Wuxi Ancient Town, Bank of Meixi River (Prose)
Everyone loves their hometown. It is an emotion that is difficult to describe in words. It is where we are born as human beings. The evidence, there is also the spiritual haven for us to return to the dust.
When a person has been away from his hometown for a long time, there is always the softest pain deep in his heart that he dare not touch. But I couldn't help but listen to the song "I'm Waiting for You at Wuxi" at midnight, and with the moonlight, a wisp of indescribable melancholy surged into my eyebrows:
How much yearning, How much obsession, intoxicated in this ancient salty wind,
The mountains are the keys, the water is the strings, and the fingertips slide through thousands of years...
Only when the eyelids are blurred do I realize that tears have flowed. , it was only after my heart ached that I felt the long and deep nostalgia.
It has been fourteen years. Although I have gone back to my hometown to visit my parents on vacation several times, due to work reasons, I always come back excitedly, stay for ten and a half months, and then leave reluctantly. Therefore, for me, the time I can spend with my parents is very little.
My hometown, Wuxi County, Chongqing, is located in Wenfeng Town, at the southeastern foothills of the middle section of Daba Mountain. Located in the heart of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, spanning both sides of the Wu Gorge of the Yangtze River, it is known as the "Gateway to Eastern Chongqing".
Wenfeng Town is one of the three ancient towns in Wuxi County. It is also the birthplace of the Bashu witchcraft culture and the Wuxian Kingdom. It is located on the bank of Houxi River, a tributary of the Daning River. It is surrounded by mountains and water, and the roads are paved with bluestone slabs. , simple and neat. The stilted building with cornices and raised corners, and the hanging columns with carved patterns are simple and elegant. Ancient buildings and houses stretch along the Meixi River to the Daning River.
Wenfeng Town has a national forest park, Hongchiba, which is the former residence of Chun Shenjun, an important official of Chu State. It is also the birthplace of China's ancient "witch culture" and "salt culture": according to historical records, as early as During the reign of Emperor Yao, our ancestors discovered salt spring treasures here and started the salt industry. The salt spring flows day and night, gurgling endlessly, and the city has been built with salt ever since. Wenfeng Town is also the largest alpine grassland in southern China. Hongchiba has a sea of ??flowers in the clouds and a sea of ??grass in Tianzi City; the Xiliuxi Wetland has a magnificent celestial landscape. It is a resort for viewing mountains and flowers in spring to escape the heat in summer, and enjoying colorful forests in autumn and playing with snow in winter. It is a shining pearl in the Yangtze River Tourism Golden Triangle.
Wuxi County is famous for its dangerous rocks, strange peaks and unique caves. Lanying Township in Shuangyang, northeast of Wuxi, has a deep canyon, a narrow and curved space, deep and steep walls, and spectacular waterfalls in the canyon. The towering Yuntai Temple stands quietly on the bank of Daning River. On both sides of the river, there are mountains and green mountains, and the clouds are steaming and glowing, as if they are suspended in mid-air. A peak protrudes. From a distance, it is said that it resembles a breast, so it was called breast in ancient times. Another saying is that Tai Peak looks like a cloud, so it is also called Yuntai Mountain. Yuntai Mountain has been a geomantic treasure land since ancient times, and is said to be the residence of gods. The hanging coffins of Jingzhuba Rock are distributed on the west bank of Jingzhu Gorge of Dongxi River, a tributary of Daning River. The coffin hangs on the steep cliff, adding many mysterious legends to Wuxi.
I finally got a family leave this time. I thought that my son was born in Xinjiang. Although he has been used to the bold desert customs since he was a child, he has never seen the beautiful and tender landscapes and pastoral scenery, so I specially took him with me. Returned to my hometown.
In order to fulfill my son’s wish to take a boat ride, I took a bus from Chongqing Jiangbei Airport to Wanzhou, then took a boat at Wanzhou Ferry to Fengjie, and then took a speedboat from Fengjie to Wenfeng Town in Wuxi.
"The dew is white tonight, and the moon is bright in my hometown" describes the hometown feelings so deeply, but "the feeling of being close to hometown is more timid" but it is so urgent. When I boarded the speedboat, I was full of joy and flew along with the speedboat. Thinking of my anxious parents at home, my heart felt like the speedboat under my seat. I was really eager to return home. I couldn't help but feel my heartbeat. My son was even more excited on the boat, jumping for joy like a little kid who didn't know what to do with. Ma Juzi, because he has never been so close to such a "vast" body of water.
After a long and tiring journey, I finally set foot on Wuxi - the land I have longed for.
Beautiful Wenfeng, dear family!
Although night falls and the lanterns are turned on, you can still see the mountains no matter how dark the night is; no matter how deep the night is, you can still see the water.
Suddenly, I felt like "I have been away from home for three days, as if I was in another world: the newly built ancient town is familiar yet strange.
Apart from dreams, where else can homesickness find and rest in these years?
In the early morning, when I came to my parents’ vegetable garden, I was immediately greeted by a smell of earth mixed with the fragrance of fruits and vegetables. The lush vines of luffa in the corner of the vegetable garden climbed up along the three-legged bamboo pole frame built by my father, and suddenly went around from one bamboo node to the previous one. The dew rolls lingeringly on the vine leaves, sliding down the winding vines with joy, silently gathering into a huge crystal bead, quietly falling into the mortal world, immersed in the mud, and nourishing new life. Complete your own sublimation. Among the clusters of emerald green leaves, small purple or white flowers are exposed, which are the eggplants and green peppers grown by my father. Green leaves, purple flowers, and white flowers all quietly poked out their sepals, as if they were also watching me, a wanderer who finally returned home, with curiosity. The cucumber with thorny flowers on the top was swinging leisurely in the morning breeze. The lettuce, lettuce, pickles, Chinese cabbage, and water spinach on the ground are drinking dew in the wind and leisurely spreading their leaves.
Looking up into the distance, we can see the misty bamboo mountain in the distance, and the bamboo forest is looming. Suddenly this scene feels so familiar!
Oh, yes, in dreams and memories, this picturesque rural scene has drifted into the dreams of distant travelers countless times, giving rise to endless wisps of nostalgia. Under the clouds, in the bamboo forest, there is my former residence and the happy and joyful footprints of my childhood.
Looking at Zhushan in a daze, my mind has already drifted to Zhushan. I seem to see the small farmyard hidden in the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain, and the floating rope hanging in the canyon that I often walk through. Bridge...
"Dad, I want to go to Zhushan."
Dad lowered his head while working and said: "Zhushan is no longer inhabited, what are you going to do?"
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"Dad, I want to see our old house. I really want to go."
Dad raised his head and looked at me and said, "Okay, I will go with you tomorrow. It’s a bit late today.”
“Yeah,” I nodded happily. Dad is the person who understands me best.
Dad added, "Prepare dry food for tomorrow with your mother, and we will set off to climb Zhushan early tomorrow morning." Great, Dad, you are so kind! "Haha, you little girl, I know you."
Early the next morning, I carried the dry food that my mother had prepared for me and my father, and we walked with my father along the stone steps of Zhushan Mountain towards the deep mountains. Go in. Zhushan is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with bamboos connected to mountains and mountains connected with bamboos, and it is green all the way.
We went upstream along the Meixi River. The river gradually became narrower and steeper, and the sound of "swishing" water came closer and louder from a distance. The water in the shallow bay of Meixi River is crystal clear.
I haven’t been here for more than ten years, and she is still so gentle and clear. Because the Three Gorges Reservoir upstream has impounded water, the river seems to be much clearer and shallower, and the colorful stones beside the river bed are exposed to the warm sunshine.
Meixi River is a river in the east of Fengjie City. It was called Hangshuidu in ancient times. On the Lotus Peak to the north of Fengjie, there is the "Three Sages Temple", which is dedicated to Zhou Dunyi, Wang Shipeng and Song Lian. Because it was named Lianxi in the Zhou Dynasty, Meixi in the Wang Dynasty, and Qianxi in the Song Dynasty, it was also called Sanxi Temple. In order to commemorate them, later generations called this river Meixi River.
The mountains on both sides of the river are rugged and steep, with high cliffs and low water, forming a clamping force that stretches for dozens of miles, with mountains connected end to end. Standing on the top of the mountain and looking at it: it looks like a dancing silver snake and a white snake fluttering in the wind. There are mountains and villages on one side, water towns on the other side, simplicity and elegance on the other side, and prosperity on the other side.
There seemed to be very few people walking on the stone path into the mountain. Weeds were overgrown on both sides of the stone steps and in the gaps. We searched all the way and finally arrived at the floating beach where I had played countless times in my dreams. rope bridge. I really want to step onto the swaying cable suspension bridge again, the floating cable bridge that witnessed my shaky growth. Dad said: "This suspension bridge is no longer accessible to people. Look -" Dad pointed to the bridge pillar, and then I saw the warning sign in the weeds: "Danger! It's in disrepair. Pedestrians are not allowed to pass!" The bridge body Still there, the iron cables and anchors are still firmly anchored in the mountains on both sides.
However, the bridge plank is incomplete. I walked up to the bridge and touched the pillars. My thoughts were like the running waves of a stream... The pontoon bridge on the river connected many stories on both sides of the river. People on both sides of the bridge rely on this floating rope bridge to travel.
In the past, people in the village had to pass through this floating bridge when their children went to school, sold agricultural and sideline products, went to the market, went to town to buy daily necessities, and sought medical advice. It was the only way to the outside of the mountain.
Therefore, the ancient floating bridge has become the reliance of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. For generations, over the years, many people have watched the bridge in the morning and returned home in the evening, placing every expectation and expectation on this floating bridge. My childhood memories will always be fixed on the banks of Meixi River with beautiful mountains and green waters.
The Meixi River winding down from Zhushan Mountain tells the story of the vicissitudes of an ancient town.
Wenfeng Town is adjacent to the Meixi River. Nowadays, the Meixi River has also become thinner. The floating bridge on the river is the embellishment of the fireworks at the ferry. People living here live a simple but peaceful life. Time is like a flowing river, gurgling out and disappearing in an instant. Approaching you now is like approaching a buried time. Although the ferryman's song has faded away, the vicissitudes of the Meixi River have become an important part of understanding Wenfeng Town.
Dad said: "A little further up there is the newly built Meixi River Bridge."
We followed the sound of water and went upstream, feeling a little wet. The salty wind blew across my face. Looking from a distance, I saw dilapidated old bamboo fence houses. I couldn't wait to cross the bridge and rush towards my family's old home, the small courtyard full of papayas.
My birthplace is in this village on the banks of Meixi River. The old village lives on the mountain. Although the mountain roads are steep and the houses are messy, the Zhushan people have lived here for generations. Generations of Xian people have thrived here and thrived on the salt industry, thus giving birth to the ancient Wuxian culture.
In my memory, there are green terraces in front and behind the house, clear streams at the foot of the mountain, and green bamboo forests on the hillside. People in the bamboo forest have gradually moved to the newly built communities in Wenfeng Town to live together. Going to the bamboo forest, there are thick wormwood in the forest. At this moment, I don’t know which path leads to the old house. I only vaguely remember that my friends and I played and chased each other with bare feet on these winding paths. . Children used to call their mothers here, but now we only hear the chirping of birds, but not the crowing of cocks or the barking of dogs. I miss the smoke in the ruins...
The creek is still gurgling, the path is still winding, and the bamboo mountain is still gorgeous. . The high stone steps that had broken my knees countless times when I was a child now seem very short. The mountain road is winding and long. I wandered for a long time on the bamboo forest path, and stood in front of the old house in despair, but I could not find those happy memories of my childhood.
Nowadays, the bamboo house is like a twilight old man, guarding those old memories alone, feeling the loneliness and sadness from the vague ruins of the old village, this old village has never been forgotten. These dianthus-structured houses have been gradually lost in time. Like a silhouette, like a black and white sketch, it is recalled in dreams by wanderers living in a foreign country from time to time.
Returning to the kitchen where my mother used to cook, I have lived abroad for a long time, and the homesickness I cherish in my heart always blooms in my mother’s warm and fragrant kitchen.
I seem to see my mother again, who is busy adding wood and pulling out fire in front of the stove. Her hairline has turned gray and her waist is not as flexible as before. I couldn't help but groaned in a low voice: "Hey!" I can't hold back the time, my hometown, and the childhood that I can't go back to. Just looking at and recalling it makes my heart moist and my eyes are covered with a thin layer of mist. Blinded...
After bidding farewell to the old house, my father and I continued walking on the mountain road. Naughty mountain monkeys were swinging between the trees, and unknown birds were in the green grass. Chirping, chirping, chirping... Finally we reached the top of Zhushan Mountain.
The milky mist curling up from the valley in the distance, against the clear blue sky, paints the mountains like an ink painting, leaving no trace of mist. The mountains and rivers here are like Every scene and thing is as picturesque as a poem, accompanied by many beautiful and touching legends.
We climbed to the top of Zhushan Mountain, where the bamboo canopy is like a canopy, with winding paths and gurgling water. It's true that the wind slightly dissipates the heat, and the ground moistens and purifies the dust. Wild flowers bloom in the grass, the breeze carries the fragrance of the flowers, and the streams in the bamboo forest are dense and winding.
Look at the water rushing into the depths of Huaxi River, and then look at the spectacular sight of people walking up on the top of the sea of ??clouds. It seems that the quiet mountains and rivers have clarified troubled thoughts, and the bamboo stream has purged old minds. Favor and disgrace all flow with the clear water, and the sky clears up in your mind.
On top of the mist-shrouded mountains, looking from a distance, the strong pines and green cypresses on Cangshan Mountain hang humbly on the steep cliffs, and the mountains are dotted with layers of terraces.
Looking down from the top of the mountain, it is really colorful. First, there are green tea gardens, yellow rapeseed, and silver rice fields.
Whenever I see this vast countryside, a clear picture emerges in front of my eyes: hard-working parents are busy in the fields, and from time to time they cast their loving eyes on a man in white. girl in skirt. At that time, the little girl was carefree all day long, flying happily around the fields like a butterfly. Who used to be leisurely like me, sitting and watching the mountain clouds stand and float. How could I understand the sweat and hardships of my father and mother running down their cheeks at that time?
The densely packed terraces are intertwined and look very spectacular when viewed from a high place. Further down there are thick clouds and mist, giving people a sense of wonderland. When I saw the terraced fields, I remembered the waterwheel that I rode on with my mother when I was a child, so I asked my father, "Dad, do you still have waterwheels like those when you were young?" Dad smiled and said, "There are, but there are very few. Now they all use electricity. "It's pumped." "Look around the corner of the mountain, and there's the old waterwheel in front of you." I was eager to see what the waterwheel looked like in my memory, so I walked quickly toward the hillside. Climbing up, I followed the direction of my father's finger and saw a waterwheel on an aqueduct on the ancient course of the Meixi River. Watching the rotating scraper and water bucket filled with river water, they rotate circularly with the impact of the river water. When it exceeds the vertical line, the water bucket will naturally tilt and pour water into the aqueduct. At this moment, it seems that you can clearly feel the flow of the clear stream. Water surrounds every graceful terraced field in Wushan. The ancient waterwheel still has certain humanistic value. The old waterwheel is repeating the sound of water for centuries, just like the slowly turning years.
The setting sun touches the river bed, and a flowing river spreads out quietly. The clear river flowed slowly and calmly, occasionally making whirlpools in the middle of the river, skirting the red stone cliffs and beating moss and pebbles, and reluctantly meandering towards the Daning River. The distant mountains are quiet and eternal. The mountains show incredible clarity and softness, and are graceful and lyrical under the golden-red sunset.
As the sky gradually darkened, I suggested to my father that we go down the mountain from the other side of Zhushan to go home. My father happily said: "That's what I planned too. When we go down to the bottom of the mountain, we will reach Wenfeng Town. The road down the mountain is easier to walk. ”
The natural beauty of the Meixi River and Zhushan Mountain, whether it is early morning or dusk, has always been the most lasting and fragrant human fireworks in my life. In the busy life, in the quiet time. These green mountains and green water are always the most ordinary and most beautiful scenery in my eyes.
The tranquility of Meixi River, the clearness of Meixi River, the beauty of Meixi River, and my love for Meixi River have taken away my heart after wasted years. I wandered in the Meixi River, picked up a stone in the water, and held it in my hand. It was delicate and moist, solid and appropriate, like a fresh and peaceful heart and soul. How could I bear to let her stray into the hustle and bustle of the moment. I quietly put the stone back into the river, that is her most beautiful destination. Meixi River, say goodbye, it’s hard to say goodbye! Please ask the Wushan Goddess to create another Meixi River for me to take away. One flows in the ancient town of Wuxi, and the other is placed in my heart, refreshing and long...