Walking in Suzhou
Lu Wenfu, a contemporary writer. Born in 1928. A native of Xibaimuqiao, Taixing County, Jiangsu Province. He attended private school, primary school and junior high school in Jiaggang, Taixingchengnei, Zhangjiaqiao and other places in Jingjiang County. After graduating from Suzhou Middle School in 1948, he went to the Liberated Area of ??Northern Jiangsu to participate in the revolution. After 1949, he served as interviewer of the Suzhou branch of Xinhua News Agency, reporter and industrial team leader of "New Suzhou News". After 1956, he engaged in professional creation in the creative group of the Jiangsu Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and was later transferred to factories and rural areas to participate in labor. Now he is engaged in professional creation at the Suzhou Municipal Cultural Bureau. Began publishing works in 1955. His major works include the short story collections "Honor" and "Second Meeting with Zhou Tai"; the short story "Deep in the Alley". The short story "Devotion" published in 1978 won the National Outstanding Short Story Award.
Original text: I love Suzhou, especially its quiet alleys. This is not because "the Forbidden City has less free space and more water alleys and small bridges", but because it is often easiest to see the great changes in life and the rebirth of the city in the alleys, which gives rise to a sense of pride and joy.
The alleys in Suzhou are full of flavor. It is clean and deep, with many twists and turns. The alleys are paved with marble stones, and there is no gray sand in the spring. Just after the summer showers, you can wear cloth shoes without getting your feet wet. There are high courtyard walls on both sides of the alley. The walls are covered with ivy and wisteria; occasionally branches decorated with flowers poke out from the walls. Deep in the courtyard, the sound of looms can be heard here and there. The rustling is weaving silk and satin; the squeaking is woven velvet. I have seen Suzhou's silks, satins and velvets, like colorful clouds embedded in the blue sky, like the morning sun, like sunset, like the light smoke rising at dusk. You would never think that these world-famous silk fabrics were born in the alleys where tens of thousands of households live together.
In the alley, the door is always open. In the open door, you can often see the mother and daughter leaning on a stretcher, quietly embroidering. They split a very thin silk thread into eight pieces and used hundreds of stitches to embroider flowers, birds, insects, fish, figures, and landscapes. The live shrimps of Qi Baishi are embroidered; the galloping horses of Xu Beihong are embroidered, and the splashes of ink, watermarks, and expressions can be accurately expressed.
Sixteen years ago, I also saw "Su embroidery" and "embroidery girls" in Suzhou. In the quiet alleys of Keye night, it is common for them to embroider from late at night to dawn under the dim light. They rush to Guxiuzhuang to change money, and then line up at the entrance of the rice store, where people use chalk to weave numbers on their shoulders and point. Affordable rice.
Today, we can not only see "Su embroidery" in alleys and in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing; we can also see Suzhou girls performing embroidery at international exhibitions. Residents of London once asked to see the embroidery girl's hands to see what secrets they held and why the embroidered flowers could confuse butterflies! Who knows that the only secret is the hard work of these hands, which is the respect our society has for hard-working hands.
Before liberation, in a dilapidated ancient temple in Suzhou, there lived a beggar woman with white hair and dirty face and severe eye disease. She was the famous "Embroidery Girl" Shen Jingfen. She devoted all her youth to "Suzhou embroidery", and she knew hundreds of ingenious stitches. When she was young, she embroidered countless dragons and flying phoenixes for the daughter of her boudoir, and earned a lot of profits for Gu Embroidery Village. In the end, he ended up living in a ruined temple, begging for a living. The technique of "Suzhou embroidery" was trampled upon by others along with her, and was carved into pieces in the wind and rain like a ruined temple!
Now, in a small garden, on the flower path, and next to the curved bridge, people met Shen Jingfen, the consultant of the embroidery workshop. Her hair is still gray, but her eye disease has disappeared, her complexion is rosy, and she is full of energy. She is guiding a group of lively young girls to plant flowers, paint, and embroider, pushing traditional skills to new heights: sending messages on paper Residents, the secrets in the hands of Suzhou girls can be found here.
In autumn, the whole city is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus. As you stroll forward smelling the fragrance of flowers, you will be introduced to ancient gardens. The gardens are like flowers scattered by goddesses, distributed in the streets and alleys of Suzhou. There are more than a hundred records of them. As for those who dug a pond, built a mountain, and built one or two small pavilions in the middle, there are countless people. "Wu Feng Lu" records: "Although Lu Yan's carvings (note) are also decorated with small mountain basins for birds to play with," this shows the universality of Suzhou gardens. On the basis of such universality, craftsmen and masters of the past dynasties have left behind a large number of exquisite masterpieces.
Among all the gardens, I love "Lingering Garden" the most. Like all artistic masterpieces, it carries deep implications. A plain corridor at the entrance, an ordinary courtyard. The pools, terraces and pavilions in the middle of the forest can be vaguely seen.
When I passed through the "Hanbi Mountain House" and stood on the balcony near the water, I saw a group of rockeries rising up. The rocks were intertwined. The hexagonal "Keting" towered above the rocks. There were three small bridges high and low. Lying on the mountain stream. Looking from a distance, it is winding and winding, as if there is no bottom. When you get here, you feel that you are in the painting, but you cannot see the whole picture.
Climb up the mountain-climbing verandah and walk into the "Smell the Osmanthus Fragrance Pavilion", and all the scenery in the middle of the garden will appear before your eyes. To the east and west are pavilions, pavilions and waterside pavilions hidden by ancient trees and strange stones. To the south are corridors and flower walls. The small "Mingse Tower" towers over all buildings. In front of the building is a pool full of clear water, reflecting the entire scenery to the south, creating a Wonderful scenery outside the park. In the middle of the pond, there is a small island called "Xiao Penglai". The bridges and pavilions here are all level with the water. Climbing up to "Xiao Penglai" feels like standing at the bottom of the lake in the middle of the lake, and you feel like you are surrounded by mountains on all sides. After passing "Xiao Penglai" and arriving at the bottom of "Quxi Tower", the scenery in the middle part can be seen at a glance, and it's time to come to an end. However, there are many brick frames and leaky windows next to the "Quxi Tower". They are like viewing frames, condensing the scenery in the garden, making people feel lonely and changing their views every step of the way. Looking up to the west, in late autumn, the bright red maple leaves are spread on the undulating cloud walls, which makes people nostalgic. Endless aftertaste.
The "Liuyuan Garden" before liberation actually became a stable for the Kuomintang army. Trees were cut down, pavilions collapsed, and ruins, rubble and bricks were everywhere. Today's "Lingering Garden" is full of splendor and splendor. Looking back at the outside of the "Living Garden", I saw tall chimneys standing everywhere on Huqiu Road and on both sides of the canal. The factories built after liberation were blowing out thick smoke day and night, painting the peaceful blue sky with thick ink. There machines are roaring, metal is colliding, and life is boiling. From the alleys and ancient gardens all over the city, there are people who have fully rested day and night, walking towards the boiling place with a light brush.