中國(guó)年畫(huà)與五子奪蓮

在山東農(nóng)村的春節(jié)，家家戶戶都要在房舍之中張貼年畫(huà)，把房?jī)?nèi)布置得色彩繽紛，同時(shí)又充滿情趣。年畫(huà)是中國(guó)民間最普及的藝術(shù)品之一，每值歲末，多數(shù)地方都有張貼年畫(huà)、門(mén)神以及對(duì)聯(lián)的習(xí)俗，以增添節(jié)日的喜慶氣氛。年畫(huà)因一年一換，或張貼后可供一年欣賞之用，故稱“年畫(huà)”。舊時(shí)人們盛行在室內(nèi)貼年畫(huà)，戶上貼門(mén)神，以祝愿新年吉慶，驅(qū)兇迎祥。

年畫(huà)的內(nèi)容，一般都是健康、吉祥、歌頌太平的。財(cái)神、福祿壽三星、仙女、大胖小子、戲曲人物是年畫(huà)的主要內(nèi)容，像“五子奪蓮”、“鯉魚(yú)跳龍門(mén)”、“年年有余（魚(yú)）”、“招財(cái)進(jìn)寶”、“喜得貴子”、“歲寒三友”等等。

作為中國(guó)的一種民間藝術(shù)，年畫(huà)早在東漢、六朝時(shí)就已存在了。宋代時(shí)，年畫(huà)已很興盛。清代康熙、乾隆年間，年畫(huà)的作坊日益發(fā)展。當(dāng)代的年畫(huà)，也是在沿襲歷代傳統(tǒng)年畫(huà)的基礎(chǔ)上發(fā)展起來(lái)的，制作地區(qū)遍及大江南北的一些城鎮(zhèn)鄉(xiāng)村，并形成天津楊柳青、蘇州桃花塢和濰坊楊家埠等富有地方特色的年畫(huà)。如今，版畫(huà)也加入了年畫(huà)的行列中。

而年畫(huà)“五子奪蓮”同樣是寓意子孫健康、吉祥。“五”在中國(guó)古代書(shū)面語(yǔ)言中意含“多數(shù)”之意。諸如“五福和合、五福臨門(mén)、五福捧壽、五子登科”等祝頌詞語(yǔ)，已是街巷傳誦，婦幼熟知。何謂“五?！保俊稌?shū)經(jīng)·洪范》記述為“一曰壽，二曰富，三曰康寧，四曰攸好德，五曰考終命”；民間則把“五福”演繹為“福、祿、壽、喜、財(cái)”，并撰聯(lián)吟誦；“人臻五福，花滿三春”。在祈求“五?！钡耐瑫r(shí)，還希冀“五子登科”，即多子多孫、鵬程萬(wàn)里、代代繁衍、興旺發(fā)達(dá)。

從“五子登科”到“五子奪蓮”，又是一次情感愿望的飛躍，后者的期望值再次提升。因“蓮”與“連”、“籽”與“子”都屬同音雙關(guān)，“連生貴子”、“連中三元”則又順理成章與之連接。所以說(shuō)，“五子奪蓮”的“蓮”除有“連生貴子”含義，還有“連中三元”意蘊(yùn)。

Chinese New Year Pictures and Five Children Plucking Lotus

The New Year picture is one of the most popular folk arts in China. At the end of the Chinese Lunar Year， many regions have the traditional custom of pasting up New Year pictures， an image of the door-god and antithetical couplets so as to promote the joyful atmosphere of the festival. The New Year pictures are always changed one time every year. In the past， the Chinese people had the habit of pasting the New Year pictures on the walls indoors and the door-gods on the windows to pray for a auspicious year to come， drive away the evil and welcome good luck.

The New Year picture “Five Children Plucking Lotus” implies healthy and fortunate descendants. In the ancient Chinese language， “five” implies “many”. So there are many blessing idioms including “five”， such as harmony of the five gods of good luck， arrival of the five gods of good luck， the five gods of good luck celebrating a birthday， and five sons passing the imperial examination， which are still very popular in China. Then， what are the five gods of good luck? According to Bible of Books — Hong Fan， the five gods of good luck include the god of life， the god of fortune， the god of health， the god of merit and the god of fate. According to the folk culture， the five gods of good luck include the god of luck， the god of happiness， the god of life， the good of joy and the good of wealth. While praying for the five gods of good luck， people also wished for the good luck of “five son passing the imperial examinations，” implying their descendants would be prosperous and advanced.