俗話說：「好記性不如爛筆頭」，這話真不假。如今看著一疊在蘇州拍的照片，卻怎麼也想不起來，為什麼去的。記錄中只找到「1984年3月隨所裡攝製組出差路過姑蘇」一句話，就沒有第二句話了。怎麼也想不起來去哪裡出差，為什麼會路過蘇州。
當然這一路漫長的歲月中電腦也壞了好幾台了，沒備份的話，許多記錄就沒了。一般來講我是根據早期的手寫記錄、後期在電腦上打字存檔的記錄、照片背面的日期、地點，加上清晰的回憶來拼接、整理曾經過往的。這次沒有手寫記錄，沒有電腦存檔的記錄，沒有出差地景點照片，也沒有工作照，編故事就太難了。隨行人員還是所裡的那幾位，給我拍照的還是小L。
如果說是我們去溫州、廣州兩次的出差回途中，有一次「路過」蘇州，但是日期對不上，那是1982年的事。這幾張照片背面的景點、日期都有，寫著是84年4月。我這人比較馬虎，但再馬虎也不會將好幾張照片的日期都寫錯呀，況且在蘇州時穿有毛衣。溫州、廣州那兩次是夏天，照片中大家都穿著長袖和短袖襯衫。還好有這些在姑蘇留下的照片加上回憶來彌補空白，看著照片，當時的感覺瞬間就回來了。
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| 楓橋 Maple Bridge |
唐朝詩人張繼的「月落烏啼霜滿天，江楓漁火對愁眠。姑蘇城外寒山寺，夜半鐘聲到客船」，給人以唯美的遐想。到了蘇州，這兩處是一定要去拜訪的。只可惜沒在寂靜朦朧的月夜到的楓橋，時過境遷，此處已經沒了那首詩歌的意境了，還真有點後悔去了呢。畢竟想象要比現實美得多。
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| 寒山寺 The Bell Tower of Hanshan Temple |
到寒山寺的鐘樓時是下午時分，夕陽斜照，遊人稀少，幽靜中帶給人一種歷史變遷的滄桑感。大樹環繞，感覺不錯，沒有白來的遺憾。
寒山寺的這兩張不小心曝光了兩次的照片，比較有意境，很喜歡。
我們還上了靈岩山。靈岩山上奇石多，這是我坐在靈岩山上的大石龜後面的留影，石龜背上刻有「望佛來」三個字。
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Blank Spaces in Gusu, 1984: Double Exposure at Hanshan Temple, a Forgotten Journey, and the Stone Tortoise of Lingyan Mountain
As the old saying goes, "The palest ink is better than the best memory"—and it is entirely true. Looking today at a stack of photographs taken in Suzhou, I simply cannot recall why on earth I went there. Among my records, I found only a single, isolated sentence: "In March 1984, passed through Gusu while away on a business trip with the institute's film crew." There isn't a second sentence to accompany it. I cannot remember where we were traveling for that business trip, nor why we happened to pass through Suzhou.
Of course, across the long torrent of these years, several of my computers have broken down. Without backups, many records vanished entirely. Generally speaking, I reconstruct and organize my past by piecing together early handwritten notes, records later typed and archived on computers, the dates and locations written on the backs of photographs, combined with clear memories. This time, however, there are no handwritten notes, no archived computer records, no photographs of the actual business destination, and no photos of us at work. Trying to spin a story out of this would be far too difficult. The accompanying personnel were the same few colleagues from the institute, and the one taking my photos was still Little L.
If it had been a case of "passing through" Suzhou on our return journey from either the Wenzhou or Guangzhou expeditions, the dates wouldn't align; those occurred back in 1982. The scenic spots and dates on the backs of these specific photographs are entirely clear, written as April 1984. I can be rather careless, but no matter how careless I am, I wouldn't write the wrong date on several different photos. Furthermore, I am wearing a wool sweater in these Suzhou photographs. Those two trips to Wenzhou and Guangzhou took place in the summer, where everyone in the photos wore only long-sleeved or short-sleeved shirts.
Fortunately, these photographs left behind in Gusu, combined with stray memories, suffice to fill the blank spaces. Looking at the pictures, the sensations of that time rush back in an instant. The Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji’s lines—"The moon sinks, crows cry, and frost fills the sky; / River maples and fishermen's fires face a sorrowful sleep. / Outside the city of Gusu stands the Hanshan Temple, / Its midnight bell reaches the passenger boat"—evoke a beautifully poetic daydream. Upon arriving in Suzhou, these two sites are absolute necessities to visit. Regretfully, we did not reach the Fengqiao (Maple Bridge) during a quiet, misty, moonlit night. As times have changed, the place has long lost the poetic atmosphere of that stanza; I actually felt a twinge of regret for going at all. After all, imagination is far more beautiful than reality. When we reached the bell tower of Hanshan Temple, it was mid-afternoon. The setting sun cast long, slanted rays, and tourists were scarce. Within that stillness, it brought a profound sense of historical vicissitude. Surrounded by grand trees, the atmosphere felt wonderful, leaving behind no regret of a wasted trip. I am immensely fond of these two photographs of Hanshan Temple that were accidentally double-exposed; they possess a distinct, artistic mood.
We also visited the Humble Administrator’s Garden, Yiyuan Garden, Ouyuan Garden, the Beisi Pagoda, Canglang Pavilion, the Lion Grove Garden, and the Sword Pool at Tiger Hill. Inside those delicate, compact, and elegant classical gardens, we wound our way up and down, threading through the rockeries of artificial stones, experiencing the refined pastimes of ancient scholars and literati.
We also climbed Lingyan Mountain. Lingyan Mountain is filled with bizarre and exotic rocks. This is a photograph of me sitting right behind a grand stone tortoise on Lingyan Mountain, with the three characters "Wang Fo Lai" (Awaiting the Buddha's Arrival) carved upon its stone back.
特別感謝 Gemini AI 提供充滿活力的翻譯和文本潤色。
Special thanks to Gemini AI for providing the spirited translation and text refinement.
第三百七十四篇
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