張岱何許人也？如果不是讀了四川文藝出版社1996年出版的張岱的《夜航船》附《陶庵夢憶》《西湖夢尋》，我對他也比較陌生。讀了這本書這后，不僅對這位偉大的愛國作家有了深刻了解，而且還像著迷似地喜歡上他的小品散文。其特點概括說來，以文報國，雋永清新。
張岱（1597—1679），字宗子，一字石公，別號陶庵，又號蝶庵居士，山陰（今浙江紹興）人。是明代末期杰出的小品散文家。而學(xué)者黃裳稱張岱為“是一位歷史學(xué)家，市井詩人，又是一位絕代散文家。”我同意黃裳的前兩個評價。張岱一生著作甚豐，據(jù)他的《自為墓志銘》所述，他“有《石匱書》、《張氏家譜》、《義烈傳》、《瑯huan文集》（注：那個字打不出來，是個女字旁+擐字的右半邊：意思是皇帝藏書的地方）、《明易》、《大易用》、《史闕》、《四書遇》、《夢憶》、《說鈴》、《昌谷解》、《快園道古》、《傒囊十集》、《西湖夢尋》、《一卷冰雪文》行世。 ”此外，還有《有明越三不朽名賢圖贊》、《琯朗乞巧錄》數(shù)種，以及《夜航船》。我認為他的書大部分是在研究歷史，而詩作精品不多。他的散文稱不上“絕代”，但是他的小品散文非常杰出，成為明清小品散文的佼佼者。最著名的傳世作品當屬《陶庵夢憶》。
什么是小品？據(jù)學(xué)者冉云飛的研究，小品的概念最初來源于佛經(jīng)的略本，它起始于晉代，《釋氏辯空》中說：“詳者為大品，略者為小品?！泵魍砥诔霈F(xiàn)了一批以寫抒情為主的小品散文作家，張岱就是其中“領(lǐng)袖群倫的一位。”（引子冉云飛《挽救江湖·代序言》）
為什么張岱的小品散文集《陶庵夢憶》最有影響？這不僅由于此書收集了他許多小品名篇，還由于他寫這部書的背景十分令人嘆息。張岱在序言中說：“年至五十，國破家亡”，他便“披發(fā)入山”成為一個野人。避跡山居后，“所存者破床碎幾，折鼎病琴，與殘書數(shù)帙，缺硯一方而已，布衣蔬食，常至斷炊?！倍笥烟酵娝绱司秤鲶@愕得已經(jīng)認不出他了，“如毒藥猛獸，愕室不敢與接”。張岱因生活困頓，前途無望，“作詩自挽，每欲自決”。但是，因《石匱書》一書未成，不得不茍延殘喘。（可惜的是他的那本《石匱書》寫成后，幾經(jīng)散失，沒能流傳于世。）他堅持寫作，“雞鳴枕上，夜氣方回，因想余生平，繁華靡麗，過眼皆空，五十年來，總成一夢?！薄斑b思往事，憶記書之”，“偶拈一則，如游舊徑，如見故人” 為的是能讓世人記住明朝的往事，因此他像著了魔一樣，樂此不疲，“堅固如佛家舍利，劫火猛烈，猶燒之不失也?！保ㄒ娝拇ㄎ乃嚦霭嫔?996年版《夜航船》第423頁）張岱這種拳拳的愛國之情，深深打動每一位讀者的心。
《陶庵夢憶》一共八卷，卷一收錄了《鐘山》、《報恩塔》等15篇小品散文。卷二收錄了《孔廟檜》、《孔林》、《燕子磯》等15篇小品散文。卷三收錄了《湖心亭看雪》、《白洋湖》等16篇小品散文。卷四收錄了《秦淮河房》、《兗州閱武》等15篇小品散文。卷五收錄了《于園》、《虎丘中秋夜》、《揚州瘦馬》等16篇小品散文。卷六收錄了《紹興燈景》、《煙雨樓》等16篇小品散文。卷七收錄了《西湖七月半》、《閨中秋》、《過劍門》等17篇小品散文。卷八收錄了《龍山放燈》、《樓船》等13篇小品散文?？梢赃@本書說集中了張岱小品散文的精華。
首先，給我的感受是張岱的所有小品散文作品充滿著愛國主義的情懷，他不僅個人不食“清”粟，而且在極端困頓、饑餓頹唐的情況下寫了大量的懷念明朝的一草一木的作品，以文報國。如寫《鐘山》，除了寫鐘山的巍峨蒼郁，王氣、龍銳藏焉，更主要寫它是高皇帝等歷代君王的陵寢，如今被傷氣脈。因此，“孝陵玉石二百八十二年，今歲清明，乃遂不得一盂麥飯，思之猿咽。（同上書第426頁）他寫《報恩塔》“中國之大古董，永樂之大窯器、則報恩塔是也，報恩塔成于永樂初年，非成祖開國之精神、開國之物力、開國之功令、其膽智才略足以吞吐此塔者，不能成焉?！彼洈⒌溃骸坝罉窌r，海外夷蠻重譯者百有余國，見報恩塔必須頂禮贊嘆而去，謂四大部洲所無也?！睉浳锼脊蕠瓐髧?，通過對過去繁華生活的片斷記錄，反映了他對國破家亡的感慨，流露著追懷故國、熱愛鄉(xiāng)土的愛國思想，這些是洋溢在他小品散文中的最主要思想特色。
其次，我認為雋永清新、短小精悍是張岱小品散文的又一大藝術(shù)特色。如《湖心亭看雪》“崇禎五年十二月，余住西湖。大雪三日，湖中人鳥聲俱絕。是日更定矣，余拿一小舟，擁毳衣爐火，獨往湖心亭?？囱╈F凇沅碭，天與云與山與水上下一白。湖上影子惟長堤一痕，湖心亭一點，與余舟一芥，園中人兩三粒而已。到亭上，有兩人鋪氈對坐，一童子燒酒，爐正沸。見余大驚喜，曰：‘湖中焉得更有此人’！拉余同飲。余強飲三大白而別。問其姓氏，是金陵人，客此。及下船，舟子喃喃曰：‘莫說相公癡，更有癡似相公者’?！保ㄒ娡蠒?45頁）文章寥寥百余字，卻別具一格地描繪出大雪無痕，天水一色，亭、堤、人、舟渺小如粒的俯瞰景致，而舟子評論癡情戀雪景的人竟然還有同類，更是點睛之筆。文章雋永清新，讀之如品甘茗。
再其次，觀察細膩，描寫自然，記敘人事，情態(tài)可掬，描摹盡致。如他的名篇《西湖七月半》“西湖七月半，一無可看，止可看看七月半之人?？雌咴掳胫?，以五類看之：其一樓船簫鼓，峨冠盛宴，燈火優(yōu)傒，聲光相亂，名為看月而不看月者，看之；其一亦船亦樓，名姓閨秀，攜及童孌，笑啼雜之，張坐露臺，左右盼望，身在月下而實不看月者，看之；其一亦船亦聲歌，名妓閑僧，淺斟低唱，弱管輕絲，竹肉相發(fā)，亦在月下，亦看月而欲看人看其看月者，看之。其一不舟不車，衣衫不幘，酒醉飯飽，呼群三五，躋入人叢，昭慶斷橋，鴞呼嘈雜，裝假醉，唱無腔曲，月亦看，看月者亦看，不看月者亦看，而實無一看者，看之；其一小船輕幌，凈幾暖爐，茶鐺旋煮，縈瓷靜遞，好友佳人，邀月同坐，或匿影樹下，或逃囂里湖，看月而不見月之態(tài)，亦不作意看月者，看之。杭人游湖，巳出酉歸，避月如仇。是夕好名，逐隊爭出，多犒門軍酒錢，轎夫擎燎，列俟岸上。一入舟，速舟子急放斷橋，趕入勝會。以故二鼓以前，人聲鼓吹，如沸如撼，如魘如囈，如聾如啞，大船小船一齊湊岸，一無所見，止見篙擊篙，舟擊舟，面看面而已。。。。。。?！保ㄒ娡蠒?70頁）在張岱的描寫下，西湖賞月的人群，各類各色，躍然紙上，自然而生動。
再再其次，題材廣泛，凡名勝風(fēng)景，世俗風(fēng)情，戲曲技藝，古董玩具等等，無所不記，而且語言清新活潑，體裁如散文詩，讓人讀了難以忘懷，并擊節(jié)稱快！如《白洋湖》寫他觀錢塘海潮：“立塘上，見潮頭一線，從海寧而來，直奔塘上。稍近，則隱隱露白，如驅(qū)千百群小鵝，擘翼驚飛。漸近噴沫，冰花蹴起，如百萬雪獅蔽江而下，怒雷鞭之，萬首鏃鏃，無敢后先。再近，則颶風(fēng)逼之，勢欲拍岸而上?？凑弑僖?，走避塘下。潮到塘，盡力一礴，水擊射，濺起數(shù)丈，著面皆濕。旋卷而右，龜山一擋，轟怒非常，炮碎龍湫，半空雪舞?？粗@眩，坐半日，顏始定?！保ㄒ娡蠒?41頁）那形象的比喻“千百群小鵝”、“百萬雪獅”被怒雷鞭趕，咆哮爭先的潮頭場面，讓人如臨其境，感受到震撼，讀之怎能忘懷？讀之怎能不擊節(jié)叫好？！
總之，這是一本值得一讀的好書，幾乎篇篇珠璣，讓人陶醉。朋友，如果你有興趣，一定要買上一本，靜靜細讀，肯定受益匪淺。
Severing the Nation with Meaningful and Fresh Words—Appreciation of Zhang Dai’s Essay
By Wang Yongli
Zhang Dai: who is he? If I had not read Shipping in the Night, The Memory in Tao Cottage and Dreaming In the West Lake published by Sichuan Literature Press, 1996 edition, I would have been unfamiliar with Zhang Dai. After reading the books, not only do I have a deep understanding of the great patriotic writers, but also I obsessively love his works of prose. To summarize his characteristics in general, I would say they sever the nation with meaningful and fresh words.
Zhang Dai (1597 - 1679), word name Zongzi, or Shigong, nickname Taoan, or Diean Lay Buddhist, was born in Sanin (now Shaoxing city of Zhejiang province). He was the outstanding essayist at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The scholar Huang Shang called Zhang Dai "a historian, a poet, and a peerless essayist." I agree with the evaluations. Zhang Dai's works are very abundant, according to his "Myself Epitaph", he wrote many books: Stone Epigraph, Zhang Family Genealogy, Hero Biographies, Lang Huan Selection, Ming Changes, Big Change Usage, History Addendum, The Four Books in History, The Dream, Telling the Bell, The Explanation of Chang Valley, The Happy Garden, Ancient Path, The Ten Episodes of Xinang, The West Lake Dream, One Volume of Ice and Snow Text and many others. In addition, he wrote The Psalm on the Portraiture of Three Immortal Heroes of Yue in the Ming Dynasty, The Inventions of Guan Long and, Shipping in the Night. I think most of his books are about the study of history, and his poems are rare pieces of perfection. His prose works can be considered peerless, especially his sketch essays, which are outstanding. He became a leader of prose creation in Ming and Qing Dynasties with his most famous work being The Memory in Tao Cottage.
What is the “sketch”? According to the research scholar Ran Yunfei, “sketch” is a concept that originated from Buddhist concise editions of the Jin Dynasty. Sakyamumt Argument of Emptiness said: "the detailed scriptures are called products, while more concise ones a sketch." In the late Ming Dynasty there appeared a batch of lyrical prose and sketch essay writers; Zhang Dai was the best, one of the "leaders." (Ran Yunfei "preface—save the rivers and lakes” The Memory in Tao Cottage)
Why among Zhang Dai's works is The Memory in Tao Cottage sketch essay collection the most influential? Because it is a collection of his sketch essay masterpieces, but also because the background circumstances around the time he wrote this book are very regrettable. Zhang Dai said in the preface: "When I was fifty years old, my county became death", he lived in seclusion and "became a savage with long hair in the mountain to avoid the trail.” What he had were no more than a broken desk and a bed, a damaged tripod, a broken zither, and a broken inkstone. He dressed in coarse cloth and ate simple food, but often had nothing to eat. When a friend visited him, the friend did not recognize him for the friend was so astonished to see him in such a situation. "As if he had seen a beast, so that he could not communicate with me." Zhang Dai due to a life of hardship and hopelessness penned, “Writing an elegy to lament my death, many times I decided to committee suicide". However, because the Stone Epigraph was not finished, he had to linger on in a steadily worsening condition. It is a pity that although in later years he finished his Stone Epigraph, the book became lost after several disasters and could not be circulated to the world. But he insisted on writing, "The cock is crowing and awakens me from the pillow; the night airs are still hovering. Considering my whole life, I find that prosperity and extravagance, just like a mist becomes empty. My fifty years is no more than a dream." "Thinking the remote past things, I record my memories." "Sometimes I write down a piece of an article, as if I have been visiting the old path, as if I have met the old friends." In order to let the world remember things of the Ming Dynasty, he was possessed by it, and always enjoyed it. "As strong as the Buddhist relics, even if the fire is still burning fiercely, my will cannot be burnt down." (Shipping in the Night, Sichuan literature and Art Publishing House, 1996 edition, page 423.) Zhang Dai’s sincere patriotic feeling deeply moved every reader’s heart.
The Memory in Tao Cottage in total has eight volumes, each containing thirteen to seventeen essays. Volume one includes "Zijin Mountain" and "The Tower". Volume two contains "Confucian Temple", "The Cypress", and “Yanziji”. Volume three includes "Seeing Snow in the Mid-lake Pavilion" and "Baiyang Lake". Volume four includes "The Qinhuai River House" and, "Reviewing the Troops in Yanzhou". Volume five includes "The Yu Garden", "Huqiu’s Mid-Autumn Night”, and “Yangzhou Jade”. Volume six includes "Shaoxing Lamps Scenery" and "Misty Rain Building". Volume seven includes "West Lake On July Fifteen", "Autumn In the Boudoir" and, “Passing the Jianmen”. Volume eight includes "Discharge Lamps on the Dragon Mountain" and, "The Decorated Ship". It can be said that this book concentrates soley on the essence of the sketch essays of Zhang Dai.
First of all, I feel that all the essays of Zhang Dai's works are full of patriotic feelings. He not only did not eat Qing millet during his extreme hardship and hunger, he wrote a lot of articles to remember every tree and grass of the Ming Dynasty. So he severed the nation with words. For example "Zijin Mountain". Besides writing about Zijin Mountain’s towering verdant slopes, the king’s gas, the dragon’s ambition, he also wrote that Qing soldiers damaged the tombs of the Ming emperors. Therefore, "The tomb jades remained for two hundred and eighty-two years, but in the day of Pure Brightness of this year, no articles of tribute could be found. When I think about this, I weep so sadly.” (The same book page 426.) For another example he wrote "Thanksgiving Tower" as follows: "In China, a large antique and miracle, is the Thanksgiving Tower, which was built in the early years of Yongle. Only the emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty could have had the material, edict, ability, wisdom and founding spirit to imagine the tower." He narrated: "During the time of Yongle, overseas and foreign visitors from a hundred countries paid their respects and bowed their heads to the tower in praise, and they said that there is a no more magnificent tower in the four continents." Thinking of his homeland, with sincere patriotic feelings, he recorded fragments about the prosperous lives of the past, to reflect his sighs for the now-broken nation and the death of families. These formed the main features of thought in his sketch essays.
Secondly, I think a great artistic characteristic of Zhang Dai’s sketch essays is their meaningfulness and freshness. For example "Seeing Snow in the Mid-lake Pavilion". "In December of Chongzhen, for five years I lived at West Lake. It had been snowing for three days. At the lake there was no sign of man nor bird. On the day the snow stopped, carrying a raincoat and a small stove, I took a boat, rowing alone to the pavilion in the center of the lake. With the scene of snow and rime, I found the sky, the clouds, the mountains and the water were all also in the colour of white. But there were three differently coloured objects in the lake. One was the Su Dam, one was the pavilion and the last one was my boat. In the garden there were only two or three visitors. Reaching the pavilion, there were two people sitting face to face on a felt rug. A boy servant was heating wine and the fire in the stove was flaming. When they saw me, with big surprise they said: ‘At the lake how can we not have one more person?' They pulled me over to drink with them. I had to drink three cups of wine before bidding farewell. I asked their names, they told me they were from Jinling, and sailed here. And then I was on the boat again, but the boatman was mumbling: 'Don’t say you are crazy, there are some people more crazy than you!'." (The same book page 445.) This article is fewer than hundred words, but with a style of its own, it depicts the overlooking scenery, traceless snow, the sky and water of the same colour. The pavilion, the dike, the people, as well as the boat are as small as grains. The boatman’s comment that there are crazy people, who also love the snowy scenery, is the punch line. The essay is meaningful and fresh, reading it I feel as if I am drinking down a cup of sweet tea.
Thirdly, he observes objects very exquisitely and vividly describes nature, things and people, enough so the settings and figures seem ready to come out at one’s call. For example his famous essay "West Lake On July Fifteen" is more interesting. “At West Lake in the middle of July there seems nothing worth looking at. But on July fifteenth you can at least see the people. On July fifteen there are five kinds of people worth taking a look at. The first kind of people are men who do not look at the decorated ships with music, do not look at the lofty crown feast, do not look at the colourful lamps competition, do not look at the acousto-optic chaos, they come to see the moon but do not look at the bright moon. The second group are girls and ladies on the huge decorated ship or on buildings, carrying children’s or holding their hands, laughing and crying, standing on the terraces looking around saying there are there to see moon but never looking at the moon. The third kind of people are courtesans and idle monks who are on the ship singing songs, sipping wine slowly, humming a tune, blowing a flute, bathing in the moon, but never looking at the moon. The fourth kind are people who are not on a boat, are sloppily dressed, drunk and in a group of three or five. They descend into the crowd, shouting from the bridge, like noisy owls. Or they are pretending to be drunk, singing a tune with no melody, there to see the moon but in fact not really looking at the moon. The fifth are people who are lightly rowing some boats, clean boats with a stove. When the water is boiled, someone makes tea with the hot water and passes the fine porcelain cups to friends and beautiful ladies, inviting the ladies to sit with them, perhaps under a tree, to escape the noises from the center of West Lake, again to see the moon, again not actually looking at the moon. Hangzhou people visit the lake, beginning at 7-8 pm, returning home at 11-12 pm. Escaping the moon is like avoiding an enemy. In the evening many people pursuing fame, vie against each other going home, giving many tips to the door boys and attendants in the pubs, under the torches, which the sedan carriers are holding on the banks. They take boats towards the broken bridge, joining in a climactic party. Before 12 pm, voices advocate like boiling water, like soliloquies, like the deaf or dumb, large and small boats are tied up along the bank. You can see nothing, but punting poles, boats and dash boats, gazing at each other in speechlessness" (The same book, page 470.) In Zhang Dai's description, all the people who appreciate the West Lake moon, and all kinds of colours are vividly revealed on the paper, impressing the readers with natural and vivid detail.
Fourthly, he wrote about a wide range of subjects. All the scenery, customs, traditional opera, arts, and antique toys, he liked to record. With a fresh and lively style of language, like prose poetry, he never let readers forget, and received claps of applause. For example in "Baiyang Lake" he wrote his view of Qian Tang River: "Standing on the bank to see the tide line, I see it comes from Haining, and goes straight to the Qiantang River. As it approaches, it looks a pale white, as if the tide is driving thousands of groups of goslings to fly among the waves. As more approach, foams spray, like ice flowers, or as if millions of snow lions are shielding the river, under whips of thunder’s, one hundred thousand arrowheads rushing forward, vying against each other to dash the bank. More approaching, the hurricane propels the tide, seeming to break the shore. Onlookers feel astonished and try to avoid it. The sea tide in the river uses all its powers to hit the bank. Water splashes several metres away and all faces are wet. The tide turns to the right, but Turtle Hill blocks it. The tide seems broken and angry, foam falls like snow, the sound horrible, like ten thousand gunshots. All the viewers are surprised, dizzy, they sit there for half a day before their faces return to their normal colour." (The same book page 441.) The metaphor " thousands of groups of goslings," and "a million snow lions" driven with whips by the raging thunder and the roaring tide is so vividly portrayed that the readers feel as if they are participating, feeling the shock. It is unforgettable reading, thus how can one not applaud?
In short, this is a good book worth reading. It can make readers intoxicated. Friends, if you are interested in it, you must buy a copy, and quietly read it. I am sure that you will benefit from it。
