游杜甫草堂感懷
作者 王永利
到成都，最值得一游的地方，當(dāng)屬杜甫草堂。杜甫草堂位于西郊外，離浣花溪寺不遠(yuǎn)。當(dāng)年，杜甫來到成都是先暫住在浣花寺，主持復(fù)空和尚幫助杜甫在浣花溪畔找到一塊荒地。杜甫的表弟協(xié)助年近50歲杜甫在那里先開辟了一畝大的土地，在一棵相傳二百多年的枘樹下建造起了幾間不堅(jiān)固的茅屋。而傳在一次大風(fēng)雨之后，枘樹被連根拔起，死掉了，茅屋也為秋風(fēng)所破。所以杜甫先生在這里寫下了前無古人，后無來者的一首詩——《茅屋為秋風(fēng)所破歌》。
杜甫草堂不太大，有房屋八九間，非常簡陋。比起相鄰的另一個(gè)旅游景點(diǎn)諸葛亮的武侯祠來，這里簡直就是一個(gè)貧民窟。但是杜甫草堂環(huán)境優(yōu)美，茂林修竹掩映，一條溪流蜿蜒環(huán)繞，頗具有詩情畫意。而這些詩情畫意，成就了杜甫先生許多描寫自然景物并且膾炙人口的詩歌。如“好雨知時(shí)節(jié)，當(dāng)春乃發(fā)生。隨風(fēng)潛入夜，潤物細(xì)無聲。”如“兩個(gè)黃鸝鳴翠柳，一行白鷺上青天。窗含西嶺千秋雪，門泊東吳萬里船。”還有“新松恨不高千尺，惡竹應(yīng)須砍萬竿”?！皸盍χθ?，枇杷對對香?！薄霸蒲诔跸以?，香傳小樹花”等等……
杜甫是中國文學(xué)史上最偉大的現(xiàn)實(shí)主義詩人。公元712年生于河南鞏縣，公元770年死于從長沙到岳陽的一條小木船上。他一生顛沛流離，按照今天人們通常用金錢財(cái)富和做多大官來衡量一個(gè)男人是否成功的世俗標(biāo)尺，杜甫可以說是一個(gè)非常失敗的男人，是一個(gè)悲劇性人物。但是，那些同時(shí)代擁有金錢財(cái)富和高官厚祿的人，有誰能經(jīng)得起歲月的淘沙，至盡還被后人如此景仰呢？有幾人能像杜甫那樣被世人一代一代傳誦呢？這也正是我來成都首先要瞻仰杜甫草堂的目的。我愛杜甫，仰慕他在生活困頓中，更多地想到“安得廣廈千萬間，大庇天下寒士盡歡顏，風(fēng)雨不動(dòng)安如山”憂國憂民的情懷，仰慕他為中國的文學(xué)和人類文明貢獻(xiàn)了那么多優(yōu)秀的詩篇，乃至成為中華民族璀璨的優(yōu)秀文化遺產(chǎn)。
我走進(jìn)杜甫草堂，仿佛在面對面地閱讀這位偉大詩人的悲劇。他出生后不久，母親就去世了，他是被寄養(yǎng)在姑母家長大的。他“少小多病”，不是什么“神童”。 相反，他少年還很頑皮，愛偷吃樹上的棗子和梨。有詩歌為證：“憶年十五還尚孩，健如黃犢走復(fù)來。庭前八月梨棗熟，一日上樹能千回?！保ㄒ姸鸥Α栋賾n集行》）但是他學(xué)習(xí)刻苦，“讀書破萬卷”。20歲開始游歷，走南闖北，用投親靠友“打秋風(fēng)”的方式“混日子”，而到了三十五歲也沒有謀到一官半職，是個(gè)懷才不遇的窮酸游歷書生。他到處寄上自己的名帖希望那些達(dá)官貴人引薦?？墒俏垂?，科舉考試也不成功。按照今天人們的眼光，他簡直就是一個(gè)“沒出息”的人。
但是，游歷擴(kuò)大了他的視野和心胸，祖國的壯麗河山陶冶了他的雄心壯志?！皶?huì)當(dāng)凌絕頂，一覽眾山小”。（杜甫《望岳》）后來，杜甫結(jié)識(shí)了一位偉大的詩人李白，杜甫仰慕李白的風(fēng)采，他們一道渡黃河到王屋山去拜訪道士華蓋君?？墒撬麄兊搅四抢铮A蓋君已經(jīng)死了。他們倀恨而歸。但半路遇到高適，便一道浪跡宋州。呼鷹逐兔，飲酒撫琴，發(fā)泄對政局的不滿。當(dāng)時(shí)李白比杜甫年長十多歲，喜歡杜甫這個(gè)有才的小兄弟并贈(zèng)詩“飛蓬各自遠(yuǎn)，且盡手中杯”。杜甫稱李白“筆落驚風(fēng)雨，詩成泣鬼神”。兩人的友誼很深。后來兩人分手后，杜甫誤聽李白溺水而亡的消息，竟然一連三日夢到李白，寫了三首關(guān)于悼念李白的詩，“應(yīng)共冤魂語，投詩贈(zèng)汨羅”，把李白比喻為偉大的詩人屈原。后來證實(shí)是誤傳，李白遇赦了，杜甫激動(dòng)地寫了《寄李白二十韻》。兩位杰出詩人的偉大友誼，在今天也是佳話?？上?，我們今天，文人相輕者多，相惜者少。每個(gè)文人都覺得自己比別人高一籌，哪里還有這樣的友誼存在呢？
杜甫后來到了首都長安，在那里待了十年。也沒有謀得像樣的官職，當(dāng)個(gè)低級(jí)的幕僚，屢受排擠。后來，安史之亂，和胡人進(jìn)犯，杜甫開始了流亡的生活，饑寒交迫中，他親眼目睹了社會(huì)地層人們生活在水深火熱之中，寫下了無數(shù)批判現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的偉大作品。如“朱門酒肉臭，路有凍死骨?！钡鹊取：髞碛腥伺e薦他見到了皇帝，皇帝封他個(gè)“八品”小官，可以追隨在皇帝左右，如果當(dāng)時(shí)杜甫趨炎附勢，是可以贏得皇帝歡心的。可是他偏偏不識(shí)時(shí)務(wù)，上疏營救房琯的罷相，觸怒了肅宗，受刑戮、遭貶斥。在流配途中，他寫出了“三吏”，“三別”《春望》、《哀江頭》、《北征》等許多不朽的愛國主義和憂國憂民的詩篇。
對于杜甫個(gè)人而言，他的仕途徹底失敗了，他的多半輩子都是靠朋友接濟(jì)過活，窮得叮當(dāng)響，可是他憂國憂民，為國家的前途和百姓的疾苦奔走呼號(hào)，對于中華民族而言，他的優(yōu)秀作品，激勵(lì)一代又一代有正義感的知識(shí)分子，敢于做錚言的勇士，針砭時(shí)弊，用一腔愛國熱血“先天下之憂而憂，后天下之樂而樂”，沿著批判現(xiàn)實(shí)主義道路前行，去推動(dòng)社會(huì)公平，去促進(jìn)國家和時(shí)代的進(jìn)步。這也正是今天，我們懷念杜甫、學(xué)習(xí)杜甫的意義所在。試想，我們的文人、詩人、小說家、散文家只會(huì)歌功頌德，寫些官樣文章，沉湎于個(gè)人的功名利祿，還怎么能促進(jìn)社會(huì)公平進(jìn)步呢？聯(lián)想到我們今天，詩歌已經(jīng)成為可有可無的“盆景藝術(shù)”，小說和散文也缺少振聾發(fā)聵的作品，其原因之一，恐怕不是新聞審查制度扼殺了好作品，更多的是我們的不小一部分“文學(xué)”已經(jīng)不是人民的喉舌和代言，沒有悲天憫人的博大情懷，而是個(gè)人的無病呻吟，或者說是“吃飽了撐的”，“故弄玄虛”，無疑將被大眾所拋棄。
其實(shí)，杜甫在成都的草堂一共待的時(shí)間不過是四年，（三年后，出去當(dāng)幕僚，后來避難流離別處，之后又回來住了一年。）但這里是他最喜歡的地方，他親手栽了許多竹子、桃樹，他曾寫詩向各處求樹秧，曾向蕭實(shí)請求春前送一百棵銀桃，向韋續(xù)索取綿竹縣的綿竹，向何浥要蜀中特有的三年便能成蔭的榿樹。向韋班要過松樹苗。如今這些樹木已經(jīng)成為參天大數(shù)，飛鳥語燕紛紛在此安家落戶，鶯歌燕舞，鳥鳴歡暢，清風(fēng)徐來，樹枝搖曳，別有一番情趣?！凹?xì)雨魚兒出，微風(fēng)燕子斜”（杜甫《水檻譴心之一》），“嫩蕊商量細(xì)細(xì)開”，“自在嬌鶯恰恰啼”，正是杜甫草堂景致的寫照。游人在此流連忘返。據(jù)導(dǎo)游說，每年四月十八日，成都的居民都喜歡到草堂踏青，年年在那天都是晴天，即使在梅雨季節(jié)里，也從來遇不到下雨的天氣。
后來，由于各種原因，杜甫離開了他心愛的草堂，再次流離，就再也沒有回到過這里。他到處投親靠友“打秋風(fēng)”類似乞討度日，公元770年他從秋到冬都漂泊在一條木船上，饑餓和寒冷，風(fēng)濕?。ㄓ址Q風(fēng)痹?。┺D(zhuǎn)劇。他的最后一首詩寫的是他從舟中看到的景物：“故國悲寒望，群云慘歲陰。水鄉(xiāng)霾白屋，楓岸疊青岑。郁郁冬炎瘴，濛濛雨滯淫。鼓迎非祭鬼，彈落似鴞禽?！币廊怀錆M了憂國憂民的悲天憫人情懷。
一代偉大的愛國詩人隕落了。但是杜甫仍然活在中國人民乃至世界人民心中，他是一座偉大的豐碑，永遠(yuǎn)受到后人的景仰。他的不朽的詩篇，永遠(yuǎn)被后人傳誦！他的精神激勵(lì)我們不追求個(gè)人的名與利，與人民同行，與祖國同在，與時(shí)代同進(jìn)。
Visiting Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage
By Wang Yongli
If you visit Chengdu, the best place I can suggest for you visit is Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage. Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage is located in the suburbs of the city near to Huaxi temple. According to the history books of the Tang Dynasty, when the famous poet Du Fu first came to Chengdu, he had to beg a monk to shelter him in the temple. The resident monk named Fukong was kind and helped Du Fu to open up an acre of wasteland nearby. Du Fu's fifty-year old cousin also assisted him in planting some vegetables and trees and in building the thatched cottage. Beside the cottage lived an old wedge tree, which according to legend was more than 200 years old. But in one night, a great autumn rainstorm uprooted the tree and damaged the cottage. Watching the downpour from the broken roof, Du Fu wrote the famous poem "The Song of My Grass Hut Broken by the Autumn Wind". The poem has no superiors, not before and not after.
The Du Fu Thatched Cottage is not very large, having eight or nine rooms. The exterior and interior are very simple. Compared with the Temple of Marquis Wu, which is an adjacent attraction for tourists where they can remember Zhu Geliang, the prime minister of Shu country, Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage is a slum. But the garden of Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage is beautiful, with an agreeable environment. The meanders of a prattling brook are shaded with straggling willows, alder trees and a dense bamboo forest. The poetic and pictorial splendor gave Du Fu much inspiration and helped him to write down many poems that depicted the natural sceneries and won universal praise. Poems such as “Happy Rain on a Spring Night”: "The fine rain knows the fine season so well. It arrives timely at vernal nightfall. While it tiptoes on the trail of the spring breeze, it moistens everything in silence.” Or “A Quatrain”: "Two golden orioles are singing in the green willow; a flock of white egrets are soaring to the blue sky. Through my pane the snow of millennia is seen on West Hill. By my door the ship of myriads of miles from the East Wu moors nigh approaches.” Or "I hate the new pine for it cannot grow as high as 1,000 feet, and the ten thousand ill bamboo should be cut down." ?Or "Each branch of the willow is tender, while the pairs of loquats are so fragrant." And "Clouds mask the early crescent, while tree flowers send forth a delicate fragrance."
Du Fu is the greatest realism poet in the history of Chinese literature. He was born in Henan County in AD 712 and he died in a small wooden boat going from Yueyang to Changsha in AD 770. Du Fu wandered for his whole life. If, according to the standard that people of today use, whereby money and official tiles are used to judge a man’s success, you would say that Du Fu was a very unsuccessful man and a tragic figure. However, who of those rich in money and high in official positions, who lived a life of ease be as admired by later generations as Du Fu? The answer is none! There is no one like Du Fu, none who are loved and read from generation to generation. This is the reason that I visited Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage when I first arrived in Chengdu. I love Du Fu so much, and admire the hardships he faced in life and how he thought more about "How can ten million mansions be built to offer shelter for the people who are suffering from cold, and how can they be made to laugh with happiness from their hearts? How can they become as steady as a mountain to face the rainstorms?” His feelings of concern about the country and the people are so great that all readers should admire him. Besides, he contributed many good poems to Chinese literature and human civilization, becoming a brilliant member of the outstanding heritage of Chinese nation’s culture.
I enter into Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage and it is as if I am in a face-to-face with the great poet's tragedy. Shortly after his birth his mother died and he was brought up in his aunt's house. “He was sick in his little age", and was not a child prodigy. On the contrary, he was a very naughty boy who loved eating the dates and pears on the trees without permission. There are poems as evidence: "recalling the year I was a child at fifteen, I was as healthy as a yellow calf going to and fro. In August, when the dates and pears were ripe in the yard, I was climbing up the tree one thousand times a day." (see Du Fu’s “A hundred Worries”) But he studied hard, and "read more than ten thousand books". At age twenty he began to travel, journeying north and south, visiting his relatives and friends, "tramping" and “dawdling" along the way. At the age of thirty-five he did not receive an official appointment and became frustrated, because in spite of all his talents he was in fact just a poor travelling scholar. He tried to send his name out on cards in the hopes that high officials and noble lords would recommend he receive an appointment, but he failed again and again. Even in the imperial examination he could not achieve success. According to the perception of some people today, Du Fu is nothing but worthless.
But traveling expanded his vision and mind, the motherland’s magnificent rivers and mountains edified his lofty ideals and high aspirations. He wrote a famous poem “When I reach the top of the peak, I can hold all mountains in a single glance.” (Du Fu’s “Look up the Yue Mountain”) Later, Du Fu met the great poet Li Bai. Du Fu admired Li Bai so much. They became friends and were together on the road crossing the Yellow River to Wangwu Mountain to visit Mr. Hua Gai. Unfortunately, when they arrived at there, Mr. Hua Gai was dead. They returned with pity. But halfway home, they met a famous poet, Gao Shi. The three of them became good friends and they enjoyed each other’s company around the state of Song. They called eagles that were chasing a rabbit, and while they drank they complained and vented about the political administration with dissatisfaction. Li Bai was older than Du Fu by about ten years, but Li appreciated his talents. Li called Du little brother and presented Du with a poem: "As the erigeron flies afar, we drink to the bottom of the cup". Du Fu praised Li Bai with a poem in return: "His pen can make the wind and rain astonished, and his poems can make ghosts and gods sob with tears". Their friendship was so deep. After while, Li Bai left the city and said good-bye to Du Fu, but soon after, Du Fu heard the bad news that Li Bai had drowned to death. Du Fu was so filled with sorrow that he dreamt of Li Bai for three days. Du Fu wrote three poems in remembrance. "With the same ghost language, Li Bai presents his poetry to the Miluo River." The poem means that Li Bai can be compared to the great poet Qu Yuan. Later it was confirmed that the bad news was a rumor and Li Bai received the emperor’s forgiveness and pardon. Du Fu was excited to write the poem “Sending Li Bai Twenty Rhymes”. The friendship between the two distinguished poets was so great even today it is a much-told story. Unfortunately, today, many scholars scorn each other. Only a few can love each other. Each writer considers himself better than others. How can such a great friendship exist?
Later on, Du Fu went to the capital city of Changan. He stayed there for ten years, but never got a decent position as an officer. Finally he became a junior staff member in an office, but other officials repeatedly squeezed him out. Later, the rebellions of An Lushan and Shi Siming, as well as the barbarian attacks made society unsteady. Du Fu began the life of an exile again, suffering hunger and cold. He witnessed the social stratum people living in dire straits, and wrote numerous great works of critical realism. Such as "the meats smell inside the Red Gate, but outside, along the road, there are many bodies dead from cold." Later someone recommend for him to see the emperor. The Tang Dynasty emperor Su Zong rewarded Du Fu a higher-ranking official position—rank eight officer. Du Fu could now follow and accompany the emperor. If Du Fu had fawned over the rich and powerful, he would have won the favor of the emperor. But he was just Rip Van Winkle and wrote a memorial to the throne to rescue Mr. Fang Guan who had been dismissed from the position of prime minister. What Du Fu did angered the emperor Su Zong, so Du Fu was tortured and punished with exile. But whilst in exile, and thanks to it, he wrote his best poems: “Three Officials”, “Three Parts From”, “Spring View”, “Sorrow at the End of the River”, “Northern Expedition” and many others full of immortal patriotism and concern for the fate of the psalms.
Du Fu’s official career was a complete failure. Most of his life was spent relying on friends’ donations, as he himself was penniless. But he was concerned about the country and people, and went around campaigning for the country’s future and the people’s weal and woe. His masterpieces have impelled scholars from generation to generation to worry about justice, to say the truth, to criticize the errors of society, and encourage us to contribute the nation with our blood and passion, “worrying earlier than all people, and happing later than all people”. His great poems arouse us, causing us to push the development of the country along the road of real criticism. It is this importance that we learnt from the great poet and remember today. If writers, poets, novelists and essayists don’t know how to write official style articles, only how to eulogize the administration’s virtues and achievements, and only how to enjoy personal profit and official rank, how can they promote social justice and social progress? Today, poetry can become no more than “potted landscape art”. Novels and works of prose are benighted, completely short of being enlightened masterpieces. All these reasons aside, one should not censor or cut off the good works. It is only a small part that is not of the people’s tongues, and do not represent the voices from the people’s heart. Because they are short of the broad feelings that bemoan the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind, because they are totally the personal moanings and groanings of the authors, because they are the rubbish from killing time after eating too much, and because they are “purposely turning simple things into mystical things”, they must be abandoned.?
At the cottage I find that in fact Du fu stayed here for only four years. After three years he went to another province to become a petty officer and then he went to another place to take shelter from the war. Five years later he came back here and stayed for one year. But Du Fu loved it here very much. He planted many peach trees and bamboo. He used to write letters to ask his friends for saplings. He wrote to Shu Shi and asked him to send 100 peach saplings before the spring, to Wei Ban for Mianzhu town bamboos, to He Yi for a wedge tree sapling that was a typical tree of the middle Shu area and could grow a big crown within three years. He also asked Wei Ban for a sapling of pine. Now all the trees are huge against the sky. Many birds and swallows have built nests in the trees, so the twittering sounds are loud. It is very interesting how the leaves and branches rattle in the breeze. Du Fu wrote a poem to describe a similar scene: “Fishes jump out of the surface of the pond in the drizzle, while the swallows fly in the sky in the breeze.” (please see Du Fu “Relieve Boredom on the Water Gate, No.1”) “The tender flowers bloom slowly after their discussion, the leisurely little oriole sings in a clattering voice.” This is the portrait of the cottage. All visitors enjoy the beautiful scenery here so much that they forget they have to go home. According to what the guide said, Chengdu residents prefer to visit Du Fu’s Cottage on the eighteenth of April, for on that day the weather is very fine even though it is the rainy season. On the eighteenth of April it never rains!????
Let us go back to the story of Du Fu. He left the cottage for many reasons and lived a vagrant life again. From then on he never went back to the cottage he loved so much. He had to depend on his friends and relatives for his living means, and to some extent it was like the way of a beggar. From autumn to winter in AD 770, Du Fu lived on a small wooden boat, suffering hunger and cold. As a result, he caught the serious illness rheumatic cardiopathy. His last poem described what he saw from the boat. “My homeland, looking cold and sad, is covered with a group of thick black clouds. The white haze blocks the water world, while the maple trees on the banks look dark green. The gas of the winter miasma is gloomily thick, and the cold rain and drizzle are constantly pouring down. Some drumbeats are not to hold a memorial ceremony for ghosts, while some storks drop down for the slingshot.” The poem is full of concerns about the country and the people, and full of feelings bemoaning the state of the universe, pitying the fate of mankind.
A great patriotic poet had died as though a star had fallen from sky. But Du Fu still lives on in the hearts of the people of China and the world. His illustrious deeds and poems are an everlasting monument, respected and recited by his succeeding generations. His spirit always encourages us not to seek personal fame and profit, but to go forward with people, forward with the nation, forward with time!
