文苑

梁启超三拒红颜知己

国学大师梁启超自小聪明，17岁参加乡试成了举人。当时主持乡试的考官、清末著名维新派人士李瑞棼，对梁启超的才华极为赏识，当即请人做媒，将堂妹李惠仙许配给他。

然而百日变法失败，康有为、梁启超匆匆逃亡日本，李惠仙只得避居澳门。

不久，28岁的梁启超应康有为之召，前去美国檀香山办理保皇事宜，在那里邂逅了美丽大方的何惠珍。当时，梁启超在檀香山演讲，何惠珍为其担任翻译，两人配合默契，演讲活动盛况空前。此时，何惠珍对才华横溢的梁启超暗生情愫，悄悄向他表白了爱慕之情：“今生今世，我之心唯有先生……”

“不行，我家中已经有妻子了。” 梁启超明确地拒绝了她。

初遭拒绝，何惠珍不仅没有气馁，反而为梁启超的忠贞感到快慰。事后，为博取梁启超的好感，她动员父亲为康、梁捐了一笔款，并托人设宴向梁启超交接捐款事宜。席间，梁启超又一次见到何惠珍。这次何惠珍提出一个让梁启超心惊的要求：“我情愿下嫁梁先生做小。”

晚上回到寓所，梁启超心情久久不能平静。他知道，何惠珍毕业于美国名牌大学，她作出这样的决定其痴情实在令人感动。他们在事业上确实可以相互扶持，可是他和妻子李惠仙这些年来一直相濡以沫，感情深厚，怎能让妻子伤心？为此，他连夜给在日本的妻子写了一封信：“余归寓后，愈益思念惠珍，由敬重之心生出爱恋之念来，几乎不能自持……不知惠仙闻此事将笑我乎，抑或恼我乎？” 梁启超心想，妻子接信后，定会生出一些醋意来，大骂他一顿。

很快，妻子回信了。梁启超打开信后，这次真让他大大愣住了，妻子竟然乐意成全他的婚事。李惠仙说：“我远在日本，不能照顾，先生身边若有个情投意合的何小姐照顾，岂不更好？”

梁启超在妻子的宽容面前惭愧万分，将妻子的信转给何惠珍。何惠珍一看信，欣喜地笑了，说道：“惠仙姐贤德，我就向她学习，我们就做先生身边的娥皇、女英吧。”

然而梁启超却提笔为何惠珍写了一首诗：“一夫一妻世界会，我与浏阳实创之（“浏阳”指谭嗣同）。尊重公权割私爱，须将身做后人师。”聪慧的何惠珍马上明白了梁启超的意思，她眼泪汪汪地拿着梁启超赠给她的一张自题诗词的小像，一步三回头地离开了梁启超。

1924年9月，李惠仙因病逝世。痴心不改的何惠珍听到李惠仙病逝的消息，急忙找到梁启超，一面劝慰其节哀，一面寻机重续秦晋。没想到梁启超以“年迈不想再婚”为由，第三次婉拒了她。何惠珍心有不甘，多次上门，梁启超都避而不见，万般无奈的何惠珍只好挥泪告别……

梁实秋先生评价梁启超时曾说，梁（启超）先生学问是第一，道德人品是第一，他是名副其实的大师。（胤凌）

邓拓说“三十六计”

有一次，丁一岚问邓拓：“古人为什么只说三十六计呢？”

邓拓说，古人所谓三十六计，原来并没有详细的内容，只是借太阳六六之数，表示阴谋诡计多端而已。后人加以推演，才出现了不同的解释。其实像这样的问题，大可不必过于拘泥具体数字，以致食古不化。“三十六”这个数目很多，例如三十六村，三十六犬，三十六禽，三十六国，三十六行等等都是，而引申为三十六计的，大概以《南齐书·王敬则传》为最早。人们常说三十六计走为上策，其实，如果没有其他计算，要走也走不了。佛教中对108这个数字也有多次记载：据古籍《鸿雪因缘记》说：“素闻撞钟之法，各有不同。河南云，前后三十六，中发三十六，共成一百零八声；京都云，紧十八，缓十八，六遍凑成一百零八。”可见各地寺院敲钟的节奏、韵律不一定相同，但敲的数均为108下。佛教中人认为有108种烦恼，敲108下，人听了便可消除这些烦恼，否极泰来。你看《水浒》中梁山泊好汉108人，《红楼梦》全书108回，书中登“情榜”的人也恰为108人。中国古代建筑艺术，西藏的大昭寺，雄狮伏战108人。青海塔尔寺的大经堂，直径一米的巨柱108条，北京天坛的下层楼板108块，青铜峡黄河岸边有12个塔群，总数恰为108，108这个数字实际成为佛语的代表。中国人喜欢和六打交道。十八般武艺，孙悟空七十二变化，都是六的倍数。因此，我们对三十六计究竟是哪些，其实没有必要去深究。

（摘自《才子邓拓》）

清初曾用假“传国玺”

清太宗皇太极于天聪九年（1635年）征剿察哈尔的贝勒多尔衮得胜回朝，自称获得了一方元代的传国玺。

清太宗对此十分重视，在宫廷举行了隆重的受宝大典：一朝文武三跪九叩，燃香吹螺。皇太极付谕说：“此玉玺乃历代帝王所用之宝。”次年他便依照汉族王朝模式建号改制，建国号为大清，并正式采用“皇帝”称号。此后一段时间，他发布的许多文书上都用了此宝。

然而奇怪的是这方重要的“传国玺宝”，后来突然停止了使用，因为那个皇太极时代的“传国玺”压根儿就是个假货。

到了乾隆十三年，乾隆传旨将“宝”上的字迹磨去，于是当年造假的证据被一劳永逸地销毁了。（胡忠良）

趣诗两首

（一）

有一次乾隆郊游，随从文臣甚众。当走过一座陵墓时，乾隆想考一考随从文臣的才学，便指着墓前的石像，问一翰林：“这石像叫什么名字？”

那翰林答道：“这石像叫仲翁。”

其实，石像应叫翁仲。翁仲传说为秦时巨人。秦始皇二十六年，初兼天下。有巨人出现于临洮，高有五丈，脚印有六尺长。后来大家便把这巨人的形象铸成铜像、刻成石像，立于墓道两侧作为护墓人，通称之为翁仲。

乾隆见翰林学士翁仲说成仲翁，非常生气，便即兴写了一首诗：

翁仲如何作仲翁，

十年窗下少夫功，

而今不许为林翰，

贬到苏州作判通。

乾隆在诗中故意将“功夫”“翰林”“通判”三词统统颠倒过来，用一连串的反语对这无知的翰林进行奚落、戏弄，尤其是后尾的“判通”，与“半通”谐音，更增添了诗的嘲讽意味。

（二）

《苕溪渔隐丛话》记载，宋朝大诗人王安石曾经写过这样一首谜语：

佳人佯醉索人扶，

露出胸前白雪肤，

走入绣帏寻不见，

任它风雨满江湖。

乍一看此诗像是一首写才子佳人的艳诗。大意是：美人假装醉倒要人来扶，袒着胸露出雪白的肌肤，她躲入罗帐便隐身不见，哪管它风雨满江满湖。实际上，这是一首要人们猜四位唐宋诗人姓名的谜语。谜底四个人名，三个用谐音、一个用隐意：假倒（贾岛）、里白（李白）、罗隐、拚浪（潘阆）。（摘自《文字趣谈》）

Literary Anecdotes

Liang Qichao Said No Three Times

Liang Qichao (1873-1929) became a provincial graduate at 17. Li Ruifen, an official in charge of the empirical examination at the provincial level, appreciated Liang’s gift very much and knew the young man would go far. He married his cousin Li Huixian to Liang.

When the 100-Day Reform in 1889 aborted, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao fled to Japan. Liang’s wife had to flee to Macao to avoid trouble. Shortly afterwards, the 28-year-old Liang was summoned by Kang Youwei to Honolulu to plot for royalist activities. It was in Honolulu that Liang Qichao met with He Huizhen, his interpreter at a public speech. Miss He fell in love with Liang at first sight and boldly proposed marriage to Liang. Liang said he was married.

He Huizhen did not feel discouraged. Instead, she felt happy and relieved with Liang’s fidelity. In order to win Liang’s heart, the girl asked her father to donate a sum of money and invited Liang to a banquet on the pretext of making arrangements for handing over the cash. Liang met the girl at the banquet. During the dinner, He Huizhen proposed again, saying she was willing to be Liang’s concubine.

Liang was touched. He knew that He Huizhen, a graduate from a famed US university, could help him considerably if they got married. Liang wrote to his wife in Japan. Soon her wife’s reply came. Liang was astonished to learn that his wife agreed to accept He Huizhen.

But Liang said no to the marriage proposal, saying that he had championed monogamy in China and would stick to his principle.

In September, 1924, Liang’s wife passed away. Learning the news, He Huizhen came to Liang again. She expressed her condolences and wanted to marry Liang again. Liang said he was too old to marry again. He Huizhen tried repeatedly in vein. In the end, Liang refused to see her. She gave up.

Deng Tuo Talked about 36 Strategies

Ding Yilan one day asked Deng Tuo (1912-1966, a writer who died during the Cultural Revolution) why the ancient people confined themselves to thirty-six strategies only.

Deng Tuo explained that in the past thirty-six strategies were only a general number used to indicate how complicated plots were. Specific explanations came forth later.

He went on to comment, “We don’t have to be pedantic about the number of the strategies. People also talk about thirty-six houses, thirty-six dogs, thirty-six states, and thirty-six professions, to name just a few categories. Even though the best of the thirty-six strategy is said to take flight, you cannot succeed in fleeing if the strategies taken before all fail to work. Buddhist classics have descriptions about the number 108. In a Buddhist practice, the 108 strikes of a bell are organized in several subsections at different speeds at different temples. In classic novels, 108 is the number of heroes, chapters, or characters in a list, etc. In Buddhist architecture, the Grand Sutra Hall of Ta’er Temple in Qing Province has 108 stone pillars that measures 1 meter in diameter; the ground floor of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing is composed of 108 floorboards; the 12 pagoda groups near the Qingtong Gorge of the Yellow River consists of 108 pagodas altogether, etc. Chinese people have a penchant for the number 6. Therefore we don’t have to be pedantic about the thirty-six strategies.?

Fake Great Seal

In 1635, a military chief of the Qing Dynasty in the making came back to the court after a big victory. He submitted a great seal which he claimed to have been used by the Yuan Dynasty rulers.

Huang Taiji took the great seal seriously. A grand ceremony was held to accept the godsend. In 1636, he set up the Qing Dynasty in the imitation of the Chinese rulers?practice and officially called himself emperor. For a while, all the documents he issued carried the print of this great seal.

Strangely, however, the court suddenly stopped using the great seal. It turned out that they found the state seal was merely a fake.

In the thirteenth year (1748) of Emperor Qianlong, the reining emperor ordered to have the carved characters removed from the seal, thus eliminating the trace of the forgery forever.

(Translated by David)