芥川龙之介的西湖之旅

陈杰

芥川龙之介的《中国游记》，以一个日本人的眼光，看了1921年那个年代的中国。他对西湖的大篇幅的介绍，无疑能够让我们看到近代西湖的历史、人文及其变迁，是留存到今天的一段珍贵的西湖历史文献。

在今天的日本文坛，有两个文学奖广受瞩目，它们皆是1935年的作家菊池宽为纪念两位友人而分别设立的。一个是颁发给通俗文学作品的直木奖，以日本著名小说家直木三十五的名字命名;而另一个颁发给纯文学作品的芥川奖，就是以今天我们要推介的这位名人——芥川龙之介的名字命名。

作为日本近代著名作家，芥川龙之介在1921年应大阪每日新闻社的邀请，前往中国。3月20日，他在上海登陆，并在中国的上海、杭州、北京等地游览，直到7月回国。这是芥川龙之介一生中唯一的一次出国旅行。从1921年8月开始，芥川龙之介在《大阪每日新闻》和《东京日日新闻》这两家日本东部和西部最有影响力的媒体上连载他的《中国游记》的第一部《上海游记》。1925年，日本改造社出版了芥川龙之介的《中国游记》，除了为我们留下了芥川龙之介一生中文字最多的一部作品以外，还为我们留下了一部研究当时中国社会的珍贵资料。

在这本《中国游记》中，和杭州相关的占据了十节，包括《杭州一夜》（）（）（），《西湖》（）至（）及《灵隐寺》。从芥川龙之介的文字中，我们甚至可以勾勒出他在杭州的两天两夜的行踪。

入住新新饭店

芥川龙之介到达杭州是晚上7点，他在车站跟新新饭店的揽客员接上了头，坐上人力车，穿越城市前往西湖边的新新饭店。今天，这家饭店依然矗立在西湖的北山路上。

在人力车上，芥川龙之介和西湖有了“初次接触”，他最初看到的西湖是一片夜晚的“寂寥”。那个时候的西湖，夜游没有今天这样热闹，所以，芥川龙之介写道：

“西湖在白乎乎马路的左边，铺展着她那黑乎乎的水面。西湖早已入睡，四周寂静无声。就连空旷的马路上，除了我们二人乘坐的人力车，连一条走在路上的小狗都看不见。”

这个时候的芥川龙之介，应该是走在今天湖滨街一带。而等到穿过今天少年宫一带，芥川龙之介终于见到了夜西湖，他写道：

“这当儿，一片薄明的水面渐渐显现在我们面前。啊，西湖！我在这一瞬之间才真的感觉到此乃西湖。从空中云层的裂缝里，流泻下一片幅度不宽的、瀑布一般的月光，照射在茫茫烟波之上。那斜斜横穿于水面的，该是苏堤或白堤吧。堤上有个隆起的三角形，那是有名的断桥。这美丽的银色和黑色，毕竟是日本所无法见到的。我在左摇右晃的人力车上，不由得坐直了身子，定定地注视着眼前的西湖，并为它的美丽而久久出神。”

尽管是在夜晚，借着夜晚微弱的月光，芥川龙之介用他文豪的笔触，还是将他最初印象中的美丽西湖记录下来了。

泛舟湖上

在第二天上午，芥川龙之介从湖滨的码头坐上“画舫”，前往游湖。所谓“画舫”，芥川龙之介说只是一艘普通的小船，装了遮阳布和黄铜扶手而已。上船的地点是日本领事馆旁，就在今天望湖楼的后方。抗战胜利以后，国民政府将此建筑回收，作为外宾招待所使用。1946年，司徒雷登来到杭州时曾经下榻这里，也是在和芥川龙之介同样的地方登船游湖。

芥川龙之介首先看到的就是白堤。白居易在日本是一位影响巨大的文学家。特别是自《源氏物语》《枕草子》等日本古典文学作品频繁引用他的诗文后，白居易成为日本文学界最为熟知的中国文学家之一。芥川龙之介靠近白堤，马上想到的是记录在池田桃川《江南名胜史迹》里的那首白居易的诗：

这首诗名叫《夜归》。芥川龙之介说：

“尽管我与他游历的时间不同，他在夜里，我是白天，但这些诗句咏唱的景致却依稀可见。”

船过了锦带桥，就是平湖秋月。接著，吸引芥川龙之介目光的就是文澜阁，但是，那个时候的文澜阁不对游客开放。在看过孤山寺后，芥川龙之介一行就去了俞楼。

探访俞楼

俞楼是章太炎先生的老师俞樾的旧居，章太炎在诂经精舍读书时师从俞樾。有趣的是，之前在上海的时候，芥川龙之介刚刚探访了住在上海的章太炎先生，还在《中国游记》中留下了有趣的记录：

“章太炎先生倒穿了一件背面镶着厚毛皮的黑马褂儿，外面还套着一件灰色的大褂儿，显然他不会觉得冷，况且他还坐在一张铺有毛垫子的藤椅上。我被先生的高谈阔论所深深吸引，甚至忘记了抽烟。此外，先生那暖暖的穿着，和他悠然自得伸开双脚的姿态，更是令我羡慕不已。”

在俞楼，芥川龙之介见到了彭玉麟（）为俞樾绘的《梅花图》。芥川龙之介特别提到，这是他的朋友、日本著名作家谷崎润一郎收藏的《梅花图》的原本。在看到俞樾的照片时，他自然想起了他读过的太炎先生的俞樾传记：

“雅性不好声色，既丧母、妻，终身不肴食。”

拜谒岳庙

从俞楼跨过西泠桥，芥川龙之介接下去探访的是苏小小墓和秋瑾墓。接着，他乘坐的“画舫”穿过苏堤的跨虹桥，经曲院风荷，拜谒岳庙。那时候的岳庙正在修建，芥川龙之介对岳飞墓有一段有趣的评说：

“墓前立着一块苔痕斑斑的石碑，上书‘宋岳鄂王之墓几个大字。墓背的一片竹木林子已近荒芜。这景象，对于我等并非岳飞子孙的人来说，并无悲哀之感，反而感到了一种诗趣。我沿着墓地的四周踱步，同时沉浸在一点儿怀古的心绪之中，‘岳王坟上草萋萋。好像有人作过这样的诗句。”

芥川龙之介的记忆在这里出了一点小错，这句诗出自元代赵孟頫的《岳鄂王墓》，原句当为：“鄂王坟上草离离”。

有趣的是，芥川龙之介还在这里提到了一种食物——油条。他写道：

“自古以来，坏人很多，可没有比秦桧更让人痛恨的了。在上海一带的马路上，有一种棒条状的油炸食品，确切的写法是‘油炸块。据宗方小太郎的说法，本来的意思是油炸秦桧，所以原来的名字叫‘油炸桧。”

仰望雷峰塔

在樓外楼用过一餐“中国午餐”以后，芥川龙之介一行登船前往三潭印月。这里，他提到了苏东坡：

“在这小岛附近有三座石塔，据说是苏东坡担任太守的时候，用作行船的航标。有一件事是千真万确的，即这三座石塔，月明之夜会在水面上投下三个月影。”

在看完九曲桥以后，船只就向雷峰塔驶去，芥川龙之介得以遥望这座“如老衲”的古塔。

芥川龙之介用了一个明治大正时代日本人的视角去观看这座古塔：

“就眼前仰望此塔的感受而言，它与站在浅草的游乐园‘花屋敷附近遥看十二层高的凌云阁，并无太大的差异。只是，雷峰塔红砖砌就的塔壁上，爬满了茑萝。不仅如此，有几棵杂树甚至把他们的枝梢伸展到塔顶，且在风中晃动着。这样一座塔耸立在阳光之中，烟雾朦胧，如梦如幻，果真十分壮观。”

芥川龙之介提到的凌云阁位于东京都浅草，1890年竣工，是一座52米高、12层的建筑物。值得注意的是，在芥川龙之介这段文字写成后不久，壮观的凌云阁和雷峰塔相继倒塌——1923年，日本关东大地震中，凌云阁8层以上建筑倒塌，因无法修复，同年被日本工兵队爆破解体;而雷峰塔在1924年倒塌，今天的雷峰塔为2002年重建。

在返回新新饭店的路上，芥川龙之介见到了保俶塔，他说：

“与像个老僧似的雷峰塔相比，细细耸立的保俶塔的倩影，正如古人所云，也许像一位亭亭玉立的美女。”

这说明他也是知道“雷峰如老衲，保俶如美人”这一著名典故的。

探访灵隐寺

芥川龙之介应该是去过灵隐寺的，而他把去灵隐寺的经历，写在了寄给友人的明信片上，同时把这些内容通过“写明信片”的方式记载在《中国游记》里。

从行文看，很可能他是在寄旅杭州的第二个白天去了灵隐寺，先到了玉泉鱼跃，然后朝拜飞来峰、灵隐寺，归来顺道看了凤林寺。熟知白居易典故的芥川龙之介，又在给游人的明信片里提到了一个白居易在杭州的故事：

“据说白乐天曾问鸟窠：‘佛法的大意如何？鸟窠答道：‘诸恶莫作，众善奉行。乐天又说：‘三尺童子亦知之。鸟窠笑曰：‘三尺童子亦知之，然八十老翁亦难行。乐天即服。”

这段出自《西湖游览志》的故事被这位日本文豪写在给友人的明信片上，让今天的杭州人看来十分亲切。

芥川龙之介的《中国游记》，以一个日本人的眼光，看了1921年那个年代的中国。虽然有许多作家个人的观点、看法，但是也为我们保留下了那个时代的真实记录。他对西湖的大篇幅的介绍，无疑能够让我们看到近代西湖的历史、人文及其变迁，是留存到今天的一段珍贵的西湖历史文献。

In Japan， Akutagawa Award， established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi， then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine， is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. The award is named after Akutagawa Ryunosuke （1892-1927）， a prominent Japanese writer considered the father of short stories of Japan. It is one of Japans most sought after literary prizes.

From March to July 1921， Akutagawa Ryunosuke traveled across China as a journalist for Osaka-based Mainichi Shimbun. He landed I Shanghai on March 20. He visited Hangzhou for two days in May. From August 1921， he began serializing his Shanghai Travelogue in Mainichi Shimbun in Osaka and Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbum. In 1925， Kaizo Sha， a publisher and bookstore in Japan， put on the market the writers China Travelogue. It is the longest work Akutagawa ever wrote. Moreover， modern scholars use this travelogue as a reference book for information on life in China back then. In this book， ten chapters are about Hangzhou. One night in Hangzhou covers three chapters and West Lake is in six chapters， and Lingyin Temple is a stand-alone chapter. His account allows the reader to trace exactly what he did in the two days and two nights of his stay in Hangzhou.

The following are some of the highlights of his activities in Hangzhou.

First Sight of the West Lake

Akutagawa reached Hangzhou by train at 7 in the evening. He got into contact with a receptionist from Xinxin Hotel on North Hill Street by the northern bank of the West Lake. The Japanese writer then took a rickshaw ride through the city to the lakeside hotel. His first sight of the lake gave him an impression of quietness. In his travelogue， the writer described the darkish lake water and empty road. Akutagawa and his friend （a photographer） didnt see anybody. It can be construed that the first glimpse occurred on Hubin Road， part of the busiest bank section of the West Lake today. Then he got a full glimpse of the beauty of the West Lake. The moonlight cascaded from a crack of clouds and poured on the Broken Bridge. He said he had never seen such silver and dark colors in Japan.

Boat Tour on the Lake

On the morning of the first day in Hangzhou， Akutagawa took a boat tour at a pier not far from the Japanese Consulate in Hangzhou， which is now behind Lake View Pavilion on the West Lake. After the victory of Chinas War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1945， the consulate property was confiscated by the national government and repurposed into a hotel for international guests. In 1946， John Leighton Stuart stayed at the hotel in his visit to Hangzhou in October， three months after he was appointed USA ambassador to China. Though the boat Akutagawa took was called a pleasure boat， it was just an ordinary tourist boat decorated with an awning and a brass handrail. The writer went westward on the lake in parallel with the Bai Causeway. Then he passed an attraction called Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake， a platform on the lake. Akutagawa visited the Solitary Hill Temple. He wished to visit Wenlange Pavilion where a copy of Complete Library of the Four Branches was housed as of 1782， but the library didnt open to visitors. Akutagawa then opted to visit the Yue Residence.

Yu Residence

The residence is the former residence of Yu Yue （1821-1907）， among his best known disciples was Zhang Taiyan （1869-1936）， a philologist， textual critic， philosopher and revolutionary. He studied philology and textual criticism under the guidance of Yu Yue. Interestingly enough， the Japanese writer had just visited Zhang in Shanghai before he came to Hangzhou. In his travelogue， Akutagawa described the master in vivid details. At the residence， Akutagawa admired a painting by Peng Yulin （1816-1890）， a renowned politician and artist of the Qing （1644-1911）. Akutagawa mentioned that it was the original of the painting and that his friend Junichiro Tanizaki （1886-1965）， one of the major writers of modern Japanese literature， had a replica of the painting.

Yue Fei Temple

After the Yu Residence， Akutagawa visited the tomb of Su Xiaoxiao （479-502）， a young girl who died in a heartbreakingly tragedy， and the tomb of Qiu Jin （1875-1907）， a revolutionary who was executed after the failure of an armed uprising against the Qing Dynasty. After the tomb visit， Akutagawa resumed the boat tour. The boat went under a bridge that is part of the Su Causeway. After a brief boat ride， Akutagawa came to the memorial temple of Yue Fei， a general who was accused of nonexistent crimes and executed after his factories against the invading nomads from the north.

Thunder Peak Pagoda

After lunch at Louwailou Restaurant， Akutagawa took a boat ride to visit Three Pools Mirroring the Moon， an isle attraction near the southern side of the lake. After the isle， the boat went near the Thunder Peak Pagoda， which stood like an old man. The pagoda， originally built in 977， crashed in 1924， three years after Akutagawas visit. The present one， a modern structure， was built in 2002. On his way back to Xinxin Hotel， Akutagawa examined Baochu Pagoda on the northern side of the lake.

Lingyin Temple

On the basis of the writers account， Akutagawa visited the Lingyin Temple on the second day of his visit to Hangzhou. On his way to the temple， he visited the Jade Spring， a garden park where huge fishes are kept in an oblong fish pond. He then visited the Lingyin Temple and the Peak Flying from Afar. On his way back to the hotel， he visited the Fenglin Temple. He wrote about his visit to Lingyin Temple on postcards. The texts reappeared in his China Travelogue.

Akutagawas account of his travel across China reflects his impressions of China in 1921. His ten chapters about his sightseeing tour in Hangzhou are a precious historical record of the West Lake in terms of history， culture and changes.