司馬一民

蘇東坡寫的關(guān)于杭州的詩不少是描述雨中的景色，可見千年之前的杭州是多雨的城市。的確，雨中的杭州別有一番風(fēng)情。

且讀他寫的《有美堂暴雨》：游人腳底一聲雷，滿座頑云撥不開。天外黑風(fēng)吹海立，浙東飛雨過江來。十分瀲滟金樽凸，千杖敲鏗羯鼓催。喚起謫仙泉灑面，倒傾蛟室瀉瓊瑰。

《有美堂暴雨》是蘇東坡于熙寧六年（1073）初秋所作，蘇東坡此時任杭州通判。這首詩描寫了突然而至的暴雨，有聲響、有景致、有形狀、有色彩，更有豐富的聯(lián)想和想象，視覺感非常強(qiáng)。讀此詩，我們仿佛置身于當(dāng)時雷聲隆隆、暴雨傾盆的場景中，真是傳神之筆。

讀罷此詩，讀者可能會好奇，有美堂在杭城的哪里呢？

北宋時，有美堂在吳山上，且很有來歷。嘉祐二年（1057），梅摯出任杭州知州，宋仁宗趙禎親自賦詩《賜梅摯知杭州》送行：地有湖山美，東南第一州。剖符宣政化，持橐輟才流。暫出論思列，遙分旰食憂。循良勤撫俗，來暮聽歌謳。

一位州官赴任，皇帝親自賦詩送行，那還得了？順便插一句，宋仁宗對杭州之美評價極高。梅摯到杭州后，為回報皇恩，在吳山頂上建了一座樓臺，取名“有美堂”，源自詩中“地有湖山美，東南第一州”之句。

有美堂建成后，梅摯請歐陽修寫了一篇《有美堂記》。歐陽修是何許人也？當(dāng)時歐陽修不但官至參知政事，而且是文壇領(lǐng)袖。歐陽修的《有美堂記》大意為：杭州這個地方的老百姓生活富裕、安定，能夠享受快樂生活。這個地方有許多手藝精湛的工匠，房屋非常華麗，有十萬多家。整個城市與西湖、山林融為一體。來自福建的許多商船，穿梭于錢塘江和浩瀚的大海之間。來這個地方的人，不是朝廷的公卿大臣，就是皇上的侍從，或者是來自各地喜歡旅游的人。很多人在西湖邊尋找合適的地方，買地建房，還筑起了亭臺和水榭。朋友們在聚會的同時還能飽覽湖光山色。在錢塘的其他地方，雖然也可以看到種種美景，但都不是全景。只有在有美堂里，錢塘山水之美和杭州人居物產(chǎn)之盛才會盡收眼底。人們說錢塘這個地方享有天下的美景，而有美堂又把錢塘之美盡收眼底，這確實(shí)是梅摯先生非常喜歡這個有美堂而且很難忘懷的原因。

應(yīng)該說歐陽修的《有美堂記》對杭州的評價是客觀的，對有美堂的描述也是客觀的。于吳山上登樓閣，欣賞杭城美景，左牽錢塘江，右攬西湖，湖光山色和參差十萬人家盡收眼底。

得到了歐陽修的《有美堂記》，梅摯又請當(dāng)時的著名書法家蔡襄為之書丹，勒石立碑于有美堂前。于是，一個著名景點(diǎn)就這樣誕生于吳山之上。有當(dāng)時兩位一流文化名人的聯(lián)手作品，有美堂不可能不出名，文人雅士當(dāng)然要去登臨賞景，少不了要吟詩賦詞。

熙寧六年（1073），蘇東坡游有美堂，暴雨突至，便有了即景而作的《有美堂暴雨》。到了第二年，知州陳襄（字述古）調(diào)離杭州前，在有美堂設(shè)宴告別親朋好友，可見有美堂已成官宦文人應(yīng)酬場所。應(yīng)陳襄之請，蘇東坡即席寫下了《虞美人 · 有美堂贈述古》，其大意為：大自然的湖光山色，要數(shù)錢塘最美。登有美堂遠(yuǎn)眺，能看到千里之外。此去，您何時才能再回杭州？您醉倒在這里吧，就當(dāng)作徘徊。河邊華燈初上，是誰在彈唱水調(diào)？在夜深人靜回家的時候，在一輪明月的映照下，錢塘江澄澈得像一塊碧綠的琉璃。

這首詞既稱贊了杭州湖山的美好景色，又充分表達(dá)了蘇軾對陳襄的依依惜別之情?？上У氖牵忻捞迷谀纤螘r已被毀，后世在有美堂遺址上曾建至德觀，屢毀屢建，終于沒了蹤跡。今人為紀(jì)念這段歷史，在有美堂遺址前立歐陽修《有美堂記》石碑，當(dāng)然已不可能是蔡襄的手跡了。

據(jù)傳，當(dāng)年有美堂前的大樟樹今天仍在，樟樹下有石刻“宋樟”二字。古樹名木保護(hù)牌上標(biāo)著——樹齡：730年。究竟真?zhèn)稳绾危课粗?。不過，在吳山上，乃至在杭州，有這樣的古樹也是極為難得的。

Poetry， Prose and the Youmei Pavilion

By Sima Yimin

Of the numerous verses that Su Dongpo （aka Su Shi， 1037-1101） had written about Hangzhou， many are on the sceneries of scenic spots in the rain. Which shows that Hangzhou has been a city with lots of rains since over a thousand years ago. Indeed， the city of Hangzhou shrouded in the rain lends itself a special flavor.

“Downpour at the Youmei Pavilion” is just one of them.

A clap of thunder explodes from under the visitors’ feet，

Stubborn clouds won’t be peeled open above one’s seat.

Dark winds from afar blow ocean waves onto the lake，

Bringing rain from rivers in east Zhejiang in their wake.

The lake fills to the brim like gold wine cups，

Rain drops like a thousand sticks pounding on wether drums.

I’m reminded of Li Bai the banished immortal， water poured on his face while he was drunk，

Like mermaids raining down pearls and stones in large chunk.

Composed in the early autumn of 1073， the poem describes a sudden rainstorm and has a strong visual appeal， with sounds， sceneries， shapes， colors and rich imagination. Reading this poem， one seems to be standing right in the rumbling thunder and the torrential rain. At the time， Su was serving as the controller-general （assistant prefect） of Hangzhou.

But where was exactly the Youmei Pavilion？

It once sat at the Wushan Hill and had quite a history. In 1057， when Mei Zhi （994-1059）， a Song dynasty （960-1279） official， began his journey to take up the post of the prefect of Hangzhou， Emperor Renzong （1010-1063） arrived and paid tribute to Mei with a poem. The first two lines read： “Blessed with the beauty of lakes and mountains， Hangzhou is the top prefecture in the southeast.”

It was in fact quite extraordinary for an emperor to specially see an official off to his appointment in person， let alone write a poem. To show his gratitude to the emperor， who thought highly of Hangzhou， Mei Zhi built a pavilion atop the Wushan Hill， and named it “Youmei Pavilion” in reference to the first two lines of the poem. “Youmei” literally means “with beauty” or “have beauty”.

After the pavilion was set up， Mei Zhi then asked Ouyang Xiu （1007-1072） to write an article for it， to which Ouyang Xiu happily obliged. Titling his essay “On Youmei Pavilion”， Ouyang Xiu， one of the most celebrated literary figures and statesmen of the Song dynasty， heaped praises on the pavilion and the city. In the essay， he wrote that the people in Hangzhou were well-off and lived a stable and happy life， with tens of thousands of magnificent houses built by legions of skilled craftsmen in the place. With the West Lake and its surrounding mountains and hills， the whole city was a beautiful scenery in itself. In other parts， there were many beautiful views， but none panoramic. Only in the Youmei Pavilion could the beauty of Hangzhou and its prosperity be fully seen. It was said that Hangzhou boasted the most stunning sceneries in the world， while in the Youmei Pavilion， one could enjoy all of them.

Mei Zhi then invited famed calligrapher Cai Xiang （1012-1067） to inscribe Ouyang Xiu’s prose onto a stone tablet and planted it in front of the pavilion. In this way， a “scenic spot” was born. The Youmei Pavilion soon became a gathering place for literati to showcase their literary prowess. Su Dongpo was no exception.

In 1074， a year after he penned “Downpour at the Youmei Pavilion”， Su visited the place again. This time Su was hosting a banquet to bid farewell to Chen Xiang （1017-1080）， Hangzhou’s then prefect and one of his best friends. Unsurprising， he left behind another poem on the occasion.

Unfortunately， the Youmei Pavilion can no longer be found today. In the Southern Song dynasty （1127-1279）， it had already lain in ruins. While it was rebuilt time and gain， it was also destroyed repeatedly， until there has been no trace left.

Today， a camphor tree， said to be 730 years old， stands in front of where the Youmei Pavilion once stood. But whether the tree has anything to do with the pavilion needs to be further verified. Still， on the Wushan Hill， and even in Hangzhou， the existence of such an ancient tree is extremely rare.