Beijing, 3 Sep (Xinhua) -- On 2 September, the Xinhua Daily Telegraph published a report entitled "Singing for Those Who Guard the Sacred Land in the Snowy Sky -- Reading the "Gesang Flowers in the Sky" and Behind It."
Once upon a time, there were only three people in the township: the father was the township chief, the eldest daughter was the deputy township chief, and the younger daughter was the women's director.
Hearing such a story, many people's first reaction is surprise - how can a family of three form a township? This township mayor is also too easy, right?
This story is not a fabrication, but a reality. This former "three-person township" is Yumai Township in Longzi County, Shannan City, Tibet Autonomous Region.
"Abba, why have we been staying in Yumai?" "If we had moved away, there would be no one here!" This is the dialogue in the song and dance drama "Tianbian Gesang Flower".
Yumai, located on the border defense line about 550 kilometers southeast of Lhasa, has an administrative area of 3644 square kilometers. Since the 1960s, Sanjay Quba has taken his daughters Zhuoga and Yangzong, and two generations have been silently guarding the territory of the motherland for decades. For 34 years, they were the only family here! Enduring loneliness but incomparably tenacious, the family is like the "most beautiful Gesang flower" on the border of the motherland.
On October 28, 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping wrote back to Zhuo Ga and Yangzong sisters, saying: "I hope that you will continue to inherit the spirit of patriotism and border guarding, and lead more herders to take root in the snowy border like Kelsang flowers, and be the guardians of the sacred land and the builders of a happy homeland." ”
Articles are written for the times, songs and poems are written for the sake of things. The song and dance drama "Tianbian Gesang Flower" was written to sing the patriotic side guarding praise written on the land of Yumai, and even more to praise the patriotic spirit of guarding the border that was born in the land of Yumai.
Graze to guard the side roads
The home is Yumai, and the country is China
My beams are connected to my snow-capped mountains
My white clouds wrapped around my sky
My green hills flutter my cooking smoke
My herd accompanies my cheerful face
This is my home, this is my home
The lyrics in "Tianbian Gesang Flower" are just sketches of the distant land of Yumai.
Yumai, located on the border between China and India, is located in the southern foothills of the Himalayas, and has long been "raised in the deep boudoir unknown". In 1991, Xinhua News Agency reporters first reported on Yumai, which was then known as "Yumen Township".
Because for a long time there were only three people, Sanjay Quba and his daughter Zhuoga and Yangzong, Yumai was also known as the "Three People Township", which was the township with the fewest Chinese.
Historically, when Yumai was at its largest, it also had a population of more than 20 households and more than 300 people. With the founding of New China and the progress of democratic reform in Tibet, earth-shaking changes have taken place in various parts of the plateau, the living and production conditions have changed rapidly, and people have successively moved out of Yumai, which is blocked by heavy mountains and blocked by traffic.
By 1962, Nori grass had begun to occupy many abandoned houses in Yumai, leaving only three herders, including Sanjay Quba. After years, Yumai was the only one family left in Sanjay Quba.
Before his death, Sanjay Quba once told Xinhua News Agency that he felt particularly lonely at that time when so many people had gone away at once, but he thought that Yumai was China's territory, and if there was land, there must be people, even if it was lonely and hard, he had to stay for this land.
Once, Jade Wheat was far away. Although the mountain road connecting Yumai and the outside world was built in 2001, for a long time, the snow drifting in November meant that a six-month long mountain closure period was about to begin, and the road to yumai to the outside world would be covered with snow and vehicles could not drive in. Many years ago, When The director of the Village Committee of Yumai Village, Tsering Tashi, went out to transport winter supplies, the car fell directly into the snow on the mountain, and only after the snow melted the next year did he retrieve the car. On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2017, Xinhua News Agency reporters also tried to advance into Yumai, but failed because the road was icy and vehicles could not pass.
Snowflakes fell into the sky one by one
The cows broke the glacier and returned to the valley
The long winter days are coming again
The bigger the snow, the greener the grass will be next year
- Lyrics of "Gesang Flowers on the Edge of the Sky"
Once, Yumai was bitter. Because of the special geographical climate, the weather of jade wheat is inseparable from rain and snow, and it is impossible to grow a grain of barley, and the grain must be transported over the Rila Mountain at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters. "In the past, every year from November to May, heavy snow closed the mountains, and villagers could only get in and out on their feet. If you do not rush into the mountains before winter comes, you will only starve in the long winter. Hu Xuemin, the mayor of Yumai Township, said.
You listen to that cold wind with a day's struggle
Nourish the endless growth of loneliness
Long days, long expectations
Lonely pastorals echo in loneliness
- Lyrics of "Gesang Flowers on the Edge of the Sky"
Once upon a time, jade wheat was difficult. As the lyrics sing, due to remoteness and isolation, in Yumai, it means to endure loneliness and loneliness. Over the years, there were only 3 people here, facing dozens of livestock. Due to the long-term inability to see anyone, the marriage of Zhuo Ga and Yangzong sisters has not landed. When patrolling the mountain, there are many steep slopes above 70 degrees, and the rope tied to the tree is used to go up, and the down can only be moved down a little bit.
It is such a difficult place that Sanjay Quba and Zhuo Ga, Yangzong father and daughter have been holding out for decades. "No matter how bitter Yumai is, it is also our home!"
Although there were only three people, the ceremony could not be less. Every time he returned from a meeting in the county, Sanjay Quba would call his two daughters home from the grazing spot and solemnly convey the spirit of the meeting. The old man also sewed a five-star red flag by hand for the family to hold a flag-raising ceremony.
"Abba pointed to the 'national flag' and said, this is the country, and only when there is a country can there be a home." Drogga, who was grazing by the river, said affectionately, "Abba and I and my sister guard thousands of square kilometers of land in Yumai. A house is both the township government and our home. ”
When they were young, the two sisters had quarrels with their father many times, and they also expected their father to take them out. "But Abba said that if we go, this part of the country will not be able to hold."
After the death of the elderly Sanjay Triba, the heavy responsibility of guarding the border fell on the sisters. "Every time you drive your livestock out of the mountains, it takes one day at the earliest, and your lives are in danger in the face of wind and snow." Sister Yangzong recalled, "When we were particularly tired, we also thought about leaving. But on his deathbed, Abba said, if we leave, who will guard this land? As soon as he thought of Abba's instructions, he gritted his teeth and persevered. ”
Who said that the long night is a dark curtain sewn into the sky
Survive and you will see the dawn of the dawn
Whoever says snowflakes is a white veil hiding spring
When you go up, you will see the spring sunshine
- Lyrics of "Gesang Flowers on the Edge of the Sky"
The plateau is constantly affectionate, and the ice and snow cannot lock the spring breeze. Under the special care of the Party Central Committee, Yumai is changing with each passing day. In 2017, the per capita annual income of Yumai exceeded 50,000 yuan, far exceeding the average level of the whole region of Tibet.
On October 28 of this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping wrote back to ZhuoGa and Yangzong sisters, saying: "I believe that with the joint efforts of everyone, Yumai, once a 'three-person township', will be able to build a happy and beautiful well-off township, and the days of the villagers will surely become more and more prosperous!" ”
This year, the construction of quyu highway with an investment of more than 500 million yuan and a total length of 50 kilometers began; The State Grid has entered the station, every household has achieved full WIFI coverage, and Yumai people have kept up with the trend and used WeChat Pay; The villagers moved into the "Happy and Beautiful Border Well-off Demonstration Township" prefabricated structure "Farmhouse Villa"; Since then, dozens of newly relocated households have also been welcomed. Today's Yumai, grass-roots social insurance public service platform, unmanned automatic meteorological observation station, etc. are put into use, basketball courts and other activity venues have risen from the ground, and life is becoming more and more comfortable every day. The border guards are at ease, the ranks of the border guards have grown, and the lives of the border guards have become rich.
On October 19, 2018, the Central Propaganda Department publicized and released the advanced deeds of the Zhuoga and Yangzong sisters to the whole society, and awarded them the title of "Model of the Times".
Border country conditions
Sing the praises of the times of patriotic border guarding
Literature and art are the clarion call of the times, which can best represent the style of an era and the atmosphere of an era. Jia Yongjiangcuo, director of "Tianbian Gesang Flower", said that the song and dance drama "Tianbian Gesang Flower" is to put the story of "three people's township" guarding the border on the stage, let it spread throughout the north and south of the river, and inspire more people to join the ranks of patriotic border guarding.
In 2018, nine members of the Tibet Autonomous Region Song and Dance Troupe went to Yumai Township to collect wind, and JiayongJiangcuo was among them. It was March, the spring was cold, the ice and snow at the foot of the Yumai Township Rila Snow Mountain had not melted, and the ring road connecting with the outside world collapsed due to avalanche.
"When the Rila Snow Mountain in the story of shoubian appeared in front of him, he realized the smallness of man in front of nature, but the two sisters were able to hold out for many years, and admiration surged into their hearts." Gayong Jiangcuo said.
Dawa, then secretary of the party branch of Yumai Township, told them some details of the fact that Sanjay Quba's father and daughter had been guarding the border for decades: One day when the ice and snow closed the mountain, Sanjay Quba used a yak to drive his seriously ill wife over the snowy mountain, knowing that he could not do anything, and in the desperate snow and wind, he still resolutely chose to climb. Growing up in Qamdo, Jiayong Jiangcuo, who grew up in the mountains and often crossed the mountains, was deeply touched, so he had the idea of choreographing and directing the "Tianbian Gesang Flower" song and dance drama.
Bai Bing, the screenwriter of "Tianbian Gesang Flower", said that even in today's good conditions, it is not easy to go to Yumai once. The best traffic conditions throughout the year are during the rainy season, and there are often landslides, so it is quite thrilling to see falling rocks on the mountain rolling past the side of the car. "At that time, I was thinking that the conditions were so difficult in the past, and the Sanjay Quba family had persevered for many years, and they deserved to be known to more people." Bai Bing said that he wanted to create this song and dance drama from the heart and with feelings.
Born in 1981, Bai Bing is a "second generation tibetan" whose parents answered the call to work in Lhasa in the 1960s and 1970s. In his perception, the fate of the individual and the fate of the country are closely linked.
"The liberation of a million serfs in Tibet is inseparable from the strength of the state; Tibet's development achievements of "just a few decades and spanning thousands of years" are inseparable from the support of the state; including Yumai, the construction of Tibet's border areas is inseparable from the input of the state. Therefore, it is a good entry point to understand national identity from Tibet and to understand the relationship between personal destiny and national destiny from Yumai. Bai Bing said that the Chinese nation has a deep patriotic tradition, and in border areas like Tibet, it is better to understand the connotation and significance of patriotic border guarding. When I met Yumai, the impulse and passion of creation sprang up.
There are a hundred or a thousand methods of literary and artistic creation, but the most fundamental, crucial, and reliable one is to take root in the people and take root in life.
As a director, Kayong Jiangcuo has a basic principle for "Tianbian Gesang Flower": according to the original story record creation, do not do more imaginary processing.
"Only when there is a country can there be a home, and without the tranquility of the border, there is no peace for all families." JiaYongjiangcuo said that under the influence and leadership of their father, Sanjay Quba, the sisters of Zhuoga and Yangzong held high the great banner of patriotism, guarded thousands of square kilometers of the motherland's land by grazing and patrolling at the border for decades, and practiced with practical actions the firm belief that "no matter how hard and tired they are, they must guard every inch of the motherland.", and presenting their stories and spirit of patriotic border guarding in the original place is enough to impress the audience. To this end, he and his team went to Yumai many times to interview, collect literature and dig into the details of the story.
Completed the first draft of the script in May 2018; Completed the second draft of the script in 2019; In June 2021, the song and dance drama choreography work was fully launched...
On May 31 this year, "Tianbian Gesang Flower", which took more than 4 years, was premiered in Yumai Township. On July 12, the first Tibet Culture and Art Festival opened at the Princess Jincheng Theater in Lhasa, and "Gesang Flowers in the Sky" was staged as the opening drama.
"Don't forget your own color, as long as the fire is burning, the days will not be sad, don't forget what Abba said, we are red." Dressed in national costumes, the two actors who playEda Zhuoga and Yangzong, Tsering Yangzong and Luo Zhen, sang and danced with music on the stage.
"Braving the rain in the night of Yumai listened to the sound of the wind on all sides, and the emotions behind the script text mushroomed like mushrooms. Among them, the unique loneliness of this border village makes me ask myself: How did the Droga sisters spend these thirty years? Tsering Yangzong, who has worked in the Tibet Autonomous Region Song and Dance Troupe for 20 years, said that participating in this song and dance drama itself is a vivid patriotic education for the cast and crew, and it also allows themselves to get spiritual sublimation.
Only when there is a country can there be a home
Like Kelsang flowers, be the guardian of the sacred land
The needs of the people are the fundamental value of the existence of literature and art. Whether or not we can produce excellent works depends most fundamentally on whether we can write for the people, lyrically for the people, and express our feelings for the people.
Gayong Jiangcuo has a profound understanding of this. He said that the artist's mission is to write and record the people's great practice and the progressive requirements of the times through more literary and artistic works with bones, morality, and temperature, to display the beauty of faith and lofty beauty, to carry forward the Chinese spirit, to unite China's strength, and to encourage the people to march vigorously into the future. This is the effect that "Sky Edge Gesang Flower" hopes to achieve.
In Yumai Township Square, which has no professional stage and lights, the music sounds, and the actors instantly enter the scene role, showing the best state for the audience in the square.
After more than two hours of performance, the audience's emotions fluctuated with the plot.
In the crowd, the 56-year-old Bai Majian looked very seriously, he was the prototype character of the postman in the play. "When I was 15 years old, I was delivering letters and newspapers to Yumai Township, and in the summer I was fine, I could ride a horse, and when it snowed in winter, I could only walk over the snowy mountains with letters on my back, and it was really bitter at that time."
"I remember when I was a child, Grandma Droga told us the story of her Abba, and after watching the performance, the scene of them grazing and guarding the border seemed to be right in front of me, and I would have to guard this land when I grew up." At the scene of Yumai's premiere, danzeng pieces offstage were fascinated, she said, the village has changed a lot in recent years, repaired roads, built houses, and there are more small partners in the school.
Yangzong's son, Solang Dunzhu, is 27 years old and is now the first secretary of the party branch of Yumai Village in Yumai Township.
"The lines of this performance particularly touched me, saying that my aunt and they 'have a fire in their hearts', this fire is the fire of jade wheat, and now in the hands of our generation of border guards, it will continue to burn and pass on." Solang Dunzhu said, "Like my fathers, I will witness the changes in Yumai here, and Yumai's tomorrow will be even better." ”
The answer is self-evident. "Tianbian Gesang Flower" evokes people's memories and condenses people's strength.
According to JiaYongjiangcuo, "Tianbian Gesang Flower" is mainly based on Shannan, and has been performed 15 times in Longzi County and Qusong County, and it is planned that in the next two to three years, it will be performed on the spot in 21 border counties in Tibet, so that the residents of Tibet's border counties can see the current song and dance drama and enhance the ideal and belief of border people to love the country and guard the border.
Zhuoga and Yangzong are "the most beautiful Kelsang flowers in patriotism and guarding the border", but they are engaged in the most ordinary work.
In 2021, Zhuo Ga was awarded the "July 1st Medal". "I wanted to know what life was like for the national honorees, and when I got to her house, I saw her and my sister still herding cattle, chopping wood, boiling ghee, and doing the most ordinary things of herding." In August last year, Bai Bing, who went to Yumai again to collect wind, recalled.
In that vast and magnificent sky
The forest here embraces snow-capped mountains
In that vast and magnificent sky
Cuckoos bloom all over the sky
We are the Gesang flowers on the edge of the sky
- Lyrics of "Gesang Flowers on the Edge of the Sky"
In fact, on the border line of more than 4,000 kilometers in Tibet, there are many "ordinary" border guards like Zhuo Ga and Yangzong. "Tianbian Gesang Flower" depicts not only the story of Zhuo Ga and Yangzong, but also the epitome of many "ordinary people" on the border line.
"A natural thing - to guard your homeland with your hands, to make your home better with your hands, is the ordinary and great work that this group of 'ordinary people' are doing, and this is also what the song and dance drama 'Tianbian Gesang Flower' wants to present." Gayong Jiangcuo said.
Zhou Houyou, secretary of the party committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region Song and Dance Troupe, said that "Gesang Flowers on the Edge of the Sky" is not only a literary and artistic work with realistic patriotic themes, but also a vivid lesson in party history study and education and ideological and political education, and is a concrete action to create "high-quality literary and artistic works."
On the snowy plateau, the Kelsang flowers with slender waists and small petals sway in the wind. Although the Kelsang flower is delicate and small, it can withstand wind and snow, withstand severe cold, and grow hard in the severe climate of the snowy region, showing its tenacious and tenacious qualities, just like the border keepers who have been sticking to the border of the plateau for many years.
Majestic Himalayas, snow-capped mountains towering over it. With the sacred mission of "building a beautiful and happy Tibet and realizing the dream of great rejuvenation," more than 3.6 million sons and daughters of all ethnic groups in Tibet strive to be the heavenly Gesang flowers blooming on the edge of the plateau, unswervingly be the guardians of the sacred land and the builders of the happy homeland, and transform into coordinates for guarding the borders of the motherland!