徐繼宏 權(quán)紫晶
從目前已有的相關(guān)資料中考證,馬可 · 波羅是元代時候來到中國,也來到了杭州。當時他與父親和叔叔一起前往中國,于1275年到達元朝的首都,后與元朝的世祖忽必烈建立了友誼,在中國游歷17年,到過許多城市,包括杭州。
馬可 · 波羅是世界公認的中世紀最偉大旅行家,他究竟有沒有來過中國、到過杭州?對這個曾在國際學術(shù)舞臺上一直存有爭議的話題,鮑志成根據(jù)自己30多年來長期苦心孤詣的研究,以嚴謹科學、考證有據(jù)的答案告訴我們:馬可 · 波羅確實到過中國,來過杭州。
馬可·波羅筆下的杭州
“在杭州大學歷史系讀碩士研究生期間,我的導師是黃時鑒先生。黃老師的學識非常廣博,懂得多國語言,極具書卷氣質(zhì),是老一輩知識分子的楷模,在當時學術(shù)界有較大聲望。能考上黃老師的研究生相當不易,而我幸運地成了他的學生。”談及是從何時對馬可 · 波羅產(chǎn)生興趣,鮑志成侃侃而談。
1985年即將本科畢業(yè)時,鮑志成便選擇了“馬可 · 波羅筆下的杭州”作為學士學位論文選題。通過查閱馬可 · 波羅研究資料和杭州地方文獻資料,他在黃老師的指導下完成了論文。爾后,鮑志成把論文改寫成一篇題為《馬可 · 波羅筆下杭州初考》的文章,刊登在中國社會科學院主辦的《未定稿》1986年第7期上。
由于當時時間緊、資料不太充足,文章只考證了幾方面的問題,有些也只是推論性的考辨。鮑志成笑著說:“一個本科生,能在這樣的雜志上首發(fā)論文,在學術(shù)研究上好比是‘一步登天了。我后來常說自己退步了,因為自那次以后就再也沒有在中國社科院主辦的刊物上發(fā)表過文章了?!?/p>
對于鮑志成而言,馬可 · 波羅不僅僅是他的研究課題,更是串聯(lián)起他內(nèi)心深處夢想的橋梁。筆者在與他的交談中得知,東西方文化交流史一直是鮑志成的“學術(shù)初心”,30多年來,他的研究都沒有背離過這個初衷。為什么會選擇馬可 · 波羅作為學術(shù)生涯的第一個研究對象呢?鮑志成給出了這樣的答案——杭州作為國際旅游城市,加強對外旅游宣傳可以提高杭州的國際知名度,而馬可 · 波羅筆下的杭州美麗又富庶、神奇又神秘。作為在西方家喻戶曉、婦孺皆知的世界名人,他與杭州的歷史情緣是一個值得大做特做的課題。
“當年杭大圖書館教師閱覽室,學生是不能進的,我跟閱覽室的管理員關(guān)系不錯,就讓我進去了。一次在翻閱外刊時,看到一本雜志《信使》,是聯(lián)合國教科文組織(UNESCO)主辦的,正好看到那一期是絲綢之路專輯。什么‘琥珀之路‘波斯御道……看得我入了迷,就復印了整本雜志,我當年復印的材料,到現(xiàn)在還在箱子里裝著呢?!碧峒巴?,鮑志成感慨萬千。于他而言,這本雜志是他研究中西方文化交流的夢想源頭,而馬可 · 波羅研究就是他學術(shù)之路的起點。
功夫不負有心人
當鮑志成興沖沖地拿著那篇考證馬可 · 波羅的文章給著名宋史大家徐規(guī)先生看時,本想著被夸贊的他,沒料到等來的卻是前輩毫不留情的批評。徐先生笑呵呵地指著文中的注解說:“你引用的《夢粱錄》的“粱”,是‘黃粱一夢的‘粱,不是棟梁的‘梁!”鮑志成當時羞愧難當,知道是自己的疏忽馬虎,犯了個低級錯誤。
就讀碩士研究生期間,鮑志成就聚焦元代中外各族之間相互通婚和融合——不僅僅是血緣上的融合,更重要的是文化融合的問題?!拔野选对贰贰缎略贰贰睹晒琶厥贰返日?,元代所有文人詩集、文集、筆記,及其他各種資料如方志、碑刻,以及《史集》《世界征服者史》等漢譯西域歷史著作,全都找來買來看了個遍,把其中與中外文化交流包括馬可 · 波羅與杭州有關(guān)的,都抄錄下來,做成卡片!”回想起那段艱辛歲月,鮑志成感慨不已。
后來,他又查閱了許多國際上關(guān)于馬可 · 波羅研究的漢學、東方學外文資料,再結(jié)合大量中文史料,對馬可 · 波羅和杭州這一課題作了更加深入且全面的研究,并與元代杭州研究相結(jié)合,完成了38萬字的《馬可 · 波羅與天城杭州》,既印證了馬可 · 波羅所述的天城杭州之盛況的可信度,又更加豐滿地展現(xiàn)了馬可 · 波羅那個時代杭州的都市風情。
“我把漢學大師慕勒與伯希和合校的百衲本《馬可波羅寰宇記》中有關(guān)杭州的152、153章逐字逐句地翻譯了出來。遇到語言不懂的,我就去請教不同語種的人。以前游記版本都是輾轉(zhuǎn)抄錄的,內(nèi)容五花八門、天花亂墜,學術(shù)研究不足為信據(jù)。近代西方漢學家尤其是伯希和這樣的大家,用‘審音勘同的方法,綜合排比史料,梳理出綜合匯校的百衲本,對馬可 · 波羅學研究作出了巨大貢獻。就這樣,我下狠功夫,把西方馬可 · 波羅學術(shù)考證中關(guān)于杭州的研究成果基本吃透掌握了,這才有了提筆寫《馬可 · 波羅與天城杭州》的底氣。”鮑志成說。
期盼馬可·波羅與杭州的故事永流傳
關(guān)于馬可 · 波羅是否真的來過中國,學界一直眾說紛紜。大英圖書館前中國部主任伍芳思女士就寫過《馬可波羅到過中國嗎?》一書,從西方學者的視角提出質(zhì)疑。但在鮑志成的眼中,馬可 · 波羅確實來過中國,而且對杭州情有獨鐘。如馬可 · 波羅在游記中特別講到杭城山上有個很高的塔樓,可以瞭望全城,可以及時發(fā)現(xiàn)哪里出現(xiàn)火情,一旦發(fā)生火災(zāi),值守的士兵就立刻敲鐘報警,通知駐軍救火。
“杭州當時的建筑絕大多數(shù)是磚木結(jié)構(gòu)的,市井街巷稠密,鱗次櫛比,一旦發(fā)生火災(zāi),就會連燒一大片城區(qū)。早在南宋時,杭州就特別注重防火,消防火災(zāi)是市政管理的要事。杭州民間有個說法叫‘城隍山上看火燒。馬可 · 波羅說的這些都有詳細的資料記錄。窮極奢華的南宋皇宮,也是在元初因民居失火的飛燼引發(fā)火災(zāi)而焚毀的。自元朝末年開始,杭州從繁華如天堂的城市淪為一個二三流城市,除了戰(zhàn)爭造成的破壞外,一個重要原因就是連發(fā)了幾次重大火災(zāi),把核心城區(qū)焚蕩一空。”鮑志成娓娓道來。
1999年,他的著作《馬可 · 波羅與天城杭州》剛出版,他就帶著書去了天津南開大學,參加“馬可 · 波羅與十三世紀的中國國際學術(shù)研討會”。他回憶,當時在場的人都很驚訝,杭州還有這樣一個年輕學人在研究馬可 · 波羅。這些年來,不少關(guān)注馬可 · 波羅研究的學者、媒體記者等,都紛紛通過各種方式聯(lián)系他、找到他,了解有關(guān)馬可 · 波羅與杭州的故事。
文化無國界,地球一家親。2022年是中意文化旅游年,今年5月19日的“中國旅游日”,世界旅游聯(lián)盟在杭州舉辦“行在天城:馬可 · 波羅與杭州專題研討會”,鮑志成應(yīng)邀作主題講座。9月27日,適逢籌建中的世界旅游博覽館接受意大利有關(guān)方面捐贈“馬可 · 波羅遺囑”復制品一周年,線上展覽“行在天城:馬可 · 波羅與杭州展”開幕。展覽以“一份遺囑、一場旅行;一座天城、一群旅人”為主線,帶領(lǐng)觀眾回顧馬可 · 波羅一生的旅途,了解《馬可 · 波羅游記》的誕生,走進馬可 · 波羅眼中的天城杭州,并通過觀眾分享的旅行故事,構(gòu)建起當代旅游者與馬可 · 波羅的跨時空對話。
(感謝孫一文對本文的貢獻)
Did Marco Polo Ever Visit Hangzhou?
By Xu Jihong Quan Zijing
Marco Polo (1254-1324) is recognized as the greatest traveler of the Middle Ages, but did he ever visit China and Hangzhou? On this topic, which has been controversial in the international academic circles, Bao Zhicheng has given us scientifically rigorous answers with his 30-year painstaking research: Marco Polo did visit China and Hangzhou.
“When I was studying for my Master's degree in the History Department of the then Hangzhou University, my supervisor was Mr. Huang Shijian. Mr. Huang had an incredibly broad knowledge and knew many languages. He was an elegant scholar, a role model for the older generation of intellectuals, and a reputable figure in the academic community at that time. It was not easy to be supervised as a Masters student by Mr. Huang, and I was lucky enough to be admitted,” asked about when he became interested in Marco Polo, Bao talked eloquently.
In 1985, he chose “Hangzhou in Marco Polos writing” as the topic of his bachelors thesis, and completed his thesis under the guidance of Mr. Huang. Afterwards, Bao rewrote his thesis into an article entitled “A Preliminary Study of Hangzhou in Marco Polos Writing”, which was published in 1986s Issue No. 7 of the journal Weidinggao (Undecided) run by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Due to the time constraint and insufficient information back then, the article only covered a few aspects, and some of them were only inferential arguments. Bao teased with a smile:“An undergraduate student who published his first-ever paper in such a journal is like ‘reaching the sky in a single bound in academic research. After that, I always said I regressed, because, since that time, I had not published in a journal run by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. ”
Why did Bao choose Marco Polo as the first research subject of his academic career? As an international tourist city, Hangzhou can enhance its international popularity by strengthening the promotion of foreign tourism, and the city of Hangzhou in Marco Polos writing is beautiful, affluent, and mysterious. The historical relationship between Marco Polo the world celebrity and Hangzhou is a subject worth digging into.
“Once when I was flipping through foreign magazines in the universitys reading room, I saw a magazine The UNESCO Courier, and what I chanced to read was a special issue on Silk Roads. I was so fascinated that I photocopied the whole magazine, and the copies are still kept in a box to date.”Speaking of the past, Bao was full of emotions. For him, this magazine was the seed of his dream to study the cultural exchange between China and the West, and the research on Marco Polo was the starting point of his academic road.
When Bao excitedly took his article on Marco Polo to be reviewed by Mr. Xu Gui, a famous historian specializing in the history of the Song dynasty (960-1279), he received unrelenting criticism instead of the praise he had originally expected: Mr. Xu laughingly pointed out a mistaken character in the notes. Bao was ashamed, knowing that he had been sloppy and made a rookie mistake.
During his study in the Masters courses, Bao focused on the intermarriage and integration of different ethnic groups during the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368) — not just the integration of blood, but more importantly, the integration of culture. “I bought all the official histories of relevance, all the poetry collections, anthologies, and notes, and various others such as recipes, inscriptions, and Chinese translations of historical works on the Western Regions. From the literature, I selected all the contents related to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, including Marco Polos cultural connection with Hangzhou, and transcribed them on paper cards!”Bao recalled sentimentally.
Later, he made a more in-depth and comprehensive study of Marco Polo and Hangzhou and did some research on Hangzhou in the Yuan dynasty. Based on the above research, he completed Marco Polo and Hangzhou, the City of Heaven, a solid work of 380,000 Chinese characters. It not only confirms the credibility of Marco Polos description of Hangzhou but also gives a fuller picture of the urban atmosphere of Hangzhou in Marco Polos time.
“I have translated word by word the Hangzhou-relevant Chapters 152 and 153 of Marco Polo: The Description of the World, a book co-edited by the master sinologists A. C. Moule and P. Pelliot. When I encountered a language I didnt understand, I went to consult people of different mother tongues. The previous versions of the travel notes were all transcribed in different ways, and their contents were too diverse and confusing to be supported by academic research. In modern times, Western sinologists like P. Pelliot have used the method of ‘the phonetic reconstruction and the identification of the non-Chinese historical terms, synthesized and compared a wide range of historical materials, and finally sorted out this collection of various editions, which has made a great contribution to the study of Marco Polo. In this way, I had put in a lot of effort to digest the research on Hangzhou in the Western Marco Polo studies, before I mustered enough courage to write Marco Polo and Hangzhou, the City of Heaven,” Bao said.
There are many different opinions in the academic circle about whether Marco Polo really came to China. Ms. Frances Wood, the former curator of Chinese collections at the British Library, wrote a book entitled Did Marco Polo Go to China? raising questions from the perspective of a Western scholar. However, in the eyes of Bao, Marco Polo did come to China and developed a fondness for Hangzhou. For example, in his travel note, Marco Polo specifically mentioned that there was a very high tower on the hill of Hangzhou, where he could look out over the city and quickly spot if a fire just broke out. Once there was a fire, the soldiers on duty would immediately ring the bell and notify the garrison to put it out.
“The majority of buildings in Hangzhou at that time were of brick and wood structures, and the city streets were dense and lined up. So once a fire broke out, it would burn a large area of the city. As early as in the Southern Song dynasty [1127-1279], Hangzhou paid special attention to fire prevention and control, which was of course an important matter of municipal management. Hangzhou residents have long had a saying that goes like ‘on top of the Chenghuang Mountain one can look for fire. These descriptions of Marco Polo could be found in detailed records,” Bao narrated vividly.
In 1999, right after his book Marco Polo and Hangzhou, the City of Heaven was published, he took it to Nankai University in Tianjin to attend the “Marco Polo and the 13th Century China International Academic Symposium”. He recalled that everyone present was surprised to know there was still such a young scholar in Hangzhou studying Marco Polo. Over the years, many scholars and reporters who are interested in the study of Marco Polo have reached him through various ways to learn about the story of Marco Polo and Hangzhou.
The year 2022 marks the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism. On May 19, China Tourism Day, the World Tourism Union held an online symposium and exhibition titled “Journey in the Heavenly City: Exhibition in Memory of Marco Polo” in Hangzhou, and Bao Zhicheng was invited to give a keynote speech. The online exhibition was opened on September 27, which led visitors through the footsteps of Marco Polo and helped them enter a dialogue with Marco Polo through the travel stories shared by fellow visitors.