Maiji Mountain after snow
Xiguan Archway
Aerial photography of Nanguo Temple
Tofu curd
Braised noodles
Text/Li Xiaodong
Core Tips
The snow is falling like catkins, the silver-flowered pearl trees, and the weeping willows on the shore are arranged in a spectacular formation. They set off each other, It has created the scenery outside the school gate.
This is Tianshui in the late winter of 1989. I came from a small town, and this school, Tianshui Normal College (now Tianshui Normal College), will become the last stop in my study career. It was also the first stop for me to start understanding Tianshui.
Fireworks in Xiguan
The school is located in the western suburbs of Tianshui, which is an undeveloped farmland. Around the campus, there are crops everywhere.
After leaving the school gate, walk along the river embankment for about 100 meters and cross the simple iron bridge to reach Xiguan, which is the most prosperous neighborhood in Tianshui City. The lanes are lined with shops. Chengyuan Lane, Zhongyi Lane, Erlang Lane, Feijiang Lane and other ancient lanes connect the north and south. Ha Rui's Residence, Zhang Qinglin's Residence, Wang's Residence, Zhang's Courtyard and Sun's Courtyard are dotted around. The brocade platform, Shanshan Guild Hall, and Zhao's ancestral hall are arranged in sequence, and the entire area presents a trapezoid shape that is narrow in the west and wide in the east. There are shops all along the street, including Luliuju Teahouse, Qinzhou Renjia Restaurant, Classics and History Bookstore, Guangming Optical Shop, Xinglin Pharmacy, Liu Yidao Shaver Shop, Lao Yang’s Braised Pork, Hongchang Silk Shop, Wuwei Seasoning Shop and other time-honored brands. The whole stretch is full of stalls. There are those selling needles, threads, brains and dog skin plasters, there are those selling wooden figures, paper cranes and various gadgets, there are also those selling sesame seed cakes, fried dough sticks and lard boxes. The most common ones are food stalls: guagua, jelly, stuffed skin, fermented glutinous rice, poached eggs, sweet fermented glutinous rice, and tofu. , apricot tea, yellow steamed buns, oil circles, glutinous rice balls, haggis and mutton soup, eight-treasure porridge, etc., one after another. Some set up a tarpaulin, and some operated in the open air. There were three or five square tables with stools and one or two small clay stoves, and there were many people. Some were sitting down to eat, while others were squeezing around waiting to be taken away. The aroma of various foods was suffused with the shouts of the vendors on the street and the steam of the hot pots on the stove, creating a smokey atmosphere.
The stall owners of the tofu nao are an old couple, who are very agile and work well together. There are golden oily flowers floating on the white and tender tofu patties in the wooden barrel. Use a long-handled flat-bottomed wooden spoon to cut a piece diagonally into the bowl. It sticks out like a small steamed bun, and then scoop it out with an iron spoon from the brine pot. Make the marinade and pour it from the bulge in the middle of the bowl. The marinade thickened with wet flour and gravy is golden red and translucent, slightly thick and fragrant. Sprinkle with coriander and chopped green onion, and finally pour a few drops of sesame oil. Add three to five times and divide it by two. A bowl of fragrant tofu puffs has been served. This is a delicious bite for everyone in Lao Xiguan. Before they start eating, they can smell just from the lingering aroma whether today's stew is fresh.
The facade is small, the eaves are low, and a flag is hung diagonally. Stir-fried oolong head, celery, fungus, yellow flowers, dried tofu, meatballs, meatballs, and plywood without any soup and thickened with gravy. The steam was bubbling in a large iron pot, and the white steam was noisy before it reached the entrance. Already making people salivate. The new wheat flour of that year was cut into two-centimeter-wide noodles, rolled in boiling water, scooped into a big bowl, and topped with sesame seeds and oily spicy sesame seeds. The noodles were wide, the sesame seeds were big, the bowl was big, and the sesame seeds were so thick that you couldn’t help but move your index fingers. , the wind and the remaining clouds. This is the most popular noodle dish for Tianshui people when entertaining guests: braised noodles.
During the day, there is a crowded farmer's market here, with stalls lined up, people having fun, various sounds of hawking and bargaining intertwined, chickens and ducks quacking, and fresh fish jumping in the water. The tricycles, bicycles, and motorcycles bumped into each other. The uncles and aunties setting up the fruit stalls, and the fat uncles selling roast chicken were all familiar faces in everyone’s eyes. The young man in a white shirt, with clear eyes and headphones, was riding a mountain bike stumblingly. He was familiar with the road. As soon as he turned a corner, he disappeared into the alley.
As the sun sets over the Western Mountains, this is a world of food stalls. Teppanyaki, grilled mutton skewers, grilled squid, grilled sweet potatoes, bowls of meat, fried rice noodles, fermented eggs, everything Tianshui people like to eat, you can find them all here.
Oil smoke swirled and white steam rose. The old couple staggered around, listening to the warm invitations of this stall owner and that stall owner, and couldn't make up their minds...
After satisfying your craving, you can walk in the old alley. Take a look. The houses along the road are high and low depending on the situation. The front hall and the backyard are winding. Walking across the street, you can see the fireworks-stained eaves, the thickly coated door panels and door knockers. The long-lasting rubbing, dust, sweat and hands of the players, and the passage of thousands of years of air have made them smooth and rounded, and the light is calm and overflowing. The gentle old spirit. Walking and stopping in this old time, people's breath must be a little impetuous and frivolous, and they must smile knowingly secretly. Polishing such old objects requires vicissitudes of life, polishing people's frivolity, and I don't know how many lifetimes it will take.
If it were winter, the few lights hidden in the old alleyway and the furnace of red coal would have kept people warm for many snowy nights. In the cold night, among the flying snowflakes, there were bunches of empty light, wrapped in the winding white steam. A man in round clothes, wrapped in sleeves, holds an iron spoon in one hand and a wok in the other. While shouting "Ma Shi, Ma Shi, braised Ma Shi, fried Ma Shi", he holds a spoon on a bowl of chopped green onion on the chopping board. , condiment bowl, chili bowl, and oil, salt, sauce and vinegar bowls. By the time the iron spoon is pushed, pulled and rolled in the pot a few times, the red and green steaming braised sesame seeds have come out of the pot, and the guests have just sat down. No words are needed, there is a tacit understanding between host and guest. This is a friendship that has lasted for many years. After drinking the hot soup, you can iron your clothes instantly, your stomach and intestines will be warm, and your mind and body will be at peace.
The worldly fireworks and the taste of food, wrapped in thick oil and red sauce, are the lingering memories of Tianshui people, and these are the years of Tianshui Xiguan flowing slowly.
The snow in Huaiyin Nanshan in the eastern suburbs
The booming 1980s passed in a flash. I was already a child running around in the eastern suburbs of Tianshui City. Mother.
Half city is surrounded by green mountains and half city is surrounded by locust trees, which refers to the eastern suburbs. Almost every family here has a big locust tree in front of their door. The thickest ones cannot be hugged by anyone. Black locust, also known as acacia, is native to North America and was introduced to China from Japan in 1877-1878. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that the words of Sophora japonica are pregnant, and the people who come from Xunhuai are like this. It is the city tree of Tianshui. There are many ancient locust trees in Tianshui, and people in Tianshui worship the locust tree. They believe that the locust tree is a wood spirit, has great spirituality, can bring blessings to people, and is an auspicious tree. There is a proverb that says: A locust tree in front of a door either attracts treasure or brings in wealth. Therefore, locust trees have been widely planted in the city since ancient times. There are many ancient locust trees hundreds or even thousands of years old beside the roads. Therefore, Tianshui people call them longevity trees. The streets, alleys, and official residences are all covered with locust trees. Every May, the city is filled with locust flowers and the whole city is immersed in fragrance.
When the locust trees are in full bloom, it is also the time for people in Tianshui to eat steamed buns. What Tianshui people call steaming is a cooking method similar to steaming but not exactly steaming. Use a grater to grate potatoes, pumpkins, old pumpkins, etc. into shreds, add flour and mix well, add a small amount of water to the pot, and simmer for about 20 minutes. If the above vegetables are replaced by Sophora japonica, it will be called Sophora japonica steamed buns. Of course, wild vegetables such as elmgrass, shepherd's purse, and alfalfa can be paired with it. The proportions of vegetables, noodles, and water are very particular and are all within the discretion of the housewife. If there are too many vegetables, it will taste watery and you will not feel hungry. If there are too many noodles, it will be sticky and the taste will not be good. Only with the right proportion, adding the right amount of water, and slow cooking can you make soft and delicious steamed buns.
I am ashamed to say that I call myself a cook, but when it comes to making steamed buns, I am always not very good at making them. However, the neighbors are familiar with each other. You give me a bowl of sweet fermented rice and I give you a spoonful of syrup. There is no custom in Tianshui City of closing the door and coming from Chengshan River. Therefore, every year when the locust flowers are fragrant, , I can even eat steamed buns sent by aunties.
People who live at home look at the fragrance of a tree and think about how to eat. If you want to find poetry, then go to Nanshan.
Nanshan Sophora japonica is inseparable from the drizzle in May. The rain in Nanshan must have come because of the fragrance, because of the locust flowers all over the mountain, and because of the fragrant locust fragrance. In the patter of rain, the sleeves of water were fluttering, and the scent of the locust tree was locked away. Then, the scent of the locust tree fluttered and fell on someone's shoulder with a moist feeling. Among the people who stopped, there were many who came from afar. The green locust flowers fell by the ditch, and it was raining when I stepped out of the capital.
At dusk, when the savages are farming, there is a strip of smoke above the beacon tower. This is the paradise in the hearts of Tianshui people.
In July 759 AD, one day after the Beginning of Autumn, Du Fu entered Qinzhou. Nearly a hundred days later, he left Qinzhou. Based on this, it can be inferred that when Du Fu was in Qinzhou, he had already missed the flowering period of Sophora japonica. Du Fu, who is "full of sorrow and trouble, because people travel far away", if he could see the fragrant locust trees full of locust flowers on the ground, the fragrance would surely warm the poet's poor, sick and thin body, and it would definitely make him depressed and desolate. The mood was somewhat comforted. "The old trees are found in the empty garden, and the clear canals are passed down in a city." The old tree here is of course not the old locust tree. It refers to the ancient cypress in Nanshan. This cypress tree thousands of years ago was fortunate enough to leave the fingerprints of the poet and enter the pen of the poet. Today, it still stands quietly in the empty courtyard, becoming immortal together with the poet and the poem. In this way, Qinzhou can become the first district of Tianshui. It's true.
Nanshan Mountain looks like a coiled dragon, vast and vast, dominating the southeast. This is where Nanguo Temple, a treasure temple, is located. This first famous temple in Longyou has a history of more than a thousand years. It has been a tourist attraction for poets and poets of all ages. Du Fu once used Nanshan as an introduction and left more than a hundred poems about Tianshui. This is really the honor of Nanshan. It is even more of an honor for Tianshui.
There is a Qiu Chi in the east courtyard of Nanguo Temple, which is the Beiliu Spring in Du Fu's poem. The spring water in Qiu Chi has been flowing in four seasons for thousands of years. Although there are droughts and floods, it has not shrunk or filled, but drinking from it will make you sick. , was awarded the title of the most famous spring in Longshang. Therefore, Nanshan has always been praised as "the mountains have spiritual wisdom, the water has Qiu God, the bells are beautiful, and the Feng Shui treasure land".
During the snowfall season, the snow in Nanshan cannot be missed. The snow falling on Nanguo Temple has been chanted by people for generations. The snowflakes in Yanshan Mountain are as big as a mat, and they blow down Xuanyuan Terrace. Standing on the top of Nanshan Mountain, thinking about the beautiful snow in Yanshan Mountain does not hinder the happiness that the beautiful snow in Nanshan Mountain brings to people. As far as the eyes can see, the sky is vast, and as far as the ears can see, the north wind howls. The four seasons of Nanshan accompany the four seasons of Tianshui people, and the beautiful snow of Nanshan covers the beauty of Tianshui City. Shengxue fluttered and rustled from the eaves of Longnan Academy, hovered lightly from the eyelashes of Tianshui people, and laughed from the bird's nest on the branches. The abundant snow makes Tianshui City's winter peaceful and Tianshui people's winter warm and safe.
Kneeling in the snow, watching your knees surrounded by the surge of white flowers, holding hands together, holding a handful of soft and white flowers, like flowers but not flowers, blooming in the depths of many people's memories , also open on Du Fu's thin shoulders. Because of Du Fu's footsteps, there are always people with poetic minds lingering in front of the Shaoling Ancestral Hall of Nanguo Temple on Nanshan Mountain.
The snow in Huaiyin Nanshan in the eastern suburbs is a match made in heaven by the Creator. Their fluttering clothes make half of the city's people fragrant, fresh and elegant. They are a part of the walls of every Tianshui home. painting.
The water and the sky have become a new city
More than ten years have passed. Now, my home is located in the hinterland of Tianshui City. The river in the city that once dried up many years ago has been filled with green water. Passing through the city, people call it Tianshui Lake.
Yes, how can a city named after water lack the elegance of water?
Still in his infancy, Tianshui was named Qinzhou. There are many beauties in Qinzhou, and the beauties are not the gentlemen.
At that time, the state was outside Longshan and was known as Fushu. Irrigated by the Wei River and nourished by the rain, this fertile soil is covered with dense forests, and the grass grows long and warblers fly. The wranglers are swinging their soft whips, the horses are galloping, and the wild flowers are blooming.
The most abundant thing is water, with rivers all over the place and lakes crisscrossing it, so aquatic plants flourish as far as the eye can see. In the ponds, river banks and streams, the mist is light, the autumn water is pure, and the reed flowers are like snow. The floating things are swayed by the wind and stop at their roots. If they are floating, if they are still, if they are there, if they are not. There were gulls and wild ducks in the area.
This is the place of lovesickness. The jianjia is green and the white dew is frost. The so-called beauty is on the water side. If you follow it back, the road will be long and blocked. Traveling back from it, Wan is in the middle of the water.
The morning breeze blows, and the northern forest lingers. I haven't seen a gentleman yet, so I am worried. No matter what, there is so much selflessness!
A beautiful woman and a gentleman look at each other across the bank. In the vast white reed swamps, the red tubes are low and the Qin wind is melodious.
Just like the name Qinzhou, the men and women of Qin inherited the heroic spirit of their ancestors and also inherited the pliable and graceful temperament like pampas grass.
Today, continuing the ancient customs of Qin Dynasty, the old city of Tianshui remains as old as before, the new city of Tianshui is full of high-rise buildings, and the outer diameter of the city is expanding infinitely. The most refreshing thing is a pool of clear water flowing slowly from west to east, a romantic line.
In spring and summer, weeping willows form a curtain beside the lake. At a glance, you can see the goose-yellow embankment and the clear sky. Various red and green kites were hung on ropes. Both ends of the ropes were tied to willow trees, and the long willow branches were draped. In the water grass, a few water birds occasionally landed, then suddenly jumped up, flapped their black wings and flew away.
When the autumn sky is long, the red leaves are like fire, the maple forest is like frost, and the woman in Hanfu holding an oil-paper umbrella walks slowly by, suddenly taking people back to the past when the white clothes were fluttering.
In the twelfth lunar month, the riverbed was frozen, and the roofs scattered along the river were all white, glowing with a warm luster in the orange-red winter sun. Fuxi Temple, Yuquan Temple, and the north and south houses have high eaves and carved beams and painted pillars. The white snow and colorful roof corridors add a little warmth.
When tourists return to their hometown and want to find a taste of nostalgia, they can go to Fuxi Workshop in the west of the city, where all the delicious snacks of Lao Tianshui are concentrated. Passers-by coming to Tianshui can appreciate the majesty of Maiji Mountain, see the beauty of Xianren Cliff, go to Jingtu Temple to listen to the pine waves, and go to Shimen Mountain to watch the moon at night. As for the old Tianshui people who have lived here for generations, they can breathe in the smell that penetrates the texture of their skin without any guidance. With their eyes closed, it is the smell of genes passed down from generation to generation.
This is Tianshui, a place where the stomach and intestines can be ironed, but also a place of silence and tranquility. People living in this city love fireworks and are free and peaceful. The temperament of the city cultivates people's temperament. Human movement gives the city its character.
In total, I have lived in Tianshui for 30 years since the autumn of 1989. In terms of length, it has far exceeded the time I spent in my hometown. Here, I went to school, worked, got married, gave birth to children, and completed what everyone has to complete in life. I will spend the rest of my life here. The fireworks of Tianshui City have penetrated into the texture of my skin, into my blood and soul. I have never said that I love her, but I know clearly that I have never thought of leaving her.