中国年画与五子夺莲

在山东农村的春节，家家户户都要在房舍之中张贴年画，把房内布置得色彩缤纷，同时又充满情趣。年画是中国民间最普及的艺术品之一，每值岁末，多数地方都有张贴年画、门神以及对联的习俗，以增添节日的喜庆气氛。年画因一年一换，或张贴后可供一年欣赏之用，故称“年画”。旧时人们盛行在室内贴年画，户上贴门神，以祝愿新年吉庆，驱凶迎祥。

年画的内容，一般都是健康、吉祥、歌颂太平的。财神、福禄寿三星、仙女、大胖小子、戏曲人物是年画的主要内容，像“五子夺莲”、“鲤鱼跳龙门”、“年年有余（鱼）”、“招财进宝”、“喜得贵子”、“岁寒三友”等等。

作为中国的一种民间艺术，年画早在东汉、六朝时就已存在了。宋代时，年画已很兴盛。清代康熙、乾隆年间，年画的作坊日益发展。当代的年画，也是在沿袭历代传统年画的基础上发展起来的，制作地区遍及大江南北的一些城镇乡村，并形成天津杨柳青、苏州桃花坞和潍坊杨家埠等富有地方特色的年画。如今，版画也加入了年画的行列中。

而年画“五子夺莲”同样是寓意子孙健康、吉祥。“五”在中国古代书面语言中意含“多数”之意。诸如“五福和合、五福临门、五福捧寿、五子登科”等祝颂词语，已是街巷传诵，妇幼熟知。何谓“五福”？《书经・洪范》记述为“一曰寿，二曰富，三曰康宁，四曰攸好德，五曰考终命”；民间则把“五福”演绎为“福、禄、寿、喜、财”，并撰联吟诵；“人臻五福，花满三春”。在祈求“五福”的同时，还希冀“五子登科”，即多子多孙、鹏程万里、代代繁衍、兴旺发达。

从“五子登科”到“五子夺莲”，又是一次情感愿望的飞跃，后者的期望值再次提升。因“莲”与“连”、“籽”与“子”都属同音双关，“连生贵子”、“连中三元”则又顺理成章与之连接。所以说，“五子夺莲”的“莲”除有“连生贵子”含义，还有“连中三元”意蕴。

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.