有诗有词有美堂

司马一民

苏东坡写的关于杭州的诗不少是描述雨中的景色，可见千年之前的杭州是多雨的城市。的确，雨中的杭州别有一番风情。

且读他写的《有美堂暴雨》：游人脚底一声雷，满座顽云拨不开。天外黑风吹海立，浙东飞雨过江来。十分潋滟金樽凸，千杖敲铿羯鼓催。唤起谪仙泉洒面，倒倾蛟室泻琼瑰。

《有美堂暴雨》是苏东坡于熙宁六年（1073）初秋所作，苏东坡此时任杭州通判。这首诗描写了突然而至的暴雨，有声响、有景致、有形状、有色彩，更有丰富的联想和想象，视觉感非常强。读此诗，我们仿佛置身于当时雷声隆隆、暴雨倾盆的场景中，真是传神之笔。

读罢此诗，读者可能会好奇，有美堂在杭城的哪里呢？

北宋时，有美堂在吴山上，且很有来历。嘉祐二年（1057），梅挚出任杭州知州，宋仁宗赵祯亲自赋诗《赐梅挚知杭州》送行：地有湖山美，东南第一州。剖符宣政化，持橐辍才流。暂出论思列，遥分旰食忧。循良勤抚俗，来暮听歌讴。

一位州官赴任，皇帝亲自赋诗送行，那还得了？顺便插一句，宋仁宗对杭州之美评价极高。梅挚到杭州后，为回报皇恩，在吴山顶上建了一座楼台，取名“有美堂”，源自诗中“地有湖山美，东南第一州”之句。

有美堂建成后，梅挚请欧阳修写了一篇《有美堂记》。欧阳修是何许人也？当时欧阳修不但官至参知政事，而且是文坛领袖。欧阳修的《有美堂记》大意为：杭州这个地方的老百姓生活富裕、安定，能夠享受快乐生活。这个地方有许多手艺精湛的工匠，房屋非常华丽，有十万多家。整个城市与西湖、山林融为一体。来自福建的许多商船，穿梭于钱塘江和浩瀚的大海之间。来这个地方的人，不是朝廷的公卿大臣，就是皇上的侍从，或者是来自各地喜欢旅游的人。很多人在西湖边寻找合适的地方，买地建房，还筑起了亭台和水榭。朋友们在聚会的同时还能饱览湖光山色。在钱塘的其他地方，虽然也可以看到种种美景，但都不是全景。只有在有美堂里，钱塘山水之美和杭州人居物产之盛才会尽收眼底。人们说钱塘这个地方享有天下的美景，而有美堂又把钱塘之美尽收眼底，这确实是梅挚先生非常喜欢这个有美堂而且很难忘怀的原因。

应该说欧阳修的《有美堂记》对杭州的评价是客观的，对有美堂的描述也是客观的。于吴山上登楼阁，欣赏杭城美景，左牵钱塘江，右揽西湖，湖光山色和参差十万人家尽收眼底。

得到了欧阳修的《有美堂记》，梅挚又请当时的著名书法家蔡襄为之书丹，勒石立碑于有美堂前。于是，一个著名景点就这样诞生于吴山之上。有当时两位一流文化名人的联手作品，有美堂不可能不出名，文人雅士当然要去登临赏景，少不了要吟诗赋词。

熙宁六年（1073），苏东坡游有美堂，暴雨突至，便有了即景而作的《有美堂暴雨》。到了第二年，知州陈襄（字述古）调离杭州前，在有美堂设宴告别亲朋好友，可见有美堂已成官宦文人应酬场所。应陈襄之请，苏东坡即席写下了《虞美人 · 有美堂赠述古》，其大意为：大自然的湖光山色，要数钱塘最美。登有美堂远眺，能看到千里之外。此去，您何时才能再回杭州？您醉倒在这里吧，就当作徘徊。河边华灯初上，是谁在弹唱水调？在夜深人静回家的时候，在一轮明月的映照下，钱塘江澄澈得像一块碧绿的琉璃。

这首词既称赞了杭州湖山的美好景色，又充分表达了苏轼对陈襄的依依惜别之情。可惜的是，有美堂在南宋时已被毁，后世在有美堂遗址上曾建至德观，屡毁屡建，终于没了踪迹。今人为纪念这段历史，在有美堂遗址前立欧阳修《有美堂记》石碑，当然已不可能是蔡襄的手迹了。

据传，当年有美堂前的大樟树今天仍在，樟树下有石刻“宋樟”二字。古树名木保护牌上标着——树龄：730年。究竟真伪如何？未知。不过，在吴山上，乃至在杭州，有这样的古树也是极为难得的。

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.