舌尖上的航海丨第24集 中国鲁宾逊与老白干

这个故事发生在七十四年前的东非海域。

不久前，《海洋和谐号》来到英国一个港口，离港口不远有座临海的名叫约克的城市，是闻名于世的“鲁滨逊“的老家。

这里有座专门经营航海书藉的书店；“烟斗”书店。

《海洋和谐号》船长馬骅利用装货空挡，带领船员来到这家书店。《烟斗书店》是以鲁滨逊烟斗命名的。

书店门面不大，里外挤满了人。书店门前的招牌上画有一只大烟斗，烟斗上还写着一个人的名字：塞尔柯克。

“塞尔柯克？”几个船员不禁问道：“为什么不叫鲁滨逊！？”

船长馬骅笑着说：“塞尔柯克是鲁滨逊的原型，一个来自苏格兰的水手。”船长馬骅是位海员业余作家，写了许多有关海上生活的作品，海上知识很丰富，在航海界小有名气：“一次远航途中，性格暴烈的塞尔柯克与船长发生激烈的争吵，最后离船而去，被遗弃在距离智利500多公里的苏南得岛上。这是座无人居住的荒岛。”

船员们十分敬佩船长的知识，边参观书店边听船长介绍：”塞尔柯克在荒岛上生活了四年另四个月，才被英国著名的航海家罗克斯船长营救。回到英国后，罗克斯船长根据塞尔柯克在荒岛上的离奇经历，写了部《环球巡航记》，记载了塞尔柯克四年多的荒岛生活。后来这部《环球巡航记》引起当时著名作家丹尼尔，笛福的关注和兴趣。最终以《环球巡航记》的主人塞尔柯克为原型写了部长篇小说《鲁滨逊漂流记》。”

”这里为啥叫烟斗书店呢？“人们产生了疑问。

这个问题连知识丰富的船长馬骅也一时语塞。

他们找到了书店的主人。

书店主人叫约翰逊，正在筹迠《鲁滨逊纪念馆》。纪念馆离书店不远，正是塞尔柯克的故居。

约翰逊听说是来自远道的中国海员，热情地将他们迎进屋内，详细地介绍了塞尔柯克在荒岛四年多的荒岛求生事蹟，最后说，当年性格暴烈好胜的塞尔柯克与船长激烈争吵后毅然离去。离船时，船长特地送一个烟斗给塞尔柯克。几年后，塞尔柯克得救后，与老船长重逢时，俩人悲喜交加，几度哽噻。塞尔柯克将随身携带四年多的那只烟斗送还老船长：“当作纪念吧！没有那次争吵，就没有今天的塞尔柯克，也不可能有今天享誉世界的鲁滨逊！”，並在烟斗上写上了自已的名字。这个故事感动了成千上万的，所以决定把这个书店命名为《烟斗书店》。”

听完店主的介绍，大家十分感动，正要准备离去，店主却将他们带回书店，从书架上取出一本书：“刚出版的一书新书，介绍七十多年前中国船员在荒岛上生活的故事，是中国的鲁滨逊！”

人们相争着接过这夲书。封面上几个红色大字陡然映入眼帘：中国鲁滨逊与“老白干“

这时，有人突然发现这夲书的作者，不是别人正是他们的船长馬骅。这个意外的收莸连马骅船长也未想到，在此看到自己刚出版不久的，以中国海员沈祖挺为原型的作品。心里十分高兴！

当店主得知书的作者就是面前的这位船长时，十分激动，连声喊道：”简直太奇妙了！太高兴了！”並在书上签了自已的名字，双手递给馬骅船长面前：“留做纪念吧！”

回到船上，人们围坐在馬骅船长身边，静听馬骅船长关于《中国鲁滨逊与“老白干”》的故事。

事情发生在1944年8月12日。

英国伦敦哈得利轮船公司所属的“雷贝利“号货轮滿侢四千多吨煤炭从葡属东非（现莫桑比克）洛伦索馬克斯港驶往英国控制下的肯尼亚蒙巴萨港。

”雷贝利”号是艘老式的蒸气动力船。二战期间移交英国战时指揮部。开始为盟军运输物资。

当时船上共有56名船员，除船长，驾驶员和6名海军护航人员外，其余均是中国海员。

没有护航的”雷贝斯”号驶出洛伦索馬克斯港的第二天，遭到德国潜艇鱼雷的攻击，不幸起火沉没。幸存的船员在纳粹潜艇离开后不久，纷纷登上漂泊在海上的救生艇。

船上56名船员除救生艇上的40人外，船长，驾驶员和报务员等16人均已遇难。剩下的40名船员中，中国船员有36名，其中职务最高的是轮机长沈祖挺。

沈祖挺成了这批幸存者的“首领”。开始在茫茫的海上漂泊。

救生艇里的食品，淡水和药品有限。为了生存，每人每天只分到三块压缩并干和二杯淡水。为了减少不必要的体力消耗，除驾帆，掌舵和瞭望人员外，尽量不要活动和说话。

救生艇在漫无边际的大洋漂流着。

终于在8月16日，负责瞭望的船员突然发现前方有个黑影，似乎是条船。惊喜若狂的船员拼命朝黑影方向驶去…。然而，靠近后发现，那是一座弧岛。

已经在海上漂流了三天三夜精癔力竭的船员准备登岛。

这是一座荒芜人烟的小岛，从岛上唯一座法国人的墓碑上，得知岛名叫欧罗巴乌。

人们将救生艇物资分批搬上小岛。沈祖挺还找到了二盒防风火柴。为后来的荒岛求生起了至关重要的作用。

岛上没有人烟，更没有任何食物，只有散落在岛上的鸟蛋。淡水成了登岛船员生存的关键；打了几眼井，全部是咸水！

沈祖挺望着眼前疲癔不堪饥饿难熬的船员兄弟，心急如焚。望着茫茫大海，突然想起了“雷贝斯“号上的海水淡化机：将海水变成淡水？这时正巧大管轮老卢走了过来，俩人一商量，立馬将救生艇里的空气箱制成一台简易的海水淡化机。经过多次试验，终于制作成了救命的淡水！

淡水解决了，生存问题有了着落。但是每到了夜晚，人们悲覌失望的情偖又涌现出来；难道我们要终身守在岛上，死在岛上…？

做为荒岛上的“首领“，沈祖挺曾读过《鲁滨逊漂流记》，鲁滨逊的勇气和智慧，强烈的求生欲望深深打动了他！

沈祖挺开始给伙伴们讲起鲁滨逊的故事；鲁滨逊一个人能在荒岛上坚持了四年多，大家几十个人只要齐心坚持下去，就能等到获救的那一天，何况我们都是炎黄子孙，要为中国人争光…。

在沈祖挺的带领和鼓动下，人们情绪逐渐平静下来…。大伙屈指一算，在岛上已经度过2个多月。

时间一天天过去了。

10月26日清晨，天矇朦亮，一名瞭望人员突然发现北面天空，出现了一个黑点，正朝荒岛上空移动。原来是架盟军的飞机。惊喜若狂的人们立馬用人体在岛上排成”雷贝利”号的字样。飞行员看到后投下一只铁罐，铁罐里一张纸条里写着：立刻向盟军总部报告！

荒岛上的“鲁滨逊”们，挥午看衣衫，含着热泪奔跑着，高声大喊：“我们终于得救了！”。

三天之后，英国的《利纳尼亚》号巡洋舰抵达了这座荒岛。人们告别了近三个月的荒岛求生的日子！

中国海员的勇气和智慧得到了盟国的高度称赞和评价。各大报纸都在头版刊登了这一惊人的消息：“中国的鲁滨逊荒岛求生记“。

”那书名里的《老白干》是咋回事？“，人们听完馬骅娓娓讲过后，不禁地问道。

馬骅船长解拜说：人们获救的当天，沈祖挺和伙伴将水杯盛满岛上自制的淡水，激动地流着泪说道：“我们在岛上同生死共患难，整整度过了七十八个日日夜夜，不愧为炎黄子孙，为中国人争了光，让我们高举水杯，以水为老白一干而尽！”。老白干是船上船员最喜爱的家乡酒，逢年过节或盛大节日总要干上一杯！

1985年，中国上映了一部以《雷贝斯》号中国船员事迹为背景的电影《雷贝斯号沉没在印度洋》，受到广大观众的喜爱和欢迎！

This story takes place about seventy-four years ago in the waters off the coast of East

Africa.

Not long ago, the cargo ship SS Harmony arrived at a port near the city of York in

England, which is the hometown of the famous fictional explorer, Robinson Crusoe. The

captain of SS Harmony, Captain Ma, used this opportunity to take his crew to a famous

bookstore in York named The Pipe, where many books about nautical adventures resided.

The bookstore was even named The Pipe after Robinson Crusoe’s pipe.

The Pipe wasn’t very spacious, but was filled with people. A large painting of a pipe

hung on the walls next to a window, with the name “Selkirk” written on it.

“Selkirk?” A sailor asked, “Shouldn’t it be Crusoe instead?”

Captain Ma laughed and responded, “Selkirk is a Scottish sailor that Robinson Crusoe’s

stories were based on.”

The captain himself was a writer as well as a seafarer, and had written many pieces

about his life at sea. His writing had gained him a fair amount of popularity within the

nautical world, and he once wrote about Alexander Selkirk, the Scottish sailor that inspired

the stories of Robinson Crusoe. He told his crew, “During a particular voyage, Selkirk was

abandoned and stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Chile.”

The sailors of SS Harmony were amazed by Captain Ma’s knowledge. “After four years

and four months of living in extremely harsh conditions, Selkirk was found by an English

explorer named Woodes Rogers. Selkirk finally returned to Britain, and soon after, his

experiences were described in a novel named A Voyage to the South Sea and Round the World

written by a fellow crew member, Edward Cooke, and eventually republished by Rogersin

1712. In 1719, Daniel Defoe published a similar novel by the title of The Life and Surprising

Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, which was heavily influenced by Selkirk’s personal

endeavors.”

Captain Ma’s crew nodded at Selkirk’s incredible story, but wondered, “So why is the

bookstore named after Selkirk’s pipe?”

This was a question that even Captain Ma could not answer. A cashier at the bookstore

told them to look for The Pipe Bookstore’s owner, Johnson, who could be frequently found

working near the Robinson Crusoe Memorial in York.

John was delighted to hear that a crew of Chinese sailors were fascinated by his

bookstore and the stories of Robinson Crusoe, and invited them into his office. He recounted

Alexander Selkirk’s days during his castaway on Mas a Tierra island in great detail, and

finally disclosed that the short-tempered Selkirk had left his post on his ship after a heated

argument with his captain. Beforer Selkirk set off alone, his captain gifted him with a pipe

that Selkirk kept for the entirety of his four years on Mas a Tierra. After he was rescued and

reunited with his captain, the two men embraced one another, laughing and apologizing at the

same time.

After a while, Selkirk returned his pipe to the old captain. “I’d like to return this to you

as a souvenir,” Selkirk said, “Without it, I never would have had those difficult experiences,

but the world would also never have many of the fascinating stories that people love today.”

Selkirk carved his name onto the body of the pipe, and the tale of Selkirk and his

captain’s reconciliation spread through the nautical world. Johnson was touched by Selkirk’s

forgiveness and the captain’s humility, and named his bookstore after their pipe.

The crew of the SS Harmony stayed in The Pipe Bookstore for a long time, listening to

Johnson’s retellings of Selkirk’s life and discovering the worlds inside other nautical novels

that Johnson presented to them. As they got ready to return to their ship, Johnson disappeared

into his office for a few moments, and rushed out with a brand new book in his hands.

“This is a new novel that was just recently published, about a Chinese sailor who was

also stranded on a deserted island. He is the Robinson Crusoe of China!”

The crew received the book from Johnson and looked at its cover in awe. The title read,

“The Chinese Robinson Crusoe and Lao Bai Gan”, and to the crew’s surprise, the author was

none other than their captain, Captain Ma!

Captain Ma himself held onto his novel, amazed at this accomplishment. He wrote the

book after researching the life of a Chinese seafarer named Shen Zuting, and only published

it recently in China. Coincidentally, the book somehow fell into his hands miles away from

his hometown, in a renowned foreign bookstore!

When Johnson realized that Captain Ma was the author of this new novel, he exclaimed,

“What a wonderful coincidence! I am so honored to meet you!”

Johnson opened the novel to its front page, and wrote a note with his signature on its

blank spaces. He handed the book back to Captain Ma, and said, “Please take this from me as

a souvenir.”

That night, the entire crew of the SS Harmony huddled around Captain Ma and asked to

hear about the Chinese Robinson Crusoe and his Lao Bai Gan. Slowly, Captain Ma flipped

through his novel and marveled at his achievement. He started telling his crew the story of

Shen Zuting.

It all began on August 12th, 1944.

The British cargo ship, SS Bradbury, sailed from Portuguese Mozambique to the

British-controlled port in Mombasa, Kenya with more than 4,000 tons of coal.

The SS Bradbury was an old-fashioned steamship used commonly by British forces in

the Second World War. It transported supplies and necessities for the Allied Forces, and had a

total of 56 sailors on board. Aside from the captain, the chief navigator, and six naval

officers, the rest of the crew were all Chinese sailors.

The day after the SS Bradbury left the port of Mozambique without protection from

Allied naval forces, it was intercepted by a German submarine and unfortunately caught fire

and sank into the ocean. The surviving crew members boarded lifeboats that drifted aimlessly

after the Nazi forces retreated, and awaited Allied forces to come to their rescue.

Out of the fifty seafarers on the SS Bradbury, only forty were fortunate enough to board

a lifeboat. The captain, navigator, and naval officers were among the sixteen that were

missing. Shen Zuting was the chief engineer and the member of the highest rank within the

sailors that boarded a liferaft, and in his captain’s absence, Shen became the leader of the

surviving members of the crew.

Food and drinkable water were scarce in their lifeboats, so Shen rationed their supplies

out to prepare for the worst case scenarios. Each sailor only got three biscuits and two cups of

water each day, and were ordered to only use their energy on maintaining their lifeboats and

keeping watch for patrolling Allied ships.

Their lifeboats remained afloat for many arduous days.

Finally, on August 16th, one sailor noticed a figure far off in the distance that seemed to

be a British rescue ship. The desperate mariners rowed their rafts furiously towards their only

hope, only to find that the figure wasn’t a vessel at all, but a deserted, desolate island.

The crew that drifted atop the sea for three days and three nights had no choice but to

step onto the land in the feeble expectations of some sort of help.

But the island was deserted without a single person to be found. The only sign of

civilization on the island was a tombstone of a Frenchman which told the crew that the

island’s name was Europa.

The sailors moved their supplies from their liferafts onto the island, and decided to set

up a camp. Shen Zuting even found a box of half-used matches leftover by the island’s

previous inhabitants, and knew that these matches would come in handy when trying to gain

passing rescue ships’ attention.

Nevertheless, the Europa Island had no signs of food or life other than some scattered

bird nests and eggs that the crew scavenged for. The only water available was also saline

water, which was practically undrinkable for the parched and dehydrated sailors.

Shen Zuting watched as his crew buried their faces in distress, and racked his brain for

some way to turn saltwater into fresh water that the sailors could drink. He pondered about

the desalination machine on the SS Bradbury, which used a thermal technique to distill

saltwater into vapor, and then the vapor into purified fresh water. With his second chief

engineer Lu at his side, Shen used an oxygen generator and experimented with different ways

to purify saline water. After many attempts, Shen and Lu successfully distilled freshwater

from salt water!

The issue of hydration was solved, but then came the problem of survival in the rapidly

changing temperatures of the island. At night, the men’s misery and grief manifested

themselves. “Are we going to die on this island?” Some asked. “Is anyone ever going to find

us?”

Shen Zuting remembered the time he read the stories about Robinson Crusoe, and

realized that Crusoe’s courage, resilience, and resourcefulness were what allowed him to

persist on until the end. Shen huddled his crew together and retold the story of Robinson

Crusoe: “Crusoe persevered for four years alone on a deserted island. We have forty times the

manpower and brainpower than Crusoe did, so as long as we all work together and carry on

until the end, then help will one day come for us, there is no doubt about it.”

With Shen Zuting’s encouragement and positivity, the crew were determined to survive

and patiently waited for the day the Allied forces came to their rescue. They fell into a

routine, each sailor was given a task that corresponded to their duties on the SS Bradbury, and

they depended on one another for their strength and livelihood.

Eventually, two months had passed by.

On the morning of October 26th, a shiphand noticed a dark spot moving around rapidly

in the morning sky. He shook awake the rest of the crew and pointed to the sky, shouting that

their help had finally come. It was a patrol helicopter from the Allied forces, searching for

stranded sailors that they needed to rescue. Exhilarated, the crew lined up and spelled out the

word “Bradbury” with their bodies, waving their arms and shouting.

The pilot of the helicopter dropped a tin can with a note written inside: We will report to

the Allied headquarters immediately!

The men of SS Bradbury ran around screaming and crying tears of joy. “We have finally

been saved!” They screamed at the top of their lungs.

Three days later, the British craft HMS Linaria arrived at the deserted island and rescued

the surviving crew of SS Bradbury. The crew put behind their days of surviving while

stranded on the island, and steadily returned to society.

The sailors’ perseverance and wisdom impressed the entire nautical world and were

highly praised by the Allied naval forces. Many newspapers ran the headline, “Survival of the

Chinese Robinson Crusoe”.

“What does this have anything to do with Lao Bai Gan?” Some sailors of the SS

Harmony inquired as Captain Ma told the story.

Captain Ma explained that on the day the SS Bradbury sailors were rescued, Shen

Zuting and his crew raised their glasses and toasted one another with the freshwater that they

distilled using oxygen tanks from their liferafts, saying, “We spent seventy-eight days

together on this island with only one another to depend on. We are the glory of the SS

Bradbury and we’ve brought respect to Chinese sailors all across the world. Let us raise our

glasses, and use water as a substitute for our favorite Chinese liquor, Lao Bai Gan!”

Lao Bai Gan was the most beloved liquor for Chinese sailors, and on any festive or

joyous occasion, Chinese seafarers that were kept away from their families indulged in Lao

Bai Gan to remind themselves of home.

In 1985, a film titled Sank to the Indian Ocean was released in theaters all over China. It

told the story of Shen Zuting and the SS Bradbury, and was widely beloved by viewers inside

and beyond China alike.