济南的秋天

老舍

濟南的秋天是诗境的。

设若你的幻想中有个中古的老城，有睡着了的大城楼，有狭窄的古石路，有宽厚的石城墙，环城流着一道清溪，倒映着山影，岸上蹲着红袍绿裤的小妞儿。你的幻想中要是这么个境界，那便是个济南。设若你幻想不出——许多人是不会幻想的——请到济南来看看吧。

请你在秋天来。那城，那河，那古路，那山影，是终年给你预备着的。可是，加上济南的秋色，济南由古朴的画境转入静美的诗境中了。这个诗意秋光秋色是济南独有的。上帝把夏天的艺术赐给瑞士，把春天的赐给西湖，秋和冬的全赐给了济南。秋和冬是不好分开的，秋睡熟了一点便是冬，上帝不愿意把它忽然唤醒，所以作个整人情，连秋带冬全给了济南。

诗的境界中必须有山有水。那么，请看济南吧。那颜色不同，方向不同，高矮不同的山，在秋色中便越发的不同了。以颜色说吧，山腰中的松树是青黑的，加上秋阳的斜射，那片青黑便多出些比灰色深、比黑色浅的颜色，把旁边的黄草盖成一层灰中透黄的阴影。山脚是镶着各色条子的，一层层的，有的黄，有的灰，有的绿，有的似乎是藕荷色儿。山顶上的色儿也随着太阳的转移而不同。山顶的颜色不同还不重要，山腰中的颜色不同才真叫人想作几句诗。山腰中的颜色是永远在那儿变动，特别是在秋天，那阳光能够忽然清凉一会儿，忽然又温暖一会儿，这个变动并不激烈，可是山上的颜色觉得出这个变化，而立刻随着变换。忽然黄色更真了一些，忽然又暗了一些，忽然像有层看不见的薄雾在那儿流动，忽然像有股细风替“自然”调和着彩色，轻轻的抹上一层各色俱全而全是淡美的色道儿。有这样的山，再配上那蓝的天，晴暖的阳光；蓝得像要由蓝变绿了，可又没完全绿了；晴暖得要发燥了，可是有点凉风，正像诗一样的温柔；这便是济南的秋。况且因为颜色的不同，那山的高低也更显然了。高的更高了些，低的更低了些，山的棱角曲线在晴空中更真了，更分明了，更瘦硬了。看山顶上那个塔！

再看水。以量说，以质说，以形式说，哪儿的水能比济南？有泉——到处是泉——有河，有湖，这是由形式上分。不管是泉是河是湖，全是那么清，全是那么甜，哎呀，济南是“自然”的Sweet heart吧？大明湖夏日的莲花，城河的绿柳，自然是美好的了。可是看水，是要看秋水的。济南有秋山，又有秋水，这个秋才算个秋，因为秋神是在济南住家的。先不用说别的，只说水中的绿藻吧。那份儿绿色，除了上帝心中的绿色，恐怕没有别的东西能比拟的。这种鲜绿色借着水的清澄显露出来，好像美人借着镜子鉴赏自己的美。是的，这些绿藻是自己享受那水的甜美呢，不是为谁看的。它们知道它们那点绿的心事，它们终年在那儿吻着水皮，做着绿色的香梦。淘气的鸭子，用黄金的脚掌碰它们一两下。浣女的影儿，吻它们绿叶一两下。只有这个，是它们的香甜的烦恼。羡慕死诗人呀！

在秋天，水和蓝天一样的清凉。天上微微有些白云，水上微微有些波皱。天水之间，全是清明，温暖的空气，带着一点桂花的香味。山影儿也更真了。秋山秋水虚幻地吻着。山儿不动，水儿微响，那中古的老城，带着这片秋色秋声，是济南，是诗。

Autumn in Jinan is poetic. Well， just imagine， its an old town， with sleeping gate towers， narrow old stone streets， thick brick walls， a clear stream that circles the town and reflects the shadow of the mountains， and a girl in a red top and green trousers crouching on the bank. If you have such an illusion， it must be Jinan. If， like many people， you cant imagine it， you should come to see with your own eyes.

Do come in autumn. The city， the river， the ancient road， the shadow of the mountain await for you all year round. Surprisingly， Jinan gets a change of scene from a painting of plain landscape into a poetry of beauty and tranquility when autumn comes. The poetic quality of Jinans autumn is unique in the world. There are some best places for each season： Switzerland for summer， the West Lake for spring， and Jinan for autumn and winter. Its hard to separate autumn from winter， because winter is a dormant vision of autumn that God hates to wake. In the end， he gives the two seasons to Jinan.

In the realm of poetry there must be mountains and waters. Then， please have a look at Jinan. The mountains take on a new look in autumn， with a variety of colours， directions and heights. Talking of colours， the pine trees on the mountainside are greenish black， and the colour remains delicately balanced between grey and black as the sun slants through， making the neighbouring yellow grassland appear a heavy shade of mottled grey. The foot of the mountain is dotted with colourful stripes， layer upon layer of yellows， greys， greens and what appears to be lotus root colours. The colours on the top of the mountain also change as the sun moves. More importantly， the different colours in the mountainside make you want to compose poems. Especially in autumn， colours of the mountainside are seemingly randomly distributed， cool or warm， all jumbled together. Bright or muted， the yellows are pleasantly disorienting， with an invisible mist that decorates the surroundings with muted pastels. Against the backdrop of these mountains， the blue sky and the brilliant sunshine， the blues almost become green， but not quite green. Its nice and warm， as soft as poetry with a little cool breeze. This is the feeling of autumn in Jinan. The mountains have obvious differences in height as the colour varies - even more higher and more lower. The angles or curves of the mountains are truer， clearer and slimmer in the clear sky. Look at the tower on top of the mountain！

The water in Jinan is unparalleled in terms of its quantity， its quality and its form. Divided by form， the city is dotted with springs， rivers and lakes. The sweet， clear water makes Jinan a “sweetheart”. Its natural to praise the summer lotus in Daming Lake and the weeping willows by the city moat. However， the water in autumn is at its best. With mountains and water， the autumn scene lives up to its reputation， as Jinan is the home of the God of Autumn. Taking the green algae in the water as an example， its a gift from God that looks like the reflection of beauties intoxicated with themselves. They are lost in their thoughts， drifting in the self-enjoyment of a green dream. They have worries - mischievous ducks sometimes touch them with their golden paws， and washerwomen sometimes block the sunlight with their shadows - and as a poet I envy them.

In autumn， the water is as cool as the blue sky. Under the light white clouds， the surface of the pond is rippled. Between the sky and the water， theres clear， warm air with a scent of perfume. The shadows on the mountain are more realistic. The mountains and the water almost blend into one colour. The old town has a poetic charm in autumn.