竹編人竹編情

裘冬梅

傾聽漸遠(yuǎn)的編織聲

一級(jí)，二級(jí)，三級(jí)，從一樓到三樓，有52級(jí)臺(tái)階，每級(jí)臺(tái)階都沾滿了星星點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的風(fēng)干的油漆。

竹編藝人劉長(zhǎng)泉、袁亞琴夫婦每次上下這52級(jí)臺(tái)階時(shí)，常常會(huì)停下來深深吸一口氣，眺望一下不遠(yuǎn)的竹山。他倆仿佛覺得透過青翠的煙嵐，還可以聽到過往歲月里樓上樓下的歡聲笑語和編織聲，還可以嗅到淡淡的油漆味道。

對(duì)于這對(duì)竹編藝人，只要藝術(shù)村還在、越鄉(xiāng)工藝竹編廠還在，他倆的竹編情結(jié)就還在，他倆對(duì)嵊州竹編始終懷有殷切的復(fù)興的期望。

嵊州竹編曾被譽(yù)為“中外竹編第一家”，嵊州曾被國(guó)務(wù)院命名為全國(guó)唯一的“中國(guó)竹編之鄉(xiāng)”。

嵊州竹編最輝煌的時(shí)代在20世紀(jì)七八十年代。那時(shí)手工藝相當(dāng)活躍，竹編的籃、盤、罐、盒、瓶、屏風(fēng)以及動(dòng)物造型幾乎充滿了生活的角角落落。

可惜，手工藝漸漸淪落，竹編的聲名也不太為人知曉。只有那些對(duì)竹編傾注滿腔深情的藝人，還堅(jiān)守著這門手工藝。

嵊州市北直街299號(hào)，是當(dāng)年紅極一時(shí)的嵊州工藝美術(shù)竹編廠所在地。廠址如今改建成藝術(shù)村。劉長(zhǎng)泉、袁亞琴夫婦開辦的嵊州越鄉(xiāng)工藝竹編廠就在藝術(shù)村一幢房子的三樓。這里是當(dāng)年竹編廠的油漆車間，每一件運(yùn)往海內(nèi)外的竹編作品都要在這里上過油漆，才能風(fēng)姿綽約地走出大門?，F(xiàn)在，繁華不再，熱鬧不再，一切都靜了下來，也就幾位老藝人還在編編織織。

往事如影相隨，總在浮現(xiàn)。

去北京就是去天安門

1958年7月1日，年僅14歲的袁亞琴進(jìn)了嵊縣竹器木業(yè)社當(dāng)學(xué)徒，是年齡最小的一位。她清楚地記得“自己是竹木社的第58個(gè)學(xué)徒”。

袁亞琴天生是做竹編的料。第二年，在全社舉行的編織比賽中，15歲的她得了第一名。做竹編不僅要手巧，而且要心靈，物件凸出部位要添多少篾絲，凹進(jìn)部位又該如何處理，沒有現(xiàn)成的樣本，全靠自己琢磨。袁亞琴干起活來得心應(yīng)手，竹絲篾絲到了她手中特別聽話，她編織的動(dòng)物特別有靈氣，“栩栩如生，像活的一樣”。

幾年過去，竹木社不斷發(fā)展，改名為嵊縣工藝美術(shù)竹編廠，搬到了北直街現(xiàn)在的藝術(shù)村所在地。而袁亞琴也已成為廠里的技術(shù)骨干，大凡有產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新改革，樣品總由她試制完成。

1964年，留存了袁亞琴一生中最難忘的一個(gè)片段。年初的一天，廠長(zhǎng)找袁亞琴談話，問她有沒有棉衣棉褲，袁亞琴很實(shí)在地?fù)u了搖頭。廠長(zhǎng)很遺憾地說了句“那就沒辦法了，去北京要被凍壞的”：原來浙江省首屆工藝美術(shù)展覽會(huì)在北京舉辦，袁亞琴被選為嵊縣竹編的代表前往參加。

去北京就是去天安門！20歲的袁亞琴充滿了熱烈的向往。于是，她在兩條單褲里鋪上棉花，用針一縫，做成一條棉褲；再裁了件燈蕊絨罩衫罩在老棉襖外面，就算配齊了。

1964年2月10日至3月22日，袁亞琴如愿到了北京。展覽會(huì)期間，全國(guó)人大常委會(huì)副委員長(zhǎng)郭沫若、陳叔通，國(guó)務(wù)院副總理李先念、譚震林等領(lǐng)導(dǎo)都來了，和他們這些普通勞動(dòng)者一一握手，并一起吃了年夜飯。

北京之行，袁亞琴拍了很多照片，照片是黑白的，年久日深已經(jīng)褪色，但記憶鮮活如初：國(guó)家領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人豎起大拇指贊揚(yáng)了嵊縣竹編的精致工藝。

見證輝煌鼎盛的時(shí)代

“再精美的工藝品，也需要訂單?！?/p>

袁亞琴說，1978年，因?yàn)榧夹g(shù)精湛、又喜于表達(dá)，她被廠里委以重任從事產(chǎn)品銷售。她跑過各地很多大飯店，有失望也有希望。

1979年10月，袁亞琴訂到了廠里最大的一筆單子。那次是在南京搞的旅游產(chǎn)品展覽會(huì)上。袁亞琴帶去20件竹編工藝品，第一天就吸引了七八位客人?？腿酥v上海話，一副很感興趣的樣子，但沒有下單。

袁亞琴很著急，便向會(huì)務(wù)人員打聽上?？腿说淖√?。當(dāng)天吃過晚飯，她拖著一個(gè)裝滿竹編工藝品的大紙箱直奔南京飯店。南京飯店離她住的旅館有不少路，她一邊走一邊問，從6點(diǎn)開始，一直走到10點(diǎn)10分才到達(dá)。10月的南京還很炎熱，當(dāng)汗流浹背的袁亞琴敲開房門時(shí)，上?？腿舜糇×恕?/p>

“我就以這種方式打動(dòng)客人。”袁亞琴說，這些客人來自上海錦江飯店、和平飯店、衡山飯店，他們每人都訂下了六七千元單子。“當(dāng)年，5萬多元的碼洋意味著什么？豬肉就7角多一斤。”袁亞琴回憶，“想想都會(huì)在夢(mèng)中發(fā)笑的?！?/p>

此后，袁亞琴就和這些上?？腿私Y(jié)下了深厚的情誼。他們不僅訂袁亞琴的單子，還不斷地給她介紹新客戶。在他們眼里，袁亞琴就是嵊縣竹編的金名片、代言人。

每年各地的博覽交易會(huì)，袁亞琴一次不落地參加，北上南下，會(huì)會(huì)老朋友，結(jié)識(shí)新朋友。在這“會(huì)會(huì)”與“結(jié)識(shí)”中，單子像雪片一樣飛來，有一年袁亞琴訂到了180萬元碼洋。

從1980年起，袁亞琴又兼搞外銷，參加廣州春交會(huì)、秋交會(huì)，有時(shí)還有北京、上海的展會(huì)。她說那時(shí)候自己“又苦又累”，“最多一年有215天在外面跑銷售”。

袁亞琴見證了1985年至1989年嵊縣竹編最輝煌鼎盛的時(shí)期：廠里有400多名職工，全縣幾乎每個(gè)村子都有他們的初加工作坊。那些年，嵊縣工藝美術(shù)竹編廠職工走路的腳步特別堅(jiān)實(shí)鏗鏘。

愛人的9月緣分

袁亞琴愛人劉長(zhǎng)泉的竹編生涯，似乎跟9月有緣。

1962年9月，17歲的劉長(zhǎng)泉進(jìn)嵊縣竹器木業(yè)社做工；1980年9月，被調(diào)去嵊縣包裝裝潢廠任副廠長(zhǎng)；1998年9月，又調(diào)回嵊州工藝美術(shù)竹編廠任新一任廠長(zhǎng)。

在任廠長(zhǎng)前，劉長(zhǎng)泉對(duì)竹編的情感比較平淡：當(dāng)學(xué)徒，出師；當(dāng)工人，干活。有人問劉長(zhǎng)泉他倆是怎樣相識(shí)結(jié)婚的，他竟也回答不出個(gè)所以然，只是說，那時(shí)老婆很忙，“甚至連坐下來談戀愛的時(shí)間都沒有”。

袁亞琴為竹編忙，劉長(zhǎng)泉為包裝裝潢忙。

從20世紀(jì)90年代起，竹制生活用品逐漸失去市場(chǎng)，竹編工藝品也受到影響。1998年9月，在包裝裝潢廠顯露領(lǐng)導(dǎo)與管理才能的劉長(zhǎng)泉奉調(diào)竹編廠，上級(jí)希望他能延續(xù)昔日輝煌。

劉長(zhǎng)泉回到竹編廠后，第一件事就是召開職工代表會(huì)議，傾聽他們的建議和意見。這些人大都是竹編廠興旺時(shí)期的見證人，對(duì)竹編工藝懷有深厚的情感。大家一致表示，想要振興竹編廠，一定要叫業(yè)已退休的袁亞琴回來。舉賢不避親。袁亞琴就這樣重回竹編廠，她以前的營(yíng)銷方法——與客戶建立深厚感情，一并沿襲。

1999年3月，竹編廠接到省里通知，編制一件迎接澳門回歸的大型竹編作品。又是在9月，這件由劉長(zhǎng)泉主持創(chuàng)作、名為《滄海還珠》的作品完成。作品造型是兩條矯健的蟠龍，踩水波，踏祥云，上下翻卷騰躍，吞吐的金色龍涎托出一顆璀璨奪目的寶珠。蟠龍的飛舞，水浪的飛濺，云彩的飛動(dòng)，表現(xiàn)出神采明快的精神：浙江第一，中國(guó)第一，世界第一。

這件作品讓嵊州竹編再次走進(jìn)媒體和公眾的視野。

期盼竹編的春天

當(dāng)年，袁亞琴退休、走出竹編廠大門時(shí)，忍不住放聲大哭起來，她的青春年華都留給了這里，這里的一草一木、一磚一瓦都與她息息相關(guān)。

但是，袁亞琴這輩子注定要吃竹編飯的。

2002年，竹編廠實(shí)行改制，劉長(zhǎng)泉、袁亞琴夫婦以滄然的心情買下了它。面對(duì)空階荒草，他倆怎么也不相信江南竹鄉(xiāng)的傳統(tǒng)手工藝行將消失。

嵊州竹編以造型精巧、編織細(xì)膩、氣韻生動(dòng)而著稱。袁亞琴憶起1982年有過的輝煌：“燙金花瓶”在廣交會(huì)一次性成交36萬只，開創(chuàng)了新紀(jì)錄。

袁亞琴又憶起1979年鄧小平訪美，嵊州竹編《白尾海雕》作為國(guó)禮被送進(jìn)白宮，得到時(shí)任美國(guó)總統(tǒng)卡特的贊譽(yù)；1986年，大型嵊州竹編《昭陵六駿》送展英國(guó)，戴安娜王妃前來剪彩，轟動(dòng)英倫三島……當(dāng)其時(shí)，嵊州竹編暢銷到了日本、美國(guó)、意大利、德國(guó)等80多個(gè)國(guó)家和地區(qū)，贏得了“東方珍寶”“世上精品”的贊譽(yù)。

總會(huì)有人記得嵊州竹編的。2006年5月，嵊州竹編被國(guó)務(wù)院批準(zhǔn)列入第一批國(guó)家級(jí)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)項(xiàng)目之中。之后，曾編織過《籬笆、女人、狗》《麻姑獻(xiàn)壽》《門獅》等上千件精品的袁亞琴，成為這一技藝的省級(jí)傳承人。

這幾年，竹編行業(yè)越來越蕭條，越鄉(xiāng)竹編工藝廠也只有少數(shù)老客戶的訂單。廠里從事編織的也就10多位職工，他們都是和劉長(zhǎng)泉、袁亞琴夫婦一樣對(duì)竹編有著深深情結(jié)的老藝人。

每天平淡地上班下班，但劉長(zhǎng)泉、袁亞琴夫婦思緒起伏如竹海波濤。竹編廠舊址還在，竹編老藝人還在，竹編的根應(yīng)當(dāng)還在。

（本文照片由作者提供）

The staircase stretches 52 steps from the ground floor to the third floor. Unlike some other staircases， this one is spattered with paints and connects Liu Changquan and Yuan Yaqins bamboo weaving workshop on the third floor with the outside world.

The factory is at 299 Beizhi Street， Shengzhou， a county-level city in eastern Zhejiang， a coastal province in the east of China. The three-storied house used to be part of an arts and crafts factory where the couple once worked. Today， the third floor of the building on the previous factory site houses a small bamboo-weaving business the couple operates. The third-floor used to be a workshop where finished products were painted before they were shipped out to the overseas market.

Yuan Yaqin came to work for the bamboo-wood factory on July 1， 1958. She was 14 years old and she still remembers today that she was the 58th apprentice of the business. She was talented. At 15， she came out first in a factory-wide competition for bamboo-weaving skills. Over years， she grew up to be product developer. Whenever a new product was designed， she was the one who produced the first product. One day in early 1964， the factory director and Yuan had a brief conversation. The director asked whether she had thick jacket and trousers for the winter. She didnt ask why and answered honestly that she didnt have any thick winter cloths padded with cotton. The director then said she wouldnt stand the extreme cold of Beijing without any padded cloths. It turned out that she had been picked to take part in the first Zhejiang Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Beijing on the behalf of the bamboo-weaving industry of Shengxian County. Nothing could stop her from going. She made a pair of make-do padded trousers by putting two pants together and stuffed cotton in between. She was in Beijing from February 10 to March 22， 1964. State leaders visited the exhibition and had Spring Festival dinner with all the craftspeople at the exhibition.

The years from 1978 to 1989 saw the arts and crafts factory prosper. The bamboo products sold well on the internet market. And Yuan was the major promoter and she got the biggest number of contracts. In one year she signed contracts worth 1.8 million yuan. Back then it was a huge fortune. From 1985 to 1989， the factory did extremely well. That year， the factory employed more than 400 craftsmen and almost every village had a workshop where the rudimentary process was done. But the market for bamboo-woven household pieces slumped after 1989. And the factory went under.

If the wife is a master of bamboo weaving and great saleswoman， then the husband is a good manager. He came to the factory in 1962 and in 1989 he was transferred to work as a manager in another factory in the county. In 1998， he was appointed new director of the bamboo-weaving factory where he had worked for 18 years and met Yuan and married her.

After the new appointment， he talked with the remaining employees of the factory to see what could be done to bring the factory back. They made suggestions. One of them was that the new directors wife must come back. They knew she loved the factory all her life and the art of bamboo weaving. She cried when walking out of the factory on the day she retired. Moreover， she knew where to find buyers. The comeback was brief. In 1999， the factory made its last brilliant masterpiece， a bamboo-woven artwork done in celebration of Hong Kongs return to the sovereignty of the motherland.

In 2002， Yuan and Liu bought the factory out and became the owners. They havent brought the factory back to its old glory. Nowadays， there are only ten plus bamboo weavers working at the factory on the third floor for a small number of orders.

Fortunately， the bamboo weaving of Shengzhou was inscribed in May 2006 on the first national list of intangible cultural heritage approved by the State Council. Yuan， who made nearly 1，000 bamboo-weaving masterpieces， is now a bamboo weaving master recognized by the provincial government.