陳富強(qiáng)

安昌是我的誕生地。那兒的每一塊青石板，每一片黛瓦，每一條濕漉漉的弄堂，都塞滿了我童年的記憶。

一

從文化地域上來劃分，安昌所在地區(qū)流行紹劇和蓮花落。

紹劇，中國傳統(tǒng)戲曲劇種，原名“紹興亂彈”，以高亢激越的唱腔、粗獷樸實(shí)的音樂、豪放灑脫的表演和文武兼?zhèn)涞忍攸c(diǎn)形成獨(dú)特的藝術(shù)風(fēng)格。蓮花落，紹興一帶的曲藝種類之一，形成之初以沿門說唱為主，此后又開始以紹興方言說唱長篇書目，幽默風(fēng)趣。

但安昌人卻普遍偏愛越劇。我想這大約與安昌的地理環(huán)境、文化背景有一定的關(guān)系。安昌始建于北宋，從明朝中葉開始繁華，一直到晚清都是方圓數(shù)十里叫得響的集鎮(zhèn)，而且它的建筑風(fēng)格完全是明清的典范，小橋流水人家，粉墻黛瓦，雨廊騎樓，到處都是明清的痕跡。從一座拱橋，一根垂掛在橋邊的枯藤;從一塊石板，一棵石板縫里的小草;從一排屋檐，一片檐上的黑瓦，都寫著安昌的滄海桑田。安昌人就是這樣不慌不忙一路走來，說的是吳儂軟語，吃的是稻麥菱藕，睡的是雕花木床，戴的是竹笠，穿的是蓑衣。他們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了舒緩的生活節(jié)奏，紹劇的高亢在他們聽來有點(diǎn)過于激昂到稍微嘈雜，所以他們選擇了越劇。越劇唱腔的清麗、委婉、抒情恰好與安昌人的生活習(xí)性相吻合。當(dāng)然，他們也不排斥紹劇和蓮花落，逢年過節(jié)，唱社戲的時(shí)候，戲臺上，越劇、紹劇、蓮花落各領(lǐng)風(fēng)騷。

安昌離越劇的發(fā)源地嵊縣不算太遠(yuǎn)，同屬一個(gè)地區(qū)。說起嵊縣的越劇，老一輩的安昌人總是津津樂道，他們能如數(shù)家珍地報(bào)出“越劇十姐妹”的姓名，以及她們都有一些什么代表作品，連哪個(gè)是唱小生，哪個(gè)是唱花旦也搞得清清楚楚，甚至連先后排名的順序都不會(huì)顛倒，而且對戚雅仙、王文娟、金彩鳳沒能進(jìn)入十姐妹之列一直耿耿于懷。

老輩的安昌人知道越劇好聽，卻未必曉得越劇是怎么來的。我為此專門去過嵊縣，看過小城外的那條剡溪。嵊縣山清水秀，唱越劇是最合適不過。一條美麗的剡溪穿城而過，水清得像玻璃透著溪底的卵石，溪畔的楊柳和蘆葦就是站成一排一排的小城女子，隨風(fēng)而舞的蘆葦葉子，好比是女子的長發(fā)在風(fēng)中飄揚(yáng)，她們站在黃昏的殘霞中一齊亮開了嗓子咿咿呀呀地唱著，唱得溪水也放慢了流速，唱得西邊的太陽也醉紅了臉。

越劇的來由與“落地唱書”有關(guān)，它采用的是佛曲、宣卷、道情、蓮花落等俗曲小調(diào)，唱的多是一些勸人為善，祝福長壽，多生貴子等吉利詞句，這些唱詞大多采自民間歌謠，語言質(zhì)樸，想象奇特，易于在民間流傳。在春秋戰(zhàn)國時(shí)期，嵊縣是越國的屬地，所以人們把誕生于嵊縣的戲劇劇種命名為越劇。越劇早期的一些長篇書目多是從傳書、卷本、戲曲中移植改變過來的，比較著名的有《雙珠鳳》《珍珠塔》《玉蜻蜓》等。安昌人看到的越劇是以女子為主體的，其實(shí)，早期的越劇演員都是男子，到了20世紀(jì)30年代初，才由女子占領(lǐng)了越劇舞臺，而且一發(fā)而不可收，群星閃耀，新秀輩出，保留曲目都能登得上大雅之堂。這些曲目在古鎮(zhèn)盛演不衰，大戲如《梁山伯與祝英臺》《西廂記》《紅樓夢》《孔雀東南飛》《漢宮怨》等，都令古鎮(zhèn)人百看不厭，百聽不煩。

二

但也不是經(jīng)常能有大戲可看。能演大戲的一般是正規(guī)的劇團(tuán)，早先的安昌沒有自己的正規(guī)劇團(tuán)，要看大戲就得去城里，去城里畢竟要花費(fèi)，門票不說，來回的車馬費(fèi)也是一筆不小的開支，還得吃一頓飯。就只好將就，看社戲是一個(gè)最好的辦法。

安昌人看社戲與魯迅筆下的描述大致相同，也是四鄉(xiāng)八村的越劇愛好者趕場子，哪兒演就往哪兒趕。安昌演社戲請的是“草臺班子”，也就是湊攏班子，跟現(xiàn)在的明星走穴有點(diǎn)類似，也是東來一個(gè)，西來一伙，你唱老生，我演花旦，他做琴師，湊成一個(gè)劇組，帶上服裝、道具就開路。

戲臺就臨時(shí)搭一個(gè)，找一塊空曠的曬場，用毛竹、木板、塑料布搭起一個(gè)戲臺來，人往臺上一站，臺子會(huì)吱吱地響，搭臺子的人說不要緊，再在前后左右撐幾根毛竹就牢固了。撐了毛竹，戲臺果然就結(jié)實(shí)了。曬場總是臨河，河上總是有橋，演戲的時(shí)候，曬場上的人擠得站不下，就跳進(jìn)泊在河里的船艙，不光船艙，連橋上也都是人了。實(shí)在看不見戲臺子上演員的，就走到戲臺后面去，看不見演員，但聽得見演員唱戲。

草臺班子演的戲?yàn)樯督猩鐟?？上了年紀(jì)讀過私塾的老輩人說這個(gè)就說來話長了。老底子的人說“鑼鼓響，腳底癢”，逢年過節(jié)再窮也要演幾場社戲樂一樂。這個(gè)社戲的社是土地神。古時(shí)候，人們把土地分為山林、川澤、丘陵、墳衍、原隰（音為xí），稱作五土，社就是五土的總神。而古時(shí)候，又稱稻、黍、稷、麥、菽為五谷，稷呢，是五谷的總神。谷賴土而長，社可代表社稷，人非土不立，非谷不食，社稷可是生命的根本。所以，古代要筑社稷壇來祭社稷神，民間則以祭社，后來又發(fā)展到以演戲來祭社，以此來祈求闔村平安。

社戲演的一般都是折子戲，大戲通常不演，一是演出的報(bào)酬，二是演員的功底，這些都是問題。演社戲的經(jīng)費(fèi)有好幾種來源，有村子里出的，有村子里的有錢人出的，也有村民自愿湊錢的。到村子里演的演員多數(shù)是自學(xué)成才，沒有經(jīng)過專業(yè)培訓(xùn)，大戲唱不下來，頂多唱唱大戲里面的某一部分，比方說像《紅樓夢》里的“黛玉葬花”“寶玉哭靈”，或者說像《梁山伯與祝英臺》里的“十八相送”。如果村子里提出要演大戲，草臺班子就會(huì)提出比較高的價(jià)碼，安昌人就會(huì)因接受不了而作罷。

社戲除演越劇，也有紹劇和蓮花落的專場。雖然觀眾沒有看越劇的多，但也是場場爆滿。安昌人對紹劇演員和蓮花落演員沒有像對越劇演員那么熟悉，但也了然于心。尤其可貴的是蓮花落的許多段子都是藝人自己創(chuàng)作的，取材于安昌人耳熟能詳?shù)纳?，演來就格外親切。有一出叫《九斤姑娘》的戲，唱的是一個(gè)聰明的姑娘叫九斤如何有智慧。她能回答各種稀奇古怪的問題，比方說“半夜三更要緊桶”是什么桶？九斤就會(huì)回答是馬桶。這是形象的民間語言。據(jù)說這出戲的發(fā)源地就離安昌鎮(zhèn)不遠(yuǎn)，也是一座古鎮(zhèn)，臨河一排木板房，河上有一座一座石拱橋。許多安昌人都去看過那個(gè)誕生了《九斤姑娘》的地方，看后都顯得有點(diǎn)不以為然，認(rèn)為那個(gè)地方比安昌好不到哪里去，安昌也完全可以出一個(gè)九斤姑娘。

我離開安昌很多年，但相對安昌的歷史不過像小河里的一滴水。我曾經(jīng)走過的廊檐下依舊有石雕的鏤花格子窗。那些拱橋的橋面是越來越光滑了。只是不曉得臨河的窗子里還會(huì)不會(huì)飄出女子婉麗的唱腔？逢年過節(jié)的時(shí)候曬場上還演不演社戲？如果演，是單演越劇，還是和紹劇、蓮花落一起演？或者是各自搭起一個(gè)舞臺鏗鏗鏘鏘獨(dú)自演？還演不演《男吊》和《女吊》？還演《無?！穯幔?/p>

我聽得見安昌的呼吸聲，那是來自心底的一種懷念，一種至死也不忘的故鄉(xiāng)情結(jié)?？磥恚业没匕膊惶肆?，去那條在明朝就鋪好的青石板街道上走一走了。

Ancient Anchang：Regional Operas in Memory

By Chen Fuqiang

Anchang is my hometown. It is part of Shaoxing， a city of history and culture in eastern Zhejiang. In 895， Qian Liu defeated warlord Dong Chang and brought peace to the river town. The town was renamed Anchang. And Anchang it has been since then. I was born there. Every inch of the ancient town is in my childhood memories.

According to some cultural geographers， Anchang has every reason to be in the sphere of inference of Shaoju Opera and Lotus Storytelling， two forms of regional popular entertainment in Shaoxing. Shaoju Opera features high-pitch loud singing and martial art stunts， a style often seen in the north of China. Lotus Storytelling used to be a street performance. A street artist of Lotus Storytelling went from door to door. If engaged， a performer would tell a story in Shaoxing dialect. In the repertoire of Lotus Storytelling are some lengthy stories. However， people in Anchang prefer Yueju Opera， which is also a regional entertainment of Shaoxing.

This preference probably is associated with the history of the river town. Though it has a history of more than 1，000 years， it was not until the mid-phase of the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644） that the town thrived. And its prosperity lasted until the last years of the Qing （1644-1911）. The houses in town are all in the architectural styles of the Ming and the Qing. One can easily see the perfect examples of the past architecture： arch bridges， flagstone streets and roads， houses with blackish roof tiles. Residents speak a dialect that is soft. In their houses you can find beds ornately decorated with fine woodcarving. Their staple food is rice and lotus roots. They are quite comfortable with this tranquil and slow pace of life that they somewhat dislike the Shaoju Opera as they find it too loud and too noisy. So they like Yueju Opera， which is lyrical， serene， and soft. Their preference does not mean that they dont enjoy Shaoju Opera and Lotus Storytelling performances. During the Spring Festival and folk festivities， all three entertainments are available in Anchang.

After all， Anchang is not far from Shengxian County， where Yueju Opera originated over 100 years ago. Seniors in Anchang know the names of Yueju Opera stars that went from their villages to Shanghai and made it there. The old generation in Anchang loves Yueju Opera but they are not clear about the genesis of this regional opera. I once visited Shengxian to understand the operas deep roots. The cradle of Yueju Opera is scenic. The arias of the opera came from various local sources such as Buddhism singing， ballad singing and storytelling. The lyrics were mostly from folk songs and poems， simple and imaginative， easy to be memorized and repeated by rural theatergoers. Some early plays in the history of Yueju Opera repertoire were adapted from local scripts composed by grassroots folk artists. In early years of the Yueju Opera， the opera plays were performed by men only. It was in the early 1930s that women became dominant performers and there appeared all-women performances and all-women troupes. Plays in Yueju Opera repertoire were refined again and again until they became classics. People in Anchang have been in love with Yueju Opera since then.

In good old days， theatergoers in Anchang did not have a theater to go to. A trip to theaters in Shaoxing would cost a small fortune. Most theatergoers in Anchang chose to watch village opera shows often staged by rural artists who came together to hold such a show together. These artists often banded together and went on a road show as a temporary troupe when farm work wasnt so busy. In villages， a makeshift stage could be hastily set up with bamboo poles， wood boards and plastic sheets on a riverside ground for drying rice. Without bamboo poles to reinforce the stage from sides， a stage would shake and squeak. Such an opera show always attracted a large crowd including theatergoers from neighboring villages. Some people watched an opera show from boats moored in the river by the show ground. Some watched the show from a bridge a little bit afar from the stage. Such an opera show usually occurred during a ceremony which was held in honor of local gods. Most performers were amateurs.

I have not seen such a show in Anchang for a long while. I can still hear the breathing of my hometown in my heart. I think I need to go back for a visit， for a long stroll in flagstone streets built in the Ming Dynasty.