原文

珊瑚

珊瑚，水之木也。生海中磐石之上，初白如菌，一岁乃黄。海人以铁网先沈水底，俟珊瑚贯出其中，绞网得之。或以铁猫儿坠海中得之。在水直而耎，见风则曲而坚，得日光乃作鲜红、淡红二色。其五七株合成者，名珊瑚林，夜有光景，常烨烨欲然，南越王以为烽火树是也。状多如柏，亦曰烽火柏。或谓此物贵贱，并随真珠，大抵以树身高大，枝柯丛多，纹细纵而色殷红，如银朱而有光泽者为贵，色淡有髓眼者次之。其色善变，可以占灾祥。圆之为珠，带腕上，或以为簪。其人有福泽，则益红润。高明区《怀瑞赋》云：眡炎洲之宝树兮，实擢秀于重泉。抱巽德之典直兮，分离象于汹渊。琼苞森其矗仄兮，丹柯宛以樛连。于是犀象之渠，贝蛤之长，命蠃舟，荡凫桨，缭金维，举镔网，以加于千仞之下，而出于湍厓之上。外有琅玕石，生海底，柯似珊瑚。色白者曰白珊瑚，青者青珊瑚。又有黑珊瑚，其色如漆，出安南。有海松，亦似珊瑚而多针眼。

白话

中文

珊瑚，被认为是水中的树木。它生长在海中大石之上，初生时像菌类一样是白色的，一年后才变为黄色。海边的渔民用铁网先沉入水底，等待珊瑚从中生长出来，然后绞起网来获取。也有用铁制的抓钩（“铁猫儿”）沉入海中来采集的。珊瑚在水中时是直而柔软的，遇到风（或指暴露在空气中）就会变弯曲并且坚硬，受到日光照射后才呈现出鲜红、淡红两种颜色。那些五到七株合生在一起的，称为“珊瑚林”，夜晚会发光，常常光彩闪耀如同要燃烧起来一样，据说南越王用来做烽火台信号的就是这种树，所以也叫“烽火树”。它的形状大多像柏树，因此也叫“烽火柏”。有人说珊瑚的价格高低，与珍珠是相互关联的。大致来说，以植株高大、枝杈繁多、纹理细密竖直、颜色深红如同朱砂（银朱）且有光泽的为贵；颜色浅淡、中间有孔洞（髓眼）的品质次之。它的颜色容易变化，据说可以用来占卜吉凶祸福。可以把它磨成圆珠，佩戴在手腕上，或者做成发簪。如果佩戴的人有福气，珊瑚就会变得更加红润。高明区（地名）的《怀瑞赋》写道：“看那南海的宝树啊，实在是从深深的泉水中拔萃而出。它秉持着风一般柔顺正直的德行啊，在汹涌的深渊中呈现出离卦的形象。玉一样的蓓蕾高低错落地林立啊，红色的枝条宛转地交错相连。于是那些善于驾驭犀牛大象的首领，那些贝壳部落的头领，下令出动海螺壳做的小舟，划动野鸭式的船桨，缠绕金色的绳索，撒下坚韧的铁网，深入到千仞之下的海底，又从激流险滩之上把它捞取出来。”此外，还有一种叫琅玕石的，生长在海底，枝柯形状类似珊瑚。白色的叫白珊瑚，青色的叫青珊瑚。还有黑珊瑚，颜色像黑漆一样，产自安南（今越南）。另有海松，也像珊瑚但表面有很多小孔（针眼）。

英文

Coral is considered the tree of the water. It grows upon large rocks in the sea, initially white like mushrooms, turning yellow after a year. Fishermen first sink iron nets to the seabed, wait for the coral to grow through them, then winch up the nets to harvest it. Alternatively, iron grappling hooks ('iron cats') are lowered into the sea to collect it. In the water, coral is straight and soft; upon exposure to wind (or air), it becomes curved and hard. It develops bright red or pale red colors only after exposure to sunlight. Clusters of five to seven stalks growing together are called 'coral forests.' They emit light at night, often glowing brilliantly as if about to ignite. It is said this is what the King of Nanyue used as a beacon signal tree, hence it's called the 'beacon fire tree.' Its shape often resembles a cypress, so it is also called 'beacon fire cypress.' Some say the value of coral is linked to that of pearls. Generally, those that are tall, have numerous branches, fine vertical grain, a deep red color like cinnabar (yinzhu) with luster are considered most valuable. Those that are pale and have pith holes ('marrow eyes') are secondary. Its color is prone to change, and it is said this can be used to divine fortune and misfortune. It can be ground into round beads, worn on the wrist, or made into hairpins. If the wearer is blessed with good fortune, the coral becomes even more red and lustrous. The 'Rhapsody on Embracing Auspiciousness' (Huai Rui Fu) from the Gaoming District says: "Behold the treasure tree of the fiery southern islands, truly excelling from the deep springs. Embracing the virtuous straightness of the wind trigram (Xun), displaying the fire trigram's (Li) image in the surging abyss. Jade-like buds stand densely arrayed, high and low; scarlet branches curve and intertwine. Then, the leaders skilled with rhinos and elephants, the chiefs of shellfish tribes, command snail-shell boats, ply duck-like oars, coil golden ropes, cast strong iron nets, reaching down a thousand fathoms, and bring it up from the turbulent cliffs." Additionally, there is Langgan stone, which grows on the seabed with branches resembling coral. The white variety is called white coral, the green one green coral. There is also black coral, black as lacquer, which comes from Annam (present-day Vietnam). There is also Sea Pine (Haisong), which also resembles coral but has many pinholes on its surface.

文化解读/分析

本条目详细记述了清初广东沿海地区关于珊瑚的知识、采集、利用和文化意涵，具有丰富的民俗和文化价值：

1. 博物认知与想象：将珊瑚视为“水之木”，体现了古人基于形态观察的朴素分类法。对其生长过程、颜色变化（受日光影响）、物理性质（水中软，出水硬）的描述，融合了实际观察与经验认知。
2. 采集技术与海洋文化：记述了使用铁网和“铁猫儿”等工具从深海采集珊瑚的方法，反映了当时沿海渔民的作业技术和对海洋资源的开发利用。
3. 经济价值与等级：明确指出珊瑚是贵重物品，其价值与珍珠相当，并详细列出了评判珊瑚品质的标准（大小、分枝、纹理、色泽、有无髓眼），反映了成熟的市场评价体系。
4. 象征意义与传说：“珊瑚林”夜间发光，并与南越王“烽火树”传说联系起来，赋予珊瑚神秘色彩和历史文化内涵，使其不仅仅是自然产物，更成为权力和祥瑞的象征。
5. 民俗信仰与应用：珊瑚被认为颜色能随佩戴者福气变化，并能用于占卜吉凶，体现了万物有灵的观念和趋吉避凶的民俗心理。将其制成珠串、发簪佩戴，是重要的装饰和护身符。
6. 文学与地方知识：引用高明区的《怀瑞赋》，不仅以优美的文辞描绘了珊瑚的形态和采集过程，也印证了珊瑚在地方文化中的重要地位，展示了文学作品在记录和传播地方知识中的作用。
7. 物种区分与贸易：提及与珊瑚相似的琅玕石（白、青）、来自安南的黑珊瑚以及海松，显示了当时对相关海洋生物/矿物已有一定的辨识能力，并反映了与东南亚地区的贸易往来。

关键词

珊瑚, 广东新语, 屈大均, 货语, 海洋生物, 采集, 铁网, 铁猫儿, 南越王, 烽火树, 宝石, 珍珠, 价值, 民俗, 占卜, 福气, 装饰品, 珠串, 发簪, 怀瑞赋, 高明, 琅玕石, 黑珊瑚, 安南, 越南, 海松, 海洋文化, 贸易