名街紫陽

位于臺州府城的臨海紫陽街，是中國歷史文化名街。這條穿行于青磚黑瓦的明清建筑之中、由斑駁的石板鋪就的老街，漫漫千余米，從北固山到靈江邊，由北而南，是府城的主動脈，東西向的街街巷巷，縱橫交錯，復折多變。紫陽街是一部豐富翔實的史書，記錄著古城千百年的滄桑。

臨海是一座千年古城，唐宋時期，臺州治所臨海的“里坊制”街巷格局已初具規模，基本形成，但紫陽街卻一直有街無名，百姓約定俗成分段稱呼，北端為黃坊橋，南頭為攬秀樓，其間有紫陽宮、一洞天、奉仙坊、十字街口、白塔橋頭、牌門周、臘巷口、炭行街等50多處地名。新中國成立前，紫陽街一度命名為中正街，之后，改為解放街，不過百姓仍然沿習傳統俚俗名字來喊叫。紫陽街正式改名，是在1988年，其義取名人效應:故老相傳，北宋年間這里的櫻珠巷出了道教南宗始祖紫陽真人張伯端。

紫陽街及周邊街巷的古跡及風情，信步可數，深深吸引著人們:有始建于唐代、為紀念時人鄭虔在臺州推進文教大發展而立的鄭廣文祠，有唐代古剎、日本佛教天臺宗的重要祖庭之一龍興寺，有始建于北宋、單體建筑浙江省最大的臺州府文廟，有關于張伯端的石碑、紫陽橋、紫陽故里和紫陽宮遺址，有以明代“一門四進士，父子三巡撫”王氏家族命名的三撫基及十傘巷，有明末尚書陳涵輝故居，有明代五舉人的“五鳳坊”遺址……

水井是紫陽街及附近古跡的一大特色，形態各異，富有江南風情。據記載，臨海府城內曾有786口可飲用的水井，最早者為唐初所掘，大部分建于明清時期。這些古井分布合理，哺育了一代又一代人。古井中最著名的要數千佛井和紫陽井。紫陽街南端的千佛井有兩個井欄，俗稱雙眼井，建于唐代，因井內壁磚陰刻佛像而名，它與巾子山西麓的千佛塔陰陽互濟。櫻珠巷的紫陽井是因紫陽真人而得名，井之所在，有墻且拐角阻隔，有如紫陽真人般透著神秘，不露真相。

紫陽街每隔百丈就有大塊青磚砌成的一堵坊墻。坊墻高三余丈，寬五六丈，拱門高丈余。坊門額頭刻著“悟真坊”“奉仙坊”“迎仙坊”“清河坊”“永靖坊”等，字體遒勁有力，坊名別具一格。坊名即地名，坊墻又是防火墻，如今也成為街區的一道風景線。

紫陽街是臺州府城千年繁華的主街，商業發達，生意興旺。街的南頭是江廈街的碼頭，交通便利。歷史上也有百姓稱它為臺州府街。

追溯街上的商業發展過程，當從宋代開始。紫陽街中段的十字街口與西大街、小街頭、南門頭連通，店面密布，貨物眾多，成了臺州府城物資交流的中心。清光緒年間，各種店鋪曾達到400多家。現如今，商家大都保持了歷史經營傳統，經營飲食、糕點、布匹、醫藥等，百年老店有，餐飲的泰白象、冠春園、安樂天飲食店和一洞天茶館店，食品的同受和茶食店、王天順馬蹄酥店及同康醬油店，中醫藥的方一仁、遂生源、岑震元、毛永隆、羅義記、大吉昌藥房，百貨的王森泰、林達源、錦順、開泰字號，南北貨店的明皇、同慶和字號。此外還有楊茂聚五金店、江泰和漆店、曹永和煙草店、蔡永利秤店等。

紫陽街的建筑始終保持著唐宋遺風和明清特點。房屋多數為兩層樓，有的有下檐，有的有欄桿，安排得非常合理。沿街商鋪前店后坊，中間客堂，樓上臥房。臺州百姓對建筑喜歡從“福”“運”方面考慮，雕梁畫棟，圖案吉祥。柱頭、門上還有一個與眾不同處，就是木雕、灰雕、石雕三結合。木結構、磚頭墻，頂上鋪木椽蓋泥瓦片的江南古代建筑與街面石板路的泥土芬芳，一起發出清香，如一首詩、一幅畫，畫中有詩、詩中有畫，顯示著無限的生命力。

紫陽街，記載著千年古城的歷史，傳承著中華民族優秀的文化，正顯示著無限的魅力。

(本文照片由作者提供)

Street In Memory of Ancient Taoist Master

By Xu Congwei

Ziyang Street (Purple Sun Street) in Linhai in southern Zhejiang Province is a historical and cultural street designated by the central government. Linhai used to be the capital city of Taizhou Prefecture， which goes back to ancient dynasties. Ziyang Street honors Zhang Boduan， the founder of the southern sect of Taoism in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

Though the street existed for more than 1，000 years， the latest name is only 24 years old. Nearly all the houses along the street are built in the dynasties of the Ming (1368-1644) and (1644-1911). Stretching from south to north， it used to be the main street of the prefectural capital. During the Republican years (1911-1949)， it was named after Chiang Kai-shek， the president of the republic. After the founding of the new China in 1949， it was called Liberation Street. For local residents， however， the street never had a unifying name. It was separately known for more than 50 landmark buildings along the 1，000-meter street. It was not until 1988 that the local government decided that it was time for the street to have a name.

The street is named as Ziyang largely because of Zhang Boduan， who founded a southern sect of Taoism. Do not be surprised if you find the masters in charge of Taoism on the national level since the Eastern Han Dynasty about 2，000 years ago are all from one family surnamed Zhang. The title ran in the family recognized by dynasties and the major sects were headed by a Zhang clan.

Naturally， the street has many historical buildings that highlight the historical and cultural heritage of Taizhou. There is a memorial temple in honor of Zheng Qian (685-764)， a prominent scholar of the Tang Dynasty (618-907); he came to Taizhou in 757 and started a new chapter of history of Taizhou by starting a school. There is Longxing Temple erected during the Tang Dynasty; this Buddhist sanctuary is one of the ancestral courts for the Tiantai Sect of Buddhism practiced in Japan. There is Confucius Temple erected in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)， the largest one in Zhejiang Province. There are sites of Zhang Boduan such as Ziyang Bridge， Ziyang Palace， and Ziyang Birthplace (Purple Sun is an auspicious sign closely associated with Taoism). And there are sites of the Wang family that produced three provincial governors in the Ming Dynasty， the former residence of Chen Hanhui， a minister of the Ming Dynasty， and the Five Phoenixes Compound in memory of five provincial graduates.

History records that there used to be 786 wells inside the walled city that provided drinking water. The earliest one goes back to the Tang Dynasty and more were sunk during the Ming and the Qing. Ziyang Street has a fair share of the ancient wells.

Another eye-catching feature of the street is a number of walls that separate the street into a number of sections. Architecturally， the walls are something between memorial archways and city gates.

For hundreds of years， Ziyang Street was a shopping street with its southern end open to a river port. In the Song Dynasty， the middle section of the street abounded with shops where goods changed hands. In the last decades of the 19th century， the street boasted more than 400 shops. Most of these time-honored shops have survived. Nowadays， these retail outlets still run what did a hundred years ago: you can find anything a household of a hundred years ago would need in these shops.

Most of these houses flanking the stone-paved street are two-storied. A tour along the street is an education in architectural style of the Ming and the Qing in this part of the nation and a lecture on local folk belief and preferences.