湖上笠翁李漁

粟子

杭州西湖側畔隱匿著這樣一群人，只有當我們背對濃妝淡抹的湖光時，才會不經意地與他們的視線相接。他們生活在不同的時代，有著迥異的人生境遇，但最終均愿意留跡西湖。他們似香頭一絲煙，散于藹藹嵐霧，又如筆尖一滴墨，溶于粼粼波影。

繁冗驅人，舊業盡拋塵市里；

湖山招我，全家移入畫圖中。

這是清代著名小說家、戲劇家李漁寫在自己家門上的對聯。聯中所說湖山就指西湖的湖光山色，李漁與之有著不可分割的關系和情愫。

李漁的祖上在浙江金華蘭溪創業已久，家境素饒，因此李漁從小便享受富足生活。由于科舉失利，李漁放棄了以仕途騰達為家庭光耀門戶這一追求，改走“人間大隱”之道。他自詡“識字農”，學唐人王維，在蘭溪夏李村建伊山別業（伊園），欲老死于此。伊園是李漁展示其園林技藝的最初杰作。經他獨具匠心的設計和安排，據說這山園之景差可與杭州的湖上園林風光相比。李漁在這里度過了他一生中最為清閑的歲月。

但李漁注定不是一個湮沒無聞的鄉曲之士，他最終還是來到了杭州。清順治七年（1650），40歲的李漁從蘭溪搬到杭州定居，自題寓名為“武林小筑”。他希望站在風景秀麗的西湖邊上，能干出些自己感興趣的事來，可惜人生地不熟，一家老小的生活全靠他著落。

李漁處在一個劫后余生的時代，黎民百姓需要撫平戰爭留下的心理創傷，而鼎革之際相對松弛的文網也為他提供了發揮才情的獨特空間，那個時代更需要借助他的杰出天賦去開辟一塊無人問津的新文化領域，以浸潤天下讀書士子多愁善感而幾近枯焦的心田。于是，李漁硬是靠一支筆，走出了一條前人從未走過的、被時人視為“賤業”的“賣賦糊口”之路，開始了創作生涯。數年間，他連續寫出了《憐香伴》《風箏誤》《意中緣》《玉搔頭》等六部傳奇及《無聲戲》《十二樓》兩部白話短篇小說集。這些通俗文學作品雖被正統文人所不齒、視為末技，但由于通俗易懂，貼近市民生活，寓教于樂，適合觀眾、讀者的欣賞情趣，所以甫一問世，便暢銷于市場，被爭購一空，不但在杭州坊間一下子打響了名聲，而且連南京、蘇州也都流傳著他的作品。

在《憐香伴》的序中，李漁寫道：“傳奇十部九相思，道是情癡尚未癡。獨有此奇人未傳，特翻情局愧填詞。”到了56歲，李漁更是組建了私家劇團“李氏家班”，演繹自己的作品，一時鋒頭凌厲，八面風光，名滿宇內，賓朋天下。

已是花甲之年的李漁終于大器晚成。為了便于書籍刊行，李漁舉家遷往金陵。只要資金允許，李漁每遷一地，必置產造園，以便利于奔走之后的身心休閑。他的園林設計與戲曲創作兩大才能在此時充分地顯現出來。他在金陵營建了寓所芥子園，取“芥子雖小，能納須彌”之意。小小園庭經他精心設計、巧妙安排，倒也別有情趣，有棲云谷、月榭、歌臺、浮白軒等諸景，并都題有楹聯，成為園林建筑史上較為經典的一個設計案例，其聲名也一下子傳遍金陵，一些達官貴人紛紛請他設計，并報以高額設計酬金。

李氏家班有臺柱子喬、王二姬，被李漁視為紅顏知己，可是紅顏薄命，兩人在正當花季的年齡早逝。李漁痛心疾首，一夜之間好像老了許多。

晚年的時候，李漁的西湖情結再一次涌上心頭。他想起兒時曾隨母親路過西湖時，母親感慨地說：“住在西湖邊的人們真有福氣啊！”李漁當時便暗下決心，將來一定要在西湖邊擁有一幢住宅、贍養母親。

康熙十五年（1676），66歲的李漁賣掉南京芥子園，告別傷心之地，回到了西湖邊上。李漁與西湖似乎有著一種割不斷的情愫，不管走到哪里，都會想起或夢見這一湖碧水，老死西湖是他的人生愿望。當再次面對西湖，他再也不想走了，想在西子湖畔度過余生。在友人的幫助下，李漁購買到了杭州云居山一處舊宅，這個半鄉半城的居址令李漁尤為滿意，他在那里構建了一座園林，并把它命名為“層園”。云居山山坡略陡，樹木蔥郁，在繁華喧囂的都市里，它是一個鬧中取靜的好去處。站在山頂居高臨下，繁華的杭州城和美麗的西湖盡收眼底。晚年李漁每日閑步西湖，自號“湖上笠翁”。

搬到杭州不久，因為旅途的顛沛，他大病一場，從此身體每況愈下。李漁臥病期間，一家人忍饑挨餓，憂懼交加，生活清貧不堪。

遷居杭州四年后，在一個大雪紛飛的凌晨，這位在痛并快樂中奔走一生、對藝術執著追求又立志創新的老人與世長辭了。一代文化巨匠李漁走完他人生七十年的歷程。李漁死后，被安葬在杭州方家峪蓮花峰上、九曜山麓之陽，墓對西湖，實現了他“老將詩骨葬西湖”的夙愿。他生前好友、錢塘縣令梁冶湄題其墓碑——“湖上笠翁之墓”，并作《哭笠翁》七絕四首。

300多年過去了，李漁的墓早已不復存在，且也無跡可尋。在20世紀70年代，曾有人撰文稱，在杭州云居山麓的一個水池邊上看到過一塊墊腳的青石，正是李漁之墓碑，之后有人復尋，卻再也沒有找到。但九曜山、方家峪、蓮花峰等可以作證：當年才名震世的湖上笠翁，確確實實長眠在那萬綠之中。

The West Lake of Hangzhou has inspired countless souls for the past thousand years. The life stories and sentiments of cultural notables in the old times of China are the blood and flesh of Hangzhous West Lake culture. Their lofty minds and cultural souls are forever lingering in the ethereal landscape， nourishing the life of todays people.

One of the shiny stars in the West Lake cultural “Milky Way” is Li Yu （1610-1680）， also known as Li Liweng.endprint

Born into a rich family in present-day Zhejiang province， the playwright， novelist and publisher lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. After failing in passing the higher levels of the imperial examination， Li Yu switched his focus from scholarly fame and riches to garden artistry. His villa in Xiali Village in his hometown in todays Lanxi City， Zhejiang Province， where he spent the most care-free years in his life， was widely recognized as his first garden landscaping masterpiece.

However， Li Yu was born with a restless heart full of whimsical thoughts. He moved to Hangzhou at the age of 40， dreaming to set up a new career and a new life for his family.

Due to the political turmoil of the new dynasty， Li Yu turned to writing for the market， traveling with his own troupe. Despite the fact that he was posthumously acclaimed as one of the few “writer-entrepreneurs” in the old times of China and the “most versatile and enterprising writer of his time”， Li Yu wrote informal essays and “avant-garde” novels which were dismissed as “at his wits end” by the conservatives in his time. However， he was widely read and appreciated by many for his daringly innovative subject matter. Li was also loved for his witty and charming gastronomical writings. In his 40s， his burst of productivity spawned a series of literary masterpieces including six novels and two collections of short stories respectively titled Silent Drama and Errors Caused by the Kite， which remain to date a part of the traditional Kunqu Opera repertoire.

Lis whimsical， satirical approach to serious topics made him a best-selling author of his time. He was also widely read in Suzhou and Jinling （todays Nanjing）.

Li was a wonderful illustration of the Chinese saying “great minds mature slowly”. Turning 60， Li Yu moved to Jinling to pursue his dream in the publishing industry. In those years， his genius in garden design and playwriting reached its peak. However， his content in career success soon gave way to the deep sorrow brought by the untimely death of his two confidantes. He became grey at the temples almost overnight.

His West Lake nostalgia flooded over his mind in his later years. Waves of childhood memories about taking walks by the lake with his mother started to haunt his days and nights. “Those living by the lake are really blessed，” his mother would say in jealousy.endprint

In 1676， 66-year-old Li Yu sold his Mustard Garden in Nanjing. Heart-broken， he settled down by the West Lake to seek solace. It had always been the dream of the man to rest in peace by the lake. With the help of his friends， Li Yu purchased an old house in Yunju Hill and named it Ceng Garden. In his new oasis of serenity， the wound in the heart healed slowly. For Li Yu， the West Lake vista was a spiritual therapy.

Not long after a frustrated Li Yu moved back to Hangzhou， he fell seriously ill due to travel weariness. He never really got back on his feet. His health went from bad to worse for much of his Hangzhou days. He was down and out. His family suffered a lot from destitution.

In the wee hours of a freezing cold day in 1680， which was only four years after he settled down in the soothing lakescape of Hangzhou， Li Yu passed away at the age of 70. The resting place of his restless soul was at Lianhuafeng， Fangjiayu in Hangzhou. The tomb， tucked away at the hillside of Jiuhaoshan， faces the West Lake， with the inscription that includes four seven-character quatrains on the gravestone contributed by Liang Yemei， a lifetime friend of Li Yu.

The gravestone is nowhere to be found in todays Hangzhou， although in the 1970s someone claimed to have seen the tombstone of Li Yus grave by a pond in the citys Yunju Hill area. The discovery turned out to be a flash in the pan， and was never mentioned again. However， the rivers and mountains in Hangzhou will forever be the powerful witness to the life wonders of Li Yu. The playwrights creativity and perseverant pursuit of an artistic lifestyle is still vibrating in the depths of the mesmerizing greenery of the lake shores， forever inspiring and touching.endprint