一

在中國(guó)建筑中，橋梁很難與宮殿建筑、宗教建筑、園林建筑相媲美，無(wú)論格局、規(guī)模還是精致程度都有相當(dāng)大的差距，只有廊橋是個(gè)例外。在崇山峻嶺之中，溝壑縱橫，急流險(xiǎn)灘，為了方便出行，先人將足夠的智慧集中到遇水搭橋上。千年來(lái)，一座座廊橋猶如彩虹般從河流上跨越而過(guò)，連接著千村百鎮(zhèn)，天塹從此化作坦途。

廊橋大致可以分成木拱廊橋、石拱廊橋、木平梁廊橋、伸臂疊梁式廊橋、八字撐木平梁廊橋等幾種類型，其中以采用編梁技術(shù)與榫鉚連接的木拱廊橋建造工藝最為頂尖。木拱廊橋分布在浙江和福建交界的慶元、泰順、屏南、壽寧等地，200座木拱廊橋氣貫長(zhǎng)虹般地跨越崢嶸山巒，連接著山外通途，著名的木拱廊橋有如龍橋、蘭溪橋、后坑橋、三條橋、溪東橋、北澗橋、仙居橋、萬(wàn)安橋、鸞峰橋、千乘橋、云龍橋等。

木拱廊橋有一個(gè)共同特點(diǎn)，即建筑工藝絢麗多彩，精致程度遠(yuǎn)勝其他種類的橋梁，即使體積再小的木拱廊橋，也能最大幅度地呈現(xiàn)出建筑的幾何美感。木拱廊橋棲息在山水之間，橋梁建筑和山水人文交織在一起，構(gòu)成了一張張古意盎然的畫作，呈現(xiàn)出典型的東方審美情趣。

木拱廊橋符合中國(guó)人的文化立場(chǎng)，每一座橋都能夠體現(xiàn)出中國(guó)文化的博大精深。木拱廊橋是典型的東方建筑，幾乎將屋、亭、臺(tái)、樓、閣、殿、水榭、長(zhǎng)廊等建筑形式都搬到橋上，橋頭延伸出門樓、牌坊、碑亭、廟宇等附屬建筑，形成了水上宮殿或者水上園林，集中展示了傳統(tǒng)建筑的空間關(guān)系和整體布局。橋身飛檐斗拱，橋體雕梁畫棟，牌匾林立，楹聯(lián)密布，詩(shī)賦繞梁，濃郁文氣撲面而來(lái)。橋身彩繪和雕刻內(nèi)容豐富多彩，多為傳說(shuō)故事、英雄人物、耕讀傳家、吉祥圖案等，讓人目不暇接。

木拱廊橋從某種層面上而言是宗教建筑，一些橋干脆以宗教命名。為了表達(dá)對(duì)神的敬重，在廊屋中間加建歇山頂式檐，或者是高大的閣樓。橋中設(shè)置神龕，供奉觀音、關(guān)公、平水王、文昌君、媽祖、土地神、社公等神佛雕塑或者畫像，供鄉(xiāng)人祭祀。有些廊橋四時(shí)香火繚繞，祈福聲四季不斷。在我看來(lái)，木拱廊橋更像是一個(gè)個(gè)木頭構(gòu)建的祭壇，寄托人們一切美好的愿望。

木拱廊橋在山水中保持緘默，但幾乎所有的廊橋背后都隱藏著傳奇典故。這是一群什么樣的建橋人？他們?yōu)槭裁匆ㄔ爝@座橋？它身上究竟發(fā)生了什么離奇事件？它承載過(guò)什么樣的歷史使命？所有的記載都語(yǔ)焉不詳。這一切成為一則有待揭示的啞謎，形成了它獨(dú)特的魅力。

二

北宋政和年間的一天，《清明上河圖》呈現(xiàn)在宋徽宗的案頭，在這幅畫里，虹橋成為連接汴水的紐帶，橋上的人流和橋下的船舶盤活了整個(gè)畫面，也成為《清明上河圖》的壓卷之筆。宋徽宗和張擇端都不知道，早在130年前，在浙江省慶元縣一座偏僻的小山村大濟(jì)就聳立著一座與虹橋結(jié)構(gòu)一樣的木拱橋——雙門橋，稍有不同的是雙門橋加蓋了廊屋。

世界上有確切資料記載的木拱廊橋出自慶元。隨著民族大遷徙的腳步，一塊塊橋板向南伸展，浙閩工匠吸收了當(dāng)?shù)氐哪窘Y(jié)構(gòu)橋梁營(yíng)造技術(shù)養(yǎng)分，并創(chuàng)造性地發(fā)明了木拱廊橋，繼而促進(jìn)全國(guó)的廊橋發(fā)展。

宋代以后，廊橋在中原逐漸絕跡，這主要是由于中原地帶缺少適合建造廊橋的地質(zhì)條件和可充分供應(yīng)的木材，因而石拱橋漸漸成為北方橋梁的主流，比如名聞遐邇的趙州橋、盧溝橋等。在木拱廊橋最密集的浙閩山區(qū)，福建壽寧縣森林覆蓋率達(dá)74.8%，浙江泰順縣森林覆蓋率達(dá)75%，浙江慶元縣森林覆蓋率更是高達(dá)86.05%，得天獨(dú)厚的森林資源為建木拱廊橋提供了便利。仙霞嶺、武夷山脈在此交匯，山巒疊嶂，嶺峻谷深，溪流縱橫，地貌和建材決定了這里最適合建造木拱廊橋，這塊在版圖上極易被忽略的山地因?yàn)槟竟袄葮蚨谑澜鐦蛄菏飞系於霜?dú)特的地位。

2011年12月，我應(yīng)邀到浙江慶元縣參加“第四屆中國(guó)廊橋文化節(jié)”。一進(jìn)入慶元縣境內(nèi)，接二連三的木拱廊橋就跳入眼簾。全國(guó)有史料記載最早的木拱廊橋雙門橋、現(xiàn)存壽命最長(zhǎng)的木拱廊橋如龍橋、現(xiàn)存單孔跨度最長(zhǎng)的明代木拱廊橋蘭溪橋、全國(guó)廊屋最長(zhǎng)的單孔木拱廊橋黃水長(zhǎng)橋都出自慶元縣，這些藏在深閨無(wú)人識(shí)的木拱廊橋近年來(lái)逐漸撩開(kāi)了神秘的面紗，它們?yōu)閼c元縣贏得了“中國(guó)廊橋之鄉(xiāng)”的頭銜。慶元縣木拱廊橋在唐代初顯萌芽，宋元基本成熟，明代進(jìn)入鼎盛期，清代定型，發(fā)展脈絡(luò)非常清晰，營(yíng)造技藝流傳有序，百座各式各樣的古廊橋使得慶元成為露天的廊橋博物館。

距離縣城不遠(yuǎn)的地方，我見(jiàn)到了雙門橋。雙門橋雖然簡(jiǎn)單卻讓人百看不厭，跨距不大，規(guī)模很小，裝飾平淡，橋身被歲月打磨得斑駁古舊。雙門橋在清道光年間進(jìn)行了翻建，廊橋依舊坐落在原址上，保持著當(dāng)年的原樣。它如同一塊界碑，標(biāo)志著中國(guó)木拱廊橋的建筑歷史從這里發(fā)端。

在大濟(jì)村，我目擊過(guò)一次嫻熟的廊橋模型搭建過(guò)程，它簡(jiǎn)單得讓我缺乏想象的力量。57歲的廊橋傳承人吳復(fù)勇捧出一大把筷子，他熟練地使用著刀斧鋸鑿，沒(méi)過(guò)多久就搭出了一座廊橋的模型，有臺(tái)階，有橋柱，有編梁，有廊屋，一根根筷子規(guī)則地交錯(cuò)著，相當(dāng)勻稱和精巧。數(shù)目不詳?shù)目曜庸捌鹨蛔杭?，四根立筷分別立在橋頭兩側(cè)，仿佛兩對(duì)值勤的士兵?？茨菢邮?，的確與雙門橋如出一轍。

吳師傅說(shuō)：“建造廊橋選料非常挑剔，最好的材料是油杉，50到70年樹齡，28到32厘米直徑，每根木材長(zhǎng)度12米最佳。油杉具有防腐的功能，要保護(hù)好樹膜，樹膜如同人體的皮膚一樣，破壞后也就失去了防腐功效。橋兩端拱趾支撐在塊石壘筑的橋臺(tái)上，或者直接建筑于兩岸山崖之上，為了保護(hù)梁柱不受風(fēng)雨侵蝕，還要在橋上建廊屋，橋身兩側(cè)安裝擋雨板，橋建造好后用生桐油上漆，在橋面上鋪石頭穩(wěn)固橋身，起著防水和防火的作用。連續(xù)完成上百道工序后，一座廊橋才算是竣工。”

三

木頭建筑很容易在風(fēng)雨的侵蝕中頹敗坍塌，頂多三五百年便退出歷史的舞臺(tái)。但是我看到的木拱廊橋是個(gè)極端，由于宗族和社會(huì)的力量，歷代不停地維修、重建，一座座廊橋在他們的手中建造起來(lái)，祖祖輩輩延續(xù)著風(fēng)雨廊橋的生命，廊橋成為后世與祖先貫通的載體。廊橋在他們的手中走向不朽，顯現(xiàn)出木頭建筑的力量。

宏大的橋梁，嫻熟的技藝，恰恰成為天造地設(shè)的一對(duì)。面對(duì)一座準(zhǔn)備新建的廊橋，老師傅從定位、備料、開(kāi)工、營(yíng)造到竣工，整個(gè)過(guò)程憑借的就是經(jīng)驗(yàn)和眼力。他們沒(méi)有圖紙，沒(méi)有先進(jìn)的儀器，沒(méi)有起重設(shè)備，沒(méi)有鐵釘鋼架，但他們目光精確到位，心中已經(jīng)繪下了一張圖紙，各個(gè)結(jié)構(gòu)已經(jīng)成型，只要老師傅一聲令下，大橋的榫鉚立即可以對(duì)接。我向吳師傅討教，早在宋代就有《營(yíng)造法式》一書，為什么廊橋建造沒(méi)有留下圖紙？他笑呵呵地道出了實(shí)情：“造橋技藝通過(guò)師徒傳幫帶的形式一代代傳遞下來(lái)，民間流傳著一句俗話：教會(huì)徒弟，餓死師傅。有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的師傅不需要圖紙照樣可以建造廊橋，他們只有到了年老體衰的時(shí)候才將所有的技術(shù)傳給徒弟?！?/p>

吳師傅祖上三代從事廊橋建造，他的造橋歷史也可以追溯30多年，吳師傅身材矮小，但很結(jié)實(shí)，聲音洪亮，是慶元少數(shù)幾個(gè)能夠建造大跨度木拱廊橋的師傅之一。他感嘆道：“時(shí)代不同了，這個(gè)行業(yè)又苦又累，收入又低，現(xiàn)在很難找到能夠吃苦耐勞的徒弟了。明年建造孔父廊橋時(shí)，我要把建橋圖紙畫下來(lái)，一定要多帶幾個(gè)徒弟，這門老手藝才不會(huì)絕了。”

木工桌上散亂地堆放著書籍、尺子、墨盒、報(bào)紙，一張紅紙?jiān)陔s物中分外醒目，揀起一看，是一張修建孔父廊橋的倡議書。吳師傅站起身來(lái)，深情地注視著橫臥在門前的雙門橋。30多年前，他平生第一次參加修繕的就是這座橋，橋上每一根木頭的擺放位置都已經(jīng)了如指掌，在他眼里這已經(jīng)不再是橋，而是一張立體的圖紙。順著這張圖紙出發(fā)，他的心里已經(jīng)刻畫出了一座嶄新的孔父廊橋。

Corridor Bridges

in Southern Zhejiang

By Lu Xiaomin In the history of Chinese architecture， bridges never stand up to palaces， religious temples and gardens. Generally， bridges are inferior in scale， structure， and sophistication if compared with palaces， temples and gardens. In the category of bridges， however， corridor bridges stand out for the splendor and sophistication. Most of the existing corridor bridges can be seen over rivers and streams in mountainous areas in southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian Province. Nowadays there are more than 200 ancient corridor bridges exist.

Corridor bridges vary in style， material， and structure. Most of them are wooden affairs. A few use stone arches. Local bridge builders use a few ways to put wood to good use and prop up the upper part of a bridge. And the upper part of corridor bridges highlights the best of quintessential Chinese architectures such as houses， pavilions， platforms， palaces， halls， temples， corridors， and waterside houses. A corridor bridge may look like an architectural mix of a decorated archway， a temple， a stilt house， a garden on water. A corridor bridge may feature long and upturned eaves and carvings on the surface of external walls. A corridor bridge may act as a religious temple housing small shrines and paintings of various deities. Some corridor bridges even serve as a giant altar where pilgrims come to visit all the year round.

Corridor bridges were not invented in the south although the first wooden and roofed arch corridor bridge that goes down in history is the one erected in Qingyuan， a mountainous county in southern Zhejiang Province. According to studies of history， this specific bridge building technology was carried to south as refugees escaped wars in the north and flooded southward in waves. Bridge builders in Zhejiang and Fujian absorbed the technology of wooden bridges and invented wooden corridor bridges.

Corridor bridges generally disappeared in the north after the Song Dynasty (960-1279) mainly because by then the north had no long had a big supply of huge-caliber trees for bridge building and because the north lacked the geographic conditions that called for corridor bridges. Arched stone bridges became the dominant choice in the north. In the southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian where wooden corridor bridges flourished and have survived， forest coverage is extremely high. What is more， the areas feature a great number of streams zigzagging their ways through steep mountains. Special resources and geographical conditions enabled local craftsmen to build wooden bridges to span streams. That is how the area， easily ignored by geographers， plays a big part in the history of bridge building.

Designated as home of China’s corridor bridges， Qingyuan proudly celebrates a China corridor bridge festival. The fourth took place in December 2011. The county not only boasts a great number of corridor bridges but also displays unique features of the wooden structures. And it has some masters who can still make wooden bridges.

57-year-old Wu Fuyong， a designated master of corridor bridges， knows all the secrets of building a wooden corridor bridge. There are secrets that the master does not tell other people. Master Wu can easily build a bridge model with a bundle of chopsticks. The model is a miniaturized corridor bridge with all the parts in place. The master does not use any blueprints or drawings. Every detail is in his head.

The master says that he uses only keteleeria fortunei to build bridges. The trees must qualify: each one must be 50 to 70 years old; the diameter must measure 28 to 32 centimeters; the ideal length of the tree must be 12 meters. The species is great for building wood bridges simply because it has a special layer of grease that serves as a protection against corrosion and moisture. A bridge has to have a corridor because the upper part covers and protects the bridge structure. A covered bridge can last for 300 years. Without the upper part as a protective cover， a wood bridge could hardly survive the elements for long.

Wu holds all the secrets for building a bridge in his head. He uses no drawings， instruments， hoisters， iron nails and steel skeletons. Before building a bridge， he studies the site， ponders the strengths and weaknesses of the site， envisions the bridge he wants to build， takes care of all the technical details， and formulates a complete action plan. He does all these things in his head. Then he instructs his assistants and workers what to do and how to put the bridge together.

The bridge building runs in Wu’s family. His great grandfather， his grandfather， his father were all master builders. Wu explains why masters hold secrets in their minds. In the past， masters feared they would be out of their work if their assistants mastered all the secrets. They did not pass their secrets to their assistants until they were too old to work.

In 2013， Wu will be building a corridor bridge. He plans to create drawings for this bridge and get more assistants to help him so that the bridge building technology will be passed on to younger craftsmen and carried on to the future.