人間最美的“虹”

魯曉敏

我們經(jīng)常會用美麗來形容一座廊橋，美麗的廊橋非常多，絕美的廊橋屈指可數(shù)，溫州泰順泗溪鎮(zhèn)下橋村的北澗橋便是其中的一座，美不勝收，美得孤傲，美得絕倫。

北澗橋始建于清康熙十三年（1674），嘉慶八年（1803）重建，道光二十九年（1849）重修。51.7米的長橋拱形橫跨在北溪上，凈跨達(dá)到了29米，廊屋29間。我站在溪灘上，仰望北澗橋，橋正中重檐歇山頂?shù)拈w樓屋頂奮力向上反曲，形成大幅度的凹面，屋檐相交處突然翹得很高，形如大鵬展翅。兩側(cè)廊屋大幅度傾斜，呈現(xiàn)出飽滿的幾何狀。

閣樓屋脊上塑著一對相對而立的青龍，雕得雄渾蒼健，充滿陽剛之美，一副躍躍欲飛的模樣。雙龍神態(tài)栩栩如生，眼珠格外清亮，須發(fā)一毫不亂，鱗甲細(xì)膩真切，在夕陽下熠熠生輝，看起來動感十足。

北澗橋身著棗紅色大漆，通體透紅，紅得酣暢淋漓，紅得爛漫迷人，紅得讓人心醉。當(dāng)北澗橋紅色的橋身熾熱地倒映在水面上，如同夕陽照臨，整片水面紅彤彤的一片，如同天邊絢麗的晚霞，透出一股凄艷的美。真正的夕陽正從廊橋的西面緩緩地落下，余暉漂染過橋身，此刻的廊橋露出美人遲暮一般的蒼涼。

北澗橋東側(cè)植有一棵1200年的大樟樹，以及一株千余年的烏桕樹。長長的枝椏伸展而來，黑壓壓地覆蓋著橋身，原本黑暗的橋身內(nèi)部變得更加黑暗，如同歷史的黑洞。橋頭古街鋪著一長溜的鵝卵石道，如同大地的骨骼，它們的表面被草鞋、布鞋、皮鞋摩擦得幾乎可以映照出人影來，密密匝匝的石子點綴著路面，仿佛一條時光的長河。行走在石子上，凹凸感真實地從腳掌下傳遞而來。光陰何似？我們的腳掌與前人的腳掌在此重疊，我們真切地感受到了百年前古人曾經(jīng)同樣的感覺，時間在這里重合，卻都成為歷史的組成部分。

從橋窗里透過來的光線給人熱切的感覺，好像那里面是一個充滿著無限想象力的世界。事實上，那是下橋村人的精神世界。泰順廊橋中間多設(shè)有神龕，供奉的菩薩、神仙可謂是五花八門，常見的有觀音、平水大王、土地神、文昌君等，祭祀日期通常是祭祀對象的生辰、重要節(jié)氣、每月初一十五，祭祀活動非常熱鬧。北澗橋正中的神龕中端坐著觀音菩薩，兩側(cè)掛著森森帷幔，神龕四周精雕細(xì)刻，描紅繪彩，顯得一派富麗。我去過北澗橋多次，有一次正值農(nóng)歷初一，橋上前前后后來了不少祭祀的村人，有一位叫林起普的老人安靜地等著前面的人祭拜，等香客一一將祭祀品收走后，他和老伴擺上了貢品，不停地磕頭。他告訴我，他家就住橋東，每天都會到橋上走一走，但是到了初一十五，他們還是習(xí)慣祭拜一下菩薩。

北澗橋也是一個俗世之地，橋頭連接著老街，以前經(jīng)營南貨、土布、洋布、中藥材、食品和茶鋪，如今依舊店鋪林立，小販們經(jīng)營著各種買賣。就連橋上也擺著地攤，擺滿了各種土特產(chǎn)，以及香燭和供品。小販王宇琳告訴我，正月生意還行，大概有二三千元，平時生意一般，反正在家待著沒事做，不在乎收入好壞。北澗橋仿佛集市一般，人來人往，討價聲，問候聲，交流聲，聲聲入耳。

東、南、北三溪在北澗橋正前方交匯，形成一處寬闊的水面，溪水清澈見底，水底水草隨波輕輕搖擺，不時有魚兒嬉戲。村民有在橋下放生的習(xí)俗，從不捕撈，魚越聚越多，形成了一道風(fēng)景。走過長長的矴步橋，在泗溪對岸回望北澗橋，它如同大鳥展開翅膀，準(zhǔn)備振翅飛翔。此時，成群的鳥兒從樟樹頂上飛起，它們忽高忽低地掠過眼前的水面，又“嘩啦啦”地振翅飛向空蒙的遠(yuǎn)山，羽翎在陽光中閃動著金色的光暈，直到消失得無影無蹤......

在下橋村和白粉墻村交界處還有一座木拱廊橋——溪東橋，大小及模樣與北澗橋相仿，因同處泗溪鎮(zhèn)，所以也稱之為泗溪姐妹橋。溪東橋始建于明隆慶四年（1570），歷代多次重修，橋長41.7米，建有15間廊屋，寬4.86米，凈跨25.7米。它像一張?zhí)撘木薰皹蛉绻郏ㄈ绻遥哆呉粭U桿高樹如一支支箭，仿佛大力士隨手一張弓搭箭，就可以將高樹“嗖”地一聲射上天。

站在橋頭四處眺望，我看到了一幅與廊橋形成呼應(yīng)的山野景色：獅子峰、將軍峰相對而出，一溪碧水在累累亂石間淙淙流淌，卵石、青石、山石壘砌而成的千年古道穿橋而過。眼下的古村雞犬相聞，炊煙正在青山綠水間裊裊升起……

《清明上河圖》中的汴水虹橋如今早已蕩然無存。值得慶幸的是，我從北澗橋、溪東橋的結(jié)構(gòu)、形態(tài)、氣勢、美學(xué)、跨度上都找到了虹橋的影子。兩道長虹一上一下橫臥村口，如同彩虹一般照亮了古老的下橋村。

我與廊橋拍攝者和研究者吳衛(wèi)平、陳壽燦、王劍等老師聊起中國最美的木拱廊橋，他們不假思索地吐出三個字——北澗橋。著名的廊橋研究專家戴志堅在《中國廊橋》一書中，對泰順廊橋的定位是——中國最美的虹橋應(yīng)屬泰順的木拱廊橋。至于泰順哪一座木拱廊橋最美？他也給出了非常肯定的答案——北澗橋、溪東橋。為什么很多的專家、學(xué)者會認(rèn)為北澗橋是最美的廊橋呢？

走過不少泰順木拱廊橋，我發(fā)現(xiàn)一個現(xiàn)象：首先，泰順廊橋一大特色是廊屋，復(fù)雜多變的屋頂造型，飛揚(yáng)流暢的線條，輕盈靈動的檐角，形成了別具一格的美;其次，大多數(shù)的木拱廊橋拱架比較高，與之相呼應(yīng)的就是橋的坡度大，廊屋更加翹曲，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)看上去如同大鵬展翅或者鷹擊長空。那種彎曲的弧度仿佛是一雙無形的巨手?jǐn)D壓出來的，充滿著力度和彈性;其三，許多廊橋身上涂著紅色大漆，流光溢彩，如同條條彩虹飄落在人間;其四，不少廊橋身處鄉(xiāng)村，連接著田畈和山野，橋頭古木簇?fù)恚饩秤七h(yuǎn)，閃爍著唐詩宋詞般的靈秀。

北澗橋，同時擁有這些要素，從而編織出了絕美的人間彩虹。

（作者系浙江省散文學(xué)會副會長）

The Most Beautiful “Rainbow” on Earth

By Lu Xiaomin

We often use the word “beautiful” to describe a bridge， but only a small number could fit the category. The Beijian Bridge， located at Taishun， is such an elegant， unparalleled beauty.

It was first built during Emperor Kangxi’s reign （1674） in the Qing dynasty （1644-1911）， reconstructed in the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Jiaqing （1803）， and refurbished in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of Emperor Daoguang （1849）. Stretching for 51.7 meters long across the Beixi Brook， it has a net span of 29 meters with 29 porches. I stood on the bank， looking up at the Beijian Bridge and its attic in the middle of the bridge. The attic roof bends largely upward at the eave， forming a large concave and a steep high intersection which has a shape of a roc spreading its wings. Both sides of the porch tilt significantly， showing a full geometric shape.

On the ridge of the attic is carved a pair of fly-ready mighty blue dragons standing opposite each other， glittering in the sunset and looking vividly dynamic.

The whole body of the Beijian Bridge is painted in the color of the red date， a color with burning passion. When the red Beijian Bridge is reflected in the brook， the whole water surface is as brightly red as lit by the sunset. And as the sun is really setting from the west side of the bridge， the afterglow would slightly range over the bridge body and make the latter look like an aged beauty standing in desolation.

At the east side of the Beijian Bridge， there is a 1200-year-old camphor tree， as well as a thousand-year-old sapium tree. The long branches stretch out and cover the bridge in black shades， making the already dark interior of the bridge even darker， like a black hole of history. There is some light coming through the bridge window which radiates brightness and warmth， as if it is a world full of infinite imagination. In fact， that is the spiritual world of the people of Xiaqiao village for worshiping Buddha and various kind of gods and goddesses.

The Beijian Bridge is also a place of hustle and bustle. It is connected to the old street， which used to be a place for merchandise exchanges and is still lined with stores nowadays， with vendors running all kinds of businesses.

Many experts and scholars believe that the Beijian Bridge， a typical Taishun wooden bridge， is the most beautiful covered bridge， and the reasons， based on my observations， are as follows： it features porches which has a unique appeal with its complex and various shapes， smooth lines， and agile eaves; the bridge arch is relatively high and the slope quite large; the body was painted in red that is bright and eye-catching; and it is located in the rural area， endowed with a sense of poetic wilderness. With all the above elements， no wonder the beautiful Beijian Bridge is regarded as a rainbow on earth.