吳蓓

在廣袤的中華大地上諸多東西蜿蜒的水系中，那條以別出心裁的走向而貫?zāi)贤ū钡拇筮\河，無疑是最為霸氣和吸人眼球的。它的特殊，源于它是人工斧鑿與天然河道資源利用相融合的結(jié)晶。這項始自春秋戰(zhàn)國，歷隋唐、宋元而迄明清，不斷開鑿、修筑、疏浚、改道、整治而成的工程，是中華文明歷程中的標(biāo)志性大工程，我們現(xiàn)在稱作中國大運河。中國大運河實由隋唐大運河（）、京杭大運河（）以及浙東運河（）3條運河組成，全長近3200公里。古老運河的波光瀲滟，講述著南來北往的交通故事，關(guān)乎戰(zhàn)爭與統(tǒng)一，關(guān)乎經(jīng)濟與繁榮，也關(guān)乎文學(xué)與藝術(shù)。這些相互交融的故事，在大運河的浙江段，似乎演繹得分外活色生香、淋漓盡致。

一

在汽車、火車、飛機這些現(xiàn)代化交通工具尚未發(fā)明的古代，人們遷徙的最先進的憑藉，便是陸上的馬匹與水上的船只。而水上交通顯然更具有快捷、載重量大等優(yōu)勢。大運河作為南北交通的大動脈，在中國歷史上三次大規(guī)模的北人南遷歷程中發(fā)揮了重要的作用。

三次大遷徙，都起因于戰(zhàn)亂。第一次始于西晉末的永嘉之亂、五胡亂華，約90萬北方人口渡江南下。第二次發(fā)生在唐朝安史之亂后，約有250萬人口遷徙到了南方。第三次發(fā)生在北宋末靖康之變后，由宋室南遷而率起，遷徙的規(guī)模和影響最為空前。前兩次大遷徙，中國人口的地理分布發(fā)生了根本的改變，長江流域日漸開發(fā)，北方黃河流域日漸衰落，漸漸形成了南勝于北的格局。第三次的南遷隨著杭州成為南宋的臨時都城，兩浙地區(qū)成為了全國的政治中心、經(jīng)濟中心和文化中心。三次南遷的路線當(dāng)然不止一條，但大運河諸河段的存在，即使達不到“天塹變通途”的效應(yīng)，所起到的交通作用也無疑是巨大的。

伴隨著三次北人南遷，中國的政治、經(jīng)濟、文化步步南移。如果從浙江區(qū)域文化發(fā)展史的角度來看，浙江文化在北方中原文化的不斷影響下所展現(xiàn)的融合、重塑乃至發(fā)展成熟的軌跡也是分明可見的。第三次南遷后浙江文化攀上高峰，產(chǎn)生了堪稱浙江文化靈魂的浙學(xué)，此時的浙江文化已不再僅僅是華夏的區(qū)域文化之一分子，它所在地區(qū)的吳越文化已然成為全國的主流文化，越來越多地影響和引領(lǐng)中國潮流，成為當(dāng)時華夏文化的中心、中國文化的淵藪。

文化的內(nèi)涵太豐富了，對于浙江老百姓而言，或許文學(xué)藝術(shù)中所透露的一些消息更能讓他們具有文化認(rèn)同感。比如，晉宋之際，隨一大批衣冠士族南來的王、謝家族，攜玄學(xué)風(fēng)流，給浙江帶來蘭亭修褉、山水吟賞、二王書法，不僅為后世文人所效仿，更成為某種文化象征和高標(biāo)遠韻，令文學(xué)史、藝術(shù)史涵泳不已。又比如，唐人攜仙道之氣和壯游遠懷來到浙江的青山麗水間，留下一條“唐詩之路”，讓我們詠懷古跡。再比如，浙江文化發(fā)展到成熟期的南宋階段，文學(xué)上最值得稱道的成就，是造就了有“一代文學(xué)”之稱的宋詞。宋詞和唐詩為中華文化史上的兩朵并蒂之花，共同為華夏子孫后代帶來無盡的審美和陶冶。相對于詩來說，這門更為年輕的語言藝術(shù)，有著更為優(yōu)美錯落的句式，更為動聽婉轉(zhuǎn)的聲韻格律，更為幽深綿長的情感寄托。這一朵宋詞之花，由北向南，在兩浙青山綠水的輝映和氤氳之氣的熏陶下，無論淡妝濃抺，始終縈繞著一股清麗之氣;又在當(dāng)時理學(xué)思想的影響下，濾去原生所攜帶的兒女情、脂粉氣，旖旎出落為最絢麗的姿容，為后世樹立了既“清空”又“騷雅”的語言藝術(shù)的至高審美典范。

二

大運河給予浙江文化的助力深遠綿長，當(dāng)然不局限于歷史上的三次大遷徙。元代會通河、通惠河開通后，北方大批戲曲家紛紛南下，推動了浙江戲曲的繁榮。關(guān)漢卿游歷杭州，曾寫下著名的散曲《南呂·一枝花·杭州景》;馬致遠出任江浙行省官員，著名的《天凈沙·秋思》低吟的“小橋流水人家”，端的就是江南景。鄭光祖、喬吉等散曲名家更是駐足留居，在兩浙山水里吟賞煙霞。

而浙江土生土長的南戲在外來北曲雜劇的刺激下，也開啟了融合中求變革、變革中謀發(fā)展的前景。杭州人沈和操北曲入樂，創(chuàng)造了“南北合套”的體制結(jié)構(gòu);明代的高明、洪昇也在變革中創(chuàng)造出《琵琶記》《長生殿》等戲曲名著;徐渭是浙東人叛逆精神的代表，他在詩文書畫各個領(lǐng)域都擺脫常規(guī)，獨出新意，戲曲也是如此，代表作《四聲猿》大膽歌頌人的情欲、男女平等，展露出思想解放的可貴新貌。求新求變的浙江精神，如此這般，在各個文化領(lǐng)域、各個藝術(shù)門類中潛滋暗長，競綻新葩。

大運河給予浙江文化的福澤，還可作雅俗兩面觀。

高門大戶的子弟，搖著運河的舟楫進京趕考，博取功名利祿。明清兩代，江浙的進士人數(shù)高居榜首，這后面的背景深可玩味。那些走著正統(tǒng)路子的讀書人，每每都寫著正統(tǒng)的、雅的詩文，我們在《四庫》集部里所看到的詩文，大抵都是雅文化的傳承。

然而明清之際，繁榮的運河沿線城市，又催生出一種“俗”的、有生氣的市民文化，它在接續(xù)宋元話本統(tǒng)緒的基礎(chǔ)上，發(fā)展為明清通俗小說。據(jù)統(tǒng)計，明清兩代，有80%左右的小說出自運河流域作家之手，其中就包括《三國演義》《西游記》《水滸傳》《紅樓夢》四大名著以及《金瓶梅》《三言》《二拍》《聊齋志異》《儒林外史》等杰作。這些小說的作者，與運河城市的淵源可謂深厚，不是生于斯、長于斯，便是曾經(jīng)因各種遭際盤桓此間，聽槳聲燈語，看孤帆遠影，觀人生百態(tài)，攢萬千感悟，揮筆底風(fēng)云。三言二拍里所寫的明代故事，有許多與京杭大運河有著密切的關(guān)系，情節(jié)內(nèi)容設(shè)定在浙江的就有十幾篇之多。這些小說，面向下層市民閱讀群體，將運河交通、城市經(jīng)濟與市民商業(yè)生活容納進作品中，寫人的俗情俗性，構(gòu)成了有別于傳統(tǒng)士大夫詩文的“俗文學(xué)”序列，在中國文學(xué)史上煥發(fā)出別樣的異彩。

“運河催生俗文學(xué)”這一現(xiàn)象，是多棱鏡，也是萬花筒。擇重要的一棱看，它反映著經(jīng)濟基礎(chǔ)。運河沿岸城市的生活是富庶的，古今中外，但凡臨?；蚺R江臨河的城市，借了這水運水勢，大抵都能披上華衣。歷史上的運河沿岸城市，如蘇州、揚州、淮安、濟寧、臨清、德州、天津等，莫不是當(dāng)時中國商品經(jīng)濟和社會文化最為發(fā)達的地方，浙江的省會城市杭州也是這樣。

三

有時候，我們似乎很難分辨，到底是運河促成了杭州的富庶，還是以富庶的杭州為代表的江浙糧倉引發(fā)了運河的漕運使命。歷史告訴我們，歷代統(tǒng)治者開鑿、修筑大運河的一個最主要的目的，是為了漕運。無論運河在長長的歷史中如何改道、如何截彎，它總是將最富庶的江南地帶和北方的京師緊緊地維系在一起，成為歷代中央政權(quán)統(tǒng)治的生命線，它為京畿運送糧食給養(yǎng)的最重要的功能也一直延續(xù)到清代。

“東南財賦地，江浙人文藪”，這句聞名遐邇的話的前半句，披露了江浙的財主身份。自唐代以后，兩浙地區(qū)就逐漸成為中央財政的重要來源。唐代政府的財政收入，江南占總額的十分之九;宋代兩浙路一躍成為經(jīng)濟中心，尤其是浙西地區(qū)，工商業(yè)發(fā)達，城市經(jīng)濟異常繁榮，是當(dāng)時全國最發(fā)達的地區(qū)。據(jù)沈括《夢溪筆談》記載，北宋歲運司供應(yīng)京師米糧共600萬石，兩浙路上就交了150萬石，相當(dāng)于貢獻了全國總額的四分之一。除了稻米，兩浙路的蠶絲業(yè)、漁業(yè)以及手工業(yè)等行業(yè)，也成為當(dāng)時全國的中心之一，無數(shù)的絹、綢、綾、綿作為賦稅，源源不斷地通過運河流向京師。熙寧十年杭州的商稅高達18萬3800余貫，不但遠超江南其他大都市，還超過了首都汴京。膏腴千里的兩浙，是名副其實的國家糧倉。

然則運河南端的杭州僅僅是滿足運河漕運功能的一個輸出者嗎？非也。杭州的前身錢唐，在秦漢時期只是會稽郡中的一個縣，隋朝江南運河開通后杭州成為大運河水運的一個起訖點，自此以后商貿(mào)日益發(fā)達，地位不斷提高。因而可以說，杭州的崛起，受益于大運河者多矣。其實也不難想象，運河的運勢與兩浙的發(fā)展彼此聯(lián)動，很多時候、很多環(huán)節(jié)都是互為因果的。

四

大運河孕育了沿岸城市商業(yè)的繁榮，而擁有繁華都市的兩浙地區(qū)，很早就吸引了外國人的關(guān)注，是外國人了解中國、向世界推介中國、傳播中國文化的最早的窗口之一。意大利著名的旅行家馬可波羅曾稱贊杭州為世界上“最富麗華貴的天城”。明代中后期，朝鮮人崔溥被海上風(fēng)暴刮到了中國大陸，他從浙江臺州的三門登陸，一路沿運河到了北京，受到了明帝的接見和賞賜，回去后寫了一本《漂海錄》，專門記載他在中國運河沿岸城鎮(zhèn)的所見所聞。在他的筆下，當(dāng)時的杭州是如此的驚艷：“接屋連廊，連衽成帷。市積金銀，人擁錦繡。蠻檣海舶，櫛立街衢;酒簾歌樓，咫尺相望。四時有不謝之花，八節(jié)有常綠之景。真所謂別作天地也?！贝掬咦鳛橐粋€文官，學(xué)的是中國的四書五經(jīng)、詩詞歌賦，他用駢文的形式、華麗的漢字，描繪出杭州的盛世繁華。文化傳播的價值與意義，在于它不僅是內(nèi)容本身，還是手段是載體，可以用來反映社會的方方面面。

從明代以來，大批傳教士入華，杭州成為傳教士在華活動的中心之一。杭州介于上海與寧波兩個口岸的中點，來往上海與寧波當(dāng)然可以走海路，但這一片海域常有海盜活動，所以走陸路并通過運河到杭州，便成為一個妥善的選擇。浙江人未必知道，之江大學(xué)的前身崇信義塾，是1845年建立在寧波的一所基督教學(xué)校;杭州第十四中學(xué)的前身之一弘道女中，也是一所教會學(xué)校;杭州紅十字會醫(yī)院的前身則是1928年法國天主教會修女創(chuàng)辦的仁愛醫(yī)院。西來的傳教士在浙江興辦教會學(xué)校、教會醫(yī)院，初衷當(dāng)然是出于傳教的需要，但這些舉措，客觀上也培養(yǎng)了一批具有新思想、新知識、新技能的人才，對浙江乃至對中國的教育和醫(yī)療的早期現(xiàn)代化作出了積極的貢獻。

一方面，運河給予兩浙社會、經(jīng)濟、文化、教育、藝術(shù)等的滋養(yǎng)是多方面的。另一方面，如歌的歲月積淀出形態(tài)豐富的大運河文化，包含物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)、非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)及自然文化遺產(chǎn)，而這些，在大運河浙江境內(nèi)可謂琳瑯滿目。中國大運河，不僅是浙江文化遺產(chǎn)，也是世界文化遺產(chǎn)。

The genesis of the Grand Canal of China occurred in the Spring & Autumn period （700-221BC）. Over about 2，800 years， the canal system has expanded and extended. Through new and maintenance projects， the Grand Canal is composed of three major sections in a total length of nearly 3，200 kilometers. Generally speaking， the south-north canal system plays a significant role in the economic and cultural prosperity along the canal cities and regions. Zhejiang has benefited a great deal from the canal.

In history， three major massive migrations occurred in China. The canal system played an important role in helping these refugees fleeing wars in the north reach the sough. The first massive migration happened toward the end of Western Jin. About 900，000 people fled the tumult to the south. The second migration wave occurred when An Lushan and Shi Siming rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. Nearly 2.5 million people migrated to the south from the north. The third massive migration wave took place in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty. The royal house fled to the south and nearly 5 million people followed. The last migration wave tipped the economic and cultural balance toward the south. The Yangtze River regions boomed whereas the Yellow River basin in the north withered. Hangzhou became the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty （1127-1279）. Zhejiang became the empires political， economic and cultural center. It is noteworthy that refugees in the north took different routes to the south， but the canal system played a key role in getting many of them to the south safely.

During this time， the regional culture in Zhejiang became part of the national mainstream. Men of letters and noble families in the north came to Zhejiang in the first and the last migration waves. In the first wave， the Wang and the Xie families settled down in Zhejiang. Among these great men of letters were Wang Xizhi， presumably the greatest calligrapher of ancient China， and Xie Lingyun who wrote Chinas first batch of nature poems. Their presence in Zhejiang gave birth to some most brilliant chapters in the history of Chinese culture.

In the Tang dynasty， hundreds of poets journeyed southward and flocked to the east of Zhejiang to enjoy the cultural and scenic beauty of the province. They wrote numerous poems. In the 1990s， a scholar named Zhu Yuebing in Zhejiang traced this phenomenon and concluded that there was a road of Tang poetry in eastern Zhejiang. This discovery put Zhejiang on the map of cultural Chinas.

The Ci-poetry flourished in the Northern Song and the Southern Song. The Ci-poems of the Song and the poems of the Tang are two pearls of Chinese poetry. A lot of Ci-poems that come down in history are ones written in Zhejiang or about Zhejiang. Affected by a Confucian school of idealist philosophy， these poems are free of effeminate touches and look fresh and wonderful.

The cultural benefits Zhejiang reaped were more than from the three migrations. In the Yuan Dynasty （1279-1368）， the Tonghui River and the Huitong River， two manmade watercourses， were added to the existing canal system. Many playwrights and poets came to Zhejiang， including Guan Hanqing and Ma Zhiyuan who worked as a government official. In Zhejiang， new regional operas began to take shape under the influences of the combination of regional operas from the north and those from the south. Some best opera plays in the history of Chinas theater were written during this period. The culture benefited from the Grand Canal includes those works that appeal to both the refined and the popular tastes. It is calculated that 80 percent of the novels written in the Ming （1368-1644） and the Qing （1644-1911） were by novelists who were natives of canal regions and cities. These novels include some of the greatest masterpieces such as Journey to the West， The Romance of Three Kingdoms， Heroes of the Marshes， and A Dream of Red Mansions， and The Plum in the Golden Vase.

The cities along the Grand Canal such as Suzhou， Yangzhou， Huaian， Jining， Lingqing， Dezhou and Tianjin were all great trade centers. Since the Tang， Zhejiang was a key contributor to the state revenue. Jiangnan， a region in the south of the Yangtze River Delta which largely covers regions in the north of Zhejiang and south of Jiangsu， contributed 90% to the state revenue. In the Northern Song， Zhejiang was the empires economic center and most prosperous region. The silk industry， fishing industry and handicraft industry were the countrys leading ones. Zhejiang was the nations food basket. Scholars often wonder whether the Grand Canal made Hangzhou or Hangzhou made the Grand Canal. Influences were mutual.

Moreover， Hangzhou played a key role in international cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world from the Ming Dynasty on. The canal has been admired by many throughout history including Japanese monk Ennin （794–864）， Persian historian Rashid al-Din （1247–1318）， Korean official Choe Bu （1454–1504）， and Italian missionary Matteo Ricci （1552–1610）. In the Ming， Hangzhou was one of the major destinations of missionaries from the outside world. These missionaries set up schools and colleges and hospitals in cities such as Hangzhou and Ningbo. Though these schools and hospitals were designed for religious purposes， they did produce a large crowd of educated young people who contributed a great deal to Chinas modernization.

The Grand Canal has recreated Zhejiang economically， socially， culturally and artistically. Today Zhejiang is rich in intangible cultural heritage. The Grand Canal of China was inscribed onto the UNESCOs list of world heritage sites in 2014.