撼人心扉的周孟賢長詩

20多年前我在浙江參加一個詩會時，讀到寫著名音樂家馬思聰在“文革”期間出走的長詩《海中舟的敘說》，禁不住發出由衷的贊嘆，因此認識了它的作者周孟賢。自那以后，我們沒有再見面，也沒有聯系過。前十來天突然接到他的長途電話，要我為他的長詩選集作序，我欣然答應了，因為《海中舟的敘說》又涌上我的心頭。

我對此詩久久未忘是有原因的。馬思聰以《思鄉曲》名揚天下，而殘酷的“文革”鐵拳卻迫使這位愛國愛鄉的音樂家逃離祖國、流落異邦。1984年底，有關部門落實政策，摘掉他頭上“叛國投敵”的帽子，然而這一事件始終令人滿懷酸澀。馬思聰是廣東人，是從廣州出走的，平反的消息傳出之后，廣東地區詩人竟不著一字，而遠在浙江湖州的周孟賢卻激動得連夜揮筆，通過擬人筆法，馳騁想象，寫下這首作品!這既展現出周孟賢靈敏的詩感，還展現出深邃的思考力——他從這位藝術巨人的遭遇看到了極左路線摧殘人才的罪惡，并認識到這種罪惡對祖國、對民族的危害。詩是這樣結束的：

蒼天呵!珍愛每個兒女吧

保護每條神經——

才有美麗的地平線

保護每顆人心——

才有輝煌的日出

詩人所關注的，已不止是馬思聰一個人的命運，很有現實意義。

前幾天，我收到了周孟賢寄來的長詩選的全部作品。讀后發現，寫某著名制冷專家因報國無門而被迫去國外的《祖國，請你思索》，寫“河王”楊聯康崇高品格的《黃河的兒子》，寫經濟學家孫冶方的睿智和為真理獻身精神的《太湖，顫動著對青山的懷念》等，都是《海中舟的敘說》的姊妹篇，字里行間都同樣縈回著珍護人才的焦灼呼吁。《黃山獨白》用象征主義的手法來寫，沒有具體的人物形象，看似很虛，然而所表達的依然是人才問題。周孟賢為什么對這個主題如此關切?他在來信中說：“世上有許多悲劇，如海嘯、地震、旱澇和車禍等，這些悲劇于渺小的人類來說有時是無法避免的，也是能夠接受的，但人類自己人為造成的悲劇就太不應該了，我認為這是一切悲劇中的悲劇……一個國家有否希望，就看她對待人才(或曰知識分子)的態度。”由此可知，是高度的愛國良知和民族責任感驅使他命筆。清代著名詩人沈德潛說得好：“有第一等襟抱，第一等學識，斯有第一等真詩”，《海中舟的敘說》等篇，正是這樣的詩作。

這本詩選還收集了其他題材的作品，也都具有思想深度，排于卷首的《大鳥引我溯長江》最值得閱讀。

這首近1500行的長詩是用浪漫主義與現實主義結合的方法來創作的，傾注了詩人的大量心血。詩人在概括地揭露了當前社會種種令人嘆息的不良現象之后，在大鳥的引領下“溯長江”，創造出深遠壯闊的境界。“溯長江”其實是溯歷史。歷史是人創造的，于是詩人讓李清照、崔顥、屈原、李白、杜甫、陸羽、陶淵明、辛棄疾、諸葛亮、孔子、孟子、孟浩然、孟郊、范仲淹、王安石、蘇東坡、文天祥、施耐庵、羅貫中、魯迅、吳敬梓、蒲松齡、韓愈、賈誼、曹雪芹、毛澤東等近80位歷史名人以不同的角度出現在詩行中。詩人以凝練的筆墨刻畫他們各自的悲歡，并展現他們所共同打造的中華民族的光輝歷史，字里行間洋溢著強烈的自豪，同時又撫古思今，揭露有些人“用改革的刀子／像削蘿卜一樣削掉弱者的利益”的可惡，發出“世界為啥冷暖無常多災多難”、“為啥官場污垢殘穢至今難于沖凈”等的叩問；進而這樣提醒長江：“可記得該載舟的沒載舟/該覆舟的沒覆舟”……強烈的憂患意識貫串全詩。詩人的心隨著長江波濤急速跳動，迸發警人神魂的吶喊。

周孟賢所表達的情思，都具有鮮明的民族傳統印記，在某些“新潮”詩人的心目中，都屬“老土”的東西，但它們卻閃射著良知的亮光。周孟賢表示：“要走正路、寫正品，努力創作出有思想、有感情、有良心，亦即具有當代意識和憂患意識的作品。”他做到了，他忠實地履行了詩人的職責。

以上主要是議論作品的思想內涵。至于其藝術特點，詩壇老前輩汪靜之已作了評價：“周孟賢真誠樸素，感情豐富。詩如其人……熱情奔放，暢快淋漓是孟賢詩的特色。”(見《海上追月#8226;序》)此說簡潔而中肯，因此筆者不敢再饒舌。

(這是作者為《周孟賢抒情長詩選》所作的序，本刊略有刪節，題目為編者所加。近1500行的長詩《大鳥引我溯長江》發表在今年9月1日的《文藝報》)

Long Poems Sing of Human Destiny

Yang Guangzhi

I first met Zhou Mengxian at a seminar on poetry in Zhejiang Province more than 20 years ago when I read his long poem entitled \"A Tale of a Boat on the Sea? The admirable long poem was about Ma Sicong， a prominent violinist who left China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Zhou and I had not seen or contacted each other since the seminar until about half a month ago when I got an unexpected call from him. He asked me to write a foreword to his selections of long poems. I agreed without hesitation as what I had read in that long poem welled up in my mind.

I can recall that long poetic work vividly because it was about Ma Sicong， who rose to national stardom because of his Nostalgia， a violin solo piece that touched the national heart. The tumult forced the musician to flee from home. Ma was politically rehabilitated at the end of 1984， no longer a criminal who 襤ad committed treason and defected to the enemy camp? But what happened to the violinist was a tragedy， and nothing could change his ruined life. Ma was a Guangdong native and he fled the country via Guangzhou. When the news of his rehabilitation was publicly announced， poets in the province did not write a word about him. But Zhou Mengxian， a poet in Huzhou， Zhejiang Province， was sleepless the night he heard the news. He penned the long poem that night. The opus not only reflects Zhou Mengxian’s keen insight of poetry， but also shows his deep thought. The poet saw how talented people suffered the ultra leftist atrocities. He said this atrocity was detrimental to the country and the people. The poem was not just about the fate of a violinist. It was a brave charge against the disastrous Cultural Revolution. The charge had immediacy for that time.

A few days ago I received from him all the poems to be published in his new book of poetry. I am amazed that Zhou has written many other similar long poems about destinies of individuals. He sighs about an engineer who had to leave the country; he sings of a scientist who traced the world’s rivers and studied them; he lauds the economist Su Yefang’s wisdom and dedication to truth. The most noteworthy piece in the book is a 1，500-line poem entitled The Giant Bird Leads Me to the Source of the Yangtze River. The masterpiece discusses nearly 80 historical personages in Chinese history.

In the eyes of some avant-garde or new wave poets， what Zhou writes may appear too traditional， but his poetry shines with his conscience. He wants to write about the era， conscience， and concern about the fate of the country and individuals. His poems display a style that is warm， sincere， simple， and effusive. This book not only anthologizes Zhou’s creative works， but also creates an image for Zhou the poet.

Editor’s note: This is a condensed version of the author’s foreword for Zhou Mengxian’s latest poetry. The title of this version is from the editor. Zhou Mengxian’s The Giant Bird Leads Me to the Source of the Yangtze River was published in the September 1， 2005 issue of Literary Gazette， a national academic newspaper.

(Translated by David)