圖/侯賀良 文/王雪芃
回望世外古城
圖/侯賀良 文/王雪芃
伸手觸摸阿育他耶府古老的佛塔,時間仿佛回到了14世紀。那時的泰國被稱為暹羅,由烏通王建立的阿育他耶王朝將泰國帶向了興盛。當曼谷還是個名不見經(jīng)傳的小漁村時,作為當時王朝國都的阿育他耶已是一座繁華的大城。來自各國的使節(jié)與商人匯集于此,成就了這里的繁華與輝煌。在400余年的王朝歷史中,阿育他耶經(jīng)歷了興衰更替,留下了一城的古跡與傳說。
○ 金碧輝煌的泰式建筑依稀顯露出阿育他耶府昔日的輝煌。The glorious time of Ayutthaya can be seen from theancient architecture.
○ 建筑與樹木交錯輝映,渲染出一種原始風格的美。A beauty of original style.
“阿育他耶”在泰語中意為“不可戰(zhàn)勝之城”,中國人更習慣稱其為“大城”。自1350年興起到1767年覆滅,阿育他耶王朝東征西戰(zhàn),在繁盛時為這座城市留下了許多氣勢恢宏的宮殿與宗教建筑。幾百年過去,王朝已不復存在,阿育他耶也被如今的泰國政府劃為阿育他耶府。
拜訪這座古城一定要清晨前來,伴著熹微的晨光,人與城都被滌蕩干凈。這里的佛寺佛像世界聞名,在阿育他耶府最古老的寺廟瑪哈泰寺中,有一尊被菩提枝蔓纏繞的佛頭,這是阿育他耶王朝為世人留下的一座“心廟”。許多人只為與菩提樹下沉默百年的佛頭謀求一面而來到這里。根據(jù)當?shù)亓曀祝襞c佛像合影需要微蹲使自己的高度低于佛頭以示尊重。望著那被戰(zhàn)火侵蝕過的面孔在菩提樹的眷顧下如此安詳,隱約間能看到嘴角與眼眉的一絲笑容。樹脈枝藤沿著佛頭輪廓交錯盤繞,不著一語,似拈花微笑一般,在空谷晨鐘中靜默,任歲月聚流成河……
1767年,阿育他耶王朝被緬甸軍隊攻破,當年那些精美絕倫的佛寺雕刻與珍貴古建筑遭到嚴重破壞,在戰(zhàn)亂帶來的焚燒與掠奪之下,僅剩下殘破的宮殿遺跡、不完整的佛像和少量精美石雕。由于不堪戰(zhàn)爭的摧殘,泰國將都城遷至吞武里,后來又遷都曼谷,在另外一座城市重新書寫新的繁榮。阿育他耶府也由此逐漸淡出了歷史的視線。
○ 小城居民如今過著平靜又安詳?shù)纳?,這樣從容的氣氛也感染著來訪的游人。The residents here live a peaceful and harmonious life.
在此后的200多年里,阿育他耶府竟真的像被世人完全遺忘一般。如今來泰國的游人大多只知曼谷或芭提雅,殊不知從曼谷向北僅1個半小時車程的地方,沉睡著阿育他耶府這樣一座世外古城。由于被戰(zhàn)火侵蝕得面目全非,現(xiàn)在的阿育他耶府沉靜得仿佛曾經(jīng)的繁榮從未存在過?;\罩在黃色絲綢下的大佛端坐在蓮座上,佛像的眼睛凝視著腳下的湄南河和這片飽經(jīng)風霜的土地,四周充滿了歷史洗滌后的寧靜。但身后的殘垣斷壁與那些無頭的佛像也在靜默中訴說著,訴說著滿城的繁華最終歷經(jīng)戰(zhàn)火,而將這座百年古城湮沒在了時間的長河里。
由于沒有曼谷那般名聲在外,阿育他耶府甚至沒有多少商業(yè)氣息,一切都像一座未開發(fā)的小城。真正踏上這片土地,才能感受到它與眾不同的氣質(zhì)——那不是未經(jīng)雕琢,而是飽經(jīng)滄桑后歸隱的從容。連同這座城中的居民與來客一起,逃脫時間的束縛,游蕩在俗世之外,沐浴一份寧靜。
站在佛塔旁,不需梵音偈語就能感受到身心的安寧。這種感受十分神奇,好像在無聲中與這座城市一同度過了百年時光,僅憑古剎遺跡就將它所經(jīng)歷的滄桑與來者共享,達到一種“望峰息心,窺谷忘返”般的效果,讓人覺得就算遭受戰(zhàn)爭摧殘,也不過是佛家所說的修行,都是應(yīng)有的歷練罷了。
古跡無言,但卻訴說著一個又一個歷史故事。它們見證過阿育他耶府的興衰演變,如今依舊默默佇立,堅守著佛教所倡導的忍耐和寬容,風霜盡歷,殘缺不全,卻從未抱怨。如萬千佛手將戰(zhàn)爭傷痛輕輕抹去,帶來力量與堅強,鼓舞著這座城市走向希望與光明。
○ 色彩斑斕的龍紋壁。The gorgeous dragon wall.
Ayutthaya, full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, is an ancient capital and modern city in the Central Plains of Thailand, 85 km north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya was originally founded in 1350 and over the next few decades developed to be the capital of the Siamese Kingdom. Ayutthaya became the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai.
Ayutthaya is like an island surrounded by three rivers that act as natural barriers for defense. In addition, the rivers brought large and small boats from other important towns in the kingdom and from other nations to engage in commerce. Ayutthaya was both the administrative and the economic center of the kingdom and was filled with a great diversity of people from different areas.
By 1700 Ayutthaya had become the largest city in the world with a total of 1 million inhabitants. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese (Annamese), Indians,Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French,permitting them to set up villages outside the city walls. In the sixteenth century, it was described by foreign traders as one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the East. The court of King Narai (1656-1688) had strong links with that of King Louis XIV of France,whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to Paris. Most of the remains are temples and palaces, as those were the only buildings made of stone at that time. The great cultural value of Ayutthaya's ruins was officially recognized in 1991, when the Historic City became an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
LOOK BACK ON THE ANCIENT CITY
○ 與世無爭是如今的常態(tài),遺留的佛塔追溯著當年的往事。Ayutthaya is a place where in harmony with the rest of the world.