学文网三月阳春，我来到了刘基故里，感受这位千古人豪的魅力。
刘基(1311――1375)，字伯温，谥号文成，浙江温州文成县南田镇人(旧属青田县)。文成县的县名就来自刘基的谥号。一个县以一人之号为命名，不能不说是一种最高礼赞。
刘伯温故里风貌在想象之中，又在想象之外。四面环山，左有弓箭山，右有宝剑山，乡里人称“左弓右箭，金龟把水口”，此地必出***事家。刘基故居面朝寿桃山，中间一大片整饬的稻田，田中分布着七个大土墩，似星宿般地有序排列，乡里人称它为“七星落”，是一块风水宝地，在中国的历史文化背景里，似乎这块宝地正适合刘伯温这样的人物出生。
到了刘伯温故居门口，不意遇到“铁将***把门”，幸好从门缝里看进去，故居景象一览无余：小小的一个院子，几间瓦房，一个茅亭，显得十分普通，据说现存的几间瓦房原来也是茅房，因为茅草经不起风吹雨打，今人才将它换成了瓦屋。《明史・刘基传》记述刘伯温晚年辞官返归故里的生活异常生动：“洪武四年正月赐老归，惟饮酒，弈棋，口不言功。邑令求见不得，微服为野人谒见。基方濯足，令从子引入茅舍。”一代***元勋返里后就住在这样的宅第里，人们原以为刘伯温故里一定是庭院深深，富丽堂皇，不意却简朴如斯，实在让人感佩。
从刘伯温故居前行不远，就到了他后来的隐居处。这里一处小小住宅依山而建，面向平野，一条小溪在宅前缓缓流过，田野之外是绵绵山脉。宅前一片池塘，也正合他的“塘之蓄水，足以阴地脉，养其气”之说。池上有小亭两座，飞檐翘角，相对而立，一名谨观，一名慎思。隐宅在池后一溜排开，东厢为卧房，西厢为书房，中为正房。书房名“知新斋”，取孔子“温故而知新”意；正房名“云鹤楼”，寄浮云野鹤的旷达之心。池畔宅旁草木清幽，好一个美丽宁静的所在!刘伯温早年在家乡隐居时，创作了著名的《郁离子》，其中《卖柑者言》后来被选入中学语文课本，“金玉其外，败絮其中”的成语即出于此。
刘伯温从黑暗的***治漩涡中撤退到平静的田园生活里，犹如“绿凫水中游，白鹤云间飞”，心情得到了尽情的释放，但江山依然不宁，岁月始终无法平静。不久，朱元璋又派人延请刘基出山任谋臣，辅助朱元璋灭陈友谅、执张士诚、降方国珍，北伐中原以成统一大业。然而，刘伯温这次出山，下赢了天下这盘棋局，却对自己的人生棋局下得失败了，他因“功高震主”，事后成了至高无上的皇帝朱元璋渐渐对其有了猜忌，再加上小人推波助澜，横加陷害，于是一代豪杰终于忧愤成疾，郁郁而亡。直到明正德时刘伯温才得到，追封其为太师，谥文成，在皇帝的《赠谥太师文成诰》上，称刘伯温“学为帝师，才称王佐”。后来，刘伯温庙遍布温州、丽水等地，其中尤以南田诚意伯庙为最。
诚意伯庙始建于明天顺三年，它背靠华盖山，为七间三进回廊合院式木结构建筑，占地约3000平方米。走近庙宇，首先映入眼帘的是两座木牌坊，前题“王佐”，后题“帝师”，颇显肃穆庄严。正厅内有像三尊，居中者为刘基，左右一文一武官员状，分别为刘基长子琏、次子。庙内最引人注目的是琳琅满目的名人题词，柱上梁间几无空隙，密布着明正德皇帝、清乾隆大学士刘权之以及沙孟海等书题的匾额楹联，其中以“三不朽伟人”楹联最能概括刘基一生成就：中国士子追求的人生最高理想是“立功、立言、立德”，但能三项俱全的可谓凤毛麟角，刘基却是其中之一。他运筹帷幄，决胜千里，歼灭群雄，被明武宗誉为“渡江策士无双，***文臣第一”，可谓立功极致；他有《诚意伯文集》20卷问世，兵书《百战奇略》和寓言散文集《郁离子》等为世所重，与宋濂并称为一代文宗，“立言”一项亦足慰平生了；而立德他也为世之楷模，明时***功臣大封赏，以刘基之功，封王封公都不为过，他却甘居“诚意伯”之“伯”爵位，归隐后住茅舍、炊黍饭，口不言功，生活俭朴得让人难于想象。他对死的安排更显淡泊，临终前儿子刘琏、刘呈上石马、石狮、石将***把门和条块石铺成的石墓***案，被刘基顿时撕得粉碎，他对子曰：“坟墓上草下土，若用石铺怎能生草?古人造字大有讲究，人不能靠造坟墓立牌坊流芳百世。”
A Visit to Liu’s Home County
By Ye Yanli
I visited Wencheng County in March to get a feel of the home village of Liu Bowen (1311-1375), the man who helped found the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). He was given a posthumous title honorary of Wencheng, which became the name of the county in southern Zhejiang, where he was born and died. It is a great honor for a historical figure.
The village and its surrounding areas are beyond my imagination but meet my expectations at the same time. Liu’s former residence looks out to stretching rice paddies till they reach the Longevity Peach Mount. The paddies are adorned by seven large mounds, aligned like a stellar system. Understandably, the local people still believe the geomantic omens in the local geography were supernatural. According to the local folklore, such a place was blessed and a great man like Liu was bound to be born there.
The day I visited it, the former residence was locked. I peeped through the gate. Inside was a small courtyard flanked by a tiled-roof multi-room house and a thatched pavilion. Nothing appeared extraordinary. It was said that the house was previously thatched and that villagers put tiles upon the roof in order that the thatch would not scatter in wind. It was not the house where Liu led a retired life. Another little house, not far from his former residence, was where he lived in seclusion. In front of the house are a quiet stream and a pond with two pavilions. Hills stretch beyond the fields.
According to history, Liu retired from the royal court to his home village in the fourth year of the Hongwu Period (1368-1399) of the Ming Dynasty. Leading an ordinary life in his old home, he enjoyed sipping wine and playing chess, and never talked about his past glories. He declined to meet the local magistrate who had come all the way to visit him.The retired councilor would rather rub shoulders with his fellow villagers.
Liu in the capacity of a military councilor helped Zhu Yuanzhang, who later became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, to eliminate rivals and overthrow the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The emperor trusted no one after he came to the throne. A bloody cruel purge followed. Liu resigned and retired to his home village. It was not until 139 years after his death that the royal court remembered him again and granted him an honorary title, lauding him as a man who acted as the emperor’s tutor and helped a man accomplish his ambition of becoming an emperor. After the political rehabilitation, many temples appeared in southern Zhejiang in memory of the councilor.
One temple still stands in the county today. Built in the year of 1458 and near his former residence, the 3,000-square-meter temple is a stretching wooden structure connected with three courtyards in between. Standing in front of the temple are two wooden memorial archways. The temple abounds with the inscriptions from the Emperor Zhengde (1506-1522) of the Ming Dynasty, high-ranking officials and scholars of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and modern times.
I believe one of the inscriptions there describes Liu’s life achievements best: A great man with three immortal achievements. Scholars in the ancient central kingdom aspired to rise to prominence by doing the three things: rending meritorious service to the country, writing a timeless literary masterpiece, and being a purely virtuous man. Few could distinguish themselves in all the three dimensions. Liu was one of the few. He formulated strategies that helped Zhu Yuanzhang win military battles and ascend to the throne. He wrote twenty volumes of books, including a book on military strategies and a book of fables. One of them, The Orange Vendor, is a must-read in the textbook for secondary school students nationwide. And he was a virtuous man: he never came forward to claim credits for himself when others vied each other to get ahead. Instead, he retired after his success to a simple life in a remote rural village. He wanted his burial simple too. His two sons showed him a tomb building design sketch with all the stone-sculpted horses and lions and generals that were supposed to guard his tomb. On his death bed, the senior tore up the design saying, 夷 (tomb) was a nice word when our ancestors created it. The radicals suggest grass above and earth beneath. If you place all the stones there, how could grass grow? The ancients put particular meanings into words. A tombstone cannot make a man live forever.Ó
(Translated by David)