探险家的功绩。

“Attention all passengers, we will soon be arriving at our destination of Mount Taishan.

Please mind your safety and belongings.”

A cruise ship sailed slowly towards a small island, rocking back and forth to the beat of

the waves that rolled off the shore.

A reporter from a nautical magazine named Chi walked amongst a group of tourists onto

the island.

Chi came from a fishermen family in a village in Jiangsu, China named Xu Fu Village.

Xu Fu Village was where the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang once sent his envoy, the Xu

Fu, to sail east to Japan - Xu Fu Village.

Xu Fu Village was only mere minutes away from Qinshan Island. Located in the center

of the Yellow Sea, near the Lianyungang area, Qinshan Island was a beautiful place where

Qin Shi Huang himself often visited.

Many reporters from the Nautical Magazine frequented Qinshan Island to report on

interesting tourist attractions and historical stories, but this was the first time Chi ever stepped

foot on this fascinating island.

When he was very young, Chi heard about a local legend surrounding the island.

Because Qin Shi Huang visited Qinshan Island so many times and continually showed his

love for the gorgeous landscape and peace that surrounded the area, one of the Dragon Gods

of the Sea was moved by his passion and appreciation of nature, and sent a messenger to

bestow many treasures upon Qin Shi Huang. Even today, tourists can visit the platform where

Qin Shi Huang received his gift from the Dragon God.

Near the shores of the Western coast of Qinshan Island, there was a cobblestone path

that extended for around thirty miles into the heart of the land. But unlike many other seaside

roads, this path had survived the beating of rising tides and violent waves for thousands of

years, and remained perfect still for anyone to walk on. Locals claim that this road was paved

by none other than Qin Shi Huang himself.

Chi travelled to Qinshan Island specifically to look for this path and to uncover its

secrets.

Before he arrived, Chi researched the spots where Qin Shi Huang was known to spent

time at, in order to search for the cobblestone path, including the Chengshan Tou, Luang Pao

Tai, Zhi Fu Island, and the Jieshi Mountain… He gathered all the stories he could find about

Qin Shi Huang’s voyages and travels, and found that the most captivating tale was the one

about Chengshan Tou.

According to an old Chinese poem, Chengshan Tou was located in the eastern section of

the Jiaodong Peninsula. As Qin Shi Huang arrived to the Chengshan Tou on his carriage, he

was awestruck by the majestic mountains that stretched above the clouds, the powerful ocean

swell that cast a burst of mist above the shoreline and said out loud to himself, “This must be

paradise; a land where mountains reach up into sky and where oceans have no edge.”

In that moment, the Emperor felt a newfound storm brewing in his heart. He became

determined to build a bridge that connected the mainland to the island, which would allow

him to pay visits to paradise on any day of his choosing, whether it was on horse or by foot,

nothing was going to stop him.

He looked towards the towering peaks, and bellowed, “Line up the stones!”

In traditional Chinese culture, the Emperor took on the role of the Mandate of Heaven,

and everything under the sky obeyed his orders with no question. Immediately, the stones

lined up by themselves, and one by one, they paved a road over the mountains and the sea.

But Qin Shi Huang thought that some of the stones moved too slowly, so he took out a

whip from his backpack and began whipping the stones. The stones broke apart and bled, but

continued to order themselves according to Qin Shi Huang’s wishes. They remain sturdy and

motionless even now, in a uniform and organized manner, exactly the way Qin Shi Huang

wanted.

These rocks have a dark red color, and some say they can even see the markings of Qin

Shi Huang’s whip on the surfaces of the rocks.

On the southern side of the Chengshan Tou, four large rocks stood in a line facing the

east. They rise and fall out of view with the tides, appearing like the legendary hidden bridge

built by Qin Shi Huang himself.

But of course, the legends of Qin Shi Huang’s bridge was nothing but a wonderful story.

On Chi’s voyage to Qinshan Island, he met a Japanese tourist who took the same ferry

and the two travelers struck up a conversation. When Chi told him that he came from Xu Fu

Village, the Japanese tourist answered delightedly, “What a coincidence! I come from

Tsushima, Japan, the city where Qin Shi Huang’s envoy Xu Fu visited to search for his fruit

of immortality.”

As if reading Chi’s mind, the Japanese tourist immediately followed, “The fruit was

none other than Japan’s wild kiwis.”

“Kiwis!” Chi’s jaw dropped in surprise. He had heard about the story of Xu Fu and his

search for immortality all the way back in middle school, but he never knew that the fruit of

immortality was something as simple as peaches.

Curious, Chi paid the Japanese tourist a visit at his hotel after the two finished their tour

of Qinshan Island. The Japanese tourist was pleased to meet someone as interested in history

as he was, and gave Chi a full account of why and how Xu Fu wanted to search for kiwis

from Japan.

The otherwise little known story of Xu Fu and kiwis was a popular folktale amongst

Japanese locals.

When Xu Fu first arrived in Japan, locals served him sake to welcome him into the

country. In order to show his appreciation for the Japanese people’s hospitality, Xu Fu drank

an entire glass of sake and tossed the glass into the sea, only to see it unexpectedly float on

the water and drift towards the sea. Soon, an island appeared in the direction that the cup

floated to, and people refer to the beloved tourist island now as The Island of the Floating

Cup.

A statue of Xu Fu and a beautiful Japanese lady stood tall in the Japanese city of

Kyushu. The statue became known as the God of Onsen, and legend has it that when Xu Fu

visited Fukuoka, the town chief hosted a banquet for Xu Fu and asked a gorgeous local girl

named Tatsu to accompany him. Xu Fu and Tatsu fell in love, but because Xu Fu was

burdened with the responsibility to search for the fruit of immortality for Qin Shi Huang, he

sadly bid his goodbyes to Tatsu and Fukuoka, and left a majestic sword to her as a souvenir. Without her love by her side, Tatsu soon passed away from heartsickness. The local

villagers commemorated Tatsu and Xu Fu by building a statue of the two lovers outside the

hot springs, in a shrine they dedicated to Tatsu. Eventually, the statue was affectionately

referred to as “The God of Onsen” by locals and tourists alike.

Even more interestingly, some locals of Fukuoka believe that they themselves are related

to Xu Fu and Qin Shi Huang. One such believer was Tsutomu Hata, the former Prime

Minister of Japan. After Hata left office, he made a special trip to the village of Xu Fu in

Jiangsu, China and claimed to be a descendant of the Qin people, explaining that his

ancestors in the Hata clan used to have the surname “Qin”, and only changed their last name

to Hata during the Meiji Restoration Period. In Japan, the characters for “Qin” and “Hata” are

quite similar, and some Japanese people have kept the last name “Qin” even now.

When Chi asked about the fruit of immortality and kiwis, his newfound companion

smiled, and told him, “The so-called fruit of immortality that the ancient Chinese people

spoke of is known as “kiui” in Japan. They come in the size of a walnut, and are very juicy

and tasteful. In ancient times, folklore spread that a single bite of the kiui allowed people to

become immortal, and even just a smell could extend people’s lives for many years.”

He continued, “The waters that Xu Fu sailed to back then was the Seto Inland Sea,

surrounded by the cities of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, which was sparsely populated and

difficult to find. The region appeared mysterious, and the fruit of immortality that people

spoke of there was just an ordinary kiwi, and though it is high in nutritious value, calling it a

“fruit of immortality” may be a little exaggerated.”

Chi finally found out the story beneath a tale he had heard about ever since he was a

child, and shook his new friend’s hand tightly before he left to continue on his journey. “It’s

incredible to see how long-lasting the friendship between our countries has been. I hope it

continues for many more years,” Chi said.

As Chi boarded yet another ferry, he dribbled down in his notes that Xu Fu’s journey to

Japan was substantial and meaningful, reaching the hearts of people in a remote area of Japan

and introducing them to foreign cultures while learning about their own customs and beliefs.

Qin Shi Huang also became the first organizer of maritime exploration in Chinese history,

inspiring others and allowing them to travel to places that they wouldn’t even otherwise

dream of. Traveling at sea has brought immeasurable influences to a variety of civilizations

and immense progress to human history, and the adventures of those seafarers should never

be forgotten.

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