陸文夫：蘇州高新區(qū)知音

陸文夫先生因病魔糾纏，好幾次都到了接近生命的臨界點，但每次都能堅強地“力挽危局”回過神來。而我們也仍然是一如既往認為他有著一種超凡的韌力，沒有想過哪一天他真的會離去，所以每次去看他都會向他發(fā)出邀請：“等你身體好些再到高新區(qū)來，一站一站地走，一站一站地看，從運河、經(jīng)山地再到太湖，三杯兩盞淡酒，四五位同道好友，‘浴于沂，風乎舞雩，詠而歸。’”他為這樣的景象鼓舞并憧憬，說：“高新區(qū)很了不起，我也想定定心心地走一遍，等我身體稍微好些一定成行。”

說著話，他明亮的雙眼放著光芒，卓然俊拔的神容再次靈動與飛揚起來，哪里像個病人?我們知道這是因為蘇州高新區(qū)建設(shè)的氣氛感染他了，是因為他那長久以來的高新區(qū)情結(jié)縈繞在他的心頭。

2500個日夜創(chuàng)造一個新蘇州

陸文夫先生是蘇州高新區(qū)最早的朋友、最赤誠的知音。高新區(qū)開發(fā)建設(shè)始于上世紀80年代末，那時他的足跡已經(jīng)一次次在簡陋的辦公樓、在黃塵滾滾的建設(shè)工地留下了。也許因為他獨樹一幟的“小巷文學”的緣故，人們把他看成是個地道的“老蘇州”。不知什么原因，陸文夫?qū)μK州高新區(qū)情有獨鐘，并對高新區(qū)的開發(fā)建設(shè)懷著巨大的熱忱，他像個年輕人一樣對新事物總是沖在前頭，他在文學界最早使用電腦、最早上網(wǎng)、最早公開刊物的電子版，這回，又最早涌入高新區(qū)建設(shè)的洪流。

那時他的身體還很健康，他常常在新區(qū)地界上像視察自家的庭園、自家的工地、自家的農(nóng)場一樣，走來看去的。他儀表又不俗，文絲不亂的頭發(fā)、眉骨分明的模樣，常常引來建筑工人新奇的目光，一說是“陸文夫”，大家便知道了：“啊，就是陸蘇州!”“陸蘇州”是因為陸文夫的小說無不與蘇州有緣，是讀者給他的一個雅號，也是對他對蘇州文化貢獻的一種褒獎，平日里人們這么稱呼他他并不太在意，可這句話從建筑工人嘴里說出來，他真是很高興，之所以高興并不在于知名度，而是僅這么一句話，就代表著新區(qū)建筑工人的素質(zhì)，而這素質(zhì)又何嘗不是高新區(qū)人素質(zhì)的集合?

默默地看著一日日長高的摩天樓、一天天延伸的道路，他總是很激動，每當看到新的項目完成，鏡片后面的眼睛里常常激情滿含，自言自語說：“了不起!什么時候我來做這里的榮譽公民吧!”

1994年那個仲春他又來到新區(qū)，那時新區(qū)城市建設(shè)雛形已成，他很感奮，掐指一算，6年多，恰是2500天；立刻又想到了蘇州古城，這個古城已經(jīng)經(jīng)營了2500年，2500年與2500天，數(shù)字的巧合令他無比興奮，于是脫口說出了兩句經(jīng)典的話語：“2500年風風雨雨造就了一個老蘇州，2500個日日夜夜創(chuàng)造了一個新蘇州。”

《蘇州新區(qū)報》和創(chuàng)作基地

1996年元旦是個喜慶的日子，我們?nèi)リ懳姆蛳壬遥窍胝埶麨椤短K州新區(qū)報》題個詞。陸先生笑著說：“我還要題詞呀?”言下之意是：我與新區(qū)是自家人了，還拘這些禮節(jié)?話是這么說著，卻一邊已經(jīng)在找自己的鋼筆了。他坐在沙發(fā)上，兩手磕在茶幾上，想了一會，便沙沙沙寫下：“新區(qū)日日新”。于是意味深長地交給我，在我們目光交接的瞬間，彼此心領(lǐng)神會，我知道，這簡單的“日日新”其實出自商朝的開國君主成湯，是成湯刻在器皿上用來警戒自己的箴言，原話是“茍日新，日日新，又日新”。本義是指洗澡除去身體上的污垢，使身體煥然一新，引申義則是指精神上的棄舊圖新。他對蘇州新區(qū)的理想，不僅是實體建設(shè)上的日新一日，更是精神上的除舊布新。這句話，就做在《蘇州新區(qū)報》1996年1月1日副刊的頭條位置。

陸文夫既是蘇州高新區(qū)的好朋友，所以在他看來一切有關(guān)高新區(qū)的文化活動便是他的分內(nèi)事。1997年，中國作家協(xié)會楓橋文學創(chuàng)作基地掛牌，基地聘請他為顧問，前來參加揭牌儀式的中國作協(xié)黨組副書記王巨才向他頒發(fā)了聘書。陸先生是中國作家協(xié)會的副主席，以全國作協(xié)副主席的身份來接受一個設(shè)立在鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)的作家創(chuàng)作基地顧問的聘請，他非常愿意擔任這一角色，參加了創(chuàng)作基地組織的“中國作協(xié)作家采風團”的采風和“《楓橋》首發(fā)式”等一系列活動。

他尤其關(guān)注基地作者的稿件，將它們拿到自己主編的《蘇州雜志》發(fā)表，一次又一次，一些名不見經(jīng)傳的業(yè)余作者由此漸漸成長為作家，乃至后來蘇州文壇都知道他對高新區(qū)的作者特別“偏心”，惹得其他市區(qū)的作者十分眼熱。

有兩年，因為種種原因楓橋創(chuàng)作基地不太有起色，他便代為受過。每次參加中國作協(xié)全委會，中國作協(xié)都問他：“你那個基地怎么樣了?”他就打馬虎眼：“工作還算是正常的……”可開完會回來他就電話找我了：“為楓橋基地我在北京吃批評，到了蘇州我就找你了!”后來看見創(chuàng)作基地大力倡導文化復興，他顯得尤其高興，說：“好好辦!”

楓橋創(chuàng)作基地重整旗鼓，著手創(chuàng)辦刊物《白馬澗文化》。陸文夫既是基地顧問，當仁不讓地當然也成了刊物的顧問。他說最欣賞的就是刊物的“文化性”，堅持數(shù)年，必有好處，這個好處既對人又對地方。并親自為創(chuàng)刊號寫了頭條稿件《綠色的夢》。很奇怪一個七十好幾歲的人，會寫下這樣的文字：“……那好像是夢，我曾經(jīng)躺在那鋪滿春草的田岸上，看那油綠的麥苗在藍天下閃光，在微風中起浪，聽那云雀在云端里唧唧地歌唱……”讀著這些文字，我們似乎回到了青春時代，而夢境中的陸文夫先生，何嘗不是個青春少年?

《真山真水園中城》竟成絕響

2002年末蘇州高新區(qū)區(qū)劃調(diào)整，進入了二次創(chuàng)業(yè)，這使陸文夫分外振奮。高新區(qū)從52平方公里到258平方公里，這不僅僅是量態(tài)意義上的擴張，更重要的是因此擁有了蘇州西部的真山真水!新一任領(lǐng)導決心用智慧和勤勞繡好“經(jīng)濟”、“文化”這幅“雙面繡”，全面構(gòu)架文化建設(shè)的理念與思路。就在這嶄新的建設(shè)格局中，2003年8月高新區(qū)文聯(lián)成立，陸文夫應邀擔任高新區(qū)文聯(lián)顧問，他在賀信中說：“……高新區(qū)進入二次創(chuàng)業(yè)階段，這給作家、藝術(shù)家們提供了更為廣闊的生活舞臺，我們可以藉此有更多的機會貼近生活，參與生活，再現(xiàn)生活。……”

2004年春天，高新區(qū)宣傳部策劃編撰一套文化叢書《真山真水園中城》，陸文夫知道了，感慨萬分地說：“蘇州西部山地的文化資源不得了，好幾朝皇帝都去過呢!將來有朝一日能夠?qū)⑦@些老祖宗留下的寶貝挖掘出來，利用起來，可就了不得了!”我們想請他為該叢書作序，但知道因為近年來他的身體每況愈下，幾乎已經(jīng)擱筆了。果然，給他去電話時，師母管老師說：“他正躺在床上呢!”我很擔憂，便說：“我們隔天過來看他!”正說著，管老師忽然說：“唉，來了來了，他接電話了!”估計樓上樓下是同線電話吧，此刻已經(jīng)是陸文夫在電話里氣喘吁吁地說了：“我就是這個病。你說吧，什么事?”我便把要編撰《真山真水園中城》叢書的事說了：“本來很希望你能為這套書作個序，只是你身體這個樣子，于心不忍。”他說：“我情況是不太好，已經(jīng)不寫東西了。”我的心一沉，知道他說的“情況不太好”就是肺氣腫已經(jīng)非常嚴重，記得年初他參加蘇州小說研討會，是蘇童將他背上四層樓的，會議結(jié)束往下背時，到二樓他一口氣接不上來，臉色憋得青紫，差點釀成大禍，那次把我嚇得不輕；我也知道他的長篇小說《人之窩》，最后是趴在電腦上寫完的，拿他自己的話說：“差點把老命送掉。”我是寧愿他從此不再寫一個字，也希望他能多呆在我們身邊一天!所以在那一刻，我已經(jīng)打消了讓他作序的念頭，但陸文夫卻說了：“高新區(qū)的文字我總歸要寫的。”我緊接著說：“那由我寫個大致情況給你，然后由你修改，這樣你不至于太累。”誰知話剛說完，他堅決地說：“不，我自己寫!”

就這樣，他讓我立馬將《真山真水園中城》的簡介及叢書框架用E-mail發(fā)給他。我在附言中說：“……叢書9月份就要出版，《序》的時間下限我不定了，反正是越早越好……”

我發(fā)給他這個郵件是6月1日，6月12日他就將《序》從網(wǎng)上發(fā)給了我，開頭寫道：“蘇州高新區(qū)可算是得天獨厚，她坐落在眾多的人文遺存與青山綠水之間，眾星捧月，突顯出了一座現(xiàn)代化的新城……”字里行間，無不充滿自豪。發(fā)完郵件，同時又傳真了一份簽名文本。本來，他的簽名我哪里都可以找來復制一個，但他執(zhí)意說要專門簽一個，這個簽名通過傳真機輕盈的運作聲，緩緩送到了我的手里。

《真山真水園中城》出版時，陸文夫先生已經(jīng)住進了醫(yī)院，高新區(qū)黨工委副書記孫瑛及宣傳部長酈小萍我們一行三人為他送書，他接著氧氣，側(cè)身蜷在病床上，他無法多說什么，唯剩一雙熱辣辣的眼睛，望著擺在床頭柜上的書，那一刻我們還對他說：“你一定要早點好起來，別忘了你還要到高新區(qū)一站一站走呢!……”然而誰能想到，如今他已經(jīng)走到另一個世界去了!

他曾經(jīng)說：我要到高新區(qū)定定心心走一遍；他曾經(jīng)說：什么時候我來做這里的榮譽公民吧!但這僅僅是他留下了一個讓我們永遠只有盼望的結(jié)局。

A Writer's Heart in the High-Tech Zone

By Xu Zhuoren

Lu Wenfu (1927-2005) enjoyed a national reputation for his literary works about Suzhou. And he was nicknamed Lu Suzhou， a name for his nostalgia and masterful depiction of the past charms and life in the ancient city. We don't know why， but the writer took a great interest in the new town of Suzhou right at the beginning of its development. Probably his heart was young and he always yearend for the new and embraced the new. He was one of the writers on the mainland who first wrote stories on the personal computer， first surfed the Internet， and first distributed his works in electronic versions. When the construction was all the rage， he spent a lot of time visiting construction sites and offices.

Those days， he still enjoyed good health. He had handsome looks with none of his hair out of place， though he looked a little bit out of place on a construction site. When construction workers learned that he was the writer Lu Wenfu， they recognized the name and said， \"So this man was Lu Suzhou!\" Hearing the comment， the writer smiled proudly. He was not gloating over his widespread reputation but aware that he was seeing a group of high-quality workers who knew about his stories.

In 1994， the new zone had taken shape after six years of large-scale buildup. In a visit to the new town in the spring that year， he counted on his fingers and then found that the six years meant about 2，500 days and the figure happened to coincide with the age of Suzhou， which was 2，500 years old at that time. Lu was excited by the coincidence. He commented that 2，500 years created an old Suzhou and 2，500 days and nights had created a new Suzhou.

Lu Wenfu was a champion of the high-tech new town. One year， a celebrated Taiwan woman writer came to visit the new town of Suzhou. The writer later wrote a newspaper story accusing Suzhou of destroying its past in its all-out construction of the new town. Lu Wenfu was unhappy about the comment. Lu noted that she was not well informed about the history， life， and new changes in Suzhou and therefore she was irresponsible for making such a comment. He went on to say that people yearn to modernize their material world though their nostalgia for the past holds on forever.

Probably because his nostalgia was stronger than that of anyone else， Lu was clearly aware of the negative side of this nostalgia. That was probably why he had a profound understanding of what the new town meant to him and to the city he loved so deeply.

Lu Wenfu was more than a friend and a champion of the new town. He did all he could to promote cultural activities initiated by the new zone. He was vice president of China Writers' Association. In 1997， a writers' center was established in Suzhou. Lu acted as its advisor. Suzhou Literature， a literary monthly where Lu was editor-in-chief， went out of its way to publish stories created by amateur writers. Some of these writers from the new zone later became established. Knowing Lu's \"partiality\" to the new writers， writers in other areas were jealous of them.

In 2002， Suzhou New Town expanded its jurisdiction from the previous 52 square kilometers to 258 square kilometers， thus creating new opportunities for the new town to pay more attention to its cultural undertakings. Within the new town are hills and rivers much lauded in ancient literature. In the spring of 2004， the new town government sponsored a series of books on the cultural heritage and future.

Lu Wenfu was the ideal candidate to write a foreword for the series. But due to his poor health， he had stopped writing for some time. Early that year， he was carried onto the fourth floor to attend a seminar attended by local novelists. When he was being carried downstairs after the seminar he suddenly was unable to breathe and his face turned purple. That accident scared me. Knowing how seriously ill he was， I almost dismissed the idea of asking him to write the foreword. But after some hesitation， I called him. He was excited. I sent him an email briefing him on the series and the general plan on June 1st 2004. The foreword was faxed to me on June 12th， together with his autograph.

When the series came off the print， he was already hospitalized. We visited him. He curled up in bed， breathing with the assistance of oxygen. He was unable to speak. But his eyes brightened when he saw the new books on the bedside table. We said， \"You must get well soonest. Don't forget that you promised to visit all the wonders one by one in the new zone.\"

But he did not come to visit us in the new town of Suzhou. The writer known for his passion and literary accomplishments for Suzhou died on July 9， 2005. We are left with an ending that he designed and we dreamed about. It didn't come true and never will.

(Translated by David)