●魯曉敏

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在三衢山尋找三衢石

●魯曉敏

三衢石林·天坑 汪曉峰 攝Rock Forest and Tiankeng at Sanqu Mountain

從浙江常山縣城出發(fā)，不過半個(gè)多小時(shí)的車程就到達(dá)了三衢山。遠(yuǎn)觀三衢山，外貌并無奇?zhèn)ブ?，山腳不時(shí)有山澗交錯(cuò)，水聲潺潺，山道貼著灌木叢向上伸展旋轉(zhuǎn)，仿佛一條飄帶在蓬蓬松松的樹叢中穿梭，山道兩側(cè)開出密密匝匝的花朵，吐出純白、淡黃、棕紅、緋紅的色彩。漸行漸高，一堆堆、一叢叢、一群群類似于太湖石的石頭自上而下、由遠(yuǎn)及近、擠擠挨挨地塞滿了整座山脈。大小不一、崢嶸嶙峋的石頭構(gòu)成炫目的石頭陣，大者以氣勢(shì)取勝，小者以形態(tài)、色澤、紋理奪目。而令人印象深刻的是，這些裸露的巖石皆成奇特的形狀，它們或嵌在懸崖上搖搖欲墜，或如飛禽走獸動(dòng)態(tài)十足，或如自然山勢(shì)綿延起伏……

說起中國(guó)的喀斯特地貌，我們立即會(huì)想到廣西桂林和云南石林，或者想起貴州溶洞和重慶天坑，我所知的喀斯特地貌大多處于大西南，想不到在浙江省常山縣也隱藏著龐大的喀斯特石林，總面積達(dá)到了二十多平方公里，其盛景堪比同類翹楚的云南石林。與云南石林的巖溶地貌不同，三衢山的巖溶宏觀特征主要是峰叢和巖溶凹地，微觀特征是石芽和溶溝，形態(tài)上表現(xiàn)為各種動(dòng)物、城堡、長(zhǎng)廊、天生橋等組成的石林。

彎彎曲曲的上山道路兩側(cè)，大大小小的石頭，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)近近地站著，有的在相互聆聽，有的在俯首接耳，有的犬牙交錯(cuò)。神奇的是，山坡上盤踞著一塊奇異的石頭，如同一只威風(fēng)凜凜的猛獅，面對(duì)綿延群山引頸嘶吼，透著睥睨天下的王氣。石芽和溶溝形成了各種異獸珍禽，有如長(zhǎng)龍、猛虎、海豹、巨鱷、黑鯨、臥龜、靈猴、飛鳥……我撿起一塊石頭，一路敲擊著各種石柱，各種聲音回響在山道上。

穿過一道狹長(zhǎng)、彎曲、逼仄的石巷，兩塊幾層樓高的巨石阻塞著前進(jìn)的道路，兩塊巨石間留出一條縫隙，形成了“一線天”景觀，最窄處只容單人側(cè)身挪過。峰回路轉(zhuǎn)，再穿過一條葳蕤高樹組成的綠色隧道，出現(xiàn)一座平臺(tái)。哪里才是石頭終點(diǎn)呢？正在狐疑之間，我已快步登入平臺(tái)。頃刻間，山體在我面前仿佛突然坍塌了下去。這里就是三衢山最精彩的區(qū)域—天坑。十幾米到幾十米高的落差形成了規(guī)模宏大的漏斗，四周巖壁陡峭，坑中密集地分布著各種形狀的石頭，或起伏，或交錯(cuò)，或橫臥，或挺立，崢嶸畢現(xiàn)，古藤石林交柯糾結(jié)。峰峰相連，谷谷相抱，石石相交，這是一次石頭的盛會(huì)。我從來沒有見過那么多奇形怪狀的石頭。陽(yáng)光漸漸猛烈，金光燦燦，落在白花花的石頭上反射出堅(jiān)硬的光亮，顯現(xiàn)出石頭雍容華貴的氣質(zhì)。

“三衢石”如此景觀躲在四省通衢之處少有人識(shí)，獨(dú)獨(dú)固守著那片屬于自己的寧?kù)o。

三衢石是如何產(chǎn)生的呢？我請(qǐng)教了南京古生物所著名的地質(zhì)專家張?jiān)獎(jiǎng)?，他告訴我：“三衢石與太湖石為同一個(gè)石種，屬于石灰?guī)r的一種，是在巖溶作用下形成的碳酸鹽巖，經(jīng)過億萬年的日曬雨淋、山水沖刷、泥土侵蝕后，逐漸形成了千姿百態(tài)的形狀。三衢石具有廋、漏、透、皺的外形，也具有渦、溝、環(huán)、洞的變化，因外形和質(zhì)地與太湖石非常相似，又稱常山太湖石?！?/p>

據(jù)專家考證，4.6億年前，常山尚是一片蔚藍(lán)色的大海，生活著豐富的藻類及珊瑚等動(dòng)植物，隨著地球運(yùn)動(dòng)，地殼的演變，河床逐漸抬高，這里形成陸地，原本生活在海洋里的生物遺體伴隨著沉積物一起硬結(jié)石化成巖石，這些不同時(shí)代堆疊的巖石呈層狀。最為珍貴的是，國(guó)內(nèi)4.5億年的生物礁目前只在三衢山發(fā)現(xiàn)。今天，在三衢山可以隨意找到各種生物化石，其中以筆石化石、牙形刺生物化石、腕足類生物化石、三葉蟲生物化石為著。這些海澤的靈魂依附在石頭上，展現(xiàn)出億萬年前的靈動(dòng)身姿，留下了蒼老曠古時(shí)光的痕跡。

平時(shí)看到的太湖石多點(diǎn)綴在園林之中，作為石柱、假山、孤峰來襯托園林。眼前幾十平方公里的三衢石涌來眼底，千姿百態(tài)的奇石在此聚會(huì)，它們集中呈現(xiàn)在眼前，盡現(xiàn)大自然的鬼斧神工。

三衢石有灰白、土紅色、橘紅色、土黃色、青灰色、黑灰色，色澤變化多端；三衢石多密集的小孔穴而少有大洞，體態(tài)嶙峋，質(zhì)地堅(jiān)硬，或玲瓏剔透，或靈秀飄逸，或渾穆古樸，形態(tài)變化無窮。三衢石是喀斯特石林的一種，呈現(xiàn)分離的石柱或劍狀石芽，但是石頭的基座相連，因此出現(xiàn)了成片的逶迤的峰叢，氣勢(shì)威嚴(yán)壯麗。

天坑仙境An ethereal moment at the Tiankeng at Sanqu Mountain

既然三衢石與太湖石為同一個(gè)石種，又具有自己的特色，為何知名度和文化地位差距如此之懸殊呢？

與輕巧清秀的太湖石相比，三衢石體積龐大，渾厚雄壯，一般都在數(shù)千或上萬斤，甚至數(shù)十噸、數(shù)百噸。從山上開采搬運(yùn)到山下，再?gòu)钠h(yuǎn)的三衢山運(yùn)送到千里迢迢之外的京城，對(duì)于缺乏起重設(shè)施、運(yùn)輸工具的古人來說，是一項(xiàng)遙不可及的浩大工程；太湖石體積相對(duì)小，產(chǎn)自太湖周邊的丘陵或者埋封在地下，開采便利，水路運(yùn)輸便捷。高昂的開采成本和運(yùn)輸成本，決定了三衢石只有極少的面世數(shù)量，也就讓它偏離了主流的認(rèn)知軌道；太湖石地處中國(guó)文化最為發(fā)達(dá)的江南核心區(qū)，經(jīng)過歷代文人雅士筆墨的推波助瀾，逐漸坐穩(wěn)了天下第一奇石的寶座。與此同時(shí)，屬于太湖石同一類型的三衢石林竟在人們眼皮底下整整隱藏千年，典籍中也無記載。

2007年，33塊形質(zhì)優(yōu)良的三衢石運(yùn)抵北京，這些奇絕的三衢石一矗立在奧運(yùn)會(huì)場(chǎng)館外，立刻引起了巨大的轟動(dòng)。三衢石就此揭開了蒙在身上的千年面紗，讓世人知曉世上還有可與太湖石相媲美的三衢石。

Nirvarna of Sanqu Rocks

By Lu Xiaomin

Sanqu Mountain is only about half an hour’s drive from the county seat of Changshan, in Quzhou. Viewed from the distance, the mountain has nothing particularly eye-catching. The snaking path leading to the top of the mountain is flanked by lush groves and flowers racing to bloom. Driving into the depths of the mountain, the mountain’s karst landform opens up in dazzling grandeur.

In China, the most typical karst landscape, formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks and characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes, dolines, and caves, is stereotypically related to Guilin, Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing. The great injustice is that the sprawling karst world in a small county in southwestern Zhejiang Province is known by very few. The spectacular karst landscape there, however, qualifies as a rival to the world-famous Stone Forest in Yunnan, with the former featuring a high concentration of peak clusters and karst valleys that present an exceptionally large variety of large-or small-scale features both on the surface and beneath.

天生橋下壯觀的石林 汪曉峰 攝Rock Forest under the Natural Bridge

The karstified rock formations are full of life. Some look like they are listening to each other’s whispers; some are interlocking to produce rough, menacing dentations. One of the weird-looking rocks, sitting imposingly at the mountainside, reminds one of a majestic male lion growling towards the undulating mountain ranges in the distance, as if to announce to the world that he is ready to win a duel.

Passing a long and cramped rock lane, the landform changes into a megalithic scene that presents an awe-inspiring spectacle commonly known as ‘yi xian tian’ (a think strip of sky). At its narrowest point, there is barely enough space for one person to pass through sideways. Behind the formidable chasm is a brand new world of refreshing fauna and flora that leads to an observation terrace where one can take a closer look at the ‘sky hole’ or Tiankengthe biggest highlight of the scenic Sanqushan Mountain. The tear-inducing fall creates a gigantic ‘stone funnel’, with the concave packed with rocks of all kinds of grotesque shapes. The afternoon sunshine casts down, falling on the glistening stones. The glaring reflection of the sunlight adds to the aristocratic grace of the huge rocks.

Geological study has proved that the stones at Sanqu Mountain, often referred to as ‘Sanqu Rocks’, fall into the limestone family, just like the Taihu Lake Rock. The karstification of the carbonate rocks that took billions of years produced the special features of the stones.

Archeologists have good reasons to believe that today’s Changshan was a world of sea about 460 million years ago. Changshan is a key area for the geological and archeological exploration of the Paleozoic Era of southern China regions. Sanqu Mountain is also the only place in China to look into the 450-million-year-old organic reef. In the rich reserve of biological fossils in Sanqu Mountain, the souls of marine organism in the remote times are still alive, inviting today’s people to identify ancestors and trace their biological roots.

Strictly speaking, Sanqu Rock represents one sub-category of what’s known as the ‘karst stone forest’, characteristic of thin stalagnates towering into the sky and sword-shaped clints interlinked at the bottom. Compared with the more famous and exquisite Taihu Lake Rock, Sanqu Rock is a lot bulkier. Such natural hugeness was beyond the transportation capability of people in ancient times of China, which partly accounts for the long-time obscurity of this geoglogical wonder while Taihu Lake Rock has been used in the best gardens across the country for centuries. The location of the Taihu Lake area in the core zone of ‘Jiangnan’ and the eulogizing from generations of men of letters also contributed a lot to the fame of the Taihu Lake Rock, whilst the stone forest at Sanqushan was ignored for thousands of years by the mainstream society until the wonderland crafted by crustal movements made its sensational debut at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing as the long-lost brother of the Taihu Lake Rock in 2007.

三衢雄獅 汪曉峰 攝This rock formation in Sanqu Mountain looks like a lion.

天生石梁橫架空中A stone beam stretches across the sky.