巫山与神女

唐佩璇

2021年初，重庆市公布第一批115个历史地名保护名录，“巫山”榜上有名。

地名，在一定程度上是一个地方承载历史印记的社会化石，是一个地方最为重要的文化形态和载体。而“巫山”所寄托的，是千百年来对“神女”的无限遐思。

相传，巫山神女名瑶姬，是南方天帝赤帝的女儿，还未嫁人就去世了，葬在巫山。

巫山神女的文献形象最早见于《山海经·中山经·中经七经》。遥远的原始自然崇拜心理，在历代文学作品中得到映现，从而为我们塑造了巫山神女这一独具魅力的文学形象。

作为沟通上天和人间的媒介，神女被反复再塑造，历代文人赋予了她妩媚多情、摇曳生姿、热烈奔放的人格魅力特征，宋玉《高唐赋》和《神女赋》为后世的巫山诗提供了经久不息的母題灵感和抒情材料。

随着儒家思想在中国古代社会逐渐占据主导地位，巫山神女在中国神话与宗教体系中的地位逐渐下降，原始宗教意味和巫术神秘色彩随之减弱，“两赋”中不食人间烟火的“神女”转化为唐诗里与世俗女性并无二致的“凡女”。

这些唐诗，从不同的角度丰富了巫山神女形象。

一类是诗人亲历现场，在途径巴山渝水时，因巫山巫峡萧瑟凄厉、阴寒冷寂的自然环境有感而发。诗人对于古老神女传说的遥远回想，遂对其进行仿若约定俗成般的共同致敬书写和臆想描绘，种种经典意象跨越时间长河在诗人脑中浮现：重述被雨打湿的山腰、翻卷的烟雾、低密而蔽目的积云、啼叫的山猿、凄厉的寒风……

大部分诗人在旧有的典故中寻找巫山神女的倩影，营造出云雾缭绕、缥缈朦胧的巫山风光。其中不乏新颖奇特、富有原创性的作品。

比如孟郊的《巫山高》，描写巫山十二峰时并没有如宋玉般同楚王漫步在高唐，而是想象楚王狩猎时恰逢黄昏时分微雨，夜来幽梦同神女相会。“轻红流烟湿艳姿，行云飞去明星稀。”淡淡薄雾沾湿了她艳丽的身姿，飘忽一瞬间她又消失不见，踪迹难觅。“目极魂断望不见，猿鸣三声泪沾衣。”望眼欲穿不得结果，此时猿鸣凄清哀绝更是唤起无限悲凉。

另一类唐诗的写作场域并不在巫山，比如李白的《清平调》。诗人将杨玉环的美貌描绘得淋漓尽致，把一切轻灵曼妙的意象赋予她：“云想衣裳花想容，春风拂槛露华浓。若非群玉山头见，会向瑶台月下逢。一枝红艳露凝香，云雨巫山枉断肠。”

群玉山和瑶台本是神话传说中西王母的住所，而“云雨巫山”则是神女的象征，李白将杨贵妃同西王母、巫山神女对举，与其说是为了抬高杨玉环的地位，毋宁说李白已在内心将巫山神女从至高至尊之位除名。

现实世界中，与神女这一文学形象呼应的，无疑是巫峡十二峰中最俏丽的神女峰。

走过如今的神女天路，再乘索道天梯，美景尽收眼底。行舟神女溪上，不禁遥想长衫佩剑的李白，两岸猿声，轻舟飞过。

夜幕低垂，月影渐明。窗外，容颜姣好、身姿曼妙的巫山神女逐渐清晰可见。

Wushan Mountain was listed in the first batch of 115 protected historical place names issued by the Chongqing government in early 2021.

To a certain extent， place names have been served as social marks that bear local historical imprints and as essential local cultural forms and carriers. In particular， Wushan Mountain is named to honor the endless reverie about the Goddess for thousands of years.

According to legend， the Wushan goddess was named Yao Ji， the daughter of the Red Emperor， also known as South Deity. She died before being married and was buried in Wushan Mountain.

Her documentary can be dated back to the Classic of Mountains and Seas·Classic of the Mountains： Central·Seven Classics of Central. The remote primitive worship of nature has been mirrored in Chinese literary works through ages， which have shaped up the unique literary image of the Wushan Goddess.

The Goddess， a medium bridging the heaven and the earth， has been repeatedly reshaped but shared her charming， passionate， warm and open personality with perfect posture. In particular， Gaotangfu or Rhapsody on the Gaotang Shrine and Shennvfu， both of which were written by Song Yu， offer sustained original inspiration and lyrical materials for later poems about Wushan Mountain.

However， as Confucianism gradually ascended to the dominator in ancient Chinese society， the status of the Wushan Goddess gradually declined in the Chinese mythology and religious system， so did her primitive religious meaning and the mystery of witchcraft. She had been transferred from a fairy to someone who was described by poems of the Tang Dynasty like mortal women.

These poems enriched her image from diversified perspectives.

The first one goes to the feeling inspired by the local bleak， cold and quiet natural environment when the poet experienced Wushan Mountain and Wu Gorge in the area of Bashan Mountain and Yushui River. With the recall of the ancient goddess’ legend， the poet couldn’t help honoring her and surmising the scene when the legend happened， which seems as if a conventionalized practice. During the period， all kinds of classical scenes traveled over time and got projected in the poet’s mind， empowering him to restate the mountainside wet by the rain， the tumbling smoke， the hovering thick cumulus clouds， the howling mountain apes， and the shrill cold wind...

Most poets strove to search the shadow of the Wushan goddess in the ancient allusions， an effort to create a misty and hazy scenery of Wushan Mountain. Among their literary works， some are quite creative， peculiar， and original.

For example， Meng Jiao’s Wushan Gao depicts the twelve peaks of Wushan through a scene of King Chu’s dream of meeting the Goddess when he hunted in a drizzling day at dusk， which is quite different from Chu’s ramble in Gaotang， a sight illustrated by Song Yu.

Another division of poems of the Tang Dynasty about the mountain didn’t highlight it， such as a Song of Pure Happiness written by Li Bai. The poet described Yang Yuhuan’s beauty incisively and vividly with all light and graceful images： "Her robe is a cloud， her face a flower； Her balcony， glimmering with the bright spring dew. Is either the tip of earth’s Jade Mountain Or a moon- edged roof of paradise. There’s a perfume stealing moist from a shaft of red blossom； And a mist， through the heart， from the magical Hill of Wu."

Wherein， Qunyu Mountain and Yaotai were legendarily the residences of Queen Mother of the West while the magical Wushan was a symbol of the Goddess. In the poem， Li compared Lady Yang to Queen Mother of the West and the Goddess. The comparison tend to remove the Goddess’s supreme position rather than raise Yang’s status.

In the real world， the literary image of the Goddess has been inspired by the Shennv Peak， the prettiest among the twelve peaks in Wuxia without a doubt.

The peak can be reached through a rope way and a sky ladder after Goddess Heaven Road. It commands a magnificent view of the mountain. On the Xingzhou Goddess River， I can’t help recalling the scene that Li Bai wearing a long gown and sword， and taking a canoe to travel through waves with apes howling on both shores.

The night fell upon the earth and the shadow of the moon gradually became clear. Outside the window， the Wushan Goddess with a good face and graceful posture gradually became clear.