烏鎮之于茅盾，不止是子夜

陳富強

我能夠想象，在老宅寫作的先生，疲憊了，就出門去街上走走，或者，就去拱橋下的茶館喝上一杯桐鄉菊花茶。

我接觸到的第一部長篇小說《子夜》的版本，是多年之前人民文學出版社出版的，封面淡藍色，美術體的書名，既高雅，又有無限遼遠的空間感。我差不多只用了一整夜的時間就讀完了它。我覺得，中國的長篇小說，大約就是這個樣子的。其時，《紅樓夢》正打算重印，《包法利夫人》也在出版社重印的計劃里。而《子夜》率先在我眼前打開一扇窗，讓我看到茅盾先生筆下的文學世界竟如此盎然。于是，我一直有一個愿望，想去烏鎮，在烏鎮待上一晚，在子夜時分，去街上走個來回。

一

在江南，烏，通常是指一種接近于黑的顏色。因此，烏鎮的來歷，也與所處地域的地理特征有關。由于烏鎮地處河網密布的沖積平原，淤積的泥土呈褐色，且肥沃。類似隆起于平原曠野的地方，也稱作“墩”。烏鎮最早的名字中，有烏墩之稱。

類似烏鎮這樣的小鎮，在江南可以列出一長串，它們仿佛一顆顆珍珠，散落在廣袤的原野上，在漫長的時光里熠熠閃光。只不過，烏鎮因為茅盾先生，多出一些人文氣息，加上后人慧眼，使烏鎮在江南古鎮中聲名遠播，儼然是江南小鎮的一張名片。如果追溯烏鎮的歷史，我們會發現，在所有相關的文字記載中，茅盾先生的創作背景里，烏鎮的影子隨處可見。

烏鎮最初為人所識，是東柵。那里也是茅盾先生故居所在地。狹窄的觀前街17號，保存完好的老房子為四開間兩進，是一幢層木結構樓房，坐北朝南，總面積約450平方米。故居分東西兩個單元，據說是茅盾的曾祖父分兩次購買的。看得出來，茅盾的曾祖父在當地也算一個有臉面的人物，并且頗有一些積蓄。這些老房子保存完好，這既得益于當年茅盾的修繕，也有后人保護的功績。其中的三間書齋，原先是平房，后來茅盾用他的稿費予以翻建。關于這筆稿費，最有意思的一個傳說，是用去了先生半部《子夜》的稿費。對于這個在文壇和民間流傳甚廣的故事，是真是假我無從考證，但這三間書齋卻因此而顯出不少書香。茅盾在這里寫作，《多角關系》據說就是在這里寫成的。我能夠想象，在老宅寫作的先生，疲憊了，就出門去街上走走，或者，就去拱橋下的茶館喝上一杯桐鄉菊花茶。

茅盾在《我走過的道路》一文中曾經寫到過這家茶館：“祖父的生活，很有規律，每天上午，或到本地紳士和富商常去的訪盧閣飲茶，或到西園聽拍曲。”文中的訪盧閣其實就是我們現在見到的這家茶館。正對著茶館的是一座石拱橋，放眼望去，一條小河的兩岸皆為古建筑群，這里很明顯地體現著烏鎮的風情。那些房屋的整修風格，與烏鎮的格調相吻合，河水雖然沒有從前那樣的清澈，但也能映出岸上房屋的倒影來。風吹過，水中的房屋就搖晃起來，搖搖欲墜的樣子。我沒有時間去茶館喝一碗茶了，但我能想象得到，坐在訪盧閣上，臨窗而望，濃郁的水鄉景色盡收眼底的那份愜意。如果是在暮色蒼茫的時刻，兩岸屋子里的燈光亮起來，倒映在河里，那又是另外一種讓人心醉的感覺。

故居書齋外面有一個天井，不大，種滿了綠色植物，一棵棕櫚樹還是茅盾當年翻建書齋時種下的，屈指算來，已逾八十年。我相信先生曾經在這兒駐足，曾經在這兒漫步，也曾經在這兒思考。1934年的春天，在這個天井里可以看到先生的身影，他出門向東，沿著堅硬的石板路走去，他要去看香市。烏鎮的香市類似于江南其他古鎮的廟會，茅盾曾經在散文《香市》里描述過香市的盛況：香市中主要的節目無非是“吃”和“玩”。臨時的茶棚，戲法場，弄缸弄甏，走繩索，三上吊的武藝班，老虎、矮子，提線戲，髦兒戲，西洋鏡……將神廟前五六十畝地的大廣場擠得滿滿的。

香市的時間是在清明前后，我去的不是時候，所以大部分的香市風俗都不能看到，但在神廟前的廣場上卻依舊可看戲臺上的演出，還可看皮影戲。高高的戲臺上，演員演得專心，鑼鼓也敲得地道，看戲的卻不多，廖廖幾個觀眾，遠遠地，聽古裝的演員唱《李三娘》。我聽不懂一句臺詞，卻能夠感受到香市的一些味道。皮影戲在室內演，一塊白布作為前景，后面有燈光照著，一陣鏗鏘的鼓聲響過之后，皮影戲就開場了。我看到的似乎是武松打虎，鼓點十分激烈，打斗自然也不例外。我看了個頭，就跑到后面去。只見雙手舞動武松和老虎的是一個白發老者，隨著鼓點，他的雙手靈巧地在布景上移動著，左手老虎，右手武松。虎嘯聲則是由坐在邊上的一名樂手用一件比鎖吶還要長的樂器吹出來的，很雄渾，酷似老虎的長嘯。另外還有兩人負責敲鑼。這段皮影戲的節奏很快，可能是劇情決定了戲的節奏，我還沒有看出個門道來，布景后面的燈就熄滅了，這表示一出戲已經演完。走出劇場，很有些戀戀不舍。皮影戲在電影、電視和書本上看到過，真正領略卻還是第一回。

二

結木為柵。柵在烏鎮，其實有村莊的界限之意。有東柵，就有西柵。烏鎮六千年的歷史，在東柵能夠找到滄桑的痕跡。而西柵，與東柵毗鄰，是對原有村莊的改建。依舊是粉墻黛瓦、枕河人家。作為世界互聯網大會永久會址，這里的草木建筑、小橋流水，就顯出更多互聯的氣息，無線網絡無縫覆蓋。那些影響世界互聯網經濟走向的大人物們，在這座小鎮里品嘗一碗桐鄉的羊肉面，也能成為一條不可多得的新聞。

茅盾先生的紀念館和陵園建在西柵。其建筑依然延續濃郁的江南風格，但更顯莊嚴肅穆。青磚筑成的高大墻壁，就是一面歷史和文學的鏡子。我戴上耳機，聆聽先生的原音重現。先生寫給胡耀邦的書信片斷，被鐫刻在紀念堂正面墻上。先生手寫此信的時間是1981年，這也是他捐贈25萬元人民幣創議設立茅盾文學獎的年份。

《子夜》的手稿被陳列在玻璃柜中。我俯下身子，彎下腰，看到茅盾先生的手跡，那么娟秀而漂亮的字體，這樣好看的小說手稿，再也不會有。

而陵園內，先生的簡介，被刻在一本翻開的花崗巖書頁上。先生半身雕像，目光平視前方。我順著先生的視線，看到的是一位文學巨匠眼中無垠的天空。嚴家炎在《中國現代小說流派史》中稱：“由茅盾開創的社會剖析小說流派，通過生活橫斷面再現社會，是一個革命現實主義的流派，甚至影響了后來寫作的《李自成》《上海的早晨》等作品的一些作家。”這段評價恰如其分，道出茅盾先生的創作對于中國文學的影響。同樣的評價，還出現在郁達夫筆下：“茅盾是早就從事寫作的人。唯其閱世深了，所以每不忘社會，他的觀察的周到，分析的清楚，是現代散文中最有實用的一種寫法……中國若要社會進步，若要使文章和實際生活發生關系，則像茅盾那樣的散文作家，多一個好一個……”

黃昏的烏鎮，是一天中最美不可言的，喧嚷是沒有的，卻有我喜歡的寧靜與寂寥。漸漸入夜，我坐在窗下，望著河水悄然流過眼前，仿佛將烏鎮的從前流過來，又淌過去。《子夜》里的人物，一個個依稀從窗外走過，又隱入夜色，他們無聲無息的模樣，就是烏鎮的子夜了。

現在，茅盾先生的創作，繼續影響著一代又一代以漢語寫作的作家。每位中國當代小說家，都以獲得茅盾文學獎為榮。他是一座現代文學高峰，是中國新文化運動的先驅者之一。在中國現代文學史上，他與魯迅、巴金等文學大師齊名。作為一名寫作愛好者，我數次來到烏鎮，向茅盾先生致意。我最初的文學素養，很大程度上來自茅盾，比如，從《春蠶》到《子夜》。

在中國漢字當中，烏，也有烏托邦之意。然而，烏鎮卻如此真切地存在，并且以六千年的風雅，書寫著互聯網世界。同樣出生在烏鎮的作家木心在臨終前曾說過：“風啊，水啊，一頂橋。”說的恰好是烏鎮。這里的每一條河流，都與京杭大運河相連，流水帶走的，不止是風雨，還有遼闊的江南。

（本文圖片來自視覺中國）

The first novel I read is ， the masterpiece of Mao Dun （1896-1981）， who is considered a milestone and a revolutionist in Chinas modern literature. That was many years ago， and I still remember the pale blue color of the cover with the elegantly printed title on it. It took me a whole night to read the long story. My encounter with Mao Duns magnum opus was long before other literary masterpieces such as ?and ?were reprinted and made available to the public in China after the Cultural Revolution （1966-1976）. The novel opened up the mystical world of Wuzhen， making me dream of spending a night there and taking a midnight walk in the town， just as the writer did many， many times.

The literal reference of “烏”， pronounced “wu” in Chinese， in most of the Jiangnan regions of China， is the color that borders black. It makes a lot of sense in the name “Wuzhen”， suggestive of the pitchy color of the fertile soil of the alluvial plain where the “water town” is sited.

Wuzhen is one of the brightest pearls in the long list of “water towns” across Chinas Jiangnan， and is one of the most culturally distinct， thanks to such big names as Mao Dun， who used his beloved hometown as the most important backdrop of all his works.

The fame of Wuzhen first came from Dongzha， where the ancestral home of Mao Dun， located on Guanqian Street， is drawing cultural buffs throughout the year. The 450-square-meter estate is a well-conserved wood structure divided into the east and west wings， allegedly purchased by two installments by the great grandfather of Mao Dun. The rebuilding of the three studies inside the house allegedly cost more than half of the royalty the writer earned from the publishing of . It is believed that Mao Dun also wrote his ?in one of the studies. I can picture the scene of the mans leisurely walk or tea break at his favorite teahouse near the stone bridge after a tiring writing session in the old house.

In ， the writer mentioned his favorite teahouse： “The day of my grandfather started with a cup of morning tea at Fang Lu Ge teahouse， or at the West Park， when his musical mood set in…”

The lovely view of ancient architectural complexes and beautiful reflections of the houses in the river in front of the Fang Lu Ge teahouse must have inspired the writer a million times. We had no time for the tea when we were there， but I can imagine how the writer must have felt refreshed when taking in the mellowness of the sunset landscape of the water town to his hearts content.

The patio outside the study teems with plants. The palm tree planted by the writer right after the completion of the construction of the studies has thrived for more than 80 years.

On a sunny day in the springtime of 1934， the writer was out for a walk to see the towns temple fair， held once a year around the Qingming Festival. The hilarious spectacle of street performers， vendors and ne'er-do-wells interacting with each other was later recorded vividly in one of his essays， titled .

During my promenade in the town， I chanced upon a leather-silhouette show of ?at the square used as the venue for the temple fair. I sneaked into the backstage to find out more about the stunts of the performers. Most of the scenes on the stage were manipulated by an old man using his two hands; and the roaring of the “tiger” was made by an instrumentalist who used something like a “suona” （a woodwind instrument）. The tempo and the tension created by such a tiny team impressed me.

The towns Dongzha area is the crystallization of the 6，000-year vicissitude of the town. The natural villages on the west side of the town have been rebuilt into a hot tourist area named as “Xizha” and serving as the permanent venue of the World Internet Conference （WIC）.

Xizha also hosts the tomb of Mao Dun and the Mao Dun Memorial Museum， where visitors can admire the graceful handwriting of the writer from the manuscripts of and explore the mans brilliant spirituality in a wonderful collection of exhibits.

In 1981， Mao Dun Literature Award was launched， using the 250，000-yuan donation from the writer. In the eye of Yan Jiayan， a famous writer， Mao Dun created a new literature genre that influenced many writers including Yao Xueyin who wrote ?and Zhou Erfu who wrote ， bestsellers of decades ago. Yu Dafu also spoke highly of the strong realism in Mao Duns works： “He is an observer of the society， and his writing comes from the reality of life…”

Wuzhen is also the birthplace， and the resting place， of renowned essayist Mu Xin， another cultural icon of the town. “The wind， the water， and a bridge…” The writer reminisced， before leaving the world.