一片江山尽姓韩——韩愈与潮州文化
名垂千秋的唐代文学家、教育家韩愈先是因进谏《论天旱人饥状》，被贬为阳山县令。10多年后，“一封朝奏九重天，夕贬潮阳路八千”，他又因谏迎佛骨，被贬为潮州刺史。在粤期间，韩愈积极推广中原文化，为民解忧造福，对后世产生了深远影响，以致阳山、潮州出现了“以公之姓以名其子”的现象。潮人把韩愈驱鳄的恶溪改名叫韩江，将他游历过的笔架山改名叫韩山；阳山也被人改称韩邑，境内湟水改为韩水，牧民山改为贤令山。
韩愈名扬天下，全国各地纪念韩愈的祠堂、纪念馆不胜枚举，为何广东尤其是潮州的“崇韩文化”特别发达？除了士庶感恩崇圣的心态之外，也要归功于粤人在千百年的历史积淀中，不断衍化和丰富韩愈赋予广东的文化“富矿”，最终造就了“一片江山尽姓韩”的人文奇观。
“中国的犹太人”
潮州的先民大多是来自中州的移民。中州人有商人的传统(相传商代贵族在亡国后，因丧失领地而多从事货物贩运之事，后遂以“商人”称之)。而移民的传统中有二个重要的因素：“安土重迁”(指安于本土，把迁徙看得很重)的观念相对淡薄，敢于向外另辟天地；注重“入乡随俗”，以便与移居地的原住民融洽相处。加上潮汕地区地狭人稠，人口与资源和环境矛盾很大，激烈的竞争环境培养了潮州人的创造、开拓和冒险精神，不少人外出到海外谋生，形成社会风气，在农业上精耕细作，在手工业上精雕细琢，在商业上更是精打细算，极善经营，闻名海内外，有“中国的犹太人”之称。清中叶著称一时的广帮商人，主要由广州帮和潮州帮商人组成，潮州帮商人在国内的东南沿海及江西一带生意做得很大，在泰国、新加坡一带颇有势力。强烈的商品意识，是潮州人一种颇具优势的文化潜质，使他们在改革开放时期足迹遍及城乡，渗透各行各业，特别活跃。这些传统因素在不同的时空环境中得到继承与发展，遂使潮州文化凸现出圆融、开放的特性：善于吸收、融合外来文化，为我所用；有开拓精神，且能随遇而安；善于经商，有“东方犹太人”之称。而海内外潮人人数基本持平，“凡有潮水之处就有潮人”的奇特现象，更是潮州文化的圆融开放特色最集中的体现。
潮州话：“古汉语的活化石”
潮州是潮州文化的发祥地，“潮州”已成为一个富有地方特色的文化品牌。潮州文化是中原文化、百粤文化和海洋文化的融合体。它包括：
1、生活居住文化。潮州尚存有大量的古民居建筑，又有东南亚骑楼和西洋风格的旧建筑。居民的生活既有中原文化生活习惯又有海洋文化色彩。
2、潮州话——古汉语的活化石。属闽方言潮州方言被称为“古汉语的活化石”，人们现在生活中的用语造句也有大量古汉语的使用习惯。有些发音已经不能用现代汉字表示了。
3、“潮州菜”、“工夫茶”——饮食文化。潮州人有别具一格的食俗，例如日常特别喜爱吃粥、有以大米粉制作的名目繁多的食品、喜爱以腌制品为主的佐餐小菜（咸菜、菜脯）以及制作精致的特色小食（蚝烙、肉丸等）。潮州饮食最为出名的是潮州菜和潮州工夫茶。潮州菜在国内外享有盛名，是由潮汕原来独有的菜式与按潮州味加工改造了的菜式所构成的一个开放的体系。潮菜较多受闽菜所影响，同时又受到广州菜等外地菜的影响，汇闽粤两家之长，自成一家。制作精细的潮菜菜式中，不仅有着名贵的燕窝、鱼翅、鲍鱼烹制的精品，也不乏粗菜精制的特色菜，如地瓜叶做成的“护国菜”，芋头做成的“芋泥”，大芥菜做成的“大菜羹”等。潮菜具有选料广而重海鲜、制作精而重清淡、佐料多而重“合味”的主要特点，而且宴请进食中讲规矩而又重人情，渗透着礼仪文化。潮州工夫茶是富有地方特色的茶艺。从茶具、茶叶、用水、冲泡到品尝都十分讲究。茶具用宜兴茶壶或盖瓯及小瓷杯，茶叶用乌龙茶，冲泡有包括纳茶、候汤、冲泡、刮沫、淋盖、烫杯、洗杯、筛点等步骤，高冲低筛，操作严谨。品尝还重在慢饮细酌。
4、潮州音乐、潮剧——地方文化艺术。潮剧、潮州铁枝木偶早已饮誉海内外，包涵潮州弦丝、潮州大锣鼓、小锣鼓、唢呐曲、庙堂音乐、潮州筝的潮州音乐更是声名卓著，被誉为“中原音乐文化的遗响”，吸引了英国、德国、美国、西班牙等国音乐家和我国音乐院校、表演团体前来观摩学习。潮州大锣鼓上世纪五十年代曾代表我国赴莫斯科参加世界青年联欢节，潮州筝曲《寒鸦戏水》近年也由中央民族乐团在维也纳金色大厅奏响。民间舞蹈之兴盛与游神赛会活动有密切关系，因而分为游行舞蹈和广场舞蹈。游行舞蹈有扮涂戏及鲤鼓队后的担八宝等。广场舞蹈以表现人物为主题的英歌舞，被誉为“北有安塞锣鼓，南有潮阳英歌”。广场舞蹈以仿动物动作的传统的“舞龙”、“舞狮”的民间活动经久不衰。
5、潮绣、木雕、陶瓷——工艺美术。潮绣、婚纱、抽纱、石雕、玉雕、金漆木雕、嵌瓷、大吴泥塑、枫溪陶瓷、花灯、麦稿画、各种纸扎等潮州工艺美术品已构成“国家重点工艺美术城市”的基石，也是潮州经济的重要支柱。潮汕地区是中国工艺美术10个重点产区之一，1990年被轻工部定为4个产区之一。潮州工艺美术品类丰富，其中最具盛名的是瓷艺、刺绣和木雕。潮汕地区陶瓷生产历史悠久，其陶瓷以瓷质洁白、造型优美、釉面光洁、式样典雅而驰名中外，以独创的通花瓶和瓷花最具特色。枫溪工艺陶瓷1996年出口额达12亿元，成为全国最大的工艺瓷生产出口基地。潮州金漆木雕与浙江东阳木雕并列为中国两大民间木雕体系。潮州金漆木用于建筑装饰、家具装饰、神器装饰以及案头摆设。 当代著名木雕艺人有张鉴轩、陈舜羌。陈舜羌及其子陈培臣先后为人民大会堂广东厅创作了大型金漆木雕挂屏。当代潮绣名师有林智成、蔡玩清。1982年潮绣钉金垫浮绣《九龙屏风》、金绒混合绣《吹屏引凤》均获第二届中国工艺美术百花奖金杯奖。
潮州文化又是维系当地以及海内外潮人社会的纽带，编织纽带的材料则是乡情。一声乡音，一味小吃，一杯工夫茶，这就是乡情的魅力。 没有了潮州话、潮州的民俗风情、潮州的古迹文物，乡情还能始终浓郁，纽带还能坚韧如初。
Cultural famous city Chaozhou, has “the country historical city”, “Chinese famous overseas Chinese district”, “China outstanding tourist city”, “the Chinese Jindezhen”, “the Chinese nuptial dress evening dress famous city”, “the country key industrial art city “, “township of the national folk art” and “township of the Chinese Chaozhou vegetable” and so on a gold content extremely high state-level “the urban name card”, Chaozhou is the Guangdong Province first batch obtains “the country historical city” honor one of two cities, has heritage attraction more than 70. And, has state-level Cultural relic preservation organ 5, has the Korean male ancestral hall, the Guangji bridge, Kaiyuan Temple and so on numerous original cultural brands, the Chaozhou culture in Chaozhou, lives up to reputation.a
Han Yu raises the world, the land commemorates Han Yu's ancestral temple, the memorial hall to be too numerous to cite individually, why does the Guangdong Chaozhou “honor the Han culture” specially developed particularly? Feels grateful multitudiously besides the gentleman honors the Saint the point of view, must give credit the Guangdong person, in a lot of year's history accumulates, evolves unceasingly with rich Han Yu entrusts with Guangdong's culture “the high-grade ore”, has accomplished “a landscape completely surname Han” finally humanities marvelous sight.
2nd, Chaozhou words - - ancient Chinese living fossil. Is the Fujian dialect Chaozhou dialect is been called “the ancient Chinese living fossil”, the people live the terminology to create sentences now also to have the massive ancient Chinese use custom. Some pronunciation already could not use the modern Chinese character to express.
3rd, “Chaozhou vegetable”, “Chaozhou tea” - - diet culture. The Chaozhou people have the food which has a distinctive style to be vulgar, for example daily likes specially eats the gruel, to have by big rice noodle manufacture name many foods, the affection primarily is eaten with rice or bread the vegetable by the salt product (brined vegetable, vegetable dried meat) as well as the manufacture fine characteristic snack (oyster irons, meatball and so on). What the Chaozhou diet is most famous is the Chaozhou vegetable and the Chaozhou Chaozhou tea. The Chaozhou vegetable in domestic and foreign enjoys the great reputation, an open system which according to the Chaozhou taste processing is the cuisine which is in sole possession of originally by Chaoshan with transformed the cuisine constitutes. The moist vegetable are many Fujian vegetable is affected, simultaneously receives outside areas vegetable and so on Guangzhou vegetable influences, collects Fujian and Guangdong two long, has a unique style. Manufactures in the fine moist vegetable cuisine, not only has the precious bird nest, the shark fin, the abalone to boil the system the high-quality goods, also many ordinary vegetables purification's characteristic vegetable, like the sweet potato leaf makes “protects the country vegetable”, the sweet potato makes “yu the putty”, the big leaf mustard makes “the big vegetable soup” and so on. The moist vegetable has elects material Guang Erzhong the seafood, to manufacture fine and heavy light, the seasoning are many and is heavy “gathers the taste” the main feature, moreover invites in the feed to speak well-mannered and the heavy human sentiment, is seeping the etiquette culture. The Chaozhou Chaozhou tea is the rich local characteristics tea art. From the tea set, the tea, the water used, swell to taste are fastidious. The tea set with the Yixing teapot or Ge Ou and the small porcelain cup, the tea uses the Oolong tea, swells has including accepts the tea, the period of five days soup, to swell, to blow the froth, to drench covers, the very hot cup, to wash the cup, to sieve and so on steps, Gao Chongdi sieves, the operation is rigorous. Tastes is also heavy is drinking slowly pours thin.
4th, Chaozhou music, Chao opera - - place culture art. The Chao opera, a Chaozhou iron puppet already wins praise everywhere, forgives the Chaozhou string silk, the Chaozhou big percussion instrument, the small percussion instrument, the suona tune, temple music, Chaozhou zheng's Chaozhou music is the reputation is outstanding, is honored as “the area south of Yellow River music culture to lose the sound”, has attracted country musicians and our country music colleges and universities, the performance association and so on Britain, Germany, US, Spain comes to observe and emulate the study. The Chaozhou big percussion instrument once went to Moscow on behalf of our country to attend the world youth festival in the 1950s, the Chaozhou zheng tune "Jackdaw Plays with water" the recent years also plays by the Central Ensemble in the Vienna golden color hall. The folk dance with tours the god competition activity to have the close relation prosperously, thus divides into the parade dance and the square dance. After the parade dance has plays the role of Tu Xi and the carp drum team's load eight precious ingredients and so on. The square dance take displays the character as the subject British dance, is honored as “north has the Ansai percussion instrument, south has the Chaoyang UK song”. The square dance imitates the animal movement the tradition “the dragon dance”, “the lion dance” the folk moves unfailing.
5th, the tide embroiders, the woodcarving, the ceramics - - industrial art. The tide embroiders, the nuptial dress, the drawnwork, the stone carving, the jade carving, the gold lacquer woodcarving, to inlay the porcelain, big Wu to make things of clay, the maple tree brook ceramics, the decorative lantern, Mai Gao the picture, each kind of paper to grip and so on Chaozhou manufactured items already constitutes “the country key industrial art city” the cornerstone, is also the Chaozhou economy major pillar. The Chaoshan area was China industrial art one of 10 key production areas, in 1990 is decided as by Ministry of Light Industry one of 4 production areas. The Chaozhou industrial art category is rich, what most has the great reputation is the porcelain skill, the embroidery and the woodcarving. The Chaoshan area ceramics production history is glorious, its ceramics are pure white by the vitrified pot, the modelling is exquisite, the glazed surface is bright and clean, the model is elegant and is renowned at home and abroad, originally creates the openwork vase and the porcelain flower most have the characteristic. The maple tree brook craft ceramics in 1996 the export amount amounted to 1,200,000,000 Yuan, became the national biggest craft porcelain production the Export base. The Chaozhou gold lacquer woodcarving and the Zhejiang Dongyang woodcarving compound is the Chinese two big folk woodcarving systems. The Chaozhou gold lacquer wooden uses in constructing the decoration, the furniture decoration, the magical instrument decoration as well as the table-top ornaments.
The contemporary renowned woodcarving entertainer has Zhang Jianxuan, Chen the Shun Qiang. Chen Shun Qiang and sub-Chen Peichen has created the large-scale gold lacquer woodcarving hung picture successively for the Great Hall of the People Guangdong hall. The contemporary tide embroiders the famous teacher to have Lin Zhicheng, Cai Wanqing. in 1982 the tide embroidered nail Jin Dianfu to embroider "the Kowloon Screen", the golden fabric mix embroiders "Blows Screen To direct Phoenix" wins the second China industrial art hundred-flowers award gold cup prize.
