Dead leaves in the court

日本茶道的艺术包罗万有，举凡日本的建筑、花艺、绘画、织锦、陶瓷、纺织乃至于美食，莫不受到茶道的影响，也莫不在茶道大师的关注之中。进而言之，就连说话的语气，走路的姿势，与举止的态度，也是判定一位茶道家境界的要素。

由于洁净是茶道的必要条件，所以打扫清洁也就不能不跟着艺术走了。比方说茶室里最幽暗的角落，纵使客人根本无暇它顾，主人也必须拭抹得一尘不染，可是仲夏之际，一株白合花无意滴落在地板上的水珠，却应任其留存，因为它暗示着水一般的纯净与清爽。

日本美术史之父冈仓天心在他的经典《茶之书》里还说过这么一则故事：茶道史上最伟大的人物千利休曾经让他的儿子绍安打扫茶室外的庭径，当他依言完成父命之后，利休却吩咐他再扫一次。于是绍安很听话地又扫了整整一小时。

然而，利休还是不满意，他说：“这还不够干净”。绍安很无奈地回报：“父亲大人，已经没有东西再好清理的了，小径已经刷洗了叁次，石灯笼跟树梢上都洒了水，苔蘚和地衣看起来都生气勃勃，洋溢生机，哪怕是一根小树枝，或者是一片落叶，都不能在地上找到”。孰料利休竟然斥道：“蠢蛋，庭径不是这样扫的”。然后他步入庭中，抓住一棵树干摇将起来，园内登时洒满红黄落叶，片片皆是秋之锦锻。这个有名的故事不仅象征了茶道那落叶飞花皆可赏玩的精神，还被人当做是日本美食之道的唯美体现。

就以日本菜上碟的摆饰来说吧，我们不是常常在上面看到一枝枯得只剩下叶脉的枫叶，又或者几朵含苞待放的樱花吗？它们的作用就和千利休故意摇下来的树叶一样，一方面是用人为的方式刻意营造出一种自然的意趣；另一方面则是要提醒客人季候的变化，把节令推移的神工纳进创作者的巧心布局。

然而，这一招却常被只得其形未得其神的庸人用坏。他们会在盛夏之际为一尾冬季才当大造的烧鱼配上黄叶，不止忽略了鱼料本身的天然期限在不对的时期硬性按照菜谱找来不对的摆饰，也漠视了室外天气对客人观感的影响。这类人似乎是看着照片学盘饰的，怎么好看就怎么摆，违背了日本美食精髓而不自知。

利休这个举动更深一层的意义在于製造瑕疵，于无瑕的状态中打开缺口。这种追求是茶道的特色，也一样贯注在食物的味道之中，如秋刀鱼的苦，多一分就不堪入口，差不点则平凡无奇；又如鱼生之鲜，寿司饭之酸，几乎就要呈现出腥腐的感觉，却停在不可增不可减的那一点，永远不是完整的肯定或否定。

把茶道视为日本艺术甚至东方文化最高体现，不止是日本人自己固有的想法，也是许多外国人的印象。例如茶室的尺寸，如此狭小，只有四迭半榻榻米，相当于十平方英呎。大家都说这是佛教精神的体现，非常有禪意。因为维摩詰居士就是在这么小的房间里接见前来探病的文殊菩萨以及其他佛门弟子八万四千人。看似不可思议，却是纳须弥于芥子，真正打破了俗世空间概念的限制。

例如茶室的入口，如此低矮，只有叁英呎高，任何人都得跪下来屈膝弓身而进。哪怕是武士，也要先解下佩剑，才能获准入内。他们又说这象征了东方文明里的平等思想，在茶道面前，不分贵贱，人人都要谦和克己。

又如进入茶室的时机。客人要先在外头的“待合”里静心稍息，培养品茶的情绪。直到主人召唤，才按照顺序鱼贯入室。这个过程必须儘量安静，以不发出任何声音为妙。所以最讲究的主人会用最静謐的方法通知客人时候到了，那就是点香。闻到空气中开始飘来一股似有若无的清香，客人便知这是主人的信号。他们觉得，这个状态实在是太美了，除了檀香与海潮般的沸水声外，一切沉静，乃东方特有的优雅情调。

相比之下，中国人用茶的方式未免太粗太野了。且不说大陆常见的那种大茶缸，以及汽车司机必备的玻璃瓶，里头胡乱撒一大把茶叶，再倒进热水泡上一天，即使是福建人潮州人的功夫茶，也都是讲究口味多于情调，不够唯美不够雅致。有人甚至认为，由此可见，日本要比中国更东方。然而，同样是东方国家，为甚么日本的东方才叫东方？大家都喝茶，又凭甚么说日本的喝茶方式才是真正的东方呢？

冈仓天心，除了是日本第一个美术史家之外，也是第一个用英文写书介绍茶道的日本人。他在出版于1906年的《茶之书》里就提出过日本是东方代表的主张。他和那个时代的许多日本文人一样，一方面非常尊崇中国古典文化，另一方面则慨叹中国的衰落沉沦。他说：“对晚近的中国人来说，喝茶不过是喝个味道，与任何特定的人生理念并无关联。”因为“长久以来的苦难，已经夺走了他们探索生命意义的热情”，所以虽然中国人的茶仍然散发香气，却“再也不见唐时的浪漫，或宋时的礼仪了”。言下之意，反倒是日本继承了真正的华夏文化，他们就连制茶的方式也和宋朝一样是抹茶。

“礼失而求诸叶”，这也是今天不少中国人去过日本之后的感受。他们会认同冈仓天心的想法，觉得唐宋的建筑、礼仪乃至于一切传说中的高尚品味，全都保留在日本那里了。儘管他们会嫌茶道太过仪式化，也许还有点“扮嘢”，可是茶室中的摆设与气氛却不断提醒他们：这才是真正的中国，古代的中国。

把日本看作古典中国的活化石，当然是种很大的误解，完全无视文化的殊象与发展，以为日本自唐宋以后就一成不变地呆立至今。此外，这种误解还产生了一个很危险的后果，那就是为日后的侵略找到了理据。

冈仓天心对茶道传承的解读与江户时代以来的日本主流意识形态如出一辙，以为中华精髓过海东移，正统在日本，相对地，经过成吉思汗和满清的入侵，中原早已不復旧观，传统的汉文化也早就渗入了蛮夷的血液，污染得不成样子。于是源出中土的茶道在日本发扬光大，来自唐宋的文明在东瀛还其真貌。这就是日本比中国还中国，日本能够代表正统东方的真正原因。顺着这个逻辑推下来，侵略中国根本不算侵略，而是保护，是把中华文化带回中华大地的义举。冈仓天心没有说过这种话，可是他的同代人说过，冈仓天心只是爱茶，可是他的同代人却想让中国人像日本人一样喝茶。二战期间，好些文人之所以成了汉奸，理由也是为了保存中华文明的精华。或者，他们也以为自己能在那场风波里品尝到想像中的茶味。

The Art of the Japanese tea ceremony includes everything from Japanese architecture, flowers, paintings, brocade, ceramics, textiles and even gourmet food, and the attention of the tea masters. Furthermore, even the tone of voice, walking posture, and manners, is to determine the state of a tea Taoist elements. Since cleanliness is a necessary condition of the tea ceremony, it is necessary to follow the art of cleaning. For example, in the darkest corner of the teahouse, even if the gs have no time to take care of it at all, the host must wipe it clean and spotless, but in the middle of summer, a white flower drops unintentionally on the floor, but it should be allowed to remain, because it implies the purity and freshness of water. In his classic book of tea, Sen no Rikyū, the greatest figure in the history of the tea ceremony, once asked his son Choain to clean the court path ode the teahouse, when he had fulfilled his father's order, Rikyu ordered him to sweep it again. So Choain obediently swept for another hour. However, Rikyu was not satisfied. "It's not clean enough," he said. Choain reluctantly replied: "Father, there is nothing left to clean up, the path has been scrubbed three times, stone lanterns and treetops are sprinkled with water, moss and lichen look alive and vibrant, even a twig, or a fallen leaf, can not be found on the ground.". What expect Rikyu unexpectedly scolds a way: "Fool, the court path is not so sweep". Then he walked into the court, grab a tree trwill shake up, the garden immediately sprinkled with red and yellow leaves, pieces are the Brocade of autumn forging. This famous story not only symbolized the spirit of the tea ceremony, where the fallen leaves and flying flowers are all to be enjoyed, but was also regarded as the aesthetical embodiment of the Japanese cne. In the case of Japanese dishes, don't we often see a maple leaf that has withered to a vein, or a few cherry blossoms waiting to bloom? They serve the same purpose as the leaves that Sen no Rikyū deliberately shakes down, on the one hand to create a natural interest in an artificial way, and on the other hand to remind the gs of the changing seasons, put the seasonal deft into the creator's ingenious layout. However, this tactic is often used by mediocre people who don't know what they look like. In addition to ignoring the natural duration of the fish stock itself, they are forced to follow the recipe to find the wrong decoration at the wrong time, and the effect of the weather on the gs'perceptions. This kind of person seems to be looking at the picture to learn the plate decoration, how beautiful how to put, contrary to the essence of Japanese cne and do not know. The deeper meaning of Rikyact was to create a flaw, to open a gap in a flawless state. This pit is characteristic of the tea ceremony, and is equally absorbed in the taste of food, such as the bitterness of the Saury, which can not be eaten for more than a minute, or the banality of it; or the freshness of the fish, or the acidity of the sushi rice, almost show a fishy feeling, but stop at the point can not be increased can not be reduced, is never a complete affirmation or negation. The tea ceremony is regarded as the highest expression of Japanese art and even Oriental culture, not only by the Japanese themselves, but also by many foreigners. The size of the tearoom, for example, is so small that it has only four and a half stacks of tatami, the equivalent of ten square feet. Everyone says it's a manifestation of the Buddhist spirit, very zen. It was in such a small room that the Vimalakirti received eighty-four thond visitors from Manjusri and other Buddhist disciples. Seemingly incredible, but it is naxumin mustard seed, really broke the limits of the concept of secular space. The entrance to the teahouse, for example, was so low, only three feet high, that anyone would have to get down on their knees and bend over. Even a samurai must take off his sword before he can enter. They also said that this symbolized the equality thought in the eastern civilization, in front of the tea ceremony, regardless of high or low, everyone must be modest and self-abnegation. Or the time to enter the teahouse. Gs should first in the ode of the "waiting together" in the rest, cultivate the mood of tea. Do not enter the room in sequence until the master summons you. The process must be as quiet as possible, so as not to make any noise. So the most exqte host will use the most quiet way to inform the gs when it is time, that is the point of incense. Smell the air began to float a faint fragrance, the gs will know that this is the signal of the host. It was, they thought, a state of perfect beauty, with the exception of sandalwood and the sea-like boiling of the water, all calm and Oriental Elegance. By contrast, the way the Chinese use tea is too crude and uncouth. Not to mention the huge tea vats that are common on the mainland, and the glass bottles that are essential for car drivers, where a handful of tea is sloshed and poured into hot water for a day, even the kungfu tea of the Chaozhou people, also is fastidious taste is more than the sentiment, is not enough aestheticism is not elegant enough. Some even argue that this shows that Japan is more oriental than China. However, the same oriental countries, why Japan's east is called the east? We all drink tea, how can we say that the Japanese way of drinking tea is the real east? In addition to being Japan's first art historian, Okakura Kakuzō was also the first Japanese to write a book in English about the tea ceremony. In the Book of Tea, published in 1906, he argued that Japan was the representative of the east. Like many Japanese writers of his time, he admired Chinese classical culture on the one hand and lamented the decline and fall of China on the other. "for the late Chinese, drinking tea is just a taste and has nothing to do with any particular philosophy of life," he said, because "the long suffering has taken away their passion to explore the meaning of life." So although the Chinese tea still exudes aroma, but "no longer see the romantic tang, or Song dynasty etiquette.". In other words, Japan inherited the real Chinese culture, and even the way they made tea is matcha, as the Song dynasty. This is also how many Chinese feel after visiting Japan today. They would agree with Okakura Kakuzō that the architecture of the Tang and Song dynasties, the etiquette and all the fabled nobility, were all preserved in Japan. Although they may think the tea ceremony is too ritualized, and perhaps a bit "dressed up", the decoration and atmosphere in the teahouse constantly reminds them that this is the real China, the ancient China. It is of co a great misunderstanding to regard Japan as a living fossil of classical China, totally ignoring the special phenomena and development of culture, believing that Japan has remained unchanged since the Tang and Song dynasties. Moreover, this misunderstanding has had the dangerous consequence of justifying future aggression. Okakura Tianxin's interpretation of the succession of the tea ceremony is similar to the mainstream Japanese ideology since Edo's time, which holds that the essence of China moved east across the sea, and Orthodoxy in Japan, in contrast, after the invasion of Genghis Khan and the Manchu dynasty, central Plain is no longer the same, traditional Chinese culture has long been infiltrated into the blood of the Barbarians, pollution is not in shape. So the tea ceremony, which originated in China, flourished in Japan, and the civilization from the Tang and Song dynasties was restored to its original form in Orient. This is the real reason why Japan is more Chinese than China, and Japan can represent the Orthodox east. Following this logic, invading China is not aggression at all, but protection. It is a righteous act to bring Chinese culture back to China. Okakura Tianxin never said this, but his contemporaries said that Okakura Kakuzō just loved tea, but his contemporaries wanted the Chinese to drink it like the Japanese. During the Second World War, many literati became traitors, the reason is also to preserve the essence of Chinese civilization. Or perhaps they thought they could taste the tea of their imagination in the storm.

标题: 庭中枯叶
作者: 梁文道
字数: 2382
简介: 日本茶道的艺术包罗万有，举凡日本的建筑、花艺、绘画、织锦、陶瓷、纺织乃至于美食，莫不受到茶道的影响，也莫不在茶道大师的关注之中。进而言之，就