菱花十里棹歌聲

楊自強(qiáng)

萬歷十年（1582年），當(dāng)時的嘉興知府龔勉對煙雨樓進(jìn)行了一次修葺，還在煙雨樓前修筑了一個平臺，名之為釣鰲磯，寄意嘉興讀書人在科舉考試時獨占鰲頭。巧合的是釣鰲磯筑成的次年，嘉興人朱國祚果然高中狀元，從此煙雨樓不再僅是登臨游覽的勝地，更是“一郡文風(fēng)”的象征了。

南湖位于嘉興城南，原是因江水沖積和古潟湖淤積而形成的湖泊，大致在漢代基本形成。南湖在三國時期稱陸渭池，到唐代才改名南湖，唐以后又有滮湖、鴛鴦湖、馬場湖和東南湖等名稱。

煙雨樓，不僅只是登臨的勝地

南湖成為一方名勝而廣為人知，是在唐代以后。經(jīng)過大規(guī)模的屯田和興修水利，嘉興經(jīng)濟(jì)快速發(fā)展，所謂“嘉禾一穰，江淮為之康;嘉禾一歉，江淮為之儉”，達(dá)官貴人、文人學(xué)士也漸漸在湖邊休閑隱居。唐德宗時的名相、嘉興人陸贄在南湖邊的一個無名小渚上造一小筑，在此放鶴寄情，還建了一個鶴亭，這小渚時人稱鶴渚。而在唐宣宗時，名相、書法家裴休也在湖邊建一別墅，這就是裴島。鶴渚、裴島以及真如寺，是南湖畔最早的景點。

自然，南湖里最負(fù)盛名的景觀，非煙雨樓莫屬。尋根溯源，煙雨樓的源頭當(dāng)是五代時廣陵郡王錢元璙在湖畔所建的“登眺之所”。錢元璙是吳越王錢镠的第四子，在中吳軍節(jié)度使時駐節(jié)蘇州，他在蘇州建了“勝甲吳中”的名園南園，而在嘉興則建了煙雨樓。明《萬歷秀水縣志》說：“元璙筑臺鴛湖之畔，以館賓客?！泵骷尉改觊g的《嘉興府圖記》也說：“鴛鴦湖在縣南三里，湖東有煙雨樓。五代時，中吳（軍）節(jié)度使景陵王錢元璙筑臺為登眺之所?！笨芍?dāng)時的煙雨樓是位于湖的東邊。到了南宋初年，煙雨樓傾圯。嘉定年間，吏部尚書王希呂致仕回到嘉興，就在煙雨樓的舊址重建一樓，此后，經(jīng)過“有司相繼拓治繕飭”，煙雨樓成為“一方之勝”。到了元代，煙雨樓在戰(zhàn)亂中再次被毀壞，從此湮沒了近百年。

煙雨樓再度成為名勝，是在明代。嘉靖二十六年（1547年），嘉興知府趙瀛疏浚城河，把河里清理出來的淤泥、瓦礫填到了南湖中，竟然堆起了一座小島，這就是南湖中的湖心島。接著，趙瀛又在湖心島上建了一樓。南湖中的樓閣，自然得有一個風(fēng)雅之名，有個叫范言的名士說，當(dāng)年錢元璙的登眺之所，宋人詩中稱之為“煙雨樓”，不妨以此為名。從此，煙雨樓就從湖東移到了湖中。這是嘉興的一件大事，趙瀛還特意請當(dāng)時剛中了狀元、后來成為內(nèi)閣首輔的李春芳寫了一篇《重修煙雨樓記》以紀(jì)其事。

到了萬歷十年（1582年），煙雨樓年久失修，已是“圮不可登”。當(dāng)時的嘉興知府龔勉對煙雨樓進(jìn)行了一次大規(guī)模的修葺。重修后的煙雨樓，“四顧湖光，一碧千頃，浩浩蕩蕩，廖廓無涯，瀕湖萬家，鱗次櫛比，誠一方之大觀也。”（董醇伯子《游槜李記》）龔勉還在煙雨樓前，修筑了一個平臺名之為釣鰲磯，寄意嘉興讀書人在科舉考試時能獨占鰲頭。巧合的是釣鰲磯筑成的次年，嘉興人朱國祚果然高中狀元，從此煙雨樓不再僅是登臨游覽的勝地，更是“一郡文風(fēng)”的象征了。龔勉大喜之余，又在湖心島上修建了大士閣、文昌祠、武安祠、浮玉亭、凝碧亭、棲鳳軒等，號稱“瀛洲十二勝景”。

此后，萬歷二十八年（1600年）和崇禎五年（1632年），嘉興知府劉應(yīng)鈳、李化民都重修過煙雨樓。到了清代，三任嘉興知府、任職時間長達(dá)18年的許瑤光，更是在湖心島上以煙雨樓為中心，修筑了清暉堂、亦方壺、八詠亭、菱香水榭、孤云簃等建筑。而嘉興士民為了紀(jì)念這位賢太守的功績，在湖心島上也建了來許亭、鑒亭，使南湖湖心島景觀更為豐富，煙雨樓之名也因之更盛。一直到現(xiàn)在，湖心島、煙雨樓基本上便是這個格局。

一方名勝，歷來吟詠不絕

南湖作為一方名勝，歷來吟詠不絕，留下了許許多多的詩詞文賦和以南湖為題材的小說、戲曲，形成了一部豐厚的“南湖藝術(shù)志”，以文藝的形式講述著南湖的前世今生。

最早以南湖入詩的，是中唐時期的嘉興籍詩人丘為。丘為退休后就住在南湖畔，寫下了好幾首有關(guān)南湖的詩，其中有一首《湖中寄王侍御》是寫給他的詩友王維的，這里的“湖中”就是嘉興南湖。丘為的詩友、有“五言長城”之稱的劉長卿，寶應(yīng)、廣德年間（762～764年）曾任嘉興縣尉，他在這里寫下了兩首送別詩《南湖送徐二十七西上》《送盧判官南湖》，這是最早的以南湖為詩題的詩作。而最早以“煙雨樓”為題的詩詞，當(dāng)是宋代名相吳潛所作的《水調(diào)歌頭·題煙雨樓》，詞中寫道：“東湖千頃煙雨，占斷幾春秋。自有茂林修竹，不用買花沽酒，此樂若為酬?！边@里的“東湖”就是南湖。此后，從宋代的葉隆禮、方回一直到清代的曹爾堪、厲鶚、陳維崧等詩詞名家，都有不少以煙雨樓為題的詩詞。當(dāng)然，流傳最廣的，還是明代散文家張岱在《陶庵夢憶》里那略帶調(diào)侃的一句：“嘉興人開口煙雨樓，天下笑之。然煙雨樓故自佳。”

大詩人蘇軾也與南湖有著不解之緣。歷來嘉興舊志中收有《泛南湖》詩4首，據(jù)稱為蘇軾所作。南湖邊的三過堂，紀(jì)念的是蘇東坡3次看望本覺寺文長老、寫下3首詩贈文長老的故事。煮茶亭是因東坡先生與文長老煮茶說禪而得名。光緒《嘉興府志》載：“南湖中，蘇軾與文長老三過湖上汲水煮茶;東坡三過嘉禾，每于鴛湖汲水煮茶，后人建亭湖心，遺址尚存，一名三笑亭?！碧K軾的老朋友錢顗（字安道）也住在嘉興，蘇軾來嘉興看望他，留下了一首名詩《贈錢端公安道并寄其弟惠山山人》，開篇兩句“鴛鴦湖邊月如水，孤舟夜傍鴛鴦起”，是說到南湖時引用率最高的詩句。

清代在嘉興政聲卓著、有著“賢太守”之稱的許瑤光，不但在南湖周邊建造了不少景觀，更是寫下以《南湖八景》為題的詩，來宣揚、推廣南湖。這組詩寫了南湖及周邊最具代表性的八景，分別是南湖煙雨、東塔朝暾、茶禪夕照、杉閘風(fēng)帆、漢塘春桑、禾墩秋稼、韭溪明月、瓶山積雪。詩成后，許瑤光又請畫家秦敏樹創(chuàng)作了《南湖八景圖》，把詩、畫合成一起刻成了碑石，在南湖煙雨樓釣鰲臺上建造了一個小亭放置詩碑，名為八詠亭?，F(xiàn)在的煙雨樓下，仍可看到這南湖八景的詩碑。

在所有描寫南湖的詩詞中，最廣為人知的當(dāng)數(shù)朱彝尊的《鴛鴦湖棹歌》了。棹歌源出民間，為船工行船時所唱的歌謠，朱彝尊借用了棹歌這一詩歌形式，創(chuàng)作了一百首《鴛鴦湖棹歌》，描繪了嘉興的古跡、傳說、物產(chǎn)、風(fēng)俗，其中不少寫到了南湖，如開篇第一首：“蟹舍漁村兩岸平，菱花十里棹歌聲。儂家放鶴洲前水，夜半真如塔火明”，寫的就是南湖畔的放鶴洲和真如塔。朱彝尊的《鴛鴦湖棹歌》和者眾多，流傳下來的就有70多位，其中不乏譚吉璁、陸以諴、張燕昌等名家，在嘉興詩壇上形成“棹歌體”這樣一個特色詩派，也在無形間大大提高了南湖的影響力。

同樣，在古代的小說、戲曲中，有不少把故事發(fā)生的背景設(shè)定在南湖的。故事當(dāng)然不一定是真的，但由此可見南湖的知名度之高。如元末明初瞿佑的傳奇小說集《剪燈新話》中有一篇《愛卿傳》，其故事就發(fā)生在鴛鴦湖畔，里面寫到夏日月夜，名士們相聚在南湖凌虛閣，女主角賦詩4首，寫的正是明代南湖的夜景。

清代小說《八美圖》，其主要場景也是發(fā)生在嘉興，在第六回《想美人燈下看圖，觀龍舟橋上爭氣》，把嘉興人在南湖上看龍船的盛況描繪得熱熱鬧鬧、有聲有色。如果對照《古禾雜識》等筆記中的有關(guān)記載，發(fā)現(xiàn)小說所述也是有史實依據(jù)的。

名士流連，湖上笙歌陌上簫

從唐代起，歷代文人墨客、名士大師流連南湖，留下了一段段佳話，也更增添了南湖深厚的文化底蘊(yùn)。

南湖畔的放鶴洲是煙波迷蒙、陂塘相連的幽靜小渚，歷來是營造別業(yè)和隱居林泉的好去處。唐時陸贄、裴休在此閑居，宋代著名詞人朱敦儒流寓嘉興時也住在這里，放鶴洲之名就是他取的，陸游還到嘉興來看望過朱敦儒。明朝時，朱彝尊的伯父貴陽太守朱茂時重建放鶴洲，疏浚河流，廣植樹木，并請造園大師張南垣設(shè)計園林。清順治九年（1652年），詩人吳偉業(yè)到放鶴洲作客，寫下了《題朱子葵鶴洲草堂》一詩。第二年，朱茂時又邀請大畫家項圣謨來放鶴洲游賞，泛舟湖上，飲酒賦詩，項圣謨據(jù)此作了名畫《放鶴洲圖》。到了康熙年間，大學(xué)者呂留良兩次游覽放鶴洲，寫下了《坐鶴州梅花下》《重過鶴洲》詩，以寄托家國之思。

明清時期的嘉興頗為繁榮，南湖風(fēng)光秀美，又兼之交通發(fā)達(dá)、市肆繁華，所謂“朱欄遠(yuǎn)近萬家連，下眺通衢上接天。傍郭酒船邀落日，滿湖漁火亂疏煙?！保ㄍ缆　逗蠠熡陿恰罚┏蔀槊骶蹠氖走x之地。

明代大戲曲家湯顯祖數(shù)次來嘉興，留下了“年來更夢誰邊好，煙雨樓西看石帆”的詩句。張岱在《陶庵夢憶》中說，“煙雨樓前，畫船歌鼓日夜不絕?！蓖缆≡跓熡陿莿?chuàng)作并排演了傳奇《彩毫記》，一時間“樓倚重湖酒百巡”，轟動四方。名列“明末四公子”的冒辟疆?dāng)y“秦淮八艷”之一的董小宛來游南湖，并說煙雨樓之外，南湖之“浩瀚幽渺之致”，更值得一游，故而這一對璧人在南湖游玩了一整天。

南湖更有一樁風(fēng)流佳話，那便是明末文壇領(lǐng)袖錢謙益與秦淮名妓柳如是在湖畔定情。當(dāng)時，錢柳兩人在南湖畔的勺園作客，兩人互相仰慕。柳如是寫了《鴛湖舟中送牧翁之新安》，而錢謙益寫了長詩《有美一百韻，晦日鴛鴦湖舟中作》送給柳如是，鴛鴦湖成就了他們這一段傳世的愛情佳話。正如陳寅恪先生所說，“勺園一地，乃錢柳因緣得以成就之樞紐。”第二年，錢謙益以匹嫡之禮把柳氏娶進(jìn)家門。

在清初，南湖還有過一件轟動士林的盛事。當(dāng)時江浙文人、名流在嘉興南湖舉行十郡大社，湖上“連舟數(shù)百艘”，“越三日乃定交去”，尤侗、陳維崧、徐乾學(xué)、鄒祗謨、曹爾堪、毛奇齡、朱彝尊等都前來赴會，場面十分壯觀。

順治年間，寫下《圓圓曲》的著名詩人吳偉業(yè)來到南湖，作了一首《鴛湖曲》：“鴛鴦湖畔草粘天，二月春深好放船。柳葉亂飄千尺雨，桃花斜帶一路煙”，成為吟唱南湖的名句。

《浮生六記》的作者沈復(fù)，也曾游過南湖，他眼中的南湖，“四岸皆綠楊，惜無多竹，有平臺可遠(yuǎn)眺。漁舟星列，漠漠平波，似宜月夜?！?/p>

而清代有“中興四大名臣”之一的彭玉麟，在游覽南湖后，乘興作了橫直兩幅梅花圖，并題詩其上。知府許瑤光請人將兩幅梅花畫鐫刻在石上，在煙雨樓北面建亭，壁嵌彭玉麟梅花石刻，稱之為“寶梅亭”。

南湖之美名甚至讓乾隆皇帝欲罷不能。他六下江南，竟然8次登臨煙雨樓，興致勃勃為之賦詩15首，把煙雨樓比作蓬萊仙島、方壺仙境、水晶宮，贊嘆不已。這還不算，乾隆還讓畫師把煙雨樓畫下來，在承德避暑山莊照模照樣地仿造了一座煙雨樓，并得意地賦詩說：“卻勝南巡憑賞處，平湖風(fēng)遞芰荷芬?！?/p>

乾隆登煙雨樓，還帶來了一件“副產(chǎn)品”。煙雨樓自明嘉靖年間重建以來，一直都是坐南朝北，對著嘉興城垣。乾隆以九五之尊，在煙雨樓上當(dāng)然不能面北而坐。嘉興府遂把樓臺略加改造，把煙雨樓改成朝南，面向南湖。同時，原來在樓后的棲鳳軒變成了在樓前，顯得更為雅致美觀。此后，嘉興建造樓堂館所，就喜歡在樓前依樣加上一軒，稱之為“反軒”。這反軒，一度成為嘉興建筑工藝上的一個特色。

The formation of the South Lake in the south of present-day Jiaxing City in northern Zhejiang dates back to the Han Dynasty （206BC-220AD）. It was called the South Lake in the Tang Dynasty （618-907） and then it had several other names after the Tang. But it has been called South Lake since a long time ago.

It was during the Tang that the South Lake became a sightseeing attraction. Thanks to the large-scale rice farming organized by the government and advanced irrigation systems put into place， Jiaxing witnessed economic prosperity never seen before. It was said back then that a bumper harvest in Jiaxing benefited neighboring regions along the Yangtze River and the Huai River. Lu Zhi， a prime minister of the Tang， had a house and a pavilion built on an isle in the South Lake， where he kept some cranes. Pei Xiu， a prime minister and calligrapher of the Tang， had a villa built by the South Lake. The isle and the villa as well as a Buddhist temple by the lake became sightseeing attractions.

The best known attraction of the South Lake is the Misty Rain Pavilion. Today， it stands on an isle in the center of the Lake. It dates back to a lakeside pavilion built by Prince Qian Yuanliao， fourth son of Qian Liu， the king of the Wuyue State during the Five Dynasties （907-960）， a period between the Tang and the Song （960-1279）. From the pavilion the prince could take a commanding view of the lake. From historical accounts it can be deduced that the pavilion was located on the eastern bank of the lake. The pavilion collapsed in the early years of the Southern Song （1127-1279）. During the Jiading period （1208-1224） of Emperor Ningzong of the Southern Song， the pavilion was restored on the same spot by Wang Xilyu， Minister of Personnel. The new pavilion was short-lived. It was destroyed in the Yuan （1279-1368）. It made a grand comeback in 1547， that is， in the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644）. The governor of Jiaxing Prefecture had the city moat dredged and had all the silt and rubbish removed to the center of the lake and had a small isle built there. The governor then had a pavilion built on the isle and named it Misty Rain Pavilion after learning about the previous sightseeing structure from a local scholar.

The pavilion dilapidated over years. In 1582， it was restored by Gong Mian， then governor of Jiaxing Prefecture. The governor had a platform built in front of the pavilion and giving it a name suggesting good luck to young scholars who were going to sit for the top imperial examination. It just happened that a scholar from Jiaxing became the nations top scorer of the imperial examination in 1583. The pavilion and the platform became famous， attracting numerous visitors from all over Jiaxing and beyond as the isle became a symbol of cultural prosperity of Jiaxing. Gongs ecstasy knew no bounds and had a series of new buildings added to the isle.

The pavilion underwent two refurbishments respectively in 1600 and 1632. In the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， some more buildings were added. The basic structure of attractions on the isle has remained.

The South Lake is more than a sightseeing attraction in Jiaxing. The scenic lake is also the centerpiece of a history of local culture and art. There are poems， stories， and opera plays with the lake as the center or as the background. The first poems about the South Lake were written by Qiu Wei， a poet of the Tang Dynasty. He retired to the lake and wrote a few poems about his experiences on the lake. In fact， of all the poets who composed poems that mentioned the South Lake are some big names such as Liu Changqing and Su Dongpo. Though Liu Changqing and Su Dongpo are more prominent poets， Zhu Yizun （1629-1709）， a native of Jiaxing and poet of the Qing Dynasty， wrote more popular poems about the South Lake. He wrote 100 in the format of boat song， a popular local poetry genre. The 100 boat songs add up to be a general introduction to Jiaxing and many of the 100 are about the South Lake. Zhus poems about Jiaxing were so popular that quite a few local poets adopted the format and wrote similar poems. Boat songs by more than 70 poets have come down in history.

And there are numerous anecdotes about celebrated personages who visited Jiaxing and did sightseeing on the South Lake. The best known of them all is Emperor Qianlong who reigned from 1735 to 1796. On his six inspection tours from the capital in the north to Jiangnan， or the south of the Yangtze River Delta， he visited the Misty Rain Pavilion eight times and wrote 15 poems about the pavilion. Moreover， under his decree， an exact replica of the pavilion on the South Lake was made in Chengde Imperial Mountain Resort， a summer palace of the dynasty built over a period of 90 years and about 230 kilometers from Beijing.