温州永嘉，曲水流觞，群贤毕至。

        在中国山水诗楠溪雅集中，我国著名表演艺术家瞿弦和压轴登场，以他独有的声线深情朗诵了千古名篇《兰亭序》：“此地有崇山峻岭，茂林修竹，又有清流激湍，映带左右，引以为流觞曲水，列坐其次……”醉倒了现场的观众。

        为参加此次雅集，瞿弦和特意更改了在北京演出的档期，风尘仆仆赶回家乡义务献演。他说：“因为这是家乡在召唤。”

一

        瞿弦和的父亲叫瞿良，是地道的温州人，母亲是嘉兴人。瞿弦和自豪地说：“我是地地道道的温州人。”

        瞿弦和的父亲是早期的革命者，参加过八一南昌起义，时任教导团的教导员，曾在宁波等地做过党的地下工作，有着难忘的革命经历，当年与组织失去联系，流亡海外……瞿弦和出生在印度尼西亚苏门答腊岛。当时他父母在东南亚教书。父亲是数学老师，母亲是体育老师。他在新加坡上完小学一年级，于1950年随父母回到祖国。回国后，周恩来总理亲自介绍他父亲到北京地安门中学任教。

（上世纪40年代，瞿良夫妇携子（弦和）女（弦音）辗转海外时的合影）

        那时，瞿弦和还有一位伯伯、四位姨妈在老家，可他一直没有机会到温州。提起父亲，瞿弦和动情地说：“爸爸很低调，很少讲自己年轻时的事。实际上，他的经历是很了不起的！原来我也不清楚这些，爸爸去世以后，我在整理东西的时候，才发现了爸爸的手稿——《忆八一》，文章的内容是讲教导团在起义前接受训练，朱德给他们讲课，还有在战场上的回忆。文章是1956年南昌起义纪念日写的。2007年我提供给《人民日报》，发表在8月3日《人民日报》大地副刊上。”

        如果说瞿弦和的父亲有着传奇般的人生经历，那么他本人的经历则堪称精彩——

        1965年毕业于中央戏剧学院表演系，国家一级演员，担任了近30年的中国煤矿文工团团长，连续担任四届全国政协委员，目前仍担任中国诗歌学会朗诵演唱专业委员会主任、中国戏剧家协会顾问、中国煤矿文工团名誉团长。他曾常年在电台、电视台担任小说连播、配乐散文、诗朗诵等工作，为数百部（集）译制片主要人物配音。因此即使不知道他的人，也听过他的声音。过去，煤矿文工团每年下矿慰问演出不少于百场，虽然路途遥远、条件艰苦，但他几乎全都参加。

二

        故乡温州对于多才多艺的瞿弦和来说，在很长一段时间里是既熟悉又陌生。瞿弦和说：“那时，温州不通火车，爸爸回温州探亲，都要从金华换乘汽车。温州在我的脑海中是那么遥远。爸爸讲温州话就像说外语，我缠着他教我说一句，他笑着说‘玉茭没炸过’（温州没走过）。”

        《人民日报》海外版曾刊文介绍瞿弦和时用的标题是《没有到过温州的温州人》。1998年的6月，我国第一条合资铁路——金温铁路通车庆典组织者找到瞿弦和，问他能不能和夫人一起到温州主持通车仪式。他当即答应：“可以啊！”于是，他借着金温铁路通车的东风，第一次回到了家乡。

        在通车庆典晚会上，瞿弦和大胆地说出唯一学过的那句温州话，结果引发全场爆笑。但他说：“不管怎样，我终于回到了家乡！”此后，他多次带团到温州演出，回乡省亲。

        2008年11月8日，“辉煌30年——第二届世界温州人大会大型文艺晚会”在温州体育中心举行，瞿弦和朗诵诗歌，诗中一句“连鸟都不飞的地方，也有温州人”至今令他难忘。

        2013年12月，温州大剧院举行的“寻找城市千年记忆”大型音乐诗歌朗诵会，瞿弦和朗诵了朱自清的名篇《绿》，博得了阵阵喝彩。

        ……

三

        也许会让人感到意外，方言色彩突出的温州，在朗诵艺术领域却有着骄人的业绩。近年来，在全国各类朗诵大赛中，都有温州青少年闯进决赛。中国诗歌学会朗诵演唱专业委员会曾授予温州的江心屿为“朗诵艺术基地”称号。温州朗诵学会会长王丽说：“温州朗诵水平不断提升，11个县（市、区）都成立了朗诵学会，这与瞿弦和老师的帮助、支持是分不开的。”

        温州，不仅商贾云集，而且文艺人才辈出。说起文艺界的温州人，瞿弦和如数家珍——“民族唱法男高音歌唱家姜嘉锵、美声女高音歌唱家夏阳、通俗歌唱家白雪都是温州人。舞蹈更是温州的强项，舞蹈家黄豆豆家喻户晓，我在中国煤矿文工团任职时接收的三位北京舞蹈学院优秀毕业生翁林婕、张悦、陈苾也是温州姑娘。”

        瞿弦和在《温州日报》“文化名人看温州”里这样写道：“自豪吧，温州人。我今年已经74岁啦，看到那么多温州人驰骋在国家级文艺团体中真感到骄傲，中国歌剧舞剧院优秀打击乐女演奏家张晓灵、北京歌舞剧院女舞蹈家翁笑笑、瓯剧艺术研究院荣获中国戏剧最高奖梅花奖的方汝将，就连浙江省朗诵学会的秘书长谢贝妮也是咱们温州乐清人啊！”

（2018年10月， 作者与瞿弦和（右）合影）

        如今，瞿弦和回家乡的次数越来越多了，每次他都会到侄子瞿昌林的酒店“美乐食街”品尝家乡独特的三丝敲鱼、鱼圆、鸭舌、花蚶，惬意地说：“好爽啊！”

        瞿弦和说：“我热爱温州，依恋温州，我为温州自豪。温州人有着勤劳、团结的美德，不仅如此，温州还有着丰厚的文化底蕴……”这位长年在外的温州人，总是以温州为荣；同样，温州人也以瞿弦和为荣。

Qu Xianhe and His Hometown Wenzhou

Nostalgia is a beautiful thing, but it can be transformed into something even more beautiful, as we learned recently after our encounter with Qu Xianhe, whose voice art, dedication and blazing love and passion elevates his hometown, Wenzhou, into the highest leagues of China’s cultural hall of fame. Qu Xianhe is best known for his recitals of ancient poems. Millions in China have heard him cite ancient poems in unexpectedly beautiful ways.

“Here are gathered all the illustrious persons and assembled both the old and the young. Here are tall mountains and majestic peaks, trees with thick foliage and tall, refreshing bamboos. Here are also clear streams and gurgling rapids. …”

When immersing himself in the soothing, solemn atmosphere of a grand literati gathering held in his hometown, Wenzhou, on October 21, 2018, Qu Xianhe saw his long-cherished wish come true. The performing artist’s recitation of The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Poems, an essay penned by China’s greatest calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303-361), put a perfect finale to the autumnal outing set in the mesmerizing beauty of the Nanxi River. Qu’s recital was witnessed by the local audience as well as about 150 journalists from across China.

For the Wenzhou gathering, Qu Xianhe had rescheduled his work in Beijing and came all the way down to Wenzhou to appear as a guest performer for free. “It felt like a call from my hometown, where my heart and soul forever belong, and I felt like I was here after a long journey that took a whole lifetime,” Qu Xianhe recalls.

Qu’s father, Qu Liang, was born in Wenzhou. His mother was from Jiaxing, a city in northern Zhejiang. “I knew my ancestral roots were in Zhejiang when I was a little boy,” Qu Xianhe shares.

“My father talked little about his younger, stormy years, and it was not until after he passed away that I managed to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of his life. He was a great man and a dedicated revolutionist, an unsung hero who took part in the Nanchang Uprising in 1927 and many other lofty causes.”

Qu Xianhe was born in 1944 in Indonesia, where his parents made a living as teachers. The family moved back to China in 1950, when Qu Xianhe had just finished his first year in grade school. The family lived peacefully in Beijing, with his father teaching at the Di’anmen Middle School.

Qu Xianhe graduated from the Department of Performing Arts of the Central Drama Academy in 1965. Over the next three decades, he held many important positions including the director of China Coal Mine Art Troupe, contributing his voice talent to radio stations and TV and dubbing for more than a hundred films.

For Qu Xianhe, who calls himself “son of Wenzhou”, his hometown is a familiar stranger. “My craving for Wenzhou was so strong that every time my father spoke the Wenzhou dialect I’d pester him to speak more. How I wished I could see Wenzhou with my own eyes someday.”

Qu’s first visit to what he calls “hometown” was in June of 1998. That year, he and his wife took part in the opening ceremony of the Jinhua-Wenzhou Railway, the first railway to link Wenzhou with the outside world. Since then, he has taken every opportunity to revisit Wenzhou.

At the 2nd World Wenzhounese Extravaganza held at the Wenzhou Sports Center on November 8, 2008, Qu Xianhe expressed his profound love for his hometown again. When he recited “Where even birds are nowhere to see, there are Wenzhounese”, tears blurred his eyes. It was one of his most unforgettable shows.

Qu Xianhe was in Wenzhou again in the winter of 2013 to take part in a music and poet recitation gathering staged at the Wenzhou Grand Theatre.

Wenzhounese have long been a leader in China’s performing art, standing out in various national competitions. Qu Xianhe is one of the most dazzling stars and an outstanding contributor and promoter behind the unfailing vigor of the performing artist community of Wenzhou. “Wenzhou produced a galaxy of world-class performing artists, as represented by soprano Xia Yang and a group of award-winning dancers including Huang Doudou, the greatest dancer ever produced by Wenzhou.” Qu Xianhe shares, his eyes shining with pride.

In 2018, Qu Xianhe shared his love and nostalgia for his hometown again in an article written for Wenzhou Daily in celebration of the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and open-up to the outside world. “All people from Wenzhou have a thousand reasons to feel proud. At the age of 74, I am happy to see the emerging power of so many young Wenzhounese bringing new colors and diversity to the stage of the country’s performing arts.”

Every time Qu Xianhe is back in Wenzhou, he visits his nephew’s restaurant to indulge himself in authentic local cuisine. He likens himself to a child coming back home to rediscover the joy of grandma’s cooking.

“I love Wenzhou so much that it has become a complex for me; it is beyond description,” enthuses Qu Xianhe.