司馬一民

中秋節(jié)與春節(jié)是中國人最看重的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。

中秋節(jié)賞月的風俗，在《唐書 · 太宗記》有記載：“八月十五中秋節(jié)?！痹谔拼?，中秋賞月、玩月頗為盛行，許多詩人的名篇中都有詠月的詩句，中秋節(jié)開始成為固定的節(jié)日。

唐代張祜（785年—849年），字承吉，清河人，出身富豪之家，有詩名，其《中秋夜杭州玩月》詩描述了在杭州的文人雅士中秋賞月的情形：萬古太陰精，中秋海上生。鬼愁緣辟照，人愛為高明。歷歷華星遠，霏霏薄暈縈。影流江不盡，輪曳谷無聲。似鏡當樓曉，如珠出浦盈。岸沙全借白，山木半含清。小檻循環(huán)看，長堤蹋陣行。殷勤未歸客，煙水夜來情。

北宋時中秋節(jié)出現(xiàn)“小餅如嚼月，中有酥和飴”的節(jié)令食品。孟元老《東京夢華錄》載：中秋夜，貴家結飾臺榭，民間爭占酒樓玩月;弦重鼎沸，近內(nèi)延居民，深夜逢聞笙竽之聲，宛如云外，間里兒童，連宵婚戲;夜市駢闐，至于通曉。

南宋時杭州人怎樣過中秋？

《夢粱錄》卷四《中秋》載：此夜月色倍明于常時，又謂之“月夕”。此際金風薦爽，玉露生涼，丹桂香飄，銀蟾光滿。王孫公子，富家巨室，莫不登危樓，臨軒玩月，或開廣榭，玳筵羅列，琴瑟鏗鏘，酌酒髙歌，以卜竟夕之歡。至如鋪席之家，亦登小小月臺，安排家宴，團圓子女，以酬佳節(jié)。雖陋巷貧窶之人，解衣市酒，勉強迎歡，不肯虛度。此夜天街買賣，直至五鼓。玩月游人，婆娑於市，至曉不絕。蓋金吾不禁故也。

這段文字大意為，中秋節(jié)那天，月色要比平常明亮很多，這天晚上又稱作“月夕”。豪門之家大擺盛宴，絲竹歌舞，開懷暢飲。住在陋巷里的窮人即使把衣服當了換酒喝也要過節(jié)。京城中街道買賣徹夜不停，一直到天亮。賞月的游人直到天亮了也沒有散盡，這一天晚上是不宵禁的。

《武林舊事》卷三“中秋”的記載也差不多：禁中是夕有賞月延桂排當，如倚桂閣、秋暉堂、碧岑，皆臨時取旨，夜深天樂直徹人間。御街如絨線、蜜箭、香鋪，皆鋪設貨物，夸多競好，謂之“歇眼”。燈燭華燦，竟夕乃止。

稍稍不同的是《西湖老人繁勝錄》中秋日所載：是夜城中多賞月排會，天氣熱，宿湖飲酒，待銀蟾出海，到夜深船靜，如在廣寒宮。

可見中秋賞月最佳處在西湖之中，這與古人在杭州留下的中秋賞月詩詞倒可以印證——

王洧，宋理宗時人，寫有《平湖秋月》詩：萬頃寒光一夕鋪，水輪行處片云無。鷲峰遙度西風冷，桂子紛紛點玉壺。

中秋之夜，天上萬里無云，月朗星稀，月光鋪灑在西湖水面上;涼風徐徐，帶來了桂花的芳香。全詩突出了一個“靜”字。

孫銳，吳江平望人，度宗咸淳年間進士，寫有《平湖望月》詩：月冷寒泉凝不流，棹歌何處泛歸舟？白蘋紅蓼西風里，一色湖光萬頃秋。

詩題“平湖望月”，有“舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉(xiāng)”之意。水生植物白蘋紅蓼，顏色一深一淺，相依在水中，可以想象為相戀的意思。也許此時詩人沒有和家人在一起，此詩表達了懷念故鄉(xiāng)思念親人的意思。

陳允平（字君衡，號西麓，宋末元初人）寫有《秋霽（西湖十詠 · 平湖秋月）》：千頃玻璃，遠送目斜陽，漸下林闐。題葉人歸，采菱舟散，望中水天一色。碾空桂魄。玉繩低轉云無跡。有素鷗，閑伴夜深，呼棹過環(huán)碧。 相思萬里，頓隔嬋媛，幾回瓊臺，同駐鸞翼。對西風、憑誰問取，人間那得有今夕，應笑廣寒宮殿窄。露冷煙淡，還看數(shù)點殘星，兩行新雁，倚樓橫笛。

詩人對中秋之夜的西湖非常欣賞，在一番場景描述之后，贊嘆西湖勝過月亮上嫦娥居住的廣寒宮：“人間那得有今夕。應笑廣寒宮殿窄?！?/p>

尹廷高，宋末元初人，寫有《平湖秋月》詩：爛銀盤掛六橋東，色貫玻璃徹底空。千頃清光無著處，夜深分付與漁翁。

詩人感嘆，夜深人靜，月色如銀光映入浩瀚透明的西湖水中，只是這樣美麗的景色只有打魚人在享受。也許詩人看到的是宋末元初特殊時期的西湖中秋之夜，特別冷清。

明代馬洪，字浩瀾，號鶴窗，仁和縣人，有《南鄉(xiāng)子 · 平湖秋月》詞：月似白蓮浮，水似璚田綠水流。閑憶何時曾勝賞，中秋，一瓣芙蓉是彩舟。風露冷颼颼，水月仙人跨玉虬。笑道西湖元有對，瀛洲，卻在蓬萊欲盡頭。

“閑憶何時曾勝賞，中秋”，詩人似乎在回憶曾經(jīng)在西湖過中秋的情形。以婉約的詞風寫杭州西湖中秋，倒也貼切。

明代徐渭也寫過一首《平湖秋月》詩：平湖一色萬頃秋，湖光渺渺水長流。秋月圓圓世間少，月好四時最宜秋。

這是一首藏頭詩，每句的第一個字合起來為“平湖秋月”，有趣。

有意思的是上述引用的詩詞，題目是“平湖秋月”和“平湖望月”，說明杭州文人雅士比較喜歡在水平如鏡的西湖賞月。那么，作為西湖十景之一，“平湖秋月”到底在哪里？其實，南宋時平湖秋月似乎并無固定的景點，單從詩詞中尋找依據(jù)來看，當時以及元、明兩代文人賦詠此景的描述多為泛歸舟夜湖，舟中賞月之內(nèi)容。明萬歷年間的西湖十景木刻版畫中，《平湖秋月》一圖也表現(xiàn)為游客在湖船中舉頭望月。

現(xiàn)如今的平湖秋月景點位于白堤西端，背倚孤山，面臨外湖。因清康熙三十八年，康熙帝南巡，在杭州此處御書“平湖秋月”，從此，景點固定，立碑湖畔。

（作者系杭州市政協(xié)智庫專家、文史專家）

In Search ofPinghu Qiuyue， or “Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake”

By Sima Yimin

Together with the Spring Festival， the Mid-Autumn Festival is perhaps regarded as the important festival by the Chinese people. The tradition of appreciating the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival was already recorded in the Book of Tang or the History of Tang. In the Tang dynasty （618-907）， appreciation of the moon on the Mid-Autumn Day was quite popular， especially among poets and literati. Indeed， many famous lines of Tang poetry were about the moon， and it is during the period that the Mid-Autumn Day gradually developed into a commonly celebrated festival.

Zhang Hu （785-849）， a Tang poet， described how literati appreciated the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival in his poem Enjoying the Moon in Hangzhou on the Night of Mid-Autumn Day： …Over the balustrade they watch the moon again and again， or in groups they walk along the causeway. Return home they will not， for with fog and water， passion and love arrive late at night.

In the Northern Song （960-1127） period， people began to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with special foods， and “small crisp and sugary cakes like the moon” appeared. Dongjing Menghua Lu， or The Eastern Capital： A Dream of Splendor， a book published at the end of the Northern Song that recorded in detail the life of Kaifang （the East Capital）， the Northern Song capital， said that on the night of the festival， “rich families decorate their houses and pavilions while common folks throng to restaurants and taverns to watch the moon; music blaring across places can even be heard in the imperial court…children frolic and romp late into night and crowded night markets stay open until daytime.”

How did people in the Southern Song dynasty （1127-1279） spend the day？

Mengliang Lu， or Dreaming Over a Bowl of Millet， a book written at the end of the Southern Song describing the capital Linan （present-day Hangzhou）， capital of the Southern Song dynasty， wrote， “the moon shines twice brighter on this night than usual…Wealthy families put on feasts for the occasion， and drink merrily to all sorts of music and dancing...and those who are much poorer would rather pawn their clothes for some wine to celebrate the festival. On this night， shops and businesses in the capital stay open all night. Visitors appreciating the moon wont disperse until in the morning. And on this night， no curfew is imposed.”

Similar accounts appeared in Wulin Jiushi， or Ancient Matters from Wulin Garden， yet another book about the happenings of Linan published about the same time as Mengliang Lu： on the night of the festival， special stalls would be set up in the imperial court to enjoy the moon…music plays deep into the night. Shops in the imperial street sell various goods catered to the day， such as preserved fruit， incense and candles…Lights burn all night until daybreak.

A little different description can be found in Xihu Laoren Fansheng Lu （or the Records from the Old Man of West Lake on Linans Prosperous Life）： in the city， parties would be held for the appreciation of the moon on the night， which is usually hot; many would stay around the lake and drink， waiting for the moon to rise above the water， when they would sail into the lake， as if in the legendary Moon Palace.

Apparently， the best location to enjoy the moon on the Mid-Autumn Day is on the West Lake， which has been borne out by quite a few poems.

Wang Wei， a Southern Song poet， had a poem titled “Pinghu Qiuyue” （“Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake”）： Cold light covers ten thousand acres sky at night， whence travels the moon as not a wisp of cloud is to be seen.

Chen Yunping， another Southern Song poet， composed a Ci poem with a similar title （“To the Tune of Qiuji： Ten Arias on the West Lake — Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake”）， in which he lauded the moon， “…What a night this vast mortal world is endowed with. We should all laugh at the cramped Moon Palace...”

Ming （1368-1644） poets had a penchant for Pinghu Qiuyue as well. Xu Wei （1521-1593）， famed poet， essayist， calligrapher and painter， penned a poem of the same title. What is remarkable that it is an acrostic poem： the first character of each line spells out the title “Ping （Calm） Hu （Lake） Qiu （Autumn） Yue （Moon）”： Calm lake reflects ten thousand acres autumn in a single color， lake light seems endless as water flows. Autumn moon perfectly round is rarely seen in this world， moon in its best state surely comes in autumn.

As one of the Ten Best-Known Sceneries of the West Lake， where exactly is Pinghu Qiuyue， or “Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake”？ In fact， there was not a single and settled spot for the scenery during the Southern Song， which could be readily discerned from the poetry of Yuan and Ming poets， as they were invariably traveling in a boat on the West Lake to enjoy the moon and the scenery. In the woodcut print version of the Ten Best-Known Sceneries of the West Lake made during the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty， the part of Pinghu Qiuyue or “Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake” also shows that visitors look up at the moon in a boat on the lake.

Now， the scenic spot is located to the west of the Bai Causeway， facing the lake and with the Solitary Hill at the back. It was thanks to Emperor Kangxi （1654-1722） that the spot became a fixed tourist attraction： in 1689， the 38th year of his reign， Emperor Kangxi came to the spot during one of his southern tours， and wrote down the four characters Ping Hu Qiu Yue. A stone tablet was the set up and “Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake” has turned into what it is today.