“中國”威爾蓀

譯/涂杰

One of the greatest plant-hunters of the early twentieth century, Ernest Henry ‘Chinese’ Wilson was born in 1876 and began his horticultural1horticultural 園藝學的。career as an apprentice at a local nursery before going on to study at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.In 1899 he was working at Kew when he was chosen to go on a plant-hunting expedition to China for Veitch’s nursery.

歐內斯特·亨利·“中國”威爾蓀生于1876 年，是20 世紀初最偉大的植物獵人之一。他起初在當地苗圃當學徒，并從此開啟園藝生涯，后又進入伯明翰植物園求學深造。1899 年，維奇苗圃選派當時供職于邱園（英國皇家植物園）的威爾蓀去中國為苗圃采集植物。

2威爾蓀首探中國的目的是尋得珙桐標本。珙桐又名“手帕樹”，乃極為罕見的傳奇之樹，于1866 年由譚微道發現。此后，韓爾禮再次發現珙桐，但僅在一地發現獨樹一棵。又過了12 年，威爾蓀才接到前往中國的任務。當時，哈利·維奇雇用了一批植物獵人，他勸告威爾蓀一心尋找珙桐，莫要費財耗時遍地廣集，因為他認為中國所有值得采集的植物可能都已引入英國。然而，威爾蓀之后證明了他大錯特錯。

2The aim of this first expedition was to find specimens of Davidia involucrata, the Handkerchief Tree, an almost legendary rarity discovered in 1866 by Père David Armand2譚微道（佩爾·達維德·阿爾芒，1826—1900），法國動物學家、植物學家、博物學家、天主教遣使會會士。他是最早到中國考察動植物物種的歐洲人之一，也是最早研究中國物種地理分布的學者之一。依靠深厚的博物學背景，并以傳教為依托，譚微道多次到中國進行科學考察，采集了大量的動植物標本與活體。他是最早發現并描述大熊貓、珙桐、金絲猴、麋鹿等物種的西方人。在中法兩國，譚微道均是19 世紀博物學史以及生物學史上的重要人物。.A lone tree in a single location had been seen twelve years previously by Augustine Henry3韓爾禮（奧古斯丁·亨利，1857—1930），愛爾蘭植物學家。他是現代植物學史上一位貢獻極大的植物采集學家，也是迄今為止在中國土地上采集標本數量最多的外籍人士。.Harry Veitch, employing a number of plant-hunters at the time, advised Wilson to stick to the one thing he was searching for and not waste time and money wandering about as probably every worthwhile plant in China had already been introduced.Wilson was to prove him spectacularly wrong.

3為了找到珙桐，威爾蓀的首要目標是拜訪韓爾禮，而彼時韓爾禮正駐扎于云南的一個偏遠小鎮。于是，威爾蓀遇水則乘船，著陸則騎騾，一路歷經艱難險阻。見到了韓爾禮并與之商討過后，威爾蓀帶著一張手繪地圖再次上路，地圖上面的十字記號標記著韓爾禮在其長達半年的考察之旅中發現的那棵珙桐的位置。經歷了一段威爾蓀委婉描述為“刺激”的旅程，他終于抵達了之前發現珙桐的地方，卻發現當地人為了給新房騰地，不久前剛將珙桐砍伐。然而，威爾蓀并未氣餒，經過不懈努力，終于在湖北找到了一片正值花期的珙桐。同月，威爾蓀還發現了“威爾蓀中國醋栗”（現在稱為獼猴桃）——這一發現當時并不引人注意，現在則廣為人知。威爾蓀駐扎在長江沿岸的宜昌鎮，此后兩年都在實地考察、采集種子。他采集了305 種植物的種子、滿滿35 個沃德箱的植株，以及大量的干制臘葉標本，總共可代表900 多個植物物種。

3Wilson’s first objective was to reach Henry, then stationed in a remote town in Yunnan.The journey, by river and mule,was arduous and dangerous.Having met and consulted with Henry, Wilson set out armed with a sketch map marked with a cross representing the single tree Henry had found in the course of a sixmonth trip.Wilson eventually reached the location of the previous sighting after a journey he described euphemistically as ‘exciting’, only to find that the tree had recently been felled to make way for a new house.Undaunted, he eventually managed to locate a grove of flowering trees in Hubei.In the same month,he made a discovery less celebrated but now probably better known—‘Wilson’s Chinese Gooseberry’, now known as the kiwi fruit.Making his base at the town of Yichang on the Yangtze River, he spent the next two years exploring and collecting seeds.He collected seeds of 305 different species and 35 Wardian cases4Wardian case 沃德箱，一種用于存放蕨類及類似植物的玻璃容器，由住在倫敦郊外的外科醫生納撒尼爾·巴格肖·沃德（Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward）發明。沃德箱問世后，植物經長途運輸后的存活率大大提升，因此沃德箱成為植物獵人的必備品。full of plant material, as well as dried herbarium specimens, representing over 900 species in total.

4Wilson’s second trip to China in 1903 was in search of the yellow poppy Meconopsis integrifolia.He was able to hire many of the men who had worked with him on his previous expedition.In contrast to some other Western planthunters of the time, Wilson respected and got on well with the Chinese people he met and employed.Travelling from Sichuan into Tibet, he secured seeds of both Meconopsis integrifolia and the red Meconopsis punicea.He suffered from altitude sickness and other illnesses, and had lost almost three stone by the time he reached Songpan in Sichuan.He returned to England in 1905,with the seeds of over 500 species and 2,400 herbarium specimens, including Lilium regale, the species he was most proud of introducing in his remarkable career.

41903 年，威爾蓀二探中國，此行的目的是尋找黃色的罌粟屬植物——全緣葉綠絨蒿。威爾蓀得以雇到上次中國之行為其做事的許多人員。不同于當時其他一些西方植物獵人，無論是與他相逢，還是受他雇用的中國人，威爾蓀都予以尊重，并與他們相處融洽。威爾蓀從四川進入西藏，沿途采集了全緣葉綠絨蒿和紅花綠絨蒿的種子。途中，威爾蓀深受高原病等疾病之苦，到達四川松潘時瘦了近3 英石（約19 千克）。1905 年，威爾蓀返回英國，帶回了500 多種植物的種子和2400 多份臘葉標本，其中包括他引進的岷江百合——這是他杰出職業生涯中最引以為傲的成就。

5威爾蓀三探中國是受哈佛大學阿諾德樹木園之托。園方主要對木本植物感興趣，但本次行程的部分資金由贊助人提供，因此威爾蓀還要為他們采集蘭花和百合等植物。阿諾德樹木園還要求威爾蓀沿途盡量多拍照記錄。威爾蓀用干板相機拍出的照片在當時稱得上十分出色，目前這些照片由阿諾德樹木園的檔案館收藏保管。

5Wilson’s third expedition to China was undertaken on behalf of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.Their interest was primarily in woody plants,but the expedition was partially funded by subscribers, for whom Wilson was to look for orchids and lilies amongst other things.The Arnold Arboretum also asked Wilson to photograph as much as he could.His photographs, taken on a plate camera5干板相機，使用玻璃干板相片的相機，拍一次就得換一次相片。, were quite remarkable for the time and are now in the Arboretum’s archive.

6Surviving famine and a bad bout6bout（疾病或不愉快情緒的）發作。of malaria, Wilson shipped huge amounts of plant material to the United States in 1908, including thousands of lily bulbs.Unfortunately, almost all of the bulbs rotted in transit.

6這次旅行，威爾蓀經歷了饑荒，還深受瘧疾之苦，所幸他大難不死，在1908 年將大批植株運往美國，其中包括數千株百合球莖。但遺憾的是，百合球莖在運輸途中腐爛殆盡。

7威爾蓀四探中國主要是為了采集更多的百合球莖。這次威爾蓀是勉為其難，不料這趟收官之旅讓他付出了慘重的代價。威爾蓀總是備著轎輦出行卻不常乘坐。轎輦只是用作尊貴地位的象征，方便他通行順暢。然而有一次，威爾蓀正坐在轎輦上，沿著狹窄的山路前行，隊伍突遭雪崩襲擊。威爾蓀在千鈞一發之際掙脫出來，沒有隨轎輦一同墜入崖下，卻被落石砸中，腿上有兩處骨折。幸好無人殞命，只有一名腳夫受傷。就在隨從用相機三腳架臨時當作夾板將他骨折的腿固定時，一隊騾子迎面趕來。威爾蓀挪不開，而騾隊既無法通過這條狹窄山路，又恐再有落石而不想原地逗留，因此威爾蓀索性橫躺在山路中間，任憑騾子從他身上跨過。此后3 天，他們一路急行，折返成都，就近求醫。骨折誘發感染，害他險些截肢。經過3 個月的治療，威爾蓀傷勢好轉，得以返回美國，但他腿上卻永遠留下了病根，只能終生跛行（他戲稱之為“百合跛”）。

7It was to collect more lily bulbs in particular that Wilson was reluctantly persuaded to make one last expedition to China, with serious consequences.He always travelled with a sedan chair,though he rarely used it, as it was a kind of badge of respectability that allowed the traveller to pass freely.For once he was being carried in the chair, on a narrow mountain road, when the expedition was hit by an avalanche.Wilson managed to get out of the chair just before it was carried over the edge, but was hit by falling rock and broke his leg in two places.Fortunately only one of the porters was injured and no one was killed.While the leg was being immobilised with splints improvised from the camera tripod, a mule train came up.Wilson could not be moved and the mule train could neither pass on the narrow track, nor wait in case of further rockfalls, so he lay across the road and the mules stepped over him.After that it was a three days’ forced march back to the nearest medical attention in Chengdu.Infection set in7set in（不好的事情）開始；到來。and he came close to losing his leg.After three months he was well enough for the journey back to the States, but the leg never healed properly and he walked with what he called his ‘lily limp’ for the rest of his life.

8This was the end of his travels in China.Between 1911 and 1915, he collected specimens in Japan for the Arboretum, including 63 named flowering Cherry forms, and in 1917 he made an expedition to Korea.His wife and daughter joined him on these trips.Wilson named Rosa helenae and the bamboo Fargesia murielae after them.

9Ironically, given the dangers and privations he had survived on his collecting trips, Wilson died in a car accident in the States in 1930, three years after becoming Keeper of the Arnold Arboretum.

10In total, Wilson introduced about 2,000 Asian plant species to the West.Sixty species of Chinese plants are named after him.■

8這便是他中國之旅的結局。1911 年至1915 年間，威爾蓀前往日本為阿諾德樹木園采集標本，其中包括63 個已命名的櫻花樹品種。1917 年，他前往朝鮮半島展開考察。這幾次旅程中，他的妻女也與他同行。后來，他用妻女的名字分別命名了卵果薔薇和神農箭竹。

9諷刺的是，威爾蓀在植物采集之旅中歷盡艱險困苦而生還，最終卻于1930 年在美國死于車禍，當時他接管阿諾德樹木園僅3 年。

10威爾蓀總共將約2000 種亞洲植物引入西方，同時，有60 種中國植物以他的名字命名。 □