When xiangxi is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind must be the phoenix ancient city in Mr. Shen Congwen's "Border City", which is simple in folk customs and beautiful in mountains and rivers, and is the integrated embodiment of "love" and "beauty".
But what is more realistic and natural than "Border City" is his other book, "Xiangxing Sanji", which is a collection of essays about the customs and customs of western Hunan and the description of scenery along the river.
It is divided into three parts, which are divided into different periods of Mr. Shen Congwen's books in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
The first part is mainly a series of short stories reminiscing about the people of the homeland represented by "Bazaar" and "Street", which gives us a preliminary glimpse of the corner of the life of mysterious Xiangxi.
The second part mainly includes a series of scenes and documentary short stories such as "Taoyuan and Yuanzhou", "The Night of Yaqiaowei", "An Amorous Sailor and an Amorous Woman", and "Sailor on a Boat on the Chen River", which were written by Mr. Shen Congwen on a boat down the river from Beiping back to his hometown in Xiangxi to visit his seriously ill mother along the river.
The third part is a number of articles under the theme of "Candle Void", the articles in this period are more mature and introverted, and the overall prose style is also changed from the description of landscapes and landscapes to "seeking inward", thinking about life, thinking about life, thinking about the nation.
On the whole, the largest space and the one that can most arouse people's fascination should be counted in the second part of the "Xiangxing Sanji", which is brisk like a travelogue, delicate like prose, and the scenery is naturally beautiful like a poem and a painting.
"The sky has dawned, the snow has stopped, the river is cold, and I see these rafts wearing snow floating down the river, here and there are red flames like white smoke, and the mountains on both sides of the river are straight up, like opposing trolls, the color is pale, and everywhere there is no snow, it is a dark green." At present, there is indescribable magnificence. ”
I was once shocked by the strange mountains and beautiful waters of Xiangxi, and I was always amazed by the ingenuity of nature.
I have seen the lofty mountains and mountains, and the blue waves of Zhangjiajie;
Visited the vast, amorous and dreamy Ancient City of Phoenix;
He has also searched for a simple and natural paradise far away from the world;
These places embody the natural aesthetics of the Creator, bring me the intuitive feeling of "beauty", and all of them tell the poetry of the sacred land of The Lake and Xiang Landscape.
In the author's pen, it is a more mysterious, deeper, and more ancient Xiangxi.
Shen Congwen is a master of landscape writing, he knows how to make the most ordinary things through plain tone, simple language, proper arrangement and combination to outline a vivid and natural landscape painting, showing the natural to carve, irreproducible "beauty".
From the winter scenery along the river to the porridge and rice of the boatmen;
From the urging song of Gong Gong to the dragon boat race of the sons and daughters of Xiangxi;
From the wind and waves of the river boat to the simple life of the stilt house on the shore;
Everywhere, Zhong Lingyuxiu, an unexplored sacred natural site, is as beautiful as a splashed ink landscape painting.
Such a small winter scene, such a fireworks family, are all touching and yearning.
"Many rafts have gone offshore, many of the descending boats have pulled out anchors, pushed open their tents, and begun to swing their oars. As I lay in the cabin, all I heard was the sound of people on the surface of the water, and the sound of the paddles stirring the water, and the chirping of the oars themselves when they were pulled. The sharp shouts of the women on the stilts on the riverbank in the misty air are like the pipes in the music, surpassing the crowd. The synthesis of the noise of the river surface is intertwined with solemnity and flow, and everything is really a holy place. ”
With the unique cleanliness, coldness and freshness of winter, the author takes us to experience the drifting life of more than ten days on the boat, while observing and feeling the hard and hopeful ordinary life of the sailors on the river with his eyes.
A small boat needs at least three sailors, who work closely together, share weal and woe, like friends and relatives, and write life and death together on the endless Yuan River.
The palm sailors are calm and experienced, and are held by older people;
Young sailors are strong and agile, bracing, skimming, paddling, going to the beach, omnipotent, and are the main force of small boats, often held by young adults;
Apprentice sailors are young and weak, cook on fire, pull fiber helpers, and be served by younger young men;
They were born on the riverside, grew up on boats, and had an inexplicable love affair with "water". In Shen Congwen's words, "They know water and fear it." ”
Relying on the life experience left by the ancestors from generation to generation, it is difficult for us to imagine the hardships of making a living and survival in this floating boat.
"Eight cents a day at the helm, three cents a day in the corner of the head, two cents a day for the little guy." At this number, regardless of the weather, these people must do what they are supposed to do from dawn until dark. When it is time to go into the water, jump into the water immediately. When it is time to crawl on the rocks, it is not unreasonable to go immediately. When they can use their strength, these people do not hesitate to pass away every day, people are old, or the big June has diarrhea, lying in an empty boat or under the sun to die, and their lives are over. There are at least a hundred thousand people living like this in this river. ”
As dusk grew late and the sun thinned, the figures of sailors paddling their oars were pulled long and long by the setting sun.
The strong muscle lines under the arms regularly draw powerful arcs, and the sound of the river floating in the ears can be heard.
In the distance, on the line of heaven and earth, a large area of the evening view of the riverside dyed red and purple was breathtakingly beautiful.
The sun gradually set, leaving only the sound of water at the bottom of the boat flowing softly, and the day passed like this.
This is the life on the river in Shen Congwen's eyes, and there is the cruelty of life hidden under the poetic meaning, but it is more the tenacity of the lives of the children of Xiangxi, revealing the sacredness and greatness from the ordinary.
We all know that when Shen Congwen was young, he unremittingly wrote love letters for three years before he chased Zhang Zhaohe, who was eight years younger than him, who was also his student.
The romantic feelings in the bones of the literati are permanent, and in Shen Congwen's journey back to visit his mother after marriage, he still pinned this strong love and love on the daily family letter, which made people feel warm and moving.
Before they separated, they agreed that he would write down what he saw and heard on the ship every day and send it to Zhang Zhaohe, who remained in Beiping.
"Three three" and "second brother" are Shen Congwen and Zhang Zhaohe's love for each other, he lights a candle in the small world where only one person sleeps in the drifting and swaying boat to tell the story of lovesickness.
He was full of pride and joy to introduce his lovely hometown to Zhang Zhaohe, every mountain he passed, every town he moored through, every stilt house he saw, and every large or small or thrilling or gentle beach on it (the place where the boat passed through the water flow speed and drop was called "Shangtan"), all of which were worth telling.
In this way, there was the later "Xiangxing Sanji", which was collected from these books along the way, which was more natural and fresh and interesting than the novel.
Once, Shen Congwen wrote in a letter that boats travel along the river, and people along the coast rarely sell pen, ink and paper letters and other items, so in order to save paper, he only prepared to write two letters that day.
As a result, there were too many things to say, too many scenery to share, too many thoughts to pass on, and 9 pictures were written in one day, and it was not stopped until 10 o'clock in the evening.
Really a lovely person, between the lines is a journey of people soft and affectionate.
"Three-three, last night and tonight on the star crescent moon are very beautiful, on the ship to see the sky is particularly impressive, I don't care what kind of frozen, or watched the stars for a long time." If you see the great star in the sky tonight or every night, we can be closer to the glimmer of this star. For every night this grain of the star will be like your eyes, and it will be stared at by me for a moment. Three-three, on your side, this star will also become my eyes! ”