趵突泉的欣賞

千佛山、大明湖和趵突泉，是濟南的三大名勝。現在單講趵突泉。

在西門外的橋上，便看見一溪活水，清淺，鮮潔，由南向北地流著。這就是由趵突泉流出來的。設若沒有這泉，濟南定會丟失了一半的美。但是泉的所在地并不是我們理想中的一個美景。這又是個中國人的征服自然的辦法，那就是說，凡是自然的恩賜交到中國人手里就會把它弄得丑陋不堪。這塊地方已經成了個市場。南門外是一片喊聲，幾陣臭氣，從賣大碗面條與肉包子的棚子里出來。進了門有個小院，差不多是四方的。這里，“一毛錢四塊”和“兩毛錢一雙”的喊聲，與外面的“吃來”連成一片。一座假山，奇丑；穿過山洞，接連不斷的棚子與地攤，東洋布，東洋瓷，東洋玩具，東洋……加勁地表示著中國人怎樣熱烈地“不”抵制劣貨。這里很不易走過去，鄉下人一群跟著一群地來，把路塞住。他們沒有例外地全買一件東西還三次價，走開又回來摸索四五次。小腳婦女更了不得，你往左躲，她往左扭；你往右躲，她往右扭，反正不許你痛快地過去。

到了池邊，北岸上一座神殿，南西東三面全是唱鼓書的茶棚，唱的多半是梨花大鼓，一聲“喲”要拉長幾分鐘，猛聽頗像產科醫院的病室。除了茶棚還是日貨攤子，說點別的吧！

泉太好了。泉池差不多見方，三個泉口偏西，北邊便是條小溪流向西門去。看那三個大泉，一年四季，晝夜不停，老那么翻滾。你立定呆呆地看三分鐘，你便覺出自然的偉大，使你不敢再正眼去看。永遠那么純潔，永遠那么活潑，永遠那么鮮明，冒，冒，冒，永不疲乏，永不退縮，只是自然有這樣的力量！冬天更好，泉上起了一片熱氣，白而輕軟，在深綠的長的水藻上飄蕩著，使你不由得想起一種似乎神秘的境界。

池邊還有小泉呢：有的像大魚吐水，極輕快地上來一串小泡；有的像一串明珠，走到中途又歪下去，真像一串珍珠在水里斜放著；有的半天才上來一個泡，大，扁一點，慢慢地，有姿態地，搖動上來；碎了；看，又來了一個！有的好幾串小碎珠一齊擠上來，像一朵攢整齊的珠花，雪白；有的……這比那大泉還更有味。

新近為增加河水的水量，又下了六根鐵管，做成六個泉眼，水流得也很旺，但是我還是愛那原來的三個。

看完了泉，再往北走，經過一些貨攤，便出了北門。

前年冬天一把大火把泉池南邊的棚子都燒了。有機會改造了！造成一個公園，各處安著噴水管！東邊做個游泳池！有許多人這樣盼望。可是，席棚又搭好了，漸次改成了木板棚；鄉下人只知道趵突泉，把攤子移到“商場”去（就離趵突泉幾步）買賣就受損失了，于是“商場”四大皆空，還叫趵突泉作日貨銷售場。也許有道理。

Thousand Buddha Mountain， Daming Lake， and Baotu Spring are the renowned trio of scenic wonders in Jinan. Allow me to focus on Baotu Spring this time.

Upon the bridge beyond the West Gate， one encounters a rivulet of vibrant water， clear and pristine， gracefully flowing from south to north. This is the lifeblood that streams forth from Baotu Spring. Without this spring， Jinan would surely be deprived of half its beauty. However， the locale of the spring does not conform to our idealized visions of natural splendor. This illustrates a Chinese approach to the conquest of nature—alas， when nature’s bounty falls into Chinese hands， it often suffers a transformation into an unsightly state. The area surrounding this natural treasure has， regrettably， been transformed into a bustling marketplace.

The springs are a marvel to behold. The pool， nearly square in shape， hosts three springs to its western edge， with a slender stream flows northward， meandering towards the West Gate. Observe these three grand springs， ceaselessly bubbling day and night throughout the seasons. If you stand transfixed for but three minutes， the profound majesty of nature will assail your senses， leaving you in awe. Ever pure， ever vibrant， ever luminous， they bubble， bubble， bubble， with an indefatigable spirit， an unyielding force—such is the power of nature！ In winter， the scene is further enchanted as a mist of steam rises from the spring， white and delicate， drifting above the verdant， lengthy algae， evoking a sense of an almost mystical realm.

By the pond， there are small springs： some mimic a giant fish exhaling water， effortlessly releasing a string of bubbles； some resemble a strand of pearls， midway bending and descending， truly akin to a diagonal string of pearls submerged； some take half the day to produce a single bubble， large and slightly flattened， ascending slowly and gracefully， only to burst； behold， another arises！ Some clusters of delicate bubbles surge together， like a neatly arranged pearl blossom， snow-white； and some... These small springs offer even more charm than the grand one.