扈鲁：走出去，讲好葫芦故事

《葫芦文化丛书》总主编扈鲁先生谈起葫芦来，就点燃了其兴奋点，滔滔不绝。让我感兴趣的，他不仅有言，还有行；不仅立足于国内，还走到国外。将葫芦文化研究拓展到亚洲、非洲、欧洲、美洲等上百个国家和地区，通过“最葫芦•葫芦文化丝路行”展演，在国际舞台上讲述中国故事、传播中国葫芦文化，推动中华葫芦文化重新走上21世纪“新丝路”。

Hu Lu, chief editor of The Gourd Culture Series, could not stop talking about gourd culture when it comes to gourd. What interests me is not just what he says, but what he does. Hu extends the gourd culture research to hundreds of countries and regions such as Asia, Africa, Europe, America and so on. Through the "Glamour of the Gourd – Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road", he tells the Chinese story on the international stage, and spreads Chinese gourd culture to promote the influence of Chinese gourd culture on the "21st Century New Silk Road".

2017年11月30日，“最葫芦•葫芦文化丝路行”走进加拿大，在新布伦瑞克省孔子学院，扈鲁教授作了题为“‘最葫芦•葫芦文化丝路行’走进加拿大”主题演讲。畅谈了葫芦文化与儒家文化的渊源。他首先拿从中国带来的一个葫芦瓢说起，葫芦一分为二即为瓢，关于瓢，《论语》中有一个“箪食瓢饮”的故事，《论语•雍也》有云：“一箪食，一瓢饮，在陋巷，人不堪其忧，回也不改其乐。贤哉，回也！”讲的是2500多年前孔子最喜爱的弟子颜回艰苦求学的典故。颜回生活简朴，平日用竹器盛饭吃，用葫芦瓢舀水喝，住在曲阜简陋的小巷，这是别人难以忍受的艰难生活，但他依旧跟随老师孔子孜孜求学，最终取得了辉煌成就。扈鲁对孔子学院的同学们说，今天，我们的物质生活早已不像颜回时代那样匮乏，我们的精神生活也同样不能匮乏，只要大家“默而识之”“学而不厌”“敏而好学”，就一定能够学好汉语、学好中国文化。

On November 30, 2017, the “Glamour of the Gourd -- Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road” entered Canada. At the Confucius Institute in New Brunswick, Professor Hu Lu gave a keynote speech on “Glamour of the Gourd -- Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road” and talked about the origin of the gourd culture and Confucian culture. Hu began his speech with a gourd ladle brought from China which can be got when one gourd is divided into two parts. There is a gourd ladle story in The Analects of Confucius. The Analects of Confucius · Yongye says, "Yan Hui lives simply on a bamboo dish of rice and a gourd of drink in a poor alley. Few people can bear it while he doesn’t change his positive attitudes towards life and happiness. What a noble person he is!" This is an allusion to the diligence of Yan Hui, the favorite disciple of Confucius 2,500 years ago. Yan Hui lived a simple life in an alley of Qufu, eating with a bamboo utensil (Dan) and drinking with a ladle, which was unbearable for others. However, in the circumstances, he followed his master Confucius, studying assiduously. Eventually he made brilliant achievements. Hu Lu told the students at the Confucius Institute that nowadays our material life is no longer as deficient as that of Yan Hui’s time, nor should be our cultural life. Everyone is sure to learn Chinese and Chinese culture well as long as he is keen on learning and insatiable in learning and learns in a down-to-earth way.

“最葫芦·葫芦文化丝路行”走进美国 “Glamour of the Gourd – Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road” entered U.S.

四天后，“最葫芦•葫芦文化丝路行”又马不停蹄地来到美国密苏里州立大学。美国葫芦协会副会长雷蒙德·柯南高度评价了此次美中葫芦文化交流活动，对扈鲁先生在推动葫芦文化全球化所做的贡献表示由衷的敬佩和感谢。他回顾了近年赴中国探寻葫芦文化的所见所闻，了解到在中国，葫芦不仅意味着幸福，而且还可以帮助人们实现幸福。在中国的历史上，葫芦有数以百计的用途，例如：几个世纪以前的葫芦碗、葫芦花瓶、葫芦做的蟋蟀笼、葫芦乐器以及用葫芦做成的人物塑像等等，接着，他又介绍了美国的葫芦文化艺术开展情况，雷蒙德·柯南先生希望以此为契机，加强美中两国葫芦文化艺术交流。

Just four days later, the “Glamour of the Gourd – Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road” came to Missouri State University. Raymond Konan, Vice President of the American Gourd Society, spoke highly of the cultural exchange activities between the US and China and expressed his sincere admiration and gratitude to Mr. Hu for his contribution to promoting the globalization of gourd culture. Conan recalled his journey in recent years to China exploring gourd culture, in which he learned that the gourd in China not only symbolizes happiness, but also helps people to gain happiness. In the history of China, there are hundreds of uses of gourds, such as gourd bowls, gourd vases, gourd cages, gourd instruments, figurines made of gourds, and so on. Then he introduced the development of the gourd culture and art in the United States. Mr. Conan hopes to use this opportunity to strengthen the cultural and artistic exchanges of gourd between United States and China.

扈鲁在满含深情地讲述了中国“芦笙恋歌”的故事后，拿起一把从中国带去的葫芦笙，在现场动情地吹奏起来，随着悠扬乐曲，他跳起了芦笙舞，还即兴唱起了“芦笙恋歌”主题曲《婚誓》，博得在场嘉宾的阵阵掌声。

After telling the Lu Sheng Love story, Mr. Hu picked up a Lusheng he brought from China and played it emotionally. Accompanying the melodious music, he performed a Lusheng dance and sang Vow of Marriage– the theme song of the movie Lu Sheng Love Story, which won the applause of distinguished guests.

2018年9月23日，“最葫芦·葫芦文化丝路行”再一次走出国门，来到“一带一路”南亚十国之一的马尔代夫，讲述来自中国的葫芦故事。通过中国传统花鸟画的展现，结合近期由中华书局出版的《葫芦文化丛书》向当地民众和艺术家们介绍了葫芦在中华文明传承过程中的物质形态应用及演变，同时介绍了中华民族传统文化赋予的文化属性以及人们在生产生活中流传的民间神话传说。整个展览过程中，参展民众深深的被华夏民族的勤劳智慧所折服，为中国传统文化的魅力所吸引，对扈鲁先生及问墨女士所创的传统国画以及由扈鲁先生担纲总主编的《葫芦文化丛书》产生浓厚的兴趣。

On September 23, 2018, the “Glamour of the Gourd -- Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road” once again went abroad and came to the Maldives, one of the ten countries in South Asia, to tell Chinese gourd story. Through the display of traditional Chinese flower and bird paintings, combined with the recent The Gourd Culture Seriespublished by Zhonghua Book Company, the local people and artists had knowledge of the application and evolution of the physical form of the gourd in the process of inheriting Chinese civilization and understood gourd's cultural identity endowed by Chinese culture and some folk myths and legends that circulated in the productive and living fields. Throughout the exhibition, people were deeply impressed by the diligence and intelligence of the Chinese nation, attracted by the charm of Chinese traditional culture and showedgreatinterest in traditional Chinese paintings created by Hu Lu and his wife Wen Mo as well as The Gourd Culture Serieswith Hu Lu as its editor-in-chief.

记者了解，“最葫芦•葫芦文化丝路行”还先后走进日本、白俄罗斯、俄罗斯等国，所到之处，都受到当地葫芦文化爱好者和艺术家的高度关注。

The reporter learned that “Glamour of the Gourd -- Gourd Culture Tour along the Silk Road” had also entered Japan, Belarus, Russia and other countries, and wherever they went, they highly attracted local gourd culture lovers and artists.

2018年9月18日，韩国成均馆大学英文系名誉教授、世界传统诗人协会世界总部事务总长俞万根，对《葫芦文化丛书》给予高度评价，说：“扈鲁先生亲手收集制作葫芦艺术品的同时，系统的研究有关各地民俗和其变迁史，并进行著书把它发展成一种学问，这是非常罕见的宝贵功劳。我对扈鲁先生表示敬意。希望他的著书不仅在中国，在全世界，尤其在韩国这样的邻国盛传。”

On September 18, 2018, Yu Wangen, emeritus professor of the English Department of Sungkyunkwan University and World Headquarters Affairs director of the Traditional Poetry Writers Association of the World, spoke highly of the Gourd Culture Series and said: "Mr. Hu personally collects the production of gourd art. At the same time, he makes systematic study of gourd folklore and its developmenthistory and even writes the book to develop gourd culture into a kind of learning, which is very rare and valuable. I pay tribute to Mr. Hu. I hope that his book will be widely known not only in China, but also in the world,especially in China's neighboring countries such as South Korea.

美国孤星学院的学者凯瑟琳 ·克鲁索（Katharine Caruso ）曾经到访扈鲁的工作室，说：“作为一个学无止境的人，我觉得能够在生活中找到某种事物，比如葫芦，简直太棒了。它们可以填补艺术、历史、地理以及文学等等各方面之间存在的鸿沟。扈教授拥有诸多成就，称得上是一位非凡的学者，这令我激动万分。我们也听过莎士比亚的话：太阳底下无新事。但这不就是嘛——一个无人涉足过的全新知识领域。通过这次会面，我们能够见到这位联通诸多学科的学者，并与他本人聊一聊，真的是一次特殊的经历。”

Katharine Caruso, a scholar at Lone Star College in the United States, once visited the studio of Hu Lu and said: "As adiligent student, I feel it awesome that I can find something in my lifelikegourds. They can bridge the gap between art, history, geography, and literature, etc. Professor Hu has many achievements, and he is an extraordinary scholar. This makes me very excited. We are familiar with Shakespeare’s words: There is nothing new under the sun. But this is not the case – it is a new field of knowledge that no one has ever been involved in. This meeting is really a special experience for us to be able to see and talk to this distinguished scholar proficient in many disciplines.

美国友人参观葫芦博物馆 American friends visited the Gourd Museum

扈鲁说，2013年，习总书记视察曲阜，就弘扬中华优秀的传统文化发表了重要讲话，我们倍感振奋。作为在孔子家乡大学的一名以葫芦文化研究为主攻方向的学者，更应该自觉担当起弘扬中华优秀传统文化、深入开展中华葫芦文化研究的重任，加快推动葫芦文化研究从国内向海外的拓展辐射，讲好中国葫芦故事，传播中国葫芦声音。

Hu Lu said that in 2013, President Xi Jinping inspected Qufu and made an important speech on promoting China's excellent traditional culture, which made us very excited. As a scholar focusing on gourd culture study in a university in Confucius’ hometown, Hu Lu believes he should consciously take up the responsibility of carrying forward the excellent traditional culture of China and deepen and globalize the study of Chinese gourd culture, telling the perfect Chinese gourd stories. 

葫芦与“一带一路”的“缘分”由来已久。在古丝绸之路上，丝绸、瓷器和茶叶是对外贸易的主要品种，成为中华文明走向世界的标志性符号，深受世界各国人民的喜爱。据历史学家考证，瓷器是由陶器发展而来，中国早在新石器时代就发明了陶器，而最初的陶器无论是造型上还是功能上，都是先人们从葫芦那里得到的启发。“葫芦外形柔和圆润、线条流畅，上下球体浑然天成，符合‘尚和合’‘求大同’的理念，谐音‘福禄’代表着中国人对美好生活的向往，凝结着中华传统文化精髓和民族文化基因，同‘构建人类命运共同体’高度契合。”扈鲁说。

Gourd has long been bonded with the Belt and Road. Silk, porcelain and tea, the main products in foreign trade along the ancient Silk Road, are symbols of the popularization of Chinese civilization. Porcelain was proved by historians to have evolved from pottery made by the Chinese as early as Neolithic Age, and from the shape and function of the early potteries one can see the designers’ inspiration from gourd. “The natural and elegant outline of gourd makes it a perfect embodiment of harmony, which also conforms to the concepts of “appreciating and pursing harmony”. The Chinese pronunciation of gourd sounds like “fu lu” (happiness and wealth), representing the Chinese people's yearning for a better life, condensing the essence of Chinese traditional culture and national cultural genes, and is highly compatible with the idea of ‘constructing a community with a shared future for mankind’", said Hu Lu.

加拿大友人参观葫芦博物馆 Canadian friends visited the Gourd Museum

行胜于言，可是出门难、行路难。扈鲁在走出去的过程中，肯定克服了各种困难，但是他始终是微笑着的，他把一切都当成修炼，葫芦给他智慧。我开玩笑，遇到难题和障碍的时候，是不是在默念：“葫芦，葫芦，给我力量！”扈鲁爽朗的笑声传来，是葫芦把他的笑声放大了。

Actions speak louder than words. However, it is difficult to spread Chinese culture overseas. In the process of going global, Hu Lu have overcome all kinds of difficulties with the wisdom endowed by the gourds. I joked with Hu and asked whether he would silently say: "Gourd, gourd, give me strength!" when he encountered problems and obstacles. On hearing this, he laughed brightly. It is gourd that magnifies his laughter.

（逄春阶:《大众日报》高级记者，中国作家协会会员）

(Pang Chunjie: Senior reporter of the "Dazhong Daily", member of the Chinese Writers Association)