百岁诗翁人瑞侣

百岁诗翁，这里是指上海104岁的吴祖刚（已故剧作家吴祖光的堂兄）；人瑞侣，说的是吴祖刚和他101岁高龄的老伴万心慧。他们相濡以沫、风雨同舟已79载。最近，我得到了几幅他们拍摄于近年的照片及吴老之诗词手稿，有一张照片中，吴老双手托着两个玩具人物，与老伴一起欣喜地赏玩着。

在《退密诗历续编》中，我读到了周退密词丈（今已98岁高龄，上海诗词学会顾问）作于2007年6月的一首词，词中记叙了读《吴祖刚先生百岁华诞唱和词》后的。周老说到的这组唱和词，我手头存有，共4页11首，最初是周退密词丈原唱，接着是吴祖刚先生步韵答谢，再接下去又有王瑜孙、周瑞深、喻蘅、马祖煦等四位耄耋词丈竞相唱和寄贺。吴祖刚欣读之后诗兴更浓，逐一再唱答谢。其中一首吟道：“海上有逋客，百岁遇神仙。纷纷天上珠玉，投我拾争先。拜舞临风高唱，忘却衰年扶杖，飘逸柳鸣蝉。两岸春池小，莲叶正田田。太平世，福如海，寿如泉。期颐队队咸集，击壤戏人间。百万白头翁媪，齐唱和平世界，祥霭薄云天。展读琳琅句，爱意总绵绵。”（水调歌头）

几幅人瑞伴侣照片，一组“水调歌头”唱和词，反映了“当代盛人瑞，屡见地行仙”之盛景，也展示了泱泱诗国之延绵相传，成了媒体和社会所关注的健康珍闻和诗坛佳话。

人瑞伴侣

在人口达1000万余的上海市，2011年吴、万二老已成了排名第三的婚龄最长夫妇。他俩是1932年结婚的，至今已近80年。吴老的老伴出身苏州名门，他们的婚礼是在苏州饭店举办的，那是一个宾馆，楼下有个宴会厅，可以提供酒席。结婚照上的新娘万心慧并没有穿着当时传统的凤冠霞帔，而是一身相当时髦的白色婚纱，手里拿着捧花，吴祖刚则是西装革履，显得格外精神。他们办的是新式婚礼，全套行头都是西式的。当时提倡新文化新生活，所以礼仪上没有磕头，而是以鞠躬代替。

吴祖刚夫妇现住在沪东一个新村的五楼。两老如今的生活起居均由保姆照料。据保姆介绍，吴祖刚老人腿脚还灵便，隔三差五自己会下楼逛逛超市。他的脑子还很好使，思维敏捷，记忆力强，就是眼睛耳朵都不灵了。拜访他的客人，会注意到老人的右耳放着助听器，和人对话时声音也很大。脖子上还挂着一个鉴定珠宝的专用放大镜，这是他看报纸时的“独门装备”。

说起长寿的秘诀，吴老开玩笑说：“哎呀，我也不知道为什么跟别人不一样，我们也没吃过长生不老药呀。”虽然自己也不太清楚长寿的原因，但吴老依旧与大家分享了他的日常食谱：早餐一杯牛奶、一块面包；午餐两个蔬菜、一块鱼肉或鸡肉（偶尔也吃些猪肉）、一碗米饭；晚餐一杯麦片、一个番茄。老人说自己吃东西也不忌口，只有前两年体检时医生说他肌酐指标有点高，让他少吃肉，“不过这两年指标又正常了，我就开戒了。”关于起居时间，许多老人通常都有午睡的习惯，吴祖刚却说“从来不睡，中午睡了晚上就睡不着”。但二老晚上睡觉较早，八九点钟就上床了。

如果说有规律的生活作息是二老健康的保证，那么时刻保持愉快的心情则是老人长寿的重要原因之一。人们和吴祖刚、万心慧二老言谈接触中，童心未泯的吴祖刚老人经常三言二语就把现场气氛“炒”得火热，欢声笑语更是没有间断过。住在同一幢楼里的吴老小儿子吴儆津感慨道：老爸比我们还要时髦。时髦的老两口至今仍和孩子的家居保持“一碗汤的距离”，和孩子住在一幢楼里，都能保持自己的生活方式，吴老俩也能过“二人世界”。吴祖刚与万心慧共养育了4个儿子，如今已是一个四世同堂、子孙和睦的大家庭。

百岁诗翁

吴祖刚老人吟咏数十年。10年前他结集过一部《且刚诗草》，6年前友人又为他编印了《且刚诗词》（上下集）。加上近几年的吟咏，他的作品已超千首。我近时看到他的新作有两首。其一是2011年春节写赠周退密的《西江月》词，其二是2011年二月写给顾国华的另一首《西江月》。

吴祖刚1908年生于江苏常州的一个文化世家，家学功底深厚，1931年毕业于北京大学法律系。后在几个地方、几种岗位就职，曾经任过银行襄理。新中国成立以后，怀着对教育的热爱，他放弃了高薪工作，到了上海北虹高级中学任教，一干20余年。禀承严谨的工作态度，据以深厚的学问素养，奉行细腻的育人方式，为国家培养和输送了大批人才，可谓桃李满天下。2007年3月，北虹高级中学在上海新雅大酒店白云厅为他举办了祝贺百岁华诞的庆典，酒会在欢快的乐曲声中拉开帷幕：上海著名教育家于漪老师、虹口区教育局领导及各兄弟学校的代表莅临致贺。北虹中学的师生们以歌曲、舞蹈等形式向吴祖刚老师表达自己的祝福。他的学生之一、香港著名实业家、北虹高中校友会会长崔伯强不仅发起、出资并精心组织了这场活动，而且借着这次寿诞庆典，宣布设立学校的“吴祖刚奖学基金”，使全校师生和校友们深为感动。

尽管退休岁月漫漫，吴祖刚老人对教育事业和教学岗位仍然怀念，且寄希望，以为是民族振兴之本。90岁那年，他写下了一篇《七律・希望工程》：“挂角书声入梦来，天真赤子重栽培。昆冈待琢多珍璞，阡陌何容有弃才。不择细流归大海，无声雨露润荒台。山陬处处寒桃李，沐浴春风烂漫开。”

2003年5月，年已96岁的吴祖刚，竟以少年的心怀，让幻想插上翅膀，洋洋洒洒地写下了一首想和李白“联唱”的《梦游珠穆朗玛峰》诗篇，其中“谁云青天不能上。风萧萧兮珠峰坡，老夫此去兮思荆轲。回首家山兮泪滂沱，此志既已决，万夫不可夺。长歌策杖登山行……”写登峰之艰辛过程及智勇心态。这首诗写成后一经传诵、见报见刊，读者皆惊奇，赏者皆钦敬。有的以为是吟坛上的一声绝响，有的以为是老年文化苑中的一朵奇葩，映照出时代气息，折射出奋发的精神风貌。

吴祖刚老人的吟咏生涯，主要是退归以后开始，七八十岁多产、大器晚成，百岁闻名。他在101岁时写下的《老怀四叠》，在中华诗词界引来公众唱和。唱和的人遍布江南塞北。评论界认为，吴祖刚的《老怀四叠》大气、奇气俱备。其中“华容道上三关过，长坂坡前一路冲”、“枝头两个白头翁，对话啁啾南北风”、“百年一觉银河梦，明日行程征远空”等句子，平中出奇，沧桑感人。吴祖刚老人早年还翻译过小说，是位智者和达人。在他的吟咏中，似乎题材不论大小，兴之所至，随心所欲写下。写与友人唱和、家人团聚、饮食起居，又写粉碎、进入新时期、咏港澳回归、三峡兴建，歌“神舟”升天、“嫦娥”奔月，吟遗传基因、时光隧道……所见所闻所思所感皆出笔下。如《七律・神舟》，反映出我国航天科技的突飞猛进和中华赤子的高尚志向。

祖刚老人翰墨生平中，还有他似乎是独有的韵事。兴致来时，吴老常常挥毫泼墨吟诗作联，大家闺秀出身亦懂文墨的老伴万心慧，便在一旁作陪，时不时还给提点意见，颇有“红袖添香”的味道。吴老说，以前老伴身体好的时候，常常由她把诗友的信函与唱和的诗稿读给自己听，还给人家回信。他与堂弟吴祖光及堂弟媳新凤霞也有翰墨往来。有《七绝・题祖光凤霞诗书画集》：“原上雨飘萧，皓首相逢骨未销。喜见双枝花更发，光霞无际淌秋涛。”

Poet Enjoys Longevity and Happy Marriage

By Zhu Mingyao

The 104-year-old Wu Zugang is a poet happily married with 101-year-old Wan Xinhui. Their wedding took place in 1932. According to a demographic survey in 2011, the couple is the third longest marriage in Shanghai, a metropolis with a population of more than 10 million. The centenarians are media stars and inspire the curiosity of those eager to learn the secrets of longevity.

Wu Zugang and Wan Xinhui got married in 1932. The wedding was ultramodern in those days, a break away from the tradition. The bridegroom sported a western suit and leather shoes whereas the bride wore a white wedding gown with a bundle of fresh flowers in her hands.

Now they live in a fifth-floor apartment in downtown Shanghai, taken care of by a nurse. The poet walks downstairs and visits a shopping mall in the neighborhood every now and then. He thinks fast and has a good memory but his eyesight and hearing have deteriorated seriously. He talks with people through a hearing aid and reads with a magnifying glass, which hangs from his neck with a string.

He says doesn’t have any secret formula for longevity. “Gee, I don’t know why we are different. We have never taken any elixir.” He is most willing to share their regular daily diet with everyone. Nothing fancy. He gave up eating meat two years ago as a medical test indicated something abnormal in him. But he began to eat meat again after the indicator is normal now. They never take a nap after lunch. They go to bed around 8 or 9 o’clock in the evening.

If a regular regime is part of the longevity, feeling happy is probably the key. The old poet has a big sense of humor and he can be the star of any conversation. The couple’s youngest son lives in the same apartment building, yet the couple keeps “a distance of a bowl of soup”, whatever it means. That is, the couple still leads a life in a world of the two. They have four sons and theirs is a big family of four generations.

Born in 1908 into a family in Changzhou, a central city in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, he graduated as a law major from Beijing University in 1931. He worked a number of jobs. After the founding of New China, he resigned from a well-paid bank job and came to teach in Beihong High School of Shanghai. There he worked as a teacher for more than 20 years.

Wu’s poem-writing passion started after his retirement. As a poet, he climaxed in his 70s and 80s and he made his fame when he turned 100. He writes short poems in the traditional style, but his subjects are by no means traditional. He writes spontaneous poems in response to friends’ poems. In poems he discusses family reunions, details of everyday life, politics, and latest events in news media. And he even touches upon trendy topics such as genes and time tunnel.

His wife’s health is not so good now. When his wife’s health was good, she acted as his eyes. She read him letters and poems from friends and wrote replies. Sometimes she even advised him on phrases and ideas for his poem writing.