POETS, COURTESANS, AND MONKS 詩人、名妓、高僧 | Chapter 11
2017年12月19日, 星期二

verve

The people had the gaiety of the south, with its songs and its women, and they loved this young famous poet just as poet, with all his dash and verve and insouciance.

verve 這個詞，在柯林斯中特別指出它是書面語[WRITTEN 筆語]，牛津四的英文解釋為 “enthusiasm, spirit or vigour, esp in artistic or literary work”， 意在描述對文學(xué)藝術(shù)的熱忱。用于形容蘇東坡，尤其是杭州人們眼里的詩人蘇東坡，這個詞在這里用得很漂亮。

the common people

During his term of office as an assistant magistrate he was not able to do much for the people, but for them it was enough that he was poet; when he was arrested, the common people of the city set up altars in the streets to pray for his release.

the common people 在維基百科中有多個義項： “The common people, also known as the common man, commoners, or the masses, are the ordinary people in a community or nation who lack any significant social status”。 或者說，關(guān)于“平民”，可以有多個角度的界定，但區(qū)別主要不在字面上而在社會歷史的流變當(dāng)中，wikipedia解釋其為 “members of neither royalty, nobility, the clergy, nor any member of the aristocracy”， 并闡釋了實際上， “since the 20th century the term common people has been used in a more general sense to refer to typical members of society in contrast to the highly privileged”， 指出20世紀(jì)以來，“普通人”這個詞已經(jīng)被用在更一般的意義上，與在財富和影響力等方面享有特權(quán)的人對應(yīng)，普通人是社會最典型而普遍的一員。

brook

Starting from West Lake, the traveler could go in all directions, either following the north bank to the famous Lingyin Temple and reaching the top of Tienchu, or starting from the south bank, he could go to Keh-ling, stop over at Hupao, famous for its spring water, have his tea there, and return by following a beautiful winding mountain brook.

brook 作為動詞時，與否定詞連用表示不容忍。在這里brook是名詞，小溪小河的意思：A brook is a small stream. 同樣解釋為小溪小河，有三個詞：

• stream a small narrow river
  如： a cool mountain stream

• brook [literary] a small stream
  如： There was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks.

• creek a narrow area of sea that goes into the land, or a small river
  如： The River Fal with its many creeks was a perfect place for smugglers.

本章讀來最讓人賞心悅目之處便是關(guān)于杭州城的細(xì)細(xì)刻畫。跟著作者的筆觸一步一步踏入山水好景，一點一點涉足城市的風(fēng)情人文，和美食。

The residences of the magistrates were situated on top of the Phoenix Hill, enjoying a full view of the Chientang River with its great fleet of seafaring ships on the south, and the West Lake, surrounded by cloud-capped mountains, dotted with temples and rich men's villas, on the north, while the waves of the bay lashed its shores on its east.

Immediately below the Phoenix Hill, and lying on a strip running north and south between West Lake and the Chientang Bay, was the city itself with its high walls, its bridges and canals.

融入了蘇東坡個人情致的這地方，更是華美如詩如畫。

His mind was inspired by the beauty of the place, and his heart was soothed by its pliant charm. Hangchow won his heart and he won the hearts of the people of Hangchow.

After he left, the soft beauty and warmth of the south continued to haunt him in his dreams.

家鄉(xiāng)城市的少兒圖書館掛著標(biāo)語寫“為讀者找好書，為好書找讀者”，而讀到杭州城與蘇東坡的遺愛難忘，也有這種與文化熏染下相得益彰之感：

It is not an easy thing for a town to find its poet, who can discover the living, changing, complex individuality of the locality and in a verse of four lines compress and express the essence, the spirit, and the beauty of the region.

西湖在過去一千年來，一直是名士美人流連之所，重重疊疊的回憶太多了。
——張愛玲

杭州三面云山一面城，從前有“天目山垂兩乳長，龍飛鳳舞到錢塘”之語，說的是山脈起源于天目，雄健有雙峰插云；奇特有飛來峰；險峻如瑯襠嶺；開曠又如玉皇江湖飛云。畢竟江南秀山麗水，與北國大相徑庭，雅致精巧多秀麗，且崇山深谷，回腸百寸，維繞不絕，明暗陰影紛幻多端，是為幽深。
山又兼有四時之色：春淡，冶，如笑；夏蒼翠，如滴；秋明凈，如妝；冬慘淡，如睡。
——王旭烽

不論是“記取西湖西畔，正暮山好處，空翠煙霏”，還是“爐煙一窗，瓶花一床，更添十里湖光，對南屏晚妝”，都增添了濃厚的詩情畫意。文人墨客在杭州，肩負(fù)厚重而曼妙的文化傳承，歲歲年年重重疊疊的是自然體悟和共鳴。

小說里的杭州是這樣的：

此時恰為金風(fēng)送爽之晨，梧葉新黃，柿葉初紅，松柏舊綠，烏柏乍紫。馬車向前奔去，群山撲面而來，玉樹臨風(fēng)，丁丁當(dāng)當(dāng)，如仙人佩法鳴響。南山一帶，秋思惹人；瞅瞅鳥鳴，颯颯林濤，有聲有色，一派大喜悅。天醉久不出城，心里陰郁結(jié)氣一吐為快，頓時消化在這山光水色之中，心兒便如鼓滿了風(fēng)的船帆，漲得胸口隱隱發(fā)疼。西湖明鏡一片已閃逝而過，馬車進(jìn)了山拗，有雜樹參天：楓、桂、栗、樟和皂莢；又有無名樹細(xì)高多曲折，色澤光怪陸離。偶爾幾株銀杏，錯落山中，一身明亮，今天醉耳目一新。又見那陽光劈山射來，齊齊斬印了山樹，照亮的樹冠晶瑩透徹，光明歡樂，笑語歡歌，幽暗的下方樹干則藏入山谷，斂而不發(fā)，默聽繞膝泉水幽咽。
天醉看了感動，眼淚就流了出來，叫寄客看了納悶，問：“怎么啦，不舒服嗎？”
天醉便咽著嗓子，使勁兒地?fù)u頭。他認(rèn)為寄客是不能理解他的，他是不可能有這種感動的。

爐煙一窗 瓶花一床 更添十里湖光

以上。