Sarentoya's "Prairie Mother". Photo courtesy of Sarentoya
Hangzhou, September 23 (Reporter Lin Bo) "We pastoral people call our mother 'Eji' and thank my 'Eji' for raising me. When it comes to his "prairie mother", Zhang Bin, the "child of the country", is full of gratitude.
In 1960, Zhang Bin, who had just turned three, was sent to a grassland herdsman's family in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and became a member of the story of "Three Thousand Orphans Entering Inner Mongolia".
In 1960, when a famine broke out in China and the Jiangnan region was severely affected, many parents were unable to raise their children, so they were sent to a nursery in Shanghai, and a large number of children became homeless orphans. With the increasing number of abandoned babies, nursery schools are also facing huge relief pressure.
When Premier Zhou Enlai learned of this situation, he reached an agreement with Chairman Ulanfu of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to send more than 3,000 orphans from Shanghai to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia to be raised by herders, and these children who came to Inner Mongolia were affectionately called "children of the state."
In that special era, behind the "three thousand orphans entering Inner Mongolia" was the true love of the "steppe mothers" for half a century, who interpreted a historical story beyond blood, region and nation with great love and boundlessness.
"I have a sister who is 7 years older than me, and we get along very well and take good care of me." In Zhang Bin's memory, his "Eji" is a mother who does not say much but loves him very much, "living a very happy life, and there has never been a lack of love over the years." ”
In this way, Zhang Bin had a home, a new mother and a Mongolian name "Bang Ri Hu".
"Take one, live one; live one, strong one." This was the promise of the "Prairie Mother" to the "children of the nation" at that time.
Zhang Bin recalled that at that time, there was no school in front of the pastoral area, and I had to go to the school more than 20 kilometers away, "My mother took someone else's carriage to send me to school, but when I came back the next day, there was no car, and I had to walk back by myself." ”
Recalling the experience of going to school for the first time, Zhang Bin bluntly said that at that time, the young did not understand the hardships of "Eji" walking back alone, "Now in retrospect, this matter has always been remembered, at that time the pastoral road was not easy to find, it was easy to get lost, and 'Eji' walked home by relying on the sign of the telephone pole." But she never said this to me, always silently loving us children. ”
"When I was about 10 years old, I helped 'Abba' herd sheep, and at the beginning we were two brothers and sisters, and when I was older, I would go to herd the sheep myself." Zhang Bin still remembers his life in the pastoral area when he was a child, "After the age of 15, he returned home on vacation and participated in grass digging, digging stones, digging wells, and pulling soil. Although it was hard work, it is a precious memory in retrospect. ”
Regarding his own life, Zhang Bin bluntly said that he already knew it, and this was also a tacit agreement between him and "Eji".
"At that time, when I was in school, many people in my class called me 'Shanghai Orphan', so I also knew about it. But 'Eji' doesn't say it, and I don't ask. Zhang Bin said that he and "Eji" maintain this tacit understanding, everyone understands in their hearts, but this does not affect the feelings between mother and son, "She is my mother, I am her child, she loves me, I also love her, it's as simple as that." ”
With the love of "Eji", Zhang Bin walked out of the small sky of the pastoral area, worked in the city, got married, and now retired with grandchildren.
During the National Day holiday in 2008, Zhang Bin came to Beijing with the old "Erji", "'Erji' is very yearning for the capital, took her to Beijing, saw Tiananmen, she was very happy." ”
Today, Zhang Bin's old "Eji" is 88 years old, "she is in good health, I am now living in Hohhot, every month I will go back with my sister to visit her, the old man has no wish, is to hope that we will go smoothly." ”
For more than 60 years, the gentle and firm "prairie mother" has carried the weight of life, woven a warm harbor of three thousand children, and written a great love that transcends the nation, the region, and the blood.
"The more I learned, the more I wanted to share this story with more people." Born in 1953, Sarentoya is the former vice chairman and secretary general of the Inner Mongolia Filmmakers Association, a national first-class writer, and the earliest witness and recorder of the story of "Prairie Mother", and her works, the long novel "Quiet Emin River" and the long reportage "Children of the State", tell the moving story of "three thousand orphans entering Inner Mongolia".
"My father was a writer who told me this story when I was six or seven years old, and it left a deep impression on me at that time." Sarentoya told reporters that at that time, her father, who was walking on the grassland, told her the story of the "Shanghai orphans" to the grassland, "He told me that if you are interested, you can learn about it yourself in the future." ”
As Sarentoya grew older, there was no shortage of "children from the South" in her circle of friends. In 1998, Sarentonia began visiting pastoral areas to record the stories of "prairie mothers".
"In our nomadic culture, all life is the same, and herders treat life equally." Sarentoya explains that there is no word "orphan" in the minds of herders because they see it as a form of harm to children, "they prefer to call it 'child', which is the love that herders have for their children." ”
Sarentoya once asked an old "Eji" in an interview whether her child was a "Shanghai orphan", but the old "Eji" told her that it was a "child of the state".
"She told me, 'This is the child that the party and the government believe in us and only give to us to raise,' and in addition to loving the child, there is also a responsibility." Sarentoya said bluntly that she has interviewed many "prairie mothers", but they call these children "children of the country" as if they are "colluding", not asking about the past, only talking about the present.
Sarentoya also asked an "Eji" so much that you love these children, what if their biological parents or relatives come to find the children?
"That's great, maybe they can go back to town, maybe they have brothers and sisters and other relatives, so many people love them." How long we can live, and after we are gone, they still have relatives. Sarentoya always remembered the "Prairie Mother" reply, "They are so simple, completely from the child's point of view." ”
In Sarentoya's pen, there are many more stories about "prairie mothers" and "children of the country", "touched by them and proud of them." ”
There is no doubt that the story of "Grassland Mother" is a vivid witness of national unity and mutual assistance, and in the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, a "Erji" has performed a series of touching and profound human stories. At the 7th Cixiao Cultural Festival 2021 held in Hangzhou on September 22, "Prairie Mother" was awarded the 2021 Cixiao Figure/Group.
The 7th Cixiao Cultural Festival 2021 is hosted by China News Service and Hangzhou Lingyin Temple, organized by Hangzhou Lingyin Temple, Zhejiang Branch of China News Service, Zhejiang Overseas Friendship Association, Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and Zhejiang Democratic League Entrepreneurs Association, and supported by China News Weekly, China Philanthropist Magazine and Hangzhou Yunlin Charity Foundation. (End)
Source: China News Network