In Lu Xun's hometown, near Shenyuan, the boats you can usually see are all small awning boats, with a bamboo awning at the bow and stern. Should be protected from the sun and rain. The canopy is painted with dark paint or tung oil, which is black and shiny, hiding the original color of bamboo.
The canopy is semicircular, similar to the arched bridge opening that can be seen everywhere in water towns. There is a hut under the canopy, which is low and narrow. Looking inside, there are scattered boatmen's daily necessities: ponchos, towels, cups, and occasionally a plate of fennel beans. The middle of the boat is open, and the two opposite wooden partitions are tourists' seats. The seats are simple and don't worry, but the boat is on the water, people are between heaven and earth, and they care about mountains and rivers, which ignores this little crowding and discomfort.
When sailing, the boatman sits at the stern and paddles two oars, one under his arm or in his palm, and the other with one foot, which distinguishes the boats in Shaoxing from those in other parts of the south of the Yangtze River. The rowing boat Wu Peng is a unique scenery in Shaoxing, which can only accommodate three or four people. If one boatman is deducted, there can only be two or three guests. Because the boat is small, it will shake when boarding, and timid people will inevitably worry, but when people sit well, the boat will be stable. The boatman scolded lightly, his hands and feet joined together, and the whole body started, and the boat slipped out of the berth like a swallow.
This reminds me of gondola in Venice. The ship type is the same, but the ship is all black and you can't see the old and new years. The shape is slightly longer. The two ends of the ship are tilted very high, like the shape of an iron anchor. There is no canopy on the ship, but the material of the ship seems to be much stronger than that of Shaoxing. In Venice, gondoliers are mostly young people, tall and handsome, wearing wide-brimmed cowboy hats and sunglasses. When the boat was sailing, the man stood at one end of the boat, holding a pole in his hand, and the boat started on the water. The rower and the boat together became a landscape on the ancient river.
Unlike Venice, boatmen in Jiangnan water towns, regardless of gender, are generally elderly. I haven't seen a boatwoman on the Shaoxing ship. Most of the boatmen are men in their fifties, and some are older. Humpback, dark face, calm expression and wrinkles on the face make people who take a boat not think of the old tree rings that can be seen everywhere in the water town. But this image does not affect the quality of sailing and taking a boat. On the contrary, the old boatman is skilled and knowledgeable. While sailing, they chatted with tourists from all over the world, rambled about local allusions and customs, and when it comes to unfinished business, they raised their voices and sang a few boat songs. The singing was loud and clear, which swept away the previous pettiness and inadvertently increased the fun of sailing.
When you take a boat in Shaoxing, you should choose the right place. The river in the city is narrow and the boatmen can't display it. Taking a boat is like "visiting here". East Lake is a place suitable for taking a boat. Shan Qi is beautiful in water and secluded in caves. Whether it is rainy or sunny, there are probably two or three people boating, chatting or watching the scenery on the lake. In the shadow of the ship, the beautiful scenery of the south of the Yangtze River slowly spreads out with the lakes and mountains. At that time, the boat passed a low bridge opening, and people with good deeds cheered loudly on the bridge, so the boatman was so busy that he turned to smile, and the wrinkles on his face squeezed his eyes into a crack. Turn around, the ship seems to be faster than before.
In Mr. Zhou Zuoren's letter to a friend that day, there was a special recommendation to go home by boat. According to the size of the boat, Wu Peng's boat in this paper is divided into Sanming tile and Siming tile, and there is also an introduction to rowing with feet. But because of its simplicity, Mr. Zhou did not suggest that the guests sit down. In addition to Wu Peng's boat, there are also white mans boats in Shaoxing, which Mr. Lu Xun also mentioned in social dramas. When I was in Shaoxing, my friend made an appointment to swim around the Chenghe River and watch the lights at night, and took such a big boat. You can drink tea and eat melon seeds on the boat, and it is very leisurely and comfortable to sit on it. This white-hulled ship is far less famous than Wu Peng's, and it has never appeared in the city during the day.
On our boat, it seems that all we can see now is the pedal boat that Mr. Wang called "a leaf boat" Perhaps compared with other boats, rowing with feet is simple, but it is small and smart and convenient to pass down. Of course, the cultural elements of Wu Peng's boat today are far greater than its practical value, and the significance of taking a boat has nothing to do with traffic. The people sitting on the boat, whether for fresh entertainment or to experience a Jiangnan culture, are historical, geographical and humanistic, which is a breath of another era that you can't really feel when standing or walking on land.
People say that if you don't take Wu Peng's boat, you won't be in Shaoxing. In Shaoxing, some people are worried about the fate of Wu Peng's boat. The fact is that when the old boatman gradually fades out of the ancient river, this Wu Peng boat pulled by feet will eventually become history. However, we have reason to believe that as long as the river is still there, Wu Peng boat will not disappear, but its feet will be replaced by hand or machinery, but Wu Peng boat is still Wu Peng boat and Shaoxing is still Shaoxing. For an ancient city with profound heritage, it doesn't matter what carrier to use. What matters is the concept of cultural inheritance. With this concept, a culture can continue, no matter what form it takes, it will be endless.