舌尖上的航海丨第29集 集装箱里“招鬼“的水蜜桃

《亚欧之星号》是艘集装箱船。正在码头吊装集装箱。

吊完最后一箱集装箱，太阳已经噙山了。

船上轮机长毕云飞还在集装箱周围转悠。

这是一只特殊的冷藏集装箱，专门运送蔬菜鲜果。

毕老轨（船上对轮机长的俗称）将最后固锁检查完毕，又测了箱中的温度，才走进船舱的歺厅。谁知刚坐在歺桌前，值班水手跑了进来；”毕老轨，冷藏集装葙的温度计出了问题！”

毕老轨急匆匆赶到甲板上。原来温度计坏了。换上新的温度计，毕老轨刚要离开，集装葙的报井器又轰轰响起来。

“真是招鬼啦！”毕老轨不禁叫起来。

这只冷藏箱里装有浙江奉化生产的水蜜桃，准备运往日本，对箱内温度要求极高。

终于修好了。原来为了赶时间，装卸工违犯了操作规程，使集装箱擦碰了舱盖板，造成集装萌内电线线路出了毛病。急得满头大汗的毕老轨，长长喘了口气，笑呵呵地说”都是箱内水蜜挑招的鬼捣的！也是对装卸工的惩罚。”

“水密桃招鬼捣的乱？对装卸工的惩罚！”人们望着毕老轨笑嘻嘻地样子，不禁喊起来：”这里有故事！”

毕老轨绰号叫毕三多：见识多，知识多，故事多，是船公司有名的”海上故事大王”。老家就在浙江奉化，是当地有名的水蜜桃种植大户。对水蜜桃独有情种，经常给船员讲有关水蜜桃的故事。

”就讲一叚水蜜桃招鬼的故事吧！”

毕老轨望着大伙期盼的目光，慢条思理地讲起了一叚水蜜桃的传说。

大伙听完毕老轨有声有色的讲述，连连拍手称赞：”毕老轨不愧为毕三多，讲的太棒了！”

《亚欧之星号》抵达日本横槟港。货主星野对水蜜桃保鲜十分满意，听说毕老轨亲自过问，还讲了一叚水蜜桃的故事，十分感激和好奇。

中国的水密桃在日本十分畅销。星野专门请毕老轨到家里做客。

应星野的要求，毕老轨讲起了水蜜桃的故事。

挑原产于中国，在殷商文化遗址中就发现了桃核。桃树最早野生在中国陕西，甘肃和西藏。

中国古丝绸之路开辟后，桃树翻山越岭传入了克什米尔，乌兹别克，后又传入波斯。后来有人从波斯引种桃树的人，以为是波斯的所产，还將桃树的学名为“波斯果”，其实是误传。

印度的桃树是从中国的古代海上丝路引进的。唐三藏曾在《大唐西域记》里记载这叚经历：桃树相传从中国甘肃传过来的，印度人称桃为“中国果“。

航海家哥伦布发现美洲新大陆后，桃树随欧洲移民进入了美洲。开始桃树不适应当地风土气候，开花多，结果少。直到十九世界初期，经过园艺家的努力，桃树才在美洲大陆安了家。如今，美国是产桃大国之一。生物学家达尔文对中国桃进行硏究后，得出结论：欧洲桃有中国桃的血脉，美洲桃是中国桃的“孙子辈”。

桃树在中国国|内传播更为复杂。早在秦汉时期，桃树就从遥远的西部翻山越岭来到山东，《孔子家语》里曾有记载：孔子陪鲁哀公时，哀公赏赐孔子一枚桃和一把忝子（小黄米），让孔子用忝子去掉桃毛食用。

桃树至今有千余种品种。中国就有八百余种。中国江苏的水蜜桃名杨天下。在清朝王象晋所著的《群芳谱》记载：水蜜桃独具邑有之，而顾尚宝西园所出尤佳。顾尚宝是明朝松江府进士顾名士的弟弟，1559年在上海迠了个园林，取名”露香园”，专门种植水蜜桃。

清朝光绪九年，浙江奉化果农从上海带回”露香园”水蜜桃的品种，加以改造，取名”玉露”。取琼漿玉露之义。一时名声大燥，销路大增。。

此次，集装葙里装的水蜜桃，就是当年浙江奉化果农从上海引起进的”玉露”品种。

讲到这里，星野高兴地站了起来：”太好了！“。边鼓掌边追问：“集装葙里水密桃招鬼的故事呢？”

毕老轨笑着说：”这是中国民间对桃的一种传说。自古以来，人们似乎将好兆头和坏名声都强加在桃身上，食桃能长寿，桃木制作的家具能避邪…，但是，有人却说桃能招鬼，会惹事生非。这是由一个中国历史故事引起的。”

接着毕老轨讲了一个在民间传播久远，桃”招鬼”的传说。。

说一年，齐国的士大夫晏婴遇到公孙胜三名大将军，认为他们持功自傲，末向他施礼，便跟齐景公说，这三人居功自做，早晚是国家的祸患。齐景公说三人都是勇士，可如何是好。晏婴朝齐景公耳语几句，並喚人拿来两个挑子。当时桃子是十分珍稀的貢品。

三人被传到宫里。齐景公对他们大肆煲奖后，让他们计功而食桃。结果有二人自持功高，搶先拿了桃。第三个人说，论我的功劳还不能吃一个桃吗！前二人听了，觉得此人功劳确实比自己大，自已如此做法太贪婪了，便羞愧地刎胫自杀了。第三人见了，无比痛悔，为了一只桃子，彼死而我活，实在不仁不义，也自杀了。

后来，人们说，三人先后在宫里刎胫自杀，纯因太贪婪太居功自傲，引起桃的不满，招来了鬼，迷住了三人的心窍，让三人自责身亡。从此，民间就有了桃招鬼的传说。

听完毕老执的讲述，星野紧握住毕老轨的手：“过去只知道水蜜桃是世界人民喜爱的水果，不知道还有这么多好听的故事，中国的文化真是源远流长，太丰富多采了！”

毕老轨讲的这叚故事，被船员放到《船员网》上，引起了众多网友的点赞：“航海给人们带来太多精采的故事，我们向海员致敬！希望网上登臷更多这样的故事！”

张涛系中国航海学会科普专家、中国远洋海运作家协会副主席、中国知名海员作家、“一带一路”应用型海事 人才研究院特聘研究员。作为远洋船长，其在工作之余，笔耕不辍，为宣传航海文化做出了较大贡献，被誉 为“当代弘扬航海文化有突出贡献的航海人”。先后在人《民日报》《中国建设》《海事大观》《航海》《中国海 员》等报纸杂志上发表了大量文章，并出版了《我们都是无产者》《船长与黄金》《路娃航海记》《船长风云 录》《海上天方夜谭》《舌尖上的航海》等十余部近百万余字反映航海经历的文艺作品。其中《我们都是无产 者》和《海上天方夜谭》获国家优秀作品奖；《路娃航海记》获中国航海学会特别贡献奖；《舌尖上的航海》曾 在国内多家网站和报纸杂志上发表及刊登，受到广大读者，特别是航海爱好者的热烈欢迎和好评；同时被译 成英文，受到外国青少年和航海爱好者的喜爱。 2021年3月，江苏航运职业技术学院设立了“张涛海员作家”工作室。希望此工作室能够创作出更多更好的作 品来弘扬和发展海洋文化！

The sun began to set as the crew of the Star of Eurasia finished loading freight into the

cargo steamship.

Its captain, Captain B, paced around the ship as he began his final security inspections

for the cargo. Unlike many other steamships, the Star of Eurasia had special refrigerated

containers and only transported fruits and vegetables.

Captain B inspected every corner of the ship and made sure that the containers were at

the correct temperatures, then retreated into the crew cafeteria for dinner. But just as he sat

down to begin his meal, a sailor rushed in and shouted, “Captain! There’s been an issue with

the fruit storage area’s thermometer!”

The captain immediately ran out to the deck and checked the broken thermometer.

Sighing, he removed it, installed a new one, and finally began walking back to the cafeteria to

eat.

However, just as he began to walk away, the emergency sirens at the storage area started

to ring at full volume.

“What is wrong with the storage today?” Captain B muttered under his breath.

Captain B checked through the containers, and realized the storage box that had been

making trouble was the one transporting peaches grown and harvested in Zhejiang, China.

These peaches were on their way to Japan, and required very specific temperatures in order to

keep their freshness.

Captain B shook his head and asked a shiphand to fix the sirens and thermometer for

him. But because the shiphand was tired and in a rush, he misplaced the container cover,

which pushed into the ceiling of the storage cabin and messed up the wires and electric circuit

system of the entire ship. Captain B wolfed down his dinner and rushed back to site with a

head full of sweat, crossed his arms, and said, “The shiphand could have been more careful,

but all these mistakes can be blamed on the peaches!”

“Peaches?” The crew asked, staring at Captain B. “What do you mean?”

The crew sat down next to Captain B and anticipated a story. They had always known

the captain as someone who was full of fascinating trivia knowledge and historical facts

about seafaring. Coincidentally, Captain B hailed from the town of Fenghua, Zhejiang, where

those peaches also came from.

Captain B thought about the personal connection and love for these large, delicious

peaches, and slowly recounted a legend he knew about how peaches could sometimes

summon spirits and fairies.

When he finished, his crew burst into applause. “That was amazing!” They cheered,

complimenting the attention to detail and the expressive way that Captain B told his story.

Soon, the Star of Eurasia arrived at the Port of Yokohama in Japan. The Japanese

retailer, Kenji, was very satisfied with the peaches he received, and when he heard that

Captain B knew a mystical story surrounding the fruit, he was so curious that he invited

Captain B to his house as a guest and asked him to tell the story.

Learning of the immense popularity that his hometown fruit received abroad, Captain B

happily shared the tale of peaches with Kenji.

Peaches were first found in China thousands of years ago. The pit of peaches were

discovered in the ruins of the Yin Shang Dynasty, in places that we know as Xiamen, Gansu,

and Tibet today.

After the inception of the Silk Road, peaches were transported from China to Kashmir,

Uzbekistan, and later Persia. Peaches became so widespread that European travelers believed

that they were from Persia itself, and even gave it the nickname “Persian apples”.

Peach trees in India were also grown from peach pits and seeds that were brought over

from China. This trade was even mentioned by the monk Tang Sanzang in the famous novel,

Journey to the West, which claimed that Indian farmers even referred to peaches as “Chinese

berries” at one point in history.

After Christopher Columbus brought European culture to the Americas, peach trees

were also transported to a new home. Initially, those peaches were not accustomed to the

harsh weather conditions of America, and blossomed into flowers instead of yielding fruits. It

wasn’t until the 19th century, after years of efforts from botanists and farmers, when peaches

finally found a home in the United States. Now, the US is a major producer and exporter of

peaches. American peaches are considered the grandchildren of Chinese peaches, as even

though they bear certain differences to their ancestors, many traces of identical DNA can still

be found in each fruit.

However, the history of the spread of peaches in China itself is quite complicated. In the

Qin Dynasty, travelers hiked over many mountains and floated past countless rivers to bring

peaches from Western China to the city of Shandong, located in the East. In the book The

Family Sayings of Confucius, authors recorded that after Confucius accompanied Duke Lu on

a journey, Duke Lu gifted Confucius with a peach and grains of yellow rice so that Confucius

could remove the peach hairs with rice before enjoying the fruit.

Today, thousands of varying types of peaches are available for consumption. There are

over 800 types in China alone, the most famous among them being the Jiangsu peaches. In

the Qing Dynasty’s famous novel Book of Qunfang, author Wang Xiangjin wrote that every

single peach was uniquely flavored, and that the most juicy, most exquisite peaches were

found in Gu Shangbao’s garden. Gu Shangbao was the younger brother of a famous scholar

from the Songjiang province in the Ming Dynasty named Gu Mingshi, who built a sanctuary

in Shanghai in 1559 named Lu Xiang Garden that specialized in growing and harvesting

delicious peaches.

In the ninth year of the Qing Dynasty, farmers from Fenghua, Zhejiang purchased

peaches from the Lu Xiang Garden in Shanghai. Because of their special and mouthwatering

taste, the farmers nicknamed the peaches “Yulu”, which means jade dew. The sales of

peaches in China skyrocketed, and reached new heights of popularity.

The peaches that are exported from Zhejiang even now are grown from the descendants

of the Yulu variety.

Kenji listened to Captain B’s story and took large bites of the peach that Captain B

shipped to him. “That’s wonderful,” He said, “But what do peaches have to do with

summoning spirits and fairies?”

Captain B laughed, and told Kenji, “That is only a legend passed around by Chinese

farmers. Ever since ancient times, Chinese people associated superstitions and good fortune

to the valuable peach. They said that eating peaches allowed people to achieve longevity, and

that furniture made from peach pits could ward off evil. Nevertheless, some suspected that

peaches brought bad luck instead of good, and could summon spirits or negative energy. This

belief was caused by a Chinese historical event.”

Captain B then went on to explain that one year, a great scholar named Yan Ying from

the Chinese state of Qi came across three generals named Gong, Sun, and Sheng, who did not

salute or address Yan Ying when he stopped to say hello. Yan Ying sensed their pride and

inflated ego, so he told Duke Jing of Qi that these three men were too conceited and that their

pride would give rise to conflicts within the military. But Duke Jing told Yan Ying that the

three generals were warriors and too strong against any authority, and he was at a loss of

ways to discipline them.

Yan Ying pondered for a moment, then whispered into Duke Jing’s ear and asked for

two peaches. At the time, peaches were still rare and exquisite delicacies.

The three generals were summoned to the imperial palace. At Yan Ying’s suggestion,

Duke Jing praised the generals for their good work and presented them with two peaches to

eat on account of their merits. The first two warriors each believed that their merits were

greater than that of all others’, and snatched the peaches away and ate them rapidly.

The third warrior was furious at not receiving a single peach, and exclaimed, “I work so

hard for the country every single day, do I not deserve a prize, too?”

The first two generals realized that perhaps they had been too stubborn and selfish, and

were ashamed of themselves for not sharing some of their rewards. Embarrassed, they

retreated from the palace, never to be seen again.

The last general felt guilty for the disappearance of his friends, and felt that a single

peach was not worth the loss of two great warriors for the country. Ashamed, he also

retreated from his position, never to be seen again.

Later on, this event became passed around amongst Chinese citizens as a legend which

said that the three warriors’ greed and pride angered the peach, which summoned spirits and

fairies to settle their dispute. Some said that the three generals could not look past their own

arrogance, and each slit their own throats. Thus, ancient Chinese villagers believed that

sometimes, peaches could bring spirits and bad luck.

Kenji was astonished and extremely impressed by Captain B’s story. “Before, I thought

that peaches were nothing but a widely beloved fruit from China. I never knew so many

stories could come from a simple peach! Thank you for not only bringing these fruits over,

but also for sharing such interesting cultural and historical tales with me!”

Zhang Tao is an expert in the fields of navigation, maritime history, and nautical science. He is involved in the Chinese Institute of Navigation, and is the vice president of the Chinese Association of Maritime Authors, a well-known Chinese author of subjects related to seafaring, as well as a distinguished researcher for the nautical analysis of the “One Belt One Road” Initiative. Aside from leading sailing crews as an esteemed captain of many Chinese ships, he works tirelessly in his spare time and has made important contributions to nautical culture and history. He has been described as “a navigator with momentous involvement in the promotion of seafaring culture in modern times”. He has published articles in People’s Daily, China’s Construction, Maritime Spectacle, Sailing, and Chinese Sailors and more magazines and newspapers. His authorial works include We Are All Proletarians, The Captain and Gold, Lu Wa’s Sailing Journal, The Captain of Wind and Clouds, Fairy Tales from the Sea, and The Taste of Seafaring, all of which reflect and promote the experience and culture of seafaring to millions of readers. Among his works, We Are All Proletarians and Fairy Tales from the Sea have won the National Outstanding Novel Award; Luwa’s Sailing Journal won the Outstanding Contribution Award from the Chinese Institute of Navigation; and The Taste of Seafaring has been published on multiple Chinese websites and magazines, attracting new waves of readers and audiences and acclaim from those with particular interest in sailing. The Taste of Seafaring has now been translated into English and is beloved by youths and nautical enthusiasts worldwide. In March of 2021, the Jiangsu Shipping College established the Zhang Tao Sailing Author’s Workshop. Hopefully, more wonderful stories and writings will come to fruition with the help of the workshop, and inspire people from all across the globe to learn about maritime culture!