The carnival night of Mingsha Mountain

Author: Ye Tingfang (Research Fellow, Institute of Foreign Languages, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

In the early 1990s, due to the enthusiasm of Fan Xiwen, senior editor of Tianjin Hundred Flowers Literary and Art Publishing House, more than a dozen writers from all over the country went to Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes along the Hexi Corridor to conduct an art pilgrimage. Among the ranks were the Beijing writers Zhang Kangkang and Gao Hongshi; the Tianjin writers Fan Xiwen and Lin Xi; the Nanjing novelist Zhang Xian; the thinker Lin Xianzhi and the poet Xiao Min from Guangzhou; and the essayist Sun Sun of Zhengzhou.

After the baptism of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and other famous cultural ancient cities, we finally arrived at the destination Mogao Grottoes at noon. However, we did not visit the Mogao Grottoes that day, but first went to Dunhuang City to settle down. Dunhuang, the dazzling place name, borders the Qilian Mountains to the south and the Taklamakan Desert to the west, which is the key to the Silk Road. Along the way, there are hills of sand, with peaks like awls, ridges like blades, and mountains like freshly cut watermelons. It is said that this is the result of a strong wind blowing, which sometimes sounds like a tiger roaring, sometimes like a ghost, leaving behind such a variety of sand dunes. Nature's magic is amazing!

It was already 1:00 p.m. when we arrived. The logistics team suggested: after dinner, everyone should take a break, and at 4:00 p.m., we will leave for the crescent spring and Mingsha Mountain to visit and taste the pleasure of paddling sand boats. Dry food was prepared for dinner, and on the top of one of the mingsha mountains, "sat on the ground and ate", and then free and happy. Everyone cheered: "This arrangement is so wonderful! Both joyful and romantic! ”

The crescent spring is accompanied by the Mingsha Mountain. This is entirely providential arrangement. Less than 40 millimetres of rainfall per year in this region, but up to 2,400 millimeters of annual evaporation. In the yellow sand rolling environment, there is such a sweet spring, which can only be called by the word "divine water"!

We paced slowly by the pool, sucking in the nectar breath, and then ascended the sand mountain nearby to get an overview of her beautiful face—ah, if it were not for the masterpiece of creation, who would have created such a wonderful crescent-like figure? How many times have there been many fierce winds here over the generations, and how many times the surrounding surface landforms have undergone many relocations and ups and downs, but she has always been like a mirror in the shape of a first moon embedded in this desert where the movement is most frequent!

"Well, everyone has seen enough of how the men, women and children on this sand slope are rowed, and now we each lead an empty boat up the hill to experience the fun of sliding sand." It doesn't matter if the boat overturns, it can't hurt people. Lao Wang of the logistics group instructed. Everyone took off their shoes, and each of them led a sand boat up, and every time they stepped on it, the sand slid down half a step, and before they reached the halfway point, they were breathless. It was so easy to reach the top of the mountain, and when everyone's anger eased up, the boats "roared" and slid down together, and everyone shouted "Wow-wow-wow-"

This is followed by a camel ride. The two of us rode together, staggering, to the foothills of the mountain that we were going to "take" tonight. It is not very comfortable, but it is also expensive in the experience: after all, it is the first time to ride a camel in my life, and it is still unforgettable.

At this time, the smiling sun was setting, and half a smile was revealed. We took off our shoes and started climbing the mountain. Climb to the top of the mountain and be confronted by a ridge like a slash. We couldn't bear to touch them, and finally we had to walk sideways on the ridge for a long time, and finally came across a gentler curved mountain. Everybody says: Right here! Everyone pushed the sand in the middle with bare feet, so that the area of the mountain gradually expanded until it was safe to sit down.

At this time, everyone involuntarily grabbed a handful of sand and put it in the palm of their hands to observe carefully: ah, how small their particles were, how uniform their size was, as if each grain had been sifted through the same sieve, and each grain was crystal clear. Yeah, how many gusts of wind have washed them again and again, no wonder we walked barefoot for half a day, and the skin was still spotless!

After everyone sat down, they began to eat dinner. One loaf of bread, two ham sausages, a cucumber and a bottle of mineral water per person, with special emphasis on sealing all garbage and debris in plastic bags and not allowing any garbage to remain on the pure sand mountain. I immediately spread the coat I was going to wear for the night on the ground, and many people did the same, treating the sand as a sacred place.

After the meal, everyone chatted for a while. At this time, I saw a bright moon rising through the fish-belly clouds in the east, and everyone stood up in unison, clapping and cheering. This day happens to be the sixteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and the moon is full. Since I was young, my favorite Yunnan folk song "Little River Flowing Water" can't help but rush out of my throat: "Oh... The moon came out bright and bright, bright and bright, and when I saw the moon, I thought of my sister; my sister walked like the moon in the sky, and the sky went! Sister, sister, sister—ah, do you hear Brother call Sister? At this time, Zhang Xian stood up and said, "Lao Ye called out to his sister with such a beautiful song, who is his sister, don't hurry up and stand up!" Seeing Gao Hongshi, he immediately raised his hand and said loudly, "I am!" "Me too!" This is Shinobu's voice. Finally, Zhang Kangkang said, "Since you are all, then I must be too!" Everyone laughed. Zhang Xian, the volunteer host of the program, said: "The song has been sung! Now please get up and dance a hula hoop dance! I made it myself. It's simple: everyone is in a circle, holding hands. Then take three steps to the right and jump with your left foot; take three steps to the left and jump with your right foot. Zhang Xian was clapping at the rhythm, but everyone was barefoot, and the dance steps could not make a sound on the sand. It occurred to me that I might as well use trumpet-style singing to beat the rhythm, so I sang "Cat La li, dog la li, hu - hey! Pigs, sheep, huh– hey! Cow la li, ma la li, hu - hi..." It made everyone laugh a lot, and the rhythm of the dance was getting stronger and stronger!

Tired of dancing, everyone sat down again. Looking around so quietly, I remembered the famous lyrical song "Prairie Night" and hummed it softly. Gao Hongshi said, "Yo, this song is so beautiful!" Teacher Ye, you just let it go and sing it again! I sang it as lyrically as I could. Kang Kang said: "We come from all directions, it is rare to get together, we must have a good time!" Lin Xi opened his mouth: "We are not as good at singing as Mr. Ye." But I'm engaged in writing, so let's tell a little story to make everyone happy! Later, Zhang Kangkang told a wonderful experience of her young generation; Gao Hongshi talked about the process of her becoming a "college entrance examination winner"; and Xiao Min recited one of the most satisfactory poems in her poetry collection "Beige Flower". At this time, I found that Lin Xianzhi had not yet opened his mouth, so I ordered him. He emphasized: "I am the person who lacks the most artistic cells, or spare me!" Everyone said, "No! You are an expert in Lu Xun, recite a quotation or poem of Lu Xun! Finally, he recited a poem by Lu Xun: "The Lingtai has no way to escape the gods, and the wind and rain are like a rock in the dark old garden." Wishing that the cold star was not noticed, I recommended Xuanyuan with my blood. This is a poem written by Lu Xun when he was young to express his patriotism, and everyone responded with warm applause.

Sun Sun always smiled happily, and I immediately shouted: "Guangju (Sun Sun's real name is Sun Guangju) You also contribute a program!" He said, "I'm the stupidest, I don't know anything!" I said, "Actually, you know everything, even your calligraphy is outstanding—yes, smooth out the sand, and you can just throw a few strokes on this dune, as a souvenir we left for Mingsha Mountain tonight!" He thought for a moment, then bent down, smeared a square of about 1.5 square meters, and waved it with his palm, and the ground lit up with a row of wild grass of "The Night of Wapugis". "Ah, Mr. Sun likened our party to a carnival scene in Goethe's Faust, called The Night of The Wapugis!" I explained out loud, "This is the most meaningful comparison of tonight's carnival climax!" ”

At this point, everyone thought that the party was over, and did not want to suddenly jump out of the three men and occupy the center of the stage, and it was three comrades of the logistics group who looked like three comrades. They said: We can't write or dance, so let's sing an old song! "We are all sharpshooters, and every bullet destroys an enemy..." This song takes us to the distant war years...

On the way back, everyone was obviously unhappy, still chattering about it: forgot to play this, forgot to sing that! It was "unforgettable tonight"!

Guangming Daily (2021-04-30, 14th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily