摘要：每逢仲夏，當農曆五月初五悄然而至，無論是在江南煙雨迷濛的水鄉，還是在馬來西亞、菲律賓的河港湖畔，那裊裊的粽香總會飄散開來，悠悠的槳聲也會響徹水面。這不僅是節日的重現，更是一場跨越千年與萬里的文化對話——在飛濺的浪花與翻飛的粽葉之間，傳統悄然綻放，亦默默煥新。

王強

每逢仲夏，當農曆五月初五悄然而至，無論是在江南煙雨迷濛的水鄉，還是在馬來西亞、菲律賓的河港湖畔，那裊裊的粽香總會飄散開來，悠悠的槳聲也會響徹水面。這不僅是節日的重現，更是一場跨越千年與萬里的文化對話——在飛濺的浪花與翻飛的粽葉之間，傳統悄然綻放，亦默默煥新。

一、象徵之下：節慶作為文化記憶的容器

提起端午，人們自然會想到龍舟、粽子和屈原。這些意象早已超越物質層面，成為中華文化深處的精神符號，如同一串串記憶的珠鏈，在年復一年的重演中閃耀著熟悉而溫暖的光。

在泉州石獅的海濱，無論是「海上捉鴨」還是「水上潑水」，既是對大海的禮讚，也是與鄉土的對話；而在赤道彼岸，南洋的華人社團把六大籍貫的風味融入當地香料，一片粽葉便化作故鄉的方向盤——那餡料，包裹的早已不僅是糯米，更是鄉愁與根脈、記憶與血脈。

節慶不只是歷史的延續，更是生活的詮釋。那些看似重複的儀式，實則是我們用身體與情感書寫的文化敘事——「日常生活中的歷史」。在平凡的日常裡，隱藏著最深的文化密碼。龍舟破浪，不僅是一場競技，更是千年文化的回響，是那份「與天地同流」的具象。

二、少年如初日：傳承的星火

在今日的海外街頭，許多年輕的華裔面孔說著不同的語言，過著多元交織的生活。他們的世界流動而開放，對端午的印象，也許僅停留於兒時學校的表演，或是餐桌上偶爾出現的一顆粽子。如何讓傳統真正走進他們的生命，成了這一代人共同的課題。

所幸，許多華社早已意識到：文化的延續不在於形式的複製，而在於情感的點燃與參與的熱情。在馬來西亞，無數華人社團敞開大門，吸引青年參與：親子包粽、策劃龍舟賽事，甚至組織「尋根之旅」，帶領年輕人走訪泉州等祖籍地，從土地裡找回文化的根。

馬來西亞福建社團聯合會總會長林福山指出：「文化的接力棒，最終要交到年輕人手中。」青年參與社團，不僅是延續節慶儀式，更是學習責任與溝通的重要場域。同時，社團也需要學會運用青年熟悉的語言與媒介，使傳統不再是一種負擔，而是滋養生命的文化資源。

三、異域花開：節慶的遠航

今日的端午，早已不再局限於一方水土。從泉州龍舟的鼓聲，到檳城的粽香與親友的歡聚，恰如李白詩中所言：「桃花潭水深千尺」，卻能一葉輕舟橫渡千里。2024年，泉州舉辦「一帶一路青年龍舟邀請賽」，萬里之外的華人青年齊聚水面，共同揮槳競渡；2025年，福州再燃戰鼓。這不只是單向的文化輸出，更蘊含著「海內存知己，天涯若比鄰」的雙向交流。馬尼拉的粽子裹著當地的香料，也包裹著多元文化的共鳴。

文化之舟若只求原樣複製，終將成為遺跡；唯有在異域開花結果，方見生機盎然。龍舟與粽子，從中華象徵，漸漸轉化為多元世界的共同語言。

結語：讓文化化作遠行的舟楫

從泉州石獅的潮聲，到吉隆坡的市集，再到馬尼拉的河港，端午不僅是一個節慶，更是一座橋，承載著記憶，聯結著祖輩與子孫、本土與世界。粽葉裹起的不只是米糧，更是鄉愁；龍舟劃破的不是水面，而是歷史的浪花。它讓我們與過去對話，與未來同行。

傳統，從來不是沉睡的符號，而是明日的方向。它如江河奔流，縱有曲折，終將匯入大海，浩瀚而深遠。正如屈子之魂，雖放逐於汨羅，卻在千載悠悠間，化作文化的舟楫，引領我們，向著未竟的遠方。

Rediscovering Cultural Bearings Amidst the Fragrance of Zongzi and the Rhythm of Oars

Reflections on the Contemporary Expression and Cross-Cultural Significance of the dragon Boat Festival

By Wang Qiang

Each year, as the fifth day of the fifth lunar month draws near in the height of summer, the subtle fragrance of zongzi unfailingly permeates the air—whether drifting through the mist-shrouded water towns of Jiangnan or along the riverbanks and lakesides of Malaysia and the Philippines. The steady cadence of oars striking water resonates far beyond the confines of a festival; it embodies a cultural dialogue that transcends millennia and spans continents. Amid the spray of waves and the fluttering bamboo leaves, tradition quietly unfolds—simultaneously enduring and evolving.

I. Beneath the Symbols: Festivals as Vessels of Cultural Memory

The Dragon Boat Festival inevitably conjures images of dragon boats, zongzi, and the poet Qu Yuan—symbols that have long surpassed mere materiality to become profound spiritual emblems within the Chinese cultural imagination. They are akin to a string of luminous pearls laden with memory, their familiar glow rekindled through annual reenactments.

Along the shores of Shishi in Quanzhou, ceremonies such as the “duck catching at sea” and “water splashing” function not merely as celebrations but as profound dialogues with the maritime environment and ancestral homeland. Meanwhile, across the equator in Southeast Asia, Chinese communities have blended the culinary traditions of their six ancestral homelands with local spices—transforming a simple bamboo leaf into a navigational instrument that guides diasporic identities homeward. The fillings of the zongzi enclose more than glutinous rice; they encapsulate homesickness, lineage, memory, and blood ties.

Festivals represent more than historical continuities; they are living interpretations of human experience. These ostensibly repetitive rituals are embodied cultural narratives—“history enacted in everyday life.” It is within the quotidian that the most profound cultural codes reside. The dragon boat cleaving the water is not merely a sporting contest but a resonant echo of millennia of cultural memory, a physical articulation of humanity’s aspiration to “flow with heaven and earth.”

II. Youth as the Dawn: The Spark of Transmission

In the vibrant, multicultural enclaves of overseas Chinatowns, many young Chinese descendents speak diverse languages and lead lives shaped by intersecting cultural currents. For them, the Dragon Boat Festival may evoke little more than school performances or the occasional appearance of a zongzi on the family table. The pressing challenge, then, is how to meaningfully integrate this tradition into the fabric of their contemporary lives.

Fortunately, Chinese associations worldwide have recognised that cultural perpetuation is not a matter of mere replication but of igniting emotional engagement and active participation. In Malaysia, for instance, numerous associations have opened their doors wide to youth participation: hosting family-oriented zongzi wrapping events, organising dragon boat races, and orchestrating “root-seeking” pilgrimages to ancestral lands such as Quanzhou, thereby enabling younger generations to reconnect with their cultural heritage through direct experience.

As Lim Fook Shan, President of the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia, has asserted: “The baton of culture must ultimately be entrusted to the younger generation.” Engagement in cultural associations affords young people not only the preservation of ritual but also vital lessons in responsibility and intercultural communication. Simultaneously, these organisations must adapt by employing languages and media familiar to younger cohorts, transforming tradition from a burdensome obligation into a vibrant source of cultural nourishment.

III. Blossoms in Foreign Lands: The Festival’s Voyage

The contemporary Dragon Boat Festival is no longer geographically confined. From the resonant drumbeats of Quanzhou’s dragon boats to the fragrant zongzi and convivial gatherings in Penang, it evokes Li Bai’s timeless verse: “Though the Peach Blossom Pool is a thousand feet deep, a single light boat can cross it.” In 2024, Quanzhou hosted the “Belt and Road Youth Dragon Boat Invitational,” drawing Chinese youth from around the world to row in unison; in 2025, Fuzhou will once again resound with the beating of drums. This is not simply a one-way export of culture, but rather a dynamic, reciprocal exchange embodying the spirit of “kindred hearts across distant seas.” Zongzi in Manila, infused with local spices, encapsulate the syncretism of multiple cultural identities.

A cultural vessel that seeks only to replicate itself risks becoming a relic; vitality arises only when tradition blossoms anew in foreign soil. The dragon boat and zongzi, once exclusively Chinese symbols, are gradually transforming into shared languages within a global community.

Conclusion: Let Culture Become the Oar of a Distant Journey

From the tidal rhythms of Shishi in Quanzhou to the bustling markets of Kuala Lumpur and the harbours of Manila, the Dragon Boat Festival is more than a ritual; it is a bridge bearing memory, linking ancestors with descendants, homeland with diaspora. The bamboo leaf encases not only rice but also longing; the dragon boat cleaves not only the water but the currents of history itself. It invites us to engage in dialogue with the past and to journey boldly into the future.

Tradition is never a dormant symbol but a compass for tomorrow. Like a river flowing with twists and turns, it ultimately merges with the boundless ocean. As Qu Yuan’s spirit, though cast into the Miluo River, endures across the centuries, so too does cultural memory steer us onward—an oar guiding us toward distant, uncharted shores.

来源：泉州王强