回望世外古城

图/侯贺良 文/王雪芃

回望世外古城

图/侯贺良 文/王雪芃

伸手触摸阿育他耶府古老的佛塔，时间仿佛回到了14世纪。那时的泰国被称为暹罗，由乌通王建立的阿育他耶王朝将泰国带向了兴盛。当曼谷还是个名不见经传的小渔村时，作为当时王朝国都的阿育他耶已是一座繁华的大城。来自各国的使节与商人汇集于此，成就了这里的繁华与辉煌。在400余年的王朝历史中，阿育他耶经历了兴衰更替，留下了一城的古迹与传说。

○ 金碧辉煌的泰式建筑依稀显露出阿育他耶府昔日的辉煌。The glorious time of Ayutthaya can be seen from theancient architecture.

○ 建筑与树木交错辉映，渲染出一种原始风格的美。A beauty of original style.

“阿育他耶”在泰语中意为“不可战胜之城”，中国人更习惯称其为“大城”。自1350年兴起到1767年覆灭，阿育他耶王朝东征西战，在繁盛时为这座城市留下了许多气势恢宏的宫殿与宗教建筑。几百年过去，王朝已不复存在，阿育他耶也被如今的泰国政府划为阿育他耶府。

拜访这座古城一定要清晨前来，伴着熹微的晨光，人与城都被涤荡干净。这里的佛寺佛像世界闻名，在阿育他耶府最古老的寺庙玛哈泰寺中，有一尊被菩提枝蔓缠绕的佛头，这是阿育他耶王朝为世人留下的一座“心庙”。许多人只为与菩提树下沉默百年的佛头谋求一面而来到这里。根据当地习俗，若与佛像合影需要微蹲使自己的高度低于佛头以示尊重。望着那被战火侵蚀过的面孔在菩提树的眷顾下如此安详，隐约间能看到嘴角与眼眉的一丝笑容。树脉枝藤沿着佛头轮廓交错盘绕，不着一语，似拈花微笑一般，在空谷晨钟中静默，任岁月聚流成河……

1767年，阿育他耶王朝被缅甸军队攻破，当年那些精美绝伦的佛寺雕刻与珍贵古建筑遭到严重破坏，在战乱带来的焚烧与掠夺之下，仅剩下残破的宫殿遗迹、不完整的佛像和少量精美石雕。由于不堪战争的摧残，泰国将都城迁至吞武里，后来又迁都曼谷，在另外一座城市重新书写新的繁荣。阿育他耶府也由此逐渐淡出了历史的视线。

○ 小城居民如今过着平静又安详的生活，这样从容的气氛也感染着来访的游人。The residents here live a peaceful and harmonious life.

在此后的200多年里，阿育他耶府竟真的像被世人完全遗忘一般。如今来泰国的游人大多只知曼谷或芭提雅，殊不知从曼谷向北仅1个半小时车程的地方，沉睡着阿育他耶府这样一座世外古城。由于被战火侵蚀得面目全非，现在的阿育他耶府沉静得仿佛曾经的繁荣从未存在过。笼罩在黄色丝绸下的大佛端坐在莲座上，佛像的眼睛凝视着脚下的湄南河和这片饱经风霜的土地，四周充满了历史洗涤后的宁静。但身后的残垣断壁与那些无头的佛像也在静默中诉说着，诉说着满城的繁华最终历经战火，而将这座百年古城湮没在了时间的长河里。

由于没有曼谷那般名声在外，阿育他耶府甚至没有多少商业气息，一切都像一座未开发的小城。真正踏上这片土地，才能感受到它与众不同的气质——那不是未经雕琢，而是饱经沧桑后归隐的从容。连同这座城中的居民与来客一起，逃脱时间的束缚，游荡在俗世之外，沐浴一份宁静。

站在佛塔旁，不需梵音偈语就能感受到身心的安宁。这种感受十分神奇，好像在无声中与这座城市一同度过了百年时光，仅凭古刹遗迹就将它所经历的沧桑与来者共享，达到一种“望峰息心，窥谷忘返”般的效果，让人觉得就算遭受战争摧残，也不过是佛家所说的修行，都是应有的历练罢了。

古迹无言，但却诉说着一个又一个历史故事。它们见证过阿育他耶府的兴衰演变，如今依旧默默伫立，坚守着佛教所倡导的忍耐和宽容，风霜尽历，残缺不全，却从未抱怨。如万千佛手将战争伤痛轻轻抹去，带来力量与坚强，鼓舞着这座城市走向希望与光明。

○ 色彩斑斓的龙纹壁。The gorgeous dragon wall.

Ayutthaya， full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya， is an ancient capital and modern city in the Central Plains of Thailand， 85 km north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya was originally founded in 1350 and over the next few decades developed to be the capital of the Siamese Kingdom. Ayutthaya became the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai.

Ayutthaya is like an island surrounded by three rivers that act as natural barriers for defense. In addition， the rivers brought large and small boats from other important towns in the kingdom and from other nations to engage in commerce. Ayutthaya was both the administrative and the economic center of the kingdom and was filled with a great diversity of people from different areas.

By 1700 Ayutthaya had become the largest city in the world with a total of 1 million inhabitants. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders， including the Chinese， Vietnamese （Annamese）， Indians，Japanese and Persians， and later the Portuguese， Spanish， Dutch and French，permitting them to set up villages outside the city walls. In the sixteenth century， it was described by foreign traders as one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the East. The court of King Narai （1656-1688） had strong links with that of King Louis XIV of France，whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to Paris. Most of the remains are temples and palaces， as those were the only buildings made of stone at that time. The great cultural value of Ayutthaya's ruins was officially recognized in 1991， when the Historic City became an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

LOOK BACK ON THE ANCIENT CITY

○ 与世无争是如今的常态，遗留的佛塔追溯着当年的往事。Ayutthaya is a place where in harmony with the rest of the world.