外文楼的丁香

——刘金吉泽明步快播

外文楼是山大老校区最令东说念主留念的一座树立了。红门，灰砖墙，四尖角，歇山顶。门前的绿化带、小径、精深的梧桐树、花坛，还有那片如神来之笔的小竹林，给古色古香的外文楼增添了无穷的不悦。

最让我铭记的楼前墙根下那排一簇一簇的丁香树，不知什么年代莳植的，但能看出树龄照旧很长。每簇丁香中，总有一两株长得很高的，照旧高到二层楼我房间的窗台，贴着窗框、窗扇和玻璃，大约握政房间内部偷窥，又大约在勾引窗内的我的在意。雨过天晴，丁香树的叶子被洗得一尘不染、鲜绿如碧，让东说念主当然念念到李清照“绿肥红瘦”的绿。因为是细雨，丁香花并莫得遭到碎裂，仍然挺着她的花蕾，和碧绿而魁梧的叶子全部，抬头展现着一片勃勃的期许。丁香花隔了一层玻璃就在目前，能看得很是澄澈，花蕾半开半闭，鼓胀有劲，满带着春天的灵动珍重息。我烦躁这样的花怎样总被和惆怅、哀怨筹商起来，南唐李璟说“丁香空结雨中愁”、唐代李商隐用“芭蕉不展丁香结，同向春风各自愁、”，现代的戴望舒也说“丁香雷同的结着愁怨的密斯”。

丁香这样鲜艳，外面的空气念念必亦然沁东说念主心脾的吧? 我就伸手去开窗，那照旧旧式的木窗，红色的油漆照旧斑驳，下方用铁的插销固定。我用劲进取拔起插销，窗就开了。顿时出现了让我惊喜的，亦然让我于今刊心刻骨的一幕: 贴在窗玻璃上的那枝丁香，连花带叶，因为嫩枝的弹力，扑棱一声闯进了我的窗内，在灿烂的阳光下，哆哆嗦嗦向我摆动着身姿，似乎在骄矜她闯入的顺利；枝上的雨水飞溅到我的脸上、身上、窗台上，外面带吐花香和新雨味儿的空气也 少顷进来，敷裕了扫数这个词房间。

多年以后我到德国，落户一个娇娆的小市镇巴德洪堡。市长骄贵地告诉我，小镇的告白语是“香槟样的空气”。我浅笑不语: 我在母校，在外文楼，早就沐浴过“丁香雷同的芬芳”了。

如今，小竹林和梧桐树王人莫得了，愿将来再回外文楼，还能看到那些丁香，适应的季节还能闻到丁香的味儿。

 吉泽明步快播

Scent of lilacs recalls memories of university days

玉足吧

A lilac tree in front of Building No 7 at Shandong University still blooms on campus. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

 

Building No 7， which is home to the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature， is the most fascinating building on the old campus of Shandong University. Featuring red doors， grey walls， a gable-and-hip roof and bearing a classic style and an antique flavor， the building has borrowed vitality from the greenbelt along the sunny side windows， the walking path， the tall empress trees， the cypress garden and the nearby bamboo grove that I always thought grew from the touch of a deity.

The most memorable thing to me is the clusters of lilac trees against the wall. It is unknown when the lilacs were planted there， but they seem to have kept well with the age of the building. One or two lilac trees in each cluster grew exceptionally high， stretching up to the windowsill of my second-floor room. Their top twigs used to move and touch the frames， casements and panes of the window， as if they were peeking into the room and attempting to attract my attention.

Each time when a light rain ended， the lilac leaves were washed spotlessly clean， vivid and verdant， reminding me of the description of "flourishing plump leaves and withering lean flowers" by the ancient Chinese poet Li Qingzhao. The lilac flowers had been bathing yet not destroyed by the rain and held up stamens and demonstrated their thriving liveliness amid the "fat" verdant leaves. The lilac flowers were seen crystal clear as they were just behind the pane glass. Some were open， some were semi-open and others were still closed in buds. But all of them were plump and strong， carrying the vigorous atmosphere of spring.

I often wondered why such lovely flowers had always been used to describe and express people's melancholy and plaintive moods as in the lines of Li Jing of South Tang Dynasty: "The lilac flowers tie knots of bud in vain to show its melancholy in the rain "， or as in the lines of Li Shangyin of the Tang Dynasty (618-907): "The banana leaves stay coiled and the lilac flowers remain knotted in buds. While they are stroked by the same spring breeze， they have their own concerns". There also are the lines of the contemporary poet Dai Wangshu: "a lassie with entangling melancholy like lilac flowers with knotted buds " .

As vibrant as the lilac flowers seemed， the air outside must be refreshing. I reached out my hand to open the window. It was an old-fashioned casement window， with an iron bolt below to lock it. The scarlet paint over the window had been chipped off here and there. I pulled up the bolt hard and the window opened. What amazed me， which has been vividly lingering in my mind for so many years， was that a lilac twig with leaves and flowers flapped into the window with its elastic force as soon as it lost the hold of the glass， like a student running into the wrong classroom. The rainwater on the twig splashed on my face， my front， and the windowsill. My room was soon pervaded by fresh air with the delicate scents of lilacs and rain.

Many years later， I went to Germany and settled down in a beautiful city named Bad Homburg. The mayor told me with particular pride， "The slogan of this city is Champagne-Luft (Champagne-scented air)". I quietly smiled and thought to myself: I was soaked long ago in the floral scent in Building 7 of my alma mater.

Today， in front of the building， the bamboo grove and the empress trees have been removed. The lilac trees are fortunately still there and have the chance to treat us with their fragrance in the right season， a fragrance I wish to savor again someday.

Mr. Liu Jin is Executive Director， President of China Everbright Bank (CEB).