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FEATURESSearching for the Ming: Part FourZhang Dai Translated by Duncan Campbell
This is the fourth page of Duncan Campbell's translations of excerpts from Zhang Dai's Search for West Lake in My Dreams. The other pages can be accessed via the following links: Central Approaches 西湖中路Variegated Brocade Embankment 十錦塘Variegated Brocade Embankment, also known as the Sun Embankment, is found beneath Break-Off Bridge. It was restored by the eunuch Sun Long of the Directorate of Ceremonial in the Seventeenth Year of the reign of the Wanli emperor [1589]. The embankment is two zhang wide and is planted in peach and willow trees, in exactly the same manner as the Su Embankment. As the years and months have gone by, the girth of the trees has grown thick. When walking beneath the dense and patterned branches and leaves, the dappled moonlight appears like patches of lingering snow upon the ground. I think that in all likelihood talk of the 'Lingering Snow upon Break-Off Bridge' in the past was in fact a reference to the moonlight, not to the snow.[Fig.7] Fig.7 Lingering Snow upon Break-Off Bridge 斷橋殘雪, reprinted without attribution in Old Photographs of West Lake, p.46.
Su Embankment is some way distant from the town itself, and the pedestrians passing along the road leading towards Clear Waves Gate are few. By contrast, as Sun Embankment takes one directly to West Chill Bridge, here the horses and carts and tourists come and go like the shuttle of a loom. With the bewitching beauty of the lake and the scent of the lotus blooms filling one's nose for a good ten li around here, it is as if one has set off along the Shanyin Circuit for the 'hills and the streams complement each other in such a way that I can't begin to describe them'.[48] The smaller of the lake boats can enter the Inner Lake; the larger ones are to be found either following along the contour of the embankment or moored against it. From Brocade Belt Bridge the road leads to Lake Prospect Pavilion, this pavilion marking the furthermost extent of Variegated Brocade Embankment, and as one approaches Lone Hill the surface of the lake opens out before one.[Fig.8] As part of his lavish refurbishment of the lakeshore, Sun Long had an outdoor terrace built and upon this one can take in the cool breeze or stroll beneath the bright moon. One can also have a banquet laid out here for one's guests, and not a day goes by that is without the sound of flutes and singing or without an opera performed. Fig.8 Xiling Bridge 西冷橋 near Solitary Island 孤山, reprinted without attribution in Old Photographs of West Lake, p.55.
Today, this terrace has been transformed into Dragon King Hall and all around the hall structures of one sort or another have been erected, this disordered jumble of buildings serving to destroy the splendid scene of the past. Further on again stands the Shrine of Eunuch Sun, erected whilst he was still alive. With the hills behind it and the lake spread out before, the shrine is most imposing. In recent times this shrine has been made over to the Buddha by the eunuch Lu, and Sun Long's statue has been removed to sit behind the Buddha statue niche. Sun Long expended several hundreds of thousands of taels on prettifying the lake, and in this regard his efforts were not inferior to those of the Academician Su Shi. To see his statue hidden away like this, given no view of the light of the lake or the hue of the mountains, forced to sit facing a wall like a criminal, brings a lump to one's throat. 十錦塘,一名孫堤,在斷橋下。司禮太監孫隆於萬曆十七年修築。堤闊二丈,遍植桃柳,一如蘇堤。歲月既多,樹皆合抱。行其下者,枝葉扶蘇,漏下月光,碎如殘雪。意向言斷橋殘雪,或言月影也。蘇堤離城遠,為清波孔道,行旅甚稀。孫堤直達西泠,車馬遊人,往來如織。兼以西湖光艷,十里荷香,如入山陰道上,使人應接不暇。湖船小者,可入裡湖,大者緣堤倚徙,由錦帶橋循至望湖亭,亭在十錦塘之盡。漸近孤山,湖面寬廠。孫東瀛修葺華麗,增築露台,可風可月,兼可肆筵設席。笙歌劇戲,無日無之。今改作龍王堂,旁綴數楹,咽塞離披,舊景盡失。再去,則孫太監生祠,背山面湖,頗極壯麗。近為盧太監捨以供佛,改名盧捨庵,而以孫東瀛像置之佛龕之後。孫太監以數十萬金錢裝塑西湖,其功不在蘇學士之下,乃使其遺像不得一見湖光山色,幽囚面壁,見之大為鯁悶。
Fig.9 The Outer Lake 外湖, reprinted without attribution in Old Photographs of West Lake, p.26.
張岱《西湖七月半記》: Su Embankment 蘇公堤Just as Hangzhou has its West Lake, so too does Yingzhou in Anhui Province, both lakes becoming famous for their beauty. Su Shi served successively in both places. Just after he had been appointed to the post in Yingzhou, somebody from there remarked: 'Academician Su, all you need to do to manage the affairs of this area is to tour the lake.' When he heard about this, Qin Guan[49] wrote a quatrain on it: Ten li of lotus in first bloom, My lord has arrived at West Lake. If he wishes to conduct business from upon the lake, His Speaking Officials, I fear, will have not a day's respite. Later on, once he had arrived at his posting, an Executive Official surnamed Xie informed him: 'When serving at court you enjoyed the honour of entering through the North Gate; now that you have taken charge of these two regions, you have served successively as master of both West Lakes.' Thus, whilst Su Shi was serving in Hangzhou, he had the lake dredged and the rape turnip matted mud piled up to form a long embankment, leading from south to north through the middle of the lake. This embankment thereafter took his name. Along both sides of the embankment, peach and willow trees were planted, and six bridges were built along it.[Fig.10] Fig.10 Su Embankment 蘇堤, reprinted without attribution in Old Photographs of West Lake, p.48.
After the retreat to the south, the storied boats with their drums and songs presented a scene of beauty and extravagance in the extreme. Later, as the lake waters ate away at the embankment, it began to disintegrate. By the Ming, in the years before the reign of the Chenghua emperor [1465-87], the Inner Lake had been completely taken over by the locals to serve as arable land and the flow of water beneath the six bridges had been reduced to a trickle. In the Third Year of the reign of the Zhengde emperor [1508], the Provincial Administration Commissioner Yang Mengying had the Inner Lake cleared, establishing North New Embankment as its westernmost boundary. He also had the Su Embankment consolidated to a height of two zhang and a width of more than five zhang, built the six additional bridges of the Inner Lake and planted ten thousand willows in rows, thus restoring the embankment to its former glory. With the passage of time, many of the willows died and the embankment again began to disintegrate. In the Twelfth Year of the reign of the Jiajing emperor [1533], the District Magistrate Wang Yi ordered that minor criminals be allowed to redeem themselves by planting peach and willow trees along the embankment and soon the resplendent reds and purples had woven themselves into a brocade of colour. During the subsequent wars, all these trees were cut down. In the Second Year of the reign of the Wanli emperor [1574], the Salt Distribution Commissioner Zhu Bingru had the embankment replanted with willows, and once again it appeared resplendent. By the early years of the reign of the Chongzhen emperor [1628-44], the trees had grown thick of girth. The Prefect Liu Mengqian, along with prominent local scholars such as Chen Shengfu and others would hold splendid gatherings here upon the embankment during the second month. The town would be scoured for Goat Horn Lamps and several tens of thousands of gauze lanterns would be hung amongst the peach and willow trees, with red felt mats laid out beneath them, and amidst a crowd of seductive serving boys and famous courtesans, the visitors would drink and sing to their heart's content. With dusk, the light of ten thousand candles, all burning together, would turn night into day. Visible far off across the lake, the light of the candles on the embankment would be magnified by the reflections on the surface of the lake, and the sound of the flutes, and strings, pipes and song would echo until the early hours. When news of all this reached the Capital, the Prefect was demoted a grade. The memory of this leads one to think about Su Shi's time here as Prefect of Hangzhou. In spring, whenever he happened to have a day off he would arrange to meet up with those visiting the lake. They would take their breakfast at some scenic spot before each of them would set off in a boat, with one boat leading and each boat supplied with a courtesan or two, to drift wherever the tide would take them. In the late afternoon a gong would be sounded for the boats to reassemble and they would gather at the Lake Prospect Pavilion or at Bamboo Belvedere, before going their separate ways in an excess of joy. By the first or second watch of the night, before the night market had dispersed, they would return to the town with torches burning. The most beautiful maidens of the town would gather like clouds lining the street to watch them. The romance of occasions such as this was unprecedented, truly the joyful token of a peaceful age such that cannot be repeated. [Fig.11]Fig.11 Spring Dawn Breaking Over Su Embankment 蘇堤春曉, reprinted without attribution in Old Photographs of West Lake, p.49.
杭州有西湖,潁上亦有西湖,皆為名勝,而東坡連守二郡。其初得潁,潁人曰:"內翰只消游湖中,便可以了公事。"秦太虛因作一絕雲:"十里荷花菡萏初,我公身至有西湖。欲將公事湖中了,見說官閒事亦無。"後東坡到潁,有謝執政啓雲:"入參兩禁,每玷北扉之榮;出典二幫,迭為西湖之長。"故其在杭,請浚西湖,聚葑泥,築長堤,自南之北,橫截湖中,遂名蘇公堤。夾植桃柳,中為六橋。南渡之後,鼓吹樓船,頗極華麗。後以湖水漱嚙,堤漸凌夷。入明,成化以前,里湖盡為民業,六橋水流如線。正德三年,郡守楊孟瑛辟之,西抵北新堤為界,增益蘇堤,高二丈,闊五丈三尺,增建里湖六橋,列種萬柳,頓復舊觀。久之,柳敗而稀,堤亦就圮。嘉靖十二年,縣令王釴令犯罪輕者種桃柳為贖,紅紫燦爛,錯雜如錦。後以兵火,砍伐殆盡。萬曆二年,鹽運使朱炳如復植楊柳,又復燦然。迨至崇禎初年,堤上樹皆合抱。太守劉夢謙與士夫陳生甫輩時至。二月,作勝會於蘇堤。城中括羊角燈、紗燈幾萬盞,遍掛桃柳樹上,下以紅氈鋪地,冶童名妓,縱飲高歌。夜來萬蠟齊燒,光明如晝。湖中遙望堤上萬蠟,湖影倍之。蕭管笙歌,沈沈昧旦。傳之京師,太守鐫級。因想東坡守杭之日,春時每遇休暇,必約客湖上,早食於山水佳處。飯畢,每客一舟,令隊長一人,各領數妓,任其所之。晡後鳴鑼集之,復會望湖亭或竹閣,極歡而罷。至一、二鼓,夜市猶未散,列燭以歸。城中士女夾道雲集而觀之。此真曠古風流,熙世樂事,不可復追也已。 Lake Heart Pavilion 湖心亭Lake Heart Pavilion was built on the site of Lake Heart Temple of old and in those days its pagoda had been one of the three found at the centre of the lake. During the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming dynasty [1488-1505], a Commissioner with the Provincial Surveillance Commission, Yin Zishu, proved extremely strict in his conduct of public affairs. When the monks of the temple, with the backing of the eunuch posted to the area as Grand Director, began to bar their gates to everybody, even the highest officials of the region, Yin investigated their wicked actions and had the temple destroyed and the pagoda dismantled. In the Thirty-first Year of the reign of the Jiajing emperor [1552], the Prefect Sun Meng sought out the ruins of the former temple and had a pavilion erected on the site. Its open terrace was about one mu in circumference and was fenced with a stone balustrade; standing there one could enjoy the various splendid prospects offered by lake and hill in a glance. Within a few years, however, the pavilion had fallen into a state of disrepair, only to be restored by Commissioner Xu Tingluo in the Fourth Year of the reign of the Wanli Emperor [1576]. In the Twenty-eighth year of the reign of the same emperor [1600], the eunuch Sun Long changed the pavilion's name to Pavilion of Pure Joy; with its glorious golds and blazing blues it became a site of awe and beauty. To the visitor's eye it would seem like a Fata Morgana, only to be quickly swallowed up again by the clouds and the mists; I fear that even King Teng's Gazebo and Yueyang Tower could not compete with its august appearance. In spring, bonsai, clay figurines, paintings, calligraphy and antiques are laid out for sale here, covering every available step and the shouting of the bargain hunters becomes quite deafening. Climbing up here in the evenings, however, with the moon suspended high in the sky, one finds peace and tranquillity, as if one has entered the Palace of the Mermaids or the Vault of the Oceans. With the moonlight reflected on the surface of the lake and the mist rising around one, few are those who come to this deserted place and none can linger long. 湖心亭舊為湖心寺,湖中三塔,此其一也。明弘治間,按察司僉事陰子淑秉憲甚厲。寺僧怙鎮守中官,杜門不納官長。陰廉其奸事,毀之,並去其塔。嘉靖三十一年,太守孫孟尋遺跡,建亭其上。露台畝許,周以石欄,湖山勝概,一覽無遺。數年尋圮。萬曆四年,僉事徐廷祼重建。二十八年,司禮監孫東瀛改為清喜閣,金碧輝煌,規模壯麗,遊人望之如海市蜃樓。煙雲吞吐,恐滕王閣、岳陽樓俱無甚偉觀也。春時,山景、睺羅、書畫、古董,盈砌盈階,喧闐擾嚷,聲息不辨。夜月登此,闃寂淒涼,如入鮫宮海藏。月光晶沁,水氣滃之,人稀地僻,不可久留。 A Short Account of Lake Heart Pavilion by Zhang Dai Fig.12 Lake Heart Pavilion 湖心亭, reprinted without attribution in Old Photographs of West Lake, p.76.
'How is it that this fellow too is out upon the lake?', they exclaimed as they pressed me into joining them for a drink. I speedily downed three large cupfuls before taking my leave. Inquiring after their names, I was told they that were from Jinling and just happened to be visiting. As I got back on the boat, the boatman muttered under his breath: 'I thought that you, my good sir, were crazy, but these gentlemen seem just as crazy as your good self!' 張岱《湖心亭小記》:崇禎五年十二月,余住西湖。大雪三日,湖中人鳥聲俱絕。是日更定矣,余拿一小舟,擁毳衣爐火,獨往湖心亭看雪。霧淞沆碭,天與雲、與山、與水,上下一白。湖上影子,惟長堤一痕,湖心亭一點,與余舟一芥,舟中人兩三粒而已。到亭上,有兩人鋪氈對坐,一童子燒酒,爐正沸。見余大驚喜,曰:"湖中焉得更有此人!"拉余同飲。余強飲三大白而別。問其姓氏,是金陵人,客此。及下船,舟子喃喃曰:"莫說相公痴,更有痴似相公者。" Searching for the Ming
Notes: Part Four[48] The Shanyin Circuit is the area surrounding present-day Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province and was renowned for its natural beauty, most famously expressed by Wang Xianzhi in the line Zhang Dai quotes here, from A New Account of Tales of the World (Shishuo xinyu 世說新語)for which see Richard B. Mather, trans., Shih-shuo Hsin-yü: A New Account of Tales of the World, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1976, pp.71-72. [49] For a short biography of Qin Guan 秦觀 (1049-1100), see Sung Biographies, vol.1, pp.235-41. |