鐵馬
一
龍泉因劍得名,因瓷生輝,龍泉是劍瓷合璧的品質(zhì)之城,劍與瓷是龍泉城市的魂,是滋養(yǎng)著龍泉人的文化精華。
信步龍泉,處處可以感受到劍鄉(xiāng)瓷都的風(fēng)韻。
如果說寶劍是龍泉的外表,那么青瓷則是龍泉的內(nèi)涵。
一個冷峻剛烈,一個溫潤如玉;一個動感十足,一個寧靜似水,這也構(gòu)成了龍泉城市的多重品格,形成了龍泉人既柔情似水又堅毅如鋼的人文個性。
二
龍泉,位于江浙最高峰黃茅尖下,浩浩蕩蕩的八百里甌江就發(fā)源于龍泉與慶元之間,清澈的高山泉水日夜奔騰,滋潤著龍泉這片充滿藝術(shù)氣息的土地。
一座城市,擁有一項國家級非遺就相當(dāng)了不起,而龍泉專屬的龍泉青瓷傳統(tǒng)燒制技藝是全國55個“世界非遺”之一,龍泉寶劍鍛制技藝也是國家級非遺。麗水有三寶,其中兩樣在龍泉。
劍與瓷是江浙之巔龍泉的絕代雙驕,劍瓷之業(yè)已成為養(yǎng)育龍泉人的物質(zhì)與精神財富源頭,使龍泉城成為以農(nóng)耕為生的浙西南最早進入工業(yè)化的城市,也是浙江最早對外開放的城市之一。
龍泉的前身叫龍淵,現(xiàn)在的龍泉城里仍然有龍淵街道。同時,龍淵也是一把劍的名稱。一座小城以劍命名,是當(dāng)?shù)厝怂矚g的一種意境吧。于是劍就是城,城就是劍,龍淵的雙重意義,讓這個小城與寶劍一道揚名四方。
龍淵相傳是鑄劍大師歐冶子的杰作,“觀其狀,如登高山,臨深淵”。
歐冶子是春秋戰(zhàn)國時期的鑄劍大師,史載他為越王鑄了湛盧、純鈞、勝邪、魚腸、巨闕五劍,是中國鑄劍行業(yè)的鼻祖,也是龍泉寶劍的創(chuàng)始人。
關(guān)于“龍淵”劍的誕生過程,《越絕書》有記載。龍泉劍相傳為歐冶子所鑄,《越絕書》載:楚王命令相劍家風(fēng)胡子到越地尋找歐冶子,請他鑄造寶劍。于是歐冶子走遍江南名山大川,最后他來到了龍泉,鑿茨山,泄其溪,取山中鐵英,作劍三枚,曰“龍淵”“泰阿”“工布”。
龍泉劍是青銅器時代向鐵器時代邁進的產(chǎn)物,鐵劍“龍淵”,開創(chuàng)了中國冷兵器之先河。
三
龍淵劍自問世后便聞名于世,龍淵因而名聲在外。
龍泉寶劍有“堅韌鋒利,剛?cè)岵?,寒光逼人,紋飾巧致”之特色。
建安二十一年,25歲的臨淄侯曹植給好友楊修寫了一封信,即《與楊德祖書》,其中有“蓋有南威之容,乃可以論于淑媛;有龍淵之利,乃可以議于斷割”的句子,表明龍淵是一把非常鋒利的劍,可以斬斷世間一切。
冷兵器時代,劍是一種高貴的小型武器,既可攻擊,又可防身,龍泉劍削鐵如泥,備受武者喜歡,武俠小說中常有高手身背龍泉劍的描寫。
“寧知草間人,腰下有龍泉”,從李白的詩句中,我們可以讀出,在唐代龍泉劍已成為上流社會廣泛認(rèn)同的時尚之物。
歷史上,到底是因為先有龍淵這個地名還是先有龍淵寶劍,我并不清楚。
據(jù)《龍泉市志》記載,在東晉太寧元年(323年)置龍淵鄉(xiāng),在唐武德三年(620年),因避高祖李淵諱,改龍淵鄉(xiāng)為龍泉鄉(xiāng)。
這時的龍淵劍似乎也隨之改名叫龍泉劍。唐代同時期的詩人郭震,在《古劍篇》中寫道:“良工鍛煉凡幾年,鑄得寶劍名龍泉。龍泉顏色如霜雪,良工咨嗟嘆奇絕?!?/p>
歷史翻到了唐乾元二年(759年)這一頁,由于龍泉知名度越來越大,此時,唐王朝設(shè)置“龍泉”縣。到了北宋時,因避諱“龍”字,龍泉改為“劍川”,南宋時恢復(fù)了原名,一直叫到今天。
但關(guān)于龍淵劍改名龍泉劍是因為李淵,也有人持懷疑態(tài)度,因為從一些詩歌中可發(fā)現(xiàn),在唐之前,人家在詩中就稱龍淵劍為龍泉劍。南朝梁詩人車噪在詩中說:“雪凍弓弦斷,風(fēng)鼓旗桿折。獨有孤雄劍,龍泉字不滅?!边@應(yīng)該怎么解釋呢?是不是在唐之前,就同時有龍淵劍或龍泉劍兩種稱呼呢?
四
龍泉劍是歐冶子留給后人的一個符號,七星井、劍池湖、劍池亭、歐冶子將軍廟,這一處處千年的古跡,每時每刻都透露出一種歲月的深沉,也記錄著人們對歐冶子的懷念與尊敬。
龍泉劍,不僅是一把劍,還是城市的根。
龍泉人是怎樣學(xué)到鑄劍技術(shù)的,我一直沒有解開這個疑問。
按理說,在古時,這種獨門技術(shù),非一般人能學(xué)。根據(jù)史書記載,歐冶子鑄的劍是鐵劍。把礦石鐵英煉成鐵就不知要經(jīng)過多少道工序,鑄劍更是繁瑣。歐冶子是無償傳授,還是龍泉人偷師學(xué)藝,這是歷史之謎。
現(xiàn)在,龍泉劍出現(xiàn)在各類武俠作品中,倚天劍、屠龍刀……金庸和古龍小說中的寶劍,龍泉人幾乎都鑄了一遍。電影《赤壁》里,周瑜、曹操、趙云、孫權(quán)、劉備打斗用的劍,全是龍泉鑄的?,F(xiàn)在看電影也好,看電視也罷,凡是看到劍與刀,幾乎都是流水的武俠,鐵打的“龍泉”,前些年,龍泉人還專門請金庸大師去論劍。
2004年10月,金庸來到龍泉,讓鑄劍大師們興奮異常。為了迎接金庸的到來,數(shù)月前,龍泉的鑄劍大師們就開始鑄造金庸筆下的二十四把名劍和七把寶刀。經(jīng)過數(shù)月的苦苦鉆研和精心設(shè)計,紙上的名劍寶刀終于變成了現(xiàn)實。10月25日下午,在龍泉杏園,龍泉市委、市政府隆重地將這些名劍寶刀贈送給了金庸。
看著琳瑯滿目的刀劍,金庸的喜愛之情溢于言表。他在接受刀劍贈送儀式上激動地說:“我在海外,到任何一個地方,都有人知道龍泉這個地方,因為龍泉有深厚的寶劍文化和青瓷文化?!?/p>
龍泉數(shù)千年前的刀劍生產(chǎn),其凝聚而成的匠心,為后來的瓷業(yè)發(fā)展起到了很好的鋪墊。劍瓷之間,一陽一陰,一剛一柔,兩者都是水火交融的產(chǎn)物,也是獨具匠心的呈現(xiàn),匠心,通過這座城市,從劍到瓷到生活的方方面面不斷流動。
(圖片來自“視覺中國”)
Fame?of?Sword,?Fame?of?City
By?Tie?Ma
Longquan,?a?city?in?southern?Zhejiang,?stands?for?the?sword?made?in?Longquan.?The?two?words?most?often?appear?together.?In?a?sense,?the?sword?is?named?after?the?city?and?has?turned?Longquan?well?known?in?both?Chinese?history?and?literature,?even?though?celadon?made?in?Longquan?enjoyed?greater?popularity?overseas?and?the?sword?remained?little?known?to?the?outside?world.
Longquan?is?nestled?at?the?foot?of?Huangmaojian,?the?tallest?mountain?of?the?province.?The?400-kilometer-long?Ou?River?starts?somewhere?in?the?mountain?between?Longquan?and?Qingyuan?and?empties?into?the?East?China?Sea.
Ou?Ye?Zi?(c.560-510BC),?a?legendary?sword-making?master?living?in?the?decades?when?China?transited?from?the?Spring?&?Autumn?period?to?the?Warring?States?period,?came?to?present-day?Zhejiang?in?search?of?iron?ores?for?sword-making?as?he?had?been?commissioned?by?the?King?of?the?Chu?State.?He?came?to?Longquan?and?found?what?he?needed.?The?master?found?iron?ores?he?needed.?Eventually?he?made?three?swords?in?Longquan.?One?of?them?was?named?Longyuan.?Experts?say?that?iron?swords?marked?Chinas?historical?transition?from?the?Bronze?Age?to?the?Iron?Age.?And?Ou?Ye?Zis?swords?are?first?iron?swords?known?in?history.?Even?today,?Longquan?has?a?Longyuan?street?in?honor?of?the?sword?and?of?the?history?of?Longquan.
Li?Bai?(701-762),?the?greatest?poet?of?the?Tang?(618-907),?mentions?Longquan?in?a?poem.?Longquan?in?the?poem?stands?for?the?sword?made?in?Longquan.?It?can?be?deduced?from?this?poem?that?Longquan?swords?were?quite?popular?during?the?Tang.
However,?it?isnt?clear?whether?the?sword?was?named?after?Longquan?or?the?swords?name?was?adopted?by?the?place?where?the?sword?was?made?by?Ou?Ye?Zi.
According?to?a?local?history?book,?Longyuan?Township?was?officially?named?in?323AD,?which?was?a?year?in?the?Eastern?Jin?Dynasty.?The?name?remained?unchanged?until?620?when?Longyuan?was?changed?to?Longquan?in?order?to?avoid?using?Yuan?in?the?place?name?as?Li?Yuan,?the?emperor?of?the?Dynasty,?had?Yuan?in?his?name.?Some?historians?say?that?it?was?during?this?time?that?the?Longyuan?Sword?was?known?as?Longquan?Sword.?But?there?exist?some?evidence?that?it?wasnt?true.?A?poet?in?the?Liang?Dynasty?before?the?Tang?mentions?Longquan?in?a?poem.?In?759?AD,?Longquan?was?officially?made?into?a?county?by?the?central?government.
It?is?also?unclear?how?local?people?in?Longquan?first?learned?to?make?swords.?Did?they?learn?directly?from?the?legendary?Ou?Ye?Zi?or?they?developed?a?sword-making?industry?singlehandedly?themselves?in?Longquan??After?all,?it?wouldnt?have?been?easy?to?establish?an?industrial?chain?of?sword?making.?It?would?take?a?system?to?put?hands?on?iron?ores?and?then?turn?ores?into?iron?and?steel?before?sword-making?masters?turned?raw?iron?and?steel?into?swords.
Modern?sword?makers?in?Longquan?are?enjoying?a?big?time?today.?So?far,?they?have?reinvented?all?the?swords?famously?mentioned?in?Wuxia?bestsellers?of?Jin?Yong?and?Gu?Long.?These?masters?have?also?made?all?the?historically?famed?swords?used?in?cinematic?blockbusters.
In?October?2004,?Jin?Yong?(Louis?Cha?1924-2018)?visited?Longquan.?The?sword-making?masters?in?Longquan?were?thrilled?to?have?the?famous?novelist?take?a?look?at?the?24?swords?and?7?broad?swords?mentioned?in?his?Kungfu?novels?and?they?reproduced.?It?had?taken?them?a?few?months?to?translate?the?novelists?imagination?into?metal?masterpieces.?On?the?afternoon?of?October?25,?a?ceremony?was?held?and?these?cold?weapons?were?presented?the?master?novelist?as?gifts.?In?his?brief?thank-you?speech,?Jin?Yong?said?that?he?had?traveled?across?the?world?and?met?people?who?said?they?knew?about?Longquan?in?Zhejiang,?China.