我国古代梅的地理分布及相关文化现象

我国幅员辽阔,南北跨度大,梅的分布有着显著的南北差异。自古梅在秦岭、淮河以南自然分布广泛,江南地区和云南等地分布、种植尤为繁盛,海南也有分布信息。梅在陕西南部、黄淮之间及山东南部地区也属自然分布。梅在秦岭、黄河以北分布渐少,唐以前相对温暖时期与宋以后相对寒冷时期,梅的分布北界都在今山东滨州、河北邢台、山西临汾、陕西渭水沿岸、甘肃天水一线,并无明显变化。宋元以来北方地区梅的衰落主要是分布数量减少,而非分布范围缩小,主要应由北方地区生态环境持续退化尤其是水资源减少所致。受上述分布格局的影响,传统梅文化在物质生活基础、文化创造主体、精神象征意义和历史发展过程上都打着鲜明的南方尤其是江南地区的烙印。宋元以来,随着梅文化地位的不断高涨和社会政治中心的北移,北方地区梅资源的稀少和缺乏受到人们广泛关注,产生了不少相关话题和文化情结。元以来,北京地区出现“南梅北移”、盆梅栽植、堂花育梅等方式,创造了一些即时实地赏梅的条件,拓宽了梅花观赏文化的发展空间。

The Geographical Distribution of Plum Blossoms and Related Cultural Phenomena in Ancient China

China is a vast country with a long span from north to south,and with significant differences in the distribution of plum blossoms(mei hua)between north and south.Since ancient times,plum blossoms have been widely distributed in the areas south of Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River,and they grow particularly well south of the Yangtze River and Yunnan.They are found in Hainan,southern Shaanxi,southern Shandong and areas between the Yellow River and the Huai River.The northern boundary of the distribution of plum blossoms to the north of the Qinling Mountains and the Yellow River was gradually retreating.During the relatively warm period before the Tang Dynasty and the relatively cold period after the Song Dynasty,this northern boundary stretched across present-day Binzhou in Shandong Province,Xingtai in Hebei Province,Linfen in Shanxi Province,and areas along the Weishui River in Shaanxi Province and Tianshui in Gansu Province with no obvious changes.The decline of the plum blossoms in northern China since the Song Dynasty was mainly due to the decreasing quantity of distribution rather than a reduction in range mainly caused by the continued degradation of the ecological environment in the northern regions,especially the reduction of water resources.Influenced by the above distribution pattern,the traditional plum blossoms culture embodied the distinctive characteristics of the south,especially the areas south of the Yangtze River in terms of the material basis of life,the main body of cultural creation,the spiritual symbolism and the historical development process.Since the Song Dynasty,with the rising status of plum blossom culture and the northward shift of the socio-political centre,the scarcity and lack of plum blossom resources in the north received widespread attention,giving rise to many related topics and cultural complex.Since the Yuan Dynasty,the"migration of southern plum blossoms to the north",the planting of plum blossoms in pots and in pavilions created some conditions for appreciating plum blossoms on the spot and broadened the space for the development of plum blossom ornamental culture in Beijing.