拉薩：文化人的圣城

拉薩，是藏民心目中的圣城。圍著拉薩舊城圈繞的是大轉經道；圍著布達拉宮繞的是中轉經道；圍著大昭寺繞的是小轉經道。轉經，是藏民必修的功課，因而轉經的道場理所當然被視為圣地。拉薩是朝圣者建起來的，最初是作為宗教活動中心而發展起來的。今天的拉薩除了是藏民的圣城，同時也是中國各地文化人的圣城。

大概是在上世紀80年代初吧，來自各地的文化人忽然一窩蜂地擁向西藏，擁向圣城。這靈感之始也不知是源于誰，總之，一時間大家都對這塊高土傾注了前所未有的熱情與激情，紛紛向它擁來。這些文化人中包括作家、詩人、學者、科學家、畫家、攝影家、音樂人、影視人等等，其中又以畫家與攝影家占大多數。這些文化人到圣城來雖不為禮佛，不為修來世，卻也都懷有類似朝圣般的情緒：他們想要了解、詮釋甚至破譯圣城，更希望能被圣城所接納(以期能夠融入拉薩的人文環境)，于是他們便到拉薩尋訪、聆聽、發現，然后從各方各面去表達他們的感悟與感情。于是他們的作品充滿驚嘆與激賞，場面浩大而悲壯……這種一元化主題的藝術風，也瞬間席卷馬來西亞。因這潮流而走紅的作家、文化人、藝術家不計其數，如作家扎西達娃、攝影家呂玲瓏、畫家陳丹青、作曲家何訓田等等都是其中的佼佼者，非常具有代表性。他們中除了扎西達娃都是外來的“藝術朝圣者”。然而，不管在什么領域，大凡有利可圖必然會出現一些投機分子，他們假借藝術之名，把所謂的人文關懷、精神境界功利化和商業化，要知道這塊高土從來就是與功利絕緣的，于是有批評者很不客氣地指出：這類所謂的藝術根本就是媚俗商品，扭曲了西藏。如今20多年過去了，當年那股走向西藏、走向圣城的熱潮到底是降溫了。但以“圣城拉薩”作為創作主題仍然歷久不衰，拉薩依然是文化人的圣城。

在中國文壇上，魔幻現實主義曾有過一段很蓬勃的日子。莫言、殘雪、格非、馬原、余華等“先鋒派”作家的小說都曾很魔幻。就連賈平凹的《廢都》也有很明顯的魔幻痕跡，不過真正得天獨厚的應該是扎西達娃。他是藏族，生長在拉薩，這是他的優勢，也可以說是一種天然契合。拉丁美洲魔幻現實主義文學流派的形成與開創，其神奇的地理環境、紛繁復雜的歷史、濃厚的宗教情懷以及有著豐富內涵的神話傳說，都是極重要的因素。對于西藏，扎西達娃完全具備了上述的所有條件。所以，當扎西達娃揮動起他那管魔幻之筆，就比其他漢族作家來得輕便。在魔幻形態籠罩之下，他的小說所呈現出來的詭秘西藏，除了現實與虛幻交錯，生與死和宗教相融合之外，更多的是對本民族的宿命觀念，文化心理，沉重而衰老的歷史的思考……

扎西達娃雖在偏遠的異域，但在中國文壇上卻不是個生僻的名字。代表作《西藏，系在皮繩上的魂》獲1985—1986全國優秀短篇小說獎，他的其他作品亦多次獲獎；他在法國、日本、臺灣地區出版小說集，另外還有部分作品被譯為英、法、德、日、西班牙等文字。

那個下午，扎西達娃坐在我面前，杯里的香片飄著茉莉花的幽香。他微笑著，用低緩的聲音對我說：“我沒寫小說很久了?！蔽医蛔°等?，許久才問：“為什么?”他說現時階段不是寫小說的時候。我沉默了一會，然后想，也許吧，他的“不是時候”，是個尋找突破口的問題。即使西藏有再多的詭秘和靈異，再迷離的境界，也不可能永永遠遠一直魔幻下去的吧。文學形式不純粹是形式，它應該還有其他的，比如借鑒、學習甚至是超越——從事藝術創作，始終認為自覺與自省比才華橫溢更重要，更能讓人敬重。

回到賓館，我到柜臺取鑰匙。柜臺小姐笑吟吟地問：剛才來接您的人是扎西達娃吧?我說是呀，你認識他?她說不是認識而是認得，常在電視上見到的嘛，他是我們拉薩的名人。

這是個媒體資訊時代，西藏也不能例外。今天的扎西達娃已成了影視人。關于這方面，我沒問他過程。他告訴我他的近況：正在拍攝一輯片子，內容是描述當年英軍入侵西藏，江孜軍民奮起反抗，最后寧死不屈，從宗山上跳崖殉國。今年剛好一百年，這片子是為紀念英勇的軍民抵抗外強的那段歷史而攝制的。他說罷笑了笑，然后帶點自嘲意味地又加了句：“很官方的?！?/p>

聽在耳里，不知怎的我竟有種莫名的惆悵。

傍晚扎西達娃與一位年輕的女孩一道來接我們出去晚餐。他這樣介紹她：拉薩的外來者，老家在廈門。來西藏是為尋找寫小說的靈感。一呆三年，還沒有要走的意思哪。

廈門女孩長得很清秀，皮膚白皙細膩，令人難以相信已在西藏呆了漫長的三年。我不由脫口而出：你怎么曬不黑的?她說這得歸功于防曬霜和潤唇膏。在西藏什么都能省，就是這種花費不能省。扎西達娃馬上接口說：“花費?你可別讓她誤導。這種花費根本不足以掛齒。”后來才逐漸發現在這個女孩的觀念里，西藏的什么東西都是最低廉的，低到“不足以掛齒”。女孩畢業自美國某大學經濟系?；氐街袊幌雽W以致用，卻跑到西藏來寫小說。她在拉薩租了一套房一個人住，三年來就光是在西藏到處走。我不禁問：“你一定有個很有錢的老子吧?”扎西達娃即刻代她回答：“在西藏生活不需要很多錢。如果你愿意的話，也可以到西藏來寫作。在這里錢不是很重要的?！毖哉Z間不無以西藏不涉金錢功利的空靈清澄而驕傲。我想，此人熱愛西藏已到了癡情的程度。

女孩到西藏來的目的是寫小說，無疑是把西藏作為靈感的源泉，這當然也是一種朝圣行為。

接下來的幾天里，我們又在拉薩遇到了好些類似的“外來者”。這些人當中，有來自北京的畫家，有從昆明騎自行車歷時一個多月跋涉到西藏的攝影家，還有其他我也搞不清楚是什么專業的學者?？傊际切┧囆g文化人，有的在拉薩已扎下了根；有的雖然“無根”，回去后，卻總是思念著拉薩，于是又背起行囊再度回到西藏。那位北京畫家就是其中之一，他說將近十年來，他一直在通往西藏的路上來來往往，他飽覽了西藏的山川湖泊，在跟隨藏民轉經朝圣的沿途上讓他看到了世界上最壯麗的險峻、最曠世的沉寂、最超然的悠遠、最美麗動人的傳奇色彩……最后他總結式地說：“藏民千百年來遙遠而漫長的朝圣之路，實際是一條讓人增長知識的路?！?/p>

這位蓄著一頭披肩長發和大胡子的畫家，皮膚黝黑，滿臉風霜。如果他不說，我們肯定會把他看作是遠道而來的朝圣藏民。我與他聊到藏民的宗教信仰，他立時滔滔不絕，還詳盡地介紹了佛教的大乘、小乘、顯教、密教的特色與形成過程，胸襟與見識如同西藏的天空一樣開闊。我們在贊嘆之余，不禁問道：“您皈依佛門很長時間了吧?”不意他竟搖頭：“我人笨，沒慧根，不能開悟，談何皈依?”但是畫家卻走出了他自己的里程碑。作為一個藝術朝圣者，畫布是他的道路，他是這路上的苦行真僧。拉薩，對于藝術創作者總有一種難以抗拒的召喚，這些文化人不斷地奔向她，為她癡迷，這無疑是她啟發了他們，她為創作注入新元素的同時又能讓他們各取所需。這所有的一切，不就是因為她具有凝重的歷史內涵和豐富無比的文化意蘊嗎?

(本文作者為馬來西亞華文作家協會《馬華作家》主編)

Lhasa Creates a Cultural Trend

By Li Yi (Malaysia)

Lhasa is a sacred city for Tibetans. The city， created by pilgrims， first grew as a center of religious activities. Today， it is more than a sacred city for Tibetan pilgrims. It magnetizes the cultured people from all over the country.

The trend started in the early 1980s. For a moment， cultured people poured into Tibet and the sacred city. The remote place inspired their passion and enthusiasm. These cultured people included authors， poets， scholars， scientists， painters， photographers， musicians， and film and TV makers. Most of the zealots were photographers and painters. They came not to pay homage to Buddha， or to seek an afterlife， but their sentiment resembled that of Tibetan pious pilgrims. They wanted to learn and interpret and even decipher the sacred city. They desired to be harmoniously woven into the local aura. Their creations were fraught with marvel and admiration against a grand and sometimes solemn background. Riding on the trend were some authors and artists. For example， photographer Lu Linglong， painter Chen Danqing， composer He Xuntian， author Zhaxi Dawa are representatives of the famed. Zhaxi Dawa is Tibetan， but the others are from the outside. Some profiteers took advantage of Tibet and tried to commercialize the humanistic concerns and spiritual pursuit. Some critics point out that this kind of art distorted Tibet. Twenty years have passed and the craze has waned， but Lhasa remains a hot subject for many cultured people.

For a while， magic realism fascinated China’s literary circle so much that some best writers vied to appear avant-garde. The best of the avant-garde writers， however， is arguably Zhaxi Dawa. Magic realism calls for， among other things， a magic geographic location， a complex and eventful history， a profound religious sentiment， and rich myths. Zhaxi Dawa seems to have these factors all in Tibet. His writings commingle the real and the unreal， and touch life， death and religion. His books probe into Tibetans destiny， the region’s cultural psychology and history.

Zhaxi Dawa is not an unknown name among Chinese writers. His representative work， Tibet， a Soul Tied on a Leather Rope， won the national best short story award for 1985-1996. His short stories were translated into many languages and published in France， Japan， and Taiwan.

One afternoon I met Zhaxi Dawa. Over a jasmine tea， he smiled and said in a low voice that he hadn written a story for a long time. I was stunned. He continued to say that it was not the time for stories. I remained silent. Probably he was trying to seek a breakthrough. One can誸 forever use magic realism to describe Tibet， even though the ancient region has abundant mystical charms and tales. There must be something beyond formats. Looking into one’s heart and soul is more important.

Through Zhaxi Dawa， I met a girl from Xiamen of southern China’s coastal Fujian Province. Zhaxi Dawa said that she came to seek inspirations for a novel she wanted to write and she had been in Lhasa for three years without thinking of leaving. She majored in agriculture in an American university. After graduation， she came to Tibet. Tibet has something to make people infatuated with it. Her stay in Lhasa is a kind of pilgrimage.

In following days I met more cultured pilgrims from outside Tibet. One was an artist from Beijing. Another was a photographer who had ridden a bicycle all the way from Kunming to Lhasa. The journey took him more than a month. I could not figure out what some other cultured pilgrims did back home. But they were all artists. Some had taken roots in the city. Some went home， but came back again to Lhasa. The artist from Beijing was one of them. He said that for the last ten years he had been journeying back and forth on the road to Tibet. He had seen lakes and mountains in Tibet. He had followed Tibetan pilgrims step by step to Lhasa.

With a long beard and long hair reaching the shoulders， the artist looked like a Tibetan pilgrim. In our conversation， he talked as profoundly and knowledgeably as an expert when it came to Buddhism. Then I asked if he had been converted to Buddhism. To my surprise， he said no. He said， am not smart. I don have the root of wisdom. How could I become a converteeAs an artist， he had gone far. The canvas was his road and he was a pilgrim on that road.

Lhasa is an irresistible call to artists. They come to the city， for she inspires them and injects new elements into their artistic pursuit and creations. All this points to her historical significances and peerless cultural meanings.

(Translated by David)