四明山五龍潭之行

早春二月，挑了個好天氣，我乘車來到四明山五龍潭。

過一座名為“清靈橋”的石拱橋，橋下溪流潺湲，清澈見底。溯溪北行百十米，拐過刻著“靈潭圣境”四字的溪邊崖壁，便是龍潭飛瀑風景區了。

入門，就看見一組青銅人物雕像和柏樹造型向上盤旋的“龍柱”，形象地向游客述說五龍潭“一母四子”五條神龍來歷的美麗傳說。進入山谷，群山環抱，層巒疊嶂。迎面崖巖頂上一道長瀑如白練垂下，崖壁上鐫刻著沙孟海先生題寫的巨大的“龍”字。

青山高聳，樹木森森。澗溪隨著山勢流轉，游人順著澗溪行走。谷中青山漸行漸攏，溪兩旁樹枝交叉，樹影幢幢，陽光透過枝干的空隙灑落在曲曲彎彎的卵石步道和游人的身上，斑駁晶亮。溪流時而湍急，時而輕舒，如同一條暢游的神龍。溪中嶙峋的石塊形態各異，或隱或現，那是神龍身上的鱗甲，伴著連綿不斷向前伸展的溪邊樹，宛如神龍翩翩搖曳的鰭裙。清漪亭邊溪中的巨石上面，刻有“漱石”兩字，是蘇東坡的手跡。枕流漱石，水進石間，似雪如霧，令人禁不住用手撩起清冷的溪水拂在臉上。此刻，整個身心已浸溶于泉聲山色之中。

攀上一段小坡道，路旁有唐代大書法家虞世南題匾的“五龍神堂”。飛檐，紅柱，石欄……內有五塊石碑并立，碑上刻著龍王、關公、土地、野豬、蠶花娘娘的神像。堂側石碑記載，此處在唐代即建有神堂，祈神護佑人間風調雨順五谷豐登，百姓安居樂業豐衣足食。歷經千年神堂興廢多次，此堂是十余年前景區開發時在舊址重建的。

行進了多時尚未到一井龍潭孚澤潭，正疑惑間，看見一堵六七十米高的石壁橫亙傲立，頂上一道瀑布似飛虹掛下，潭水深碧如藍，潭邊巨石相圍，水繞石隙靜靜地流淌。據傳這是“青龍潭”，也稱為“福”潭。離孚澤潭不遠就是二井龍潭昭澤潭，瀑矮流緩貌不驚人，卻是傳說中的“祿”潭。幽谷碧潭，清澈空靈，讓人怡情悅性。潭邊草叢間有尚未消融的積雪，不免訝異。山里的氣溫確實低。

左折到了三井龍潭潤澤潭，潭旁正在新造亭子，我十分小心地走過邊上那座尚未完工的小石橋，還未在潭前的石巖上站穩，隆隆的瀑布聲已灌滿耳廓，高聳的峭壁前巨大的瀑布轟然奔瀉，炸雷噴雪般地落入潭中，水霧蒸騰。潭水色如藍寶石，潭面和緩優柔，深不可測……。傳說，這里是龍母娘娘黃龍的寢宮，稱作“黃龍潭”。人們認為祈福黃龍可得長壽，又稱為“壽”潭。靜靜地站在如仙境般的深潭邊上，心靈與自然早已溶化合一。

四井龍潭利澤潭，銀瀑怒濺，聲吼山谷，別有一番雄壯氣象，嘆為觀止。

游人告知，五井龍潭顯澤潭臨近山頂，此去尚有大半小時的路程。繼續攀登，熱汗涔涔，氣喘吁吁，終于到了五井龍潭顯澤潭。此是傳說中的“喜”潭。那石巖對峙斜合，銀瀑從石隙中奔流入潭，濺起浪花如雪。潭水泛著層層漣漪，流出不遠，便平滑如絲綢，水底卵石清晰可數，水流向前跌入巖下，則又是一番驚心動魄的景象，此處該是龍尾吧。

徜徉在青山綠水之間，水聲嘩嘩，群峰蒼翠。山水交融如畫，人在畫中漫游，盡情享受這野趣叢生的自然風光!

“山不在高，有仙則名。水不在深，有龍則靈。”家門口的五龍潭，山幽，水清，景美，鐘靈毓秀。五龍潭，自有神龍在！

My Visit to Five-Dragon Pools

By Chen Weixuan

On a sunny day in February this year I take a bus ride to visit the Five Dragon Pools nestled in the Siming Mountains in eastern Zhejiang. I arrive around the noon. Bright sunlight swamps the valley and surrounding mountains but it is still a little bit cold.

The bus station is just a stone’s throw away from a stone bridge that leads to the entrance to the Magic Pools Fairland， the words carved on a cliff overlooking a stream deep down. Inside the gate is a set of bronze sculptures featuring a dragon mother and her four dragon sons.

The five pools zone is centered around a stream that meanders down from a valley flanked by wooded peaks on both sides. Near the entrance is a waterfall cascading down from a cliff. On the cliff surface is a huge Chinese character Dragon carved in the handwriting of Sha Menghai (1900-1992)， a Zhejiang native and leading calligrapher of the 20th-century China.

Walking along a pebble-paved path along the stream up the valley is a huge delight. The path meanders and the valley gradually becomes narrower. Trees stand tall， their leafy treetops blocking the sunlight here and there. Sunlight cast the shadows of tree leaves and twigs on the path and me while intermingling bright light spots with shadow spots. The stream lingers here and there and runs fast in rapids here and there， creating bubbling noises. The boulders present all kinds of shapes. Understandably the boulders are compared to the dragons’ armors.

Beside the natural allures of the valley where the legendary dragons live， there is something highly artificial. In one place stands a Five Dragon Shrine， its name written on a plaque in the handwriting of Yu Shinan (558-638)， a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Zhejiang native. The shrine houses five stone steles on which are respectively carved images of Dragon King， Lord Guan， Local Lord of the Land， Wild Boar， and Goddess of Silk Worms. Nothing in the scenic zone explains why the five enjoy worship in the same shrine， but the shrine was first built in the Tang Dynasty. It went down and came up again several times over the past millennium. The present shrine was constructed on the original site merely about ten years ago.

Leaving the shrine behind I follow the path. I begin to wonder where the first Dragon Pool is when I turn around a huge cliff and come face to face with a waterfall plunging from a cliff about 60 meters tall. The pool at the foot of the waterfall looks bluish and water slips quietly through boulders before it finds its way down. This pool is known as the Blue Dragon Pool and is said to have something to do with Fortune.

The second dragon pool is nearby. The waterfall there is short and the water flows more quietly and slowly， without the vigor seen in the first. The weather forecast says the highest temperature is 18 degrees centigrade， but I see some snow in the grass at the edge of the pool.

The path turns left after the second pool and soon I come to the third dragon pool. Gingerly I walk across a stone bridge still under construction and come to the edge of a rock by the pool. The waterfall here gives thundering noises， cascading down from a cliff. Mists rise and hover. The bluish pool looks abysmal. It is said that this pool is the sleeping quarters of the mother dragon and that people praying to the yellow dragon can hope to lead a long and healthy life.

The fourth dragon pool is magnificence itself. The waterfall roars， splashing down into the valley. Then I learn the fifth pool is more than a 30-minute walk away. I decide to go. It is called Happiness Pool. The water falls out of a rocky opening and drops into the pool. The cascading waterfall touches the pool， creating splashes and waves. Far away from the impact spot， crystal water allows me to peep into a layer of pebbles on the bottom. Before long， the water sneaks away into rocks down below. This is presumably the tail of the dragon.