望湖樓下水如天

司馬一民

外地游客來杭州，斷橋是必到之處。距離斷橋幾百米處的北山路邊，寶石山下，有一處綠樹掩映、巖巒烘托、飛檐凌空、典雅古樸的樓閣，陪同的人無論是導游還是朋友，都會簡單地告訴你，這是望湖樓，蘇東坡有一首詩里寫的“望湖樓下水如天”，說的就是這里。然后一行人會匆匆而過，向斷橋奔去，少有人登樓。

偶爾也有心細的人會問，望湖樓距離西湖湖岸有幾十米，怎么會“望湖樓下水如天”呢？

問得好。

望湖樓曾經是杭州西湖的著名景點，原建筑早已不存。現在我們看到的望湖樓是20世紀80年代重建的。

望湖樓原名看經樓，在當時的昭慶寺（現在杭州青少年活動中心）前，始建于乾德五年（967），是吳越王錢弘俶所建，到宋時改名為望湖樓。1926年，西湖邊拓建馬路，拆掉了昭慶寺的前殿天王殿，萬善橋也不復存在了，還填平了橋下的青蓮池，但殿前的古樟至今仍存數株。

望湖樓是煮茗把酒、欣賞西湖萬種風情的絕佳之處，因此，引來了歷代許多文人墨客。其中，最出名的肯定是蘇軾了，他的《六月二十七日望湖樓醉書》令望湖樓聲名遠播：

黑云翻墨未遮山，白雨跳珠亂入船。卷地風來忽吹散，望湖樓下水如天。

這首詩大意為，翻滾的烏云上涌，就如墨汁潑下，卻還有山巒未被遮蓋。雨滴像白玉珠子一般，落入船里。忽然間狂風卷地而來，滿天的烏云被吹散，西湖的碧波與藍天渾然一體。

熙寧五年（1072）六月二十七日，蘇東坡和友人一起泛舟西湖。六月天氣多變，不一會，艷陽高照轉為烏云密布，繼而風雨大作，船夫趕緊把他們送到近處的望湖樓。他們在望湖樓里邊飲酒邊欣賞西湖美景。此時，蘇東坡不可能不詩興大發，于是有了《六月二十七日望湖樓醉書》，可惜蘇東坡醉書的墨寶沒能流傳下來。如果流傳下來，那會是怎樣的一種恣意汪洋啊！

其實，蘇軾那天在望湖樓寫的《六月二十七日望湖樓醉書》不是一首詩，而是五首詩，最為人們熟知的就是上面這首。

其他四首詩的大意為，魚鱉雖然已經被放生卻還追趕著人們，不知道誰種下的荷花連片盛開，很是壯觀。躺在被風吹得晃晃悠悠的游船里，流連忘返。湖里生長的烏菱和白芡不用花錢買，水中的雕胡米（茭白的籽實）就像被包裹在綠盤里。回想起在會靈觀品嘗新米，漂蕩在江海上確實應該多吃一些食物。熱情的采蓮女采來荷花送給游人，她們頭上的翠翹被細雨打濕，仍然不失鄉野之美。小洲上長滿了香草，也許采蓮女并不知道那是《楚辭》里說的香草。我不一定能隱居山林，但想做個閑官暫時還是可以的。我本來就沒有家，不安身在這里又能去哪里呢？何況就算我有故鄉，那里也沒有像這里這樣優美的湖光山色。

幾乎是同樣的季節、同樣的情境，元祐四年（1089）七月，蘇東坡以龍圖閣學士除知杭州軍州事，與朋友雨中游西湖，又寫下了《與莫同年雨中飲湖上》（莫同年指莫君陳，他與蘇軾同為嘉祐二年進士，所以稱同年）一詩：

到處相逢是偶然，夢中相對各華顛。還來一醉西湖雨，不見跳珠十五年。

“還來一醉西湖雨，不見跳珠十五年”，蘇東坡想起了十幾年前泛舟西湖時風雨驟至，想起了當時寫《六月二十七日望湖樓醉書》的情景，感慨時光飛逝。

蘇東坡是真的喜歡望湖樓，他有一首《臨江仙 · 疾愈登望湖樓贈項長官》。項長官，蘇東坡同僚。元祐五年（1090）春，蘇東坡臥病一月余，病愈后和同僚項長官登上望湖樓賞景，寫了這首詞贈項長官。

這首詞大意為，體弱多病的休文（南朝梁文學家沈約，字休文）。連垂腰的金帶都不堪佩系了。花香在望湖樓四處飄散，春風吹拂著我的衣袖，舉頭仰望，皓月當空，耳邊傳來悠揚的簫聲。酒喝多了酣睡，漏壺的滴水聲，驚醒了我的夢。侍酒的美人不見了，自己像月亮獨自徘徊在天空般寂寞，如此度過一個良宵也真是太遺憾了。

蘇東坡剛剛病愈，身體虛弱，夜晚登上望湖樓，填詞抒發心緒的孤寂。

宋人在望湖樓留下的詩篇不少，這里選兩首。

北宋李建中（945—1013），字得中，京兆（今陜西西安）人，曾任太常博士等職，寫有《杭州望湖樓》：小艇閑撐處，湖天景物微。春波無限綠，白鳥自由飛。落日孤汀遠，輕煙古寺稀。時攜一壺酒，戀到晚涼歸。

南宋林季仲（生卒不詳），字懿成，號竹軒，永嘉（今浙江溫州）人，寫有《登望湖樓》：“胡塵漠漠暗中州，無力持顛漫自憂。花鳥相逢非昔日，不堪重上望湖樓。”

林季仲在宋高宗時為官，反對秦檜和議，做過婺州知州。這首詩寫出了詩人登上望湖樓時的沉重心情。也許詩人登上望湖樓參加官方活動時身不由已，雖然眼前湖光山色迷人，但想到了北方大好河山淪落。這首詩與林升的“西湖歌舞幾時休”，陸游的“遺民淚盡胡塵里，南望王師又一年”都表達了類似的情感。

The Water Below Looks Like the Sky

By? ?Sima Yimin

For tourists traveling to Hangzhou， the Broken Bridge is a must-visit place. But they seldom go to elegant and ancient pavilion which stands just a few hundred meters away， by the side of the Beishan Road and under the Baoshi Hill. The tour guide would at the most tell the tourists that this is the Wanghu Lou， or the Lake Viewing Tower， and that it was the place where Su Dongpo （aka Su Shi， 1037-1101） left the memorable line “below the Lake Viewing Tower the water looks like the sky”. The tourists would simply acknowledge the fact before proceeding to the Broken Bridge promptly — they rarely ascend the tower.D94A8715-4AD3-479C-A711-AC227A050FCC

Occasionally， some perceptive people would ask， why does “below the Lake Viewing Tower the water look[s] like the sky”， given that the tower is located some 100 meters away from the banks of the West Lake？

A good question.

The Lake Viewing Tower used to be a famous scenic spot around the West Lake， but the original building has long gone. The Lake Viewing Tower we see today is the one that was reconstructed in the 1980s.

First built in 967 by Qian Hongchu （929-988）， the last king of the Wuyue Kingdom （907-978）， in front of the Zhaoqing Temple （which is now the Hangzhou Youth and Childrens Center）， it was originally named the Kanjing Lou （or the Sutra Reading Tower）， more than likely because of the Zhaoqing Temple. The temple was once a large complex， with its outer buildings extending all the way to the West Lake. Later， when the Wuyue Kingdom surrendered its territories to the Song dynasty （960-1279）， the tower was renamed the Wanghu Lou （Lake Viewing Tower）.

In 1926， as more public roads were put in place around the West Lake， part of the Zhaoqing Temple was demolished， and part of the lake in front of the Lake Viewing Tower was also reclaimed， with only a number of ancient camphor trees left behind.

An ideal location to appreciate the varied beauty of the West Lake and have a sip of tea and wine， the Lake Viewing Tower had been a gathering place for prominent literary figures from the very beginning. One of the most well-known must be Su Shi， whose poem Written While Drunken at the Lake Viewing Tower on the 27th Day of the Sixth Month.

Like spilled ink， black clouds have yet covered the mountain;

Like dancing pearls， white rains have chaotically entered the boat.

Rolling around the wind comes， suddenly blowing everything away.

Below the Lake Viewing Tower the water looks like the sky.

On the 27th day of the sixth lunar month in 1072， Su was traveling in a boat on the West Lake with his friends. Before long， the sunny day turned pitch dark and heavy rain ensued. After they returned to the Lake Viewing Tower， Su must have had the urge to compose poems， hence the one above. In fact， it is only one of five pieces that Su wrote on that occasion， albeit the most widely known.

Seventeen years later， in the seventh lunar month of 1089， in the same season and under almost identical weather conditions， Su visited the Lake Viewing Tower — again encountering rain on the West Lake， and wrote a poem， in which he reminisced about the similar scenes in 1072 and lamented the vicissitudes of time.

Whats more certain was Sus genuine fondness for the place. Not a year had passed before he returned to the tower with his friend to enjoy some spring air， although Su had been bedridden for more than a month and just recovered from a major illness.

Apart from Su Shi， Song officials， poets and even hermits wrote about the Lake Viewing Tower， including Li Jianzhong （945-1013）， Pan Lang （？-1009） and Lin Jizhong （1088-1150）.D94A8715-4AD3-479C-A711-AC227A050FCC