杭州評(píng)話，木鐸遺風(fēng)

龐茹

從杭州評(píng)話中感知?dú)v史

不久前的一個(gè)周末，我去好友家小坐。兩人聊得正歡，好友八歲的兒子跑過(guò)來(lái)說(shuō)要去“聽(tīng)大書(shū)”。我正納悶，好友笑著說(shuō)，他們小區(qū)附近有一家評(píng)書(shū)場(chǎng)，兒子最近迷上了聽(tīng)評(píng)書(shū)，每周都要聽(tīng)一次。評(píng)話？我還是小的時(shí)候，跟著爺爺聽(tīng)過(guò)幾次。好友見(jiàn)我好奇，便邀我一同前往。

書(shū)場(chǎng)門口的預(yù)告牌上寫著今日的說(shuō)書(shū)人是陳如泉，講的是《康熙傳》。說(shuō)書(shū)人還沒(méi)到場(chǎng)，已經(jīng)有了一些聽(tīng)眾，不過(guò)大都是上了年紀(jì)的人。說(shuō)書(shū)場(chǎng)設(shè)置比較簡(jiǎn)單，倒也潔凈雅致。一方說(shuō)書(shū)臺(tái)上有幾樣簡(jiǎn)單的道具——一塊醒木、一把扇子、一塊手絹。

正在環(huán)顧間，只見(jiàn)一位身材清瘦、精神矍鑠的老人進(jìn)場(chǎng)上臺(tái)了，不用說(shuō)，他就是今天的主角。陳先生上了年紀(jì)，但一雙眼睛非常有神，絲毫不見(jiàn)龍鐘之態(tài)。他熟練地?fù)Q上一身長(zhǎng)衫，開(kāi)說(shuō)啦。

當(dāng)天說(shuō)的是袍帶書(shū)康熙皇帝“運(yùn)籌帷幄滅三藩”這段，補(bǔ)筆掩筆、驚人筆倒插筆，陳先生把故事演繹得跌宕起伏。康熙的韜略與霸氣、姚啟圣的清醒與傲骨、臣僚的奴顏婢膝……他不停地轉(zhuǎn)換角色，用抑揚(yáng)頓挫的語(yǔ)氣、活靈活現(xiàn)的表演，將人物性格刻畫(huà)得極具感染力。聽(tīng)眾在不知不覺(jué)之間穿越到歷史的時(shí)空之中。

這門說(shuō)話的藝術(shù)，在北方稱評(píng)書(shū)，在南方稱評(píng)話，出現(xiàn)于唐代，流行于兩宋之際，實(shí)際成型于明末清初。杭州評(píng)話起源于南宋，已有八百多年歷史，當(dāng)時(shí)錢塘文人吳自牧《夢(mèng)粱錄》有過(guò)較詳細(xì)的記載。事實(shí)上，如《三國(guó)演義》《水滸傳》最初都是說(shuō)話的話本：《全相平話三國(guó)志》《醉翁談錄》；這兩部名著的作者、移籍杭州的羅貫中和施耐庵，也曾在臨安瓦舍勾欄里說(shuō)話。

杭州評(píng)話對(duì)小說(shuō)、對(duì)戲曲的發(fā)展有很大影響。杭州中瓦子張家書(shū)鋪刊印的說(shuō)經(jīng)話本《大唐三藏取經(jīng)詩(shī)話》《西湖三塔記》，前者已具今本《西游記》的雛形，后者則為后世的《白蛇傳》提供了藍(lán)本。這些說(shuō)書(shū)故事，也成為很多戲曲的題材。

從簡(jiǎn)單中體會(huì)藝術(shù)魅力

我曾經(jīng)聽(tīng)我的老師說(shuō)起，他有一本由杭州評(píng)話名家茅賽云先生說(shuō)的“大書(shū)”、經(jīng)杭州大學(xué)中文系講授明清小說(shuō)的劉操南先生整理、兩人共同署名著作出版的《武松演義》。起初，我對(duì)這“說(shuō)話”不在意，后來(lái)偶然記起，明白了老師的意思：記下口述的世俗藝術(shù)或文學(xué)，也能留住社會(huì)、生活、文化甚或政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)的多重資料，歷史便不會(huì)冰涼。

杭州評(píng)話延續(xù)久遠(yuǎn)，大約在清末民初時(shí)達(dá)于鼎盛。當(dāng)時(shí)，藝人發(fā)起成立評(píng)話溫古社，社員達(dá)百余人?？箲?zhàn)時(shí)期，杭州評(píng)話衰敗下去。新中國(guó)成立后，杭州曲藝團(tuán)兼容評(píng)話，集聚眾多名家，茅賽云先生即為其中之一。

杭州評(píng)話俗稱“大書(shū)”，用杭州方言表演，評(píng)說(shuō)歷史、講述故事，貼近百姓、貼近生活，富有濃郁的地方特色，是杭州世風(fēng)民俗的最好摹本之一。

本來(lái)，說(shuō)大書(shū)的藝人只坐著說(shuō)表，用扇子、手絹?zhàn)龅谰?，以醒木拍桌?lái)加強(qiáng)氣氛。后來(lái)，也有藝人站著表演，以說(shuō)、評(píng)、演三者相融合為藝術(shù)特色，講究口、眼、身、法、步、神結(jié)合，只用一人、一桌、一扇、一醒木即可，雖然表演形式十分簡(jiǎn)單，但描述入微、渲染有方、活靈活現(xiàn)，緊扣觀眾心弦。

說(shuō)大書(shū)并不容易，所謂生旦凈末丑，眼神、表情、聲音、身姿都要到位。沒(méi)有親耳聽(tīng)過(guò)說(shuō)書(shū)的人，也許會(huì)感到詫異，一個(gè)人是如何扮演那么多的角色、不同角色的不同特點(diǎn)如何表現(xiàn)、如何呈現(xiàn)書(shū)中或細(xì)微、或緊張、或驚險(xiǎn)、或壯闊的各種場(chǎng)景？

評(píng)話（評(píng)書(shū)）是說(shuō)話的藝術(shù)，表現(xiàn)的奧秘便是聲音。藝人通過(guò)聲音的“化妝”來(lái)表現(xiàn)男男女女、老老少少的布衣平民、帝王將相、俠客隱士、僧道名流在不同場(chǎng)景中的不同狀態(tài)、不同心境。另外，加上道具的配合，藝人站在高臺(tái)之上，時(shí)坐時(shí)立，撫尺一拍便成時(shí)光隧道，扇子一揮即可運(yùn)籌帷幄，腿腳一擺就是千軍萬(wàn)馬，手絹一展即是圣旨、軍令狀、家信，眉飛色舞、談笑風(fēng)生間可大浪淘盡風(fēng)流人物，盡現(xiàn)歷史滄桑、風(fēng)云變幻。

從柳敬亭想象說(shuō)大書(shū)

四百年前左右，有一個(gè)叫柳敬亭的人浪跡江湖，“說(shuō)話”的聲名遠(yuǎn)近播揚(yáng)。他曾北上京城獻(xiàn)藝，后來(lái)有人追尋至金陵拜他為師，回到北方開(kāi)評(píng)書(shū)一派。這個(gè)柳敬亭也到過(guò)繁盛之地?fù)P州和杭州、紹興。

長(zhǎng)期寓居杭城的山陰人、明遺民作家張岱在《陶庵夢(mèng)憶》中記錄過(guò)南京評(píng)話名家柳敬亭受邀至縉紳人家說(shuō)書(shū)，“每至丙夜，拭桌剪燈，素瓷靜遞，款款言之，其疾徐輕重，吞吐抑揚(yáng)，入情入理、入筋入骨”，“主人必屏息靜坐，傾耳聽(tīng)之”。張岱舉柳敬亭講“景陽(yáng)岡武松打虎”白文，說(shuō)，柳書(shū)與《水滸傳》中描述并不相同，“其描寫刻畫(huà)，微入毫發(fā)，然又找截干凈，并不嘮叨”，說(shuō)到書(shū)的筋節(jié)處，則叱咤叫喊，勢(shì)如潮頭洶涌可以崩坍屋子。

與張岱同時(shí)的聞人、海寧朱一是非常佩服柳書(shū)的語(yǔ)言魅力，作下《聽(tīng)柳生敬亭詞話》一詩(shī)：“突兀一聲震云霄，明珠萬(wàn)斛錯(cuò)落搖，似斷忽續(xù)勢(shì)縹緲，才歌轉(zhuǎn)泣氣蕭條。檐下猝聽(tīng)風(fēng)雨入，眼前又睹鬼神立。蕩蕩波濤瀚?；兀至直桌リ?yáng)集。座客驚聞色無(wú)主，欲為贊嘆詞莫吐”，對(duì)輕重緩急制造氣氛，以形象化的手法寫人、狀物，細(xì)致形容描摹。

柳書(shū)的特點(diǎn)是善于在書(shū)詞中補(bǔ)充社會(huì)生活，把自己的經(jīng)歷、見(jiàn)聞、愛(ài)憎融于書(shū)中，這在晚明以來(lái)時(shí)代驟變的環(huán)境中頗受人歡迎。柳敬亭在江浙一帶行走，與眾多在歷史上留名的達(dá)官顯宦、文人學(xué)士甚至秦淮名妓有接觸、往來(lái)，或被引為上賓，別人為他留下的詩(shī)、文、詞多達(dá)八十余章，是很特殊的。

文史大家、余姚黃宗羲以正統(tǒng)史家的觀點(diǎn)及筆法撰有《柳敬亭傳》，評(píng)曰：“敬亭既在軍中久，其豪猾大俠、殺人亡命、流離遇合、破家失國(guó)之事，無(wú)不身親見(jiàn)之。且五方土音，鄉(xiāng)俗好尚，習(xí)見(jiàn)習(xí)聞。每發(fā)一聲，使人聞之，或如刀劍鐵騎，颯然浮空；或如風(fēng)號(hào)雨泣，鳥(niǎo)悲獸駭。亡國(guó)之恨頓生，檀板之聲無(wú)色，有非莫生之言可盡者矣?！?/p>

柳敬亭在說(shuō)書(shū)中形成的這些特點(diǎn)，一直為包括杭州評(píng)話界在內(nèi)的后世評(píng)話藝人所仿效。讀上面詩(shī)文，可以想象杭州評(píng)話藝術(shù)之一二。

從“書(shū)迷”到“書(shū)者”

記得我讀研那會(huì)兒，一次聯(lián)歡會(huì)上，一位女生叫李瀟樹(shù)，表演揚(yáng)州評(píng)話，學(xué)說(shuō)的好像是王少堂先生的“武十回”中的一段，真有“艷驚四座”的表現(xiàn)，儼如當(dāng)年的連麗如、劉蘭芳。離開(kāi)校園這么久，我始終記得她——當(dāng)時(shí)那飛揚(yáng)的青春、空氣中洋溢的熱烈和歡愉。李同學(xué)說(shuō)書(shū)說(shuō)得和她人一樣爽朗、漂亮，時(shí)收時(shí)放著一把折扇，在嬉笑怒罵間指點(diǎn)、揮斥，就像年少時(shí)的一個(gè)夢(mèng)。

可惜，評(píng)話（評(píng)書(shū)）如今越來(lái)越成為一種小眾的藝術(shù)。聽(tīng)說(shuō)，陳如泉先生深深感嘆，杭州評(píng)話到他這一代可能就要斷掉。

許多杭州市民從小聽(tīng)著杭州評(píng)話長(zhǎng)大。新中國(guó)成立后杭州成立曲藝團(tuán)，評(píng)話溫古社并入；五十年代，杭州評(píng)話鼎盛時(shí)，杭州的茶館大都有說(shuō)大書(shū)：有選擇長(zhǎng)靠、短打、官帶的，也有移植創(chuàng)作現(xiàn)代小說(shuō)新書(shū)的。八十年代，重新再說(shuō)大書(shū)，大書(shū)先生肚子里的故事是大多數(shù)人的消遣，并成為社會(huì)上茶余飯后的熱點(diǎn)談資。后來(lái)，隨著文化內(nèi)容的拓延、娛樂(lè)方式的多樣，杭州評(píng)話漸漸式微，竟被列入浙江省、杭州市非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄，需要保護(hù)，需要傳承。

評(píng)話（評(píng)書(shū)）誕生、發(fā)展于生活節(jié)奏緩慢的封建農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)里以商業(yè)、手工業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)為基礎(chǔ)的城市之中，衰落的過(guò)程是古典世俗生活的必然消亡。一門藝術(shù)，曾經(jīng)豐富過(guò)人們的精神、心靈和人生便足矣，正如老舍先生的小說(shuō)《斷魂槍》揭示過(guò)的深刻的社會(huì)歷史意義——曾經(jīng)存在，便會(huì)消亡，但還會(huì)有新生，這是規(guī)律。

評(píng)話（評(píng)書(shū)）雖然是小眾藝術(shù)，不過(guò)依然有人很執(zhí)著地喜愛(ài)這門藝術(shù)，因?yàn)楹芏嗾f(shuō)書(shū)藝人，最早都是從“書(shū)迷”開(kāi)始的，比如陳先生，兒時(shí)家里人常抱著他去隔壁茶館聽(tīng)書(shū)，耳濡目染，他愛(ài)上了曲藝，并決定做一位說(shuō)書(shū)人，父母便送他去拜師，從此開(kāi)始了五十多年的說(shuō)書(shū)生涯。

最近聽(tīng)說(shuō)，杭州評(píng)話出了個(gè)90后小伙胡達(dá)，是百姓書(shū)場(chǎng)最年輕的大書(shū)先生。他純粹因?yàn)橄矚g——喜歡到聽(tīng)一遍就能記個(gè)十之八九——而入了這行，既有傳承也有創(chuàng)新。

杭州評(píng)話，有一些忠實(shí)的書(shū)迷，和說(shuō)書(shū)先生一起守著這方簡(jiǎn)單而魅力獨(dú)具的方臺(tái)。

Hangzhou Storytelling of Yesterday and Today

By Pang Ru

Storytelling is an ancient art in China. In the north， it is largely known as Pingshu and in the south， Pinghua. Usually it is one storyteller who performs the storytelling. A story sometimes has so many daily episodes that a complete storytelling goes for months. The prototype originated in the Tang Dynasty （618-907） and became popular in the Song （960-1279）. The art came to Hangzhou in the years of the Southern Song （1127-1279）， as described in detail in a 20-volumed book titled by a Hangzhou native named Wu Zimu. In fact， classical novels such as by Luo Guanzhong and by Shi Naian were originally scripts for storytelling. History indicates that the authors respectively performed the stories from their masterpieces at storytelling theaters of Hangzhou. History records that many scripts used by storytellers in ancient Hangzhou later fleshed out into novels and opera plays such as and .

Although the tradition of storytelling in Hangzhou goes back to the Southern Song over eight hundred years ago， the tradition flourished in the last decades of the Qing （1644-1911） and the decades of the Republic of China （1911-1949）. The citys storytellers association set up back then had more than one hundred members. The tradition declined during World War Two. After the birth of New China， some best traditional storytellers were employed by the citys ballad-singers troupe.

Hangzhou Pinghua is performed in the Hangzhou dialect. Stories cover people and events of yesteryears and life of today. The art is very regional and very grassroots. It vividly reflects the grassroots life of Hangzhou. Originally， a storyteller sits talking and performing by a table. On the table are a fan and a handkerchief， and a small wood piece that works like a gavel for silence and attention. The fan and the handkerchief are used occasionally to assist the storytelling. As the art evolved， some storytellers began to stand performing. A standing storyteller can move around the table， getting much more room to act out details of a story. Those who have never watched a Hangzhou Pinghua artist tell a story would never fully understand how he magically transforms himself into different characters， and how his voice and facial expressions change dramatically， and how his postures and gestures help add a wonder touch to the storytelling itself.

Liu Jingting （1587-1670） was a celebrated storyteller of his time. He performed in Yangzhou， Hangzhou and Jinling （the present-day Nanjing） and was a master storyteller. He made friends with high-ranking government officials and businesspeople and scholars. Scholars who attended his storytelling wrote essays and poems about his virtuosity and these essays and poems can still be read today. He acted vividly and he mingled his storytelling with comments and descriptions from the everyday life his audience could relate to. His style has influenced storytellers of Hangzhou.

In the 1950s， Hangzhou Pinghua was very much alive. Artists performed in teahouses and small storytelling theaters. Going to a storytelling session in a teahouse was part of everyday life for many local residents. The storytelling made a big and brief comeback in the 1980s. It began to decline again in the 1990s， overwhelmed and replaced by new forms of entertainment.

Hangzhou Pinghua is a minor art form. It still attracts some loyal followers. Some storytellers themselves were first audience members themselves. Chen Ruquan， a storyteller， now performs regularly at a small theater. As a boy， he got hooked by the storytelling at the teahouse next door to his home. He dreamed of becoming a storyteller himself. His parents thought it a good idea. So he was sent to a master to learn the storytelling. He has been in this business for more than 50 years now.

The youngest storyteller in Hangzhou is Hu Da， a man born in the 1990s. He has taken the tradition on simply because he loves it. He can retell a story in the storytelling manner after hearing it only once. And the young storyteller is bringing innovation into the ancient entertainment.

Hangzhou Pinghua is alive at present. It will not be a mass entertainment. But it still attracts a small group of people to learn the art and maintains a small group of audience who come to the show royally and regularly.