雪梅大觀 百年難遇

3月11日，周末春暖，冷不防天氣“亂套”夜飛雪，一宿醒來的杭州市民突然發現全城銀裝，乾坤皆白。恰逢梅花盛開，這種三月瑞雪覆梅花的“雙巧”機緣幾十年難遇。杭州氣象臺的資料顯示，自1951年以來的半個多世紀里，3月大雪僅5次，而且與一般春雪易融迥異，這場大雪乃是“燥雪”，積雪數寸厚，全然不濕鞋。專家稱，到了這個季節，盛開梅花逢燥雪，實在是百年難見。

踏雪賞梅去！與杭州千百個家庭一樣，我們也舉家趕往靈峰。

杭州原有三大賞梅勝地：孤山、西溪、靈峰。孤山梅自唐宋以來，就因與白居易、林和靖結緣而聞名遐邇。白居易看到“孤山園里麗如妝”、“曾為梅花醉幾場”；林逋“梅妻鶴子”傳佳話，“疏影”、“暗香”天下揚。因此，孤山曾與余杭超山、蘇州鄧尉一起并稱為我國三大賞梅勝地。可是，近幾年來孤山梅花已日漸式微，西溪賞梅也一度衰落，不過目前正在恢復之中，可望明年重新開放。唯有靈峰延續清道光、宣統年間兩次植梅的傳統，經過多年苦心營造，1988年正式開放賞梅游覽，而且花事日盛。目前，在150多畝的坡地上，45個品種、5000多株梅花樹高花繁，氣象萬千，成為全國屈指可數的賞梅勝地之一。

本以為自己捷足先登，不料早已慕客如云。數千株梅樹凌寒傲雪，千萬朵梅花披鵝毛、覆鶴毳，丹霞凝脂，朱容玉貌，紅白映襯，更顯得幽雅柔美，千嬌百媚。開花最早的長蕊宮粉，雄蕊外泄，濃香馥郁，如一群群紅衣少女紛披婚妙；樹冠扁圓形的多萼朱砂，大枝斜出，樹勢高昂，以最為繁密的玫瑰色花朵奪人目光；枝條自然扭曲的龍游梅虬枝橫斜，造型奇特，倒卵形的花蕾散發出撲鼻芳香；至今仍然禁止出口的“金錢大綠萼”，以60至80瓣的花朵傲立群芳，活像在自豪地宣告：我才是最珍貴的梅花！而靈峰最多的細枝朱砂，則以“當家人”的姿態，接受摩肩接踵的紅男綠女的禮贊。千百個家庭與親朋好友在花前留影，數十名攝影師舉著“長槍短炮”獵取鏡頭，十多名畫家和美術愛好者在激情寫生，數不清的佳偶游侶、孺子童女堆雪人、滾雪球、打雪仗，歡聲笑語不絕于耳，展現出一幅幅安樂和諧的畫圖。

杭州植物園工程師、梅花專家胡中告訴我，靈峰衍生著大片毛竹林，又有茂密的摩天松林，給南坡的梅園提供了得天獨厚的生態環境。“歲寒三友”相聚，野趣盎然，在中國的賞梅勝地獨樹一幟。由此，我更覺得在這芳澤滿園、容華絕世的時刻，在一個全國無可匹敵的生態佳地賞梅，是何等榮幸。

南宋愛國將領張浚之孫張 ，作為當時杭州的畫梅、賞梅圣手，曾在他的著作《梅品》一書中提出賞梅的58條標準。我非行家，看不出什么“門道”，但能游目暢懷看“熱鬧”，陶醉于如此良辰美景，也不失為人生一大快事。

Plum Blossoms in Snow

Story and Photographs by Fu Tongxian

It snowed unexpectedly in Hangzhou on the night of March 11 this year. To the great surprise and delight of local residents， the whole city was overnight wrapped up in a dry thick snow. The silver snow coincided with the blooming plum blossoms. According to the Hangzhou Weather Bureau， it had snowed in March only five times since 1951. Local people flocked to the Soul Peak to admire plum blossoms in snow.

In ancient times， Hangzhou had three major resorts of plum blossoms: the Solitary Hill in the West Lake， the West Brook in the western suburb， and the Soul Peak. Though the first two resorts were more famous in the history， they are no longer popular for plum blossoms. The Soul Peak has become the best vantage place for viewing plum blossoms in Hangzhou. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， two major efforts were made to plant plum blossom trees around the Soul Peak. In 1988， the garden was first open to tourists. At present there are more than 5，000 plum blossom trees of 45 species ensconced away in the quiet hills. In fact， the Soul Peak is now one of the best places to enjoy plum blossoms across the country.

The Soul Peak is also home to large plots of bamboos and pines. In the Chinese culture， the bamboo， the pine， and the plum blossom are regarded as hree Companions of Winter? They symbolize a spirit of showing one’s true color while enduring hardship and tribulation of life. In this physical and spiritual sense， the Soul Peak is actually quite unique in the country.

An ancient scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) once came up with 58 norms for appreciating plum blossoms in a book. But most tourists at the Soul Peak that day probably had never heard of such norms. Nor did they care for such sophisticated standards. Families and friends posed in front of plum blossoms to take photos as mementoes. Dozens of professional photographers sought best angles. Kids built snowmen and flung small snowballs at each other happily. Artists sketched. Lovers laughed. The sound of rejoicing lingered on.