论庾岭梅花及其文化意义 ——中国古代梅花名胜丛考之三

关于大庾岭的名称应以唐李吉甫《元和郡县志》的解释最可信赖，即西汉时有监军庾姓驻此，故名庾岭。唐以来通称梅岭，是因岭上多梅，与梅鋗等人无关。庾岭梅花最迟在六朝后期开始闻名，以花期特早、枝分南北、花色红小著称。岭路开凿之后，交通繁忙，沿路梅花生长艰难，风景难以持久，但历代风雅过客和当地官吏屡有补植，使这一风景名胜兴废继绝，延续至今。庾岭梅景规模有限，其实际观赏价值并不突出，但悠久的历史和特殊的地理位置赋予其梅花之祖、春信之先、华夷分野等象征意义和文化内涵，迁客行人登临观赏无不深有感触，因而庾岭梅景在梅文化史上有着独特的地位。

On Mei Flowers along Dayu Ridge with Special Reference to Their Cultural Meaning——Volume Three of a Series of Studies on Chinese Historic Sites about Mei Flowers

The most reliable explanation of the origin of the Dayu Ridge should be what explained by LI Ji-pu,a scholar of Tang Dynasty.In his book,The County Annals during Yuanhe Period,he recorded that in the Western Han Dynasty there stationed a military inspector,whose surname was Yu and the ridge was named after him.Dayu Ridge was generally called Mei Ridge since Tang Dynasty,which means a ridge covered by Mei flowers,and has nothing to do with a man called MEI Juan or someone else.The reputation of the Mei flowers in Dayu Ridge can be dated at least in the later stage of the Six Dynasties.The Mei flowers along Dayu Ridge are well-known for their early flower season,red and small flowers with the characteristic that the southern branches and the northern ones don't blossom simultaneously,the southern branches earlier and the northern later.After the roads were cut through the mountains,the heavy traffic made it hard for the Mei flowers along the roads to grow well and keep the beautiful scenery for a long time.Owing to the repeated replanting of the refined travellers and the local officials of later periods,the scenic spot is revived and goes on until now.Although the planting scale is limited,and the practical visual value is not outstanding,the long history and the special geographical position win the fame of the Mei flowers' ancestor, the earliest harbinger of spring and the division of civilization and barbarism for the Mei flowers in Dayu Ridge.Many travellers are deeply touched by the Mei flowers in Dayu Ridge when ascending for a view.For all these,it takes a special place in the Chinese Mei flower's cultural history.