The current appearance of the tube building. Li Jieqiao picture
In 1998, the North Bund was not called the North Bund.
In 1998, thirteen-year-old Li Xianming had just visited all the children in the building and was buying ice cream at the cold drink shop downstairs.
With a popsicle, I walked into the car and the elevator stopped. The improved building has good lighting, and the evening sunlight is reflected in front of each house.
It was time to make dinner, all the aromas filled the corridor, this fragrance was extremely clear, nearly thirty years later, Li Xianming still remembered: 1201 is fried lettuce with meat slices, 1203 is frying small yellow fish in oil, 1204 is braised pork, 1205 is also making fish, but smoked fish, 1206 is stewed ribs, 1208 is fried spring rolls...
The TV is turned on, the disk in the video player has not been changed, it is a pirated disc bought on DVD, Jackie Chan's "Who Am I". Li Xianming has watched the movie almost 100 times, and he knows when Jackie Chan will jump off the building and when Lu Huiguang and the foreign thug will be knocked over.
Sometimes he watches while striding and sometimes he does his homework, and during this time, the picture and sound of the TV set are only a foil. Li Xianming was waiting for another sound.
At half-past five, it was already much darker. Through the long corridor, Li Xianming heard that the elevator had arrived. The door opens, and next is the arrival of something divine.
Holding his breath, preoccupied, through the wooden door and the anti-theft iron fence, Li Xianming hid behind the door, and the sound of footsteps was just across the wall.
Getting closer, getting closer, louder, very light, small leather shoes stepping on the concrete floor. Listen closely, and there is the sound of rustling, fingertips streaking through the gaps in the tile veneer of the corridor.
The voice passed by the next-door neighbor's house and continued to march, this was the closest moment to her, and Li Xianming's ear was already against the door.
The footsteps stopped, she arrived home, there was a knock on the door, knocking, no answer, and then knocking, still no one answered.
She began to speak, and her voice was sticky and very nice. Can't see outside the door, but Li Xianming knows that there are a pair of crooked eyes outside the door, and a doll-like cute figure.
He had seen her before, but every time he looked secretly, he never dared to look into the other's eyes. The little sister was two years younger than him, but when he stared at her, he would be nervous, more nervous than the exam.
The knocking outside the door continued, and the bent-eyed sister was still knocking, and she probably forgot to bring the key again. The grandfather of the bent-eyed sister is a southbound cadre, and the family lives next door.
The knocking stopped, but the door had not yet opened, and my sister stopped talking. Li Xianming knew that now she must be holding her cheeks, lying on the balcony, waiting for her family to return, watching the sunset in the sky, perhaps spreading her homework on a stool at the door, sitting on the ground and writing homework. The long wait, he also experienced, if nothing else, probably until dark.
Opposite the building. Li Jieqiao picture
Through the glass window, Li Xianming saw birds flying in the sky outside the corridor, and he thought that his sister must have seen it too.
Suddenly, he had the urge to open the door, and he wanted to call his sister in. They can do homework together, watch TV together, share snacks together, and if his sister wants ice cream, he can run downstairs to buy a tricolor cup without taking the elevator, even if it's much more expensive than saltwater popsicles. But the impulse is just an impulse, he ends up doing nothing, just silently accompanying her in the house, and there will be no second person in this world who knows his company.
More than twenty years have passed, as long as he remembers some regrets, Li Xianming will always think of the summer when he should have bravely walked out of the house.
Knowing Mu Shaoai, fighting all over the old building is invincible
In the old building, it takes 1 minute and 26 seconds to climb from the first floor to the twelfth floor in one go.
Li Xianming is not stupid, he never takes the stairs, only the elevator. Old-fashioned elevators are always broken and sometimes get stuck in mid-air, stuck between two floors. For Li Xianming, occasionally seeing the floor slab is also a breaking thing, like sitting in the classroom of Chengxin Middle School, sometimes looking up at the teacher on the podium with a serious expression, and then looking at the crumbling ceiling fan, there is always some kind of evil thought.
Climbing up to the twelfth floor in one breath is John Zhao, Li Xianming's classmate from the No. 1 Primary School on Dongyuhang Road to Chengcheng Middle School, John Zhao is young, light, disdains to take the elevator, and often has the strange idea of racing with the elevator. Li Xianming did not want to participate in this strange behavior dominated by strange thinking, but he understood this thought, after all, it was John Zhao who accompanied him from the old smoke hall of the Republic of China to kick the football to No. 800 Dongyuhang Road.
After doing his homework, Li Xianming was still squatting in front of the TV, and the sweat fell on the floor, slipped into the cracks, and quickly evaporated. John Zhao said to Li Xianming, it is useless for you to step in front of the TV, you have to climb the stairs like me, and let my father tie a sandbag to you another day, tie it for three months, and the day the sandbag is taken, the light skill will be practiced. Of course, Li Xianming didn't believe it, and asked John Zhao, why don't you tie up. John Zhao was stunned for a moment, a little supportive, I don't need to tie, I already will. Li Xianming asked John Zhao to prove it to himself, and John Zhao was a little panicked and said that it would only be a little. Li Xianming said a little bit can also prove that John Zhao will be suspicious, and Li Xianming came to the stairwell. Tying sandbags and practicing light exercises may not be realistic, but this legend contains a simple philosophical idea, or the limit idea in mathematics. That afternoon, Li Xianming and John Zhao suddenly understood the essence of this idea.
Chengcheng Middle School archway. Li Jieqiao picture
One floor has eighteen steps, each 15 centimeters. Now, John Zhao, who has learned light skills, wants to jump down from above, in order to be on the safe side, Li Xianming and John Zhao discussed a method, that is, gradually increasing, first jumping down from the first level, then jumping down from the second level, gradually increasing, until the eighteenth level is completed. John Zhao jumped directly from the third level, and landed easily, the fourth level, the fifth level, the sixth level, the seventh level, the eighth level, everything was as usual, and fell gently.
With his feet retracted and briefly stagnant, John Zhao was like a flying bird, but people are not birds after all. Level 9, Level 10, John Zhao's feet began to be a little numb, Level 11, Level 12, Level 13... There was no fourteenth level, thirteenth level jumped down, John Zhao did not get up, John Zhao broke his leg and stayed in the hospital for a week.
Wearing a plaster, John Zhao returned to school again, like wearing a ribbon, and he became more famous in school and became more and more popular with girls. John Zhao does not know light martial arts, but this does not affect his reputation in school, because he has a father who really knows martial arts. Zhao John's father has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, his eyes are particularly bright, and it is said that he has an inch of punching, Li Xianming has not seen it with his own eyes, but other classmates have seen it, and the big sister who looks a lot like Zhou Huimin in 1301 has also seen it.
Li Xianming was a little jealous, feeling that he should be born in a martial arts family, if he had been a practitioner since he was a child, he would not be so painful to practice horse steps now. In fact, Li Xianming's grandfather and grandfather were both from Ningbo, and came to Shanghai to learn business during the Republic of China, one engaged in hat business, the other engaged in wood business, and after the three major transformations, they all became state-owned industries, no matter which industry had nothing to do with martial arts. When his parents got married, the four-piece furniture set was made by my grandfather himself, the bed, a set of tables and chairs, a large cupboard and a chest of drawers, Li Xianming often took the chest of drawers to practice boxing, he thought, the chest of drawers would be good if it were a wooden stake, although the chest of drawers made by my grandfather was much stronger than the wooden pile.
It is useful to imitate the bridge section of the TV to practice martial arts, Li Xianming soon fought all over the old building, children fight is very simple, no warning, suddenly start fighting, not ruthless, hit until the other party cries, Li Xianming thinks he is the first ruthless person on the North Bund, so he never cries, so he always wins. After the fight, the children still play together as if nothing happened. Most of the children's sports activities are still carried out in the building, there are elevators on each floor of the building, Li Xianming and his friends are entrenched on the 13th floor all year round, playing football, playing poker, playing four countries chess, once, his aunt who lives in Baoshan brought him a set of Monopoly brought from Japan, during that period he was the most beautiful boy in the entire old building, and he didn't have to make others cry and was the most beautiful.
Officially learning martial arts was in the summer vacation of the first year of high school, Li Xianming officially entered Jingwumen, the full name of Jingwumen, the full name of Jingwu Sports Association, formerly known as Huo Yuanjia's Jingwu Gymnastics Association founded in 1911. Li Xianming began to run to the martial arts hall every weekend, he and John Zhao have rarely met, during the middle school examination, Li Xianming rubbed the line into the high school of Chengcheng Middle School, John Zhao did not do well in the exam and went to another middle school. I heard that I went to the police academy in college, and after graduation, I became a film police officer in Hongkou Street. After learning martial arts, Li Xianming no longer fought in the Zhuzilou, and those who had practiced martial arts disdained to do it with ordinary people. He also didn't wander on the 13th floor for a long time, did not make exaggerated movements in the stairwell to attract the attention of girls, Zhou Huimin of 1301 did not appear for a long time, and the children of the entire old building disappeared overnight without a trace.
In the summer when the college entrance examination admission results came down, Li Xianming often sat alone in his room reading a book. The sun poured in, the dust faded, and the shadows of many people hid among the surging particles, and the sky gradually darkened, and those figures slowly disappeared. Li Xianming looked at the spots on the ground in a daze, like a lengthy dream. What woke up the dream was a knock on the door, and an old lady stood outside the door, with a kind face, looking at Li Xianming with a smile through the anti-theft iron fence, and Li Xianming asked her who she was looking for.
The old lady owes her body, and there is a small figure behind her, Li Xianming has palpitations, because the neighbor's sister is standing behind the old lady, a small person, tilting her head, she stared at Li Xianming with wide eyes, and also quietly inquired indoors. This is the first time that Li Xianming stared at his sister openly, and it seems to be the last time, and since then the cute appearance has remained in his heart forever, becoming a heart that is no longer known, and in a few years, it is estimated that he will forget it.
Chengcheng Middle School Li Da 3rd floor. Li Jieqiao picture
The old lady heard that Li Xianming was admitted to the best university in Shanghai and wanted to come over to review the materials. A large paper bag of documents at the door had been prepared by my mother the day before and piled in the corner of the bookshelf. Li Xianming handed it out, and the grandfather and grandson left through the door. Li Xianming watched them leave, where did her sister go in the end, stayed in Shanghai, or went to other cities, did she study well, and who did she marry in the end, Li Xianming rarely knew her news, everything was unknown.
Medical and martial arts, the first clinical male nurse
In 2003, SARS was a raging rage, and from the spring, Li Xianming stayed at home for several months, hardly reading any books.
Fortunately, the school's nursing major was lowered that year, and Li Xianming was admitted to the medical school as he wished, becoming the school's first male nurse.
Medical martial arts have the same origin, learn medicine before learning martial arts. Although he studied medicine, Li Xianming's martial arts did not let go, and in school, he met the martial arts master Master Ma. Master Ma is a native of Shaanxi, and since he was a child, he has learned nearly 70 kinds of high-quality martial arts such as swords and guns such as ten-way bullet legs, splitting and hanging fists, and Bajiquan, and later served as a martial arts instructor for some famous movies.
The first time I met Master Ma was in a practical class. Master Ma taught short soldiers, and short soldiers flew like chopsticks in his hands, and Li Xianming was shocked and convinced. In fact, in Master Ma, Li Xianming learned more about a martial arts culture. In 2003, Master Ma was responsible for the technical restoration of the "General Records of the Ancient Martial Arts Atlas", and he successfully completed the revision task, and then restored Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Jixiang". These had a profound impact on Li Xianming, and even directly affected his later career choices.
In medical school, sunlight is a very luxurious thing. During the day, students are usually "locked up", either in the hospital or in the classroom, and medical school classes are usually held for a half-day, and only a moment of sunshine can be seen at lunchtime. The most terrifying is the clinical internship in the fourth year, the clinical internship has a total of 48 weeks and 336 days, it is no exaggeration to say that Li Xianming will also stay in the clinic for the New Year.
Each department rotates, the most tiring clinical practice is the night shift, the morning care makes people drowsy at a glance, when changing the drainage bag, there is always a bad smell, the indwelling needle is not hit, there will be a full of self-blame. In Li Xianming's heart, these hardships are bearable, but he does not understand why he has learned so much professional medical knowledge in school, but almost nothing is used in the clinic, not so much a professional technician as a service staff.
For a whole year, Li Xianming devoted himself to high-intensity work. Nursing was challenging, but Li adapted quickly and accepted his position as a service provider. He even felt that he was a perfect fit for a clinical job, which made him realize that he actually loves to communicate with people, that he is very interested in patients, and that he is very happy to listen to them.
Street shops near Li Xianming's house. Li Jieqiao picture
The lonely old man, the crying of seriously ill family members, the aftermath of the suicide, the sighs of death, too many stories growing in this city, similar happiness, thousands of different sufferings, chattering details, all this made him full and let him completely say goodbye to the unconfident little boy hiding behind the door of the old building. After a period of clinical practice, Li Xianming suddenly had a strong desire to express, he wanted to tell a lot of things, some related to himself, some unrelated to himself, those hazy, uncertain things, always in countless waking nights, flying out of the hospital he was guarding, hovering over the city, and finally returning to the body, just like Chinese medicine and Taoists say inner vision.
At the same time as the internship, Li Xianming made a decision, and he officially began to prepare for graduate studies at the Institute of Archaeology. In fact, he chose this major for a reason. Although there are no books at home, only a few more "Selected Tang Poems" and "Three Words and Two Beats" than the neighbor's house, and even "Dream of the Red Mansion" only began to be read in high school, Li Xianming has a strong interest in liberal arts, but his parents finally let him choose science. His parents were very concerned about Li Xianming's education, and although they did not enroll him in any interest classes, they found him a lot of tutors to tutor cultural classes. In Li Xianming's memory, there was an English teacher who was very special, in addition to serious classes, he often let Li Xianming read the original English books and talk to him about Wordsworth and Spencer, which made a certain seed with a humanistic atmosphere in Li Xianming's heart germinate and take root.
In his undergraduate, Li Xianming only took one course in the Chinese department, Nie Anfu's Song Ci, and this course was precisely the only course that Li Xianming had received an A during his undergraduate years, and later Li Xianming chose the Institute of Ancient Books, probably most of which also felt that he could only understand literary history.
So I withered away, and ten years of drinking ice made a new history
After graduating from graduate school, Li Xianming went on to study for a doctorate, and in twenty years, he successfully transformed from a medical student to a researcher in the fields of literature, religion and history, during which time he tried many careers, Li Xianming worked in newspapers, television stations, publishing houses, wrote scripts, worked as a director, studied architectural history, and worked as a host. No matter what job he does, Li Xianming has always had a special affection for the North Bund area where he grew up. That kind of feeling is like the raw fried buns sold underground in the old building when I was a teenager, no matter how many years have passed, even if there is more meat fried by the big pot of spring and Xiaoyang, no matter how sweet the soup is, it is not as unique as the raw fried taste of 1 yuan or two downstairs.
Li Xianming opened a general education course, called "Walking Shanghai", this course is very popular, the daily teaching method is to take students through the streets of Shanghai, Ming and Qing Dynasty Shanghai county, the Bund, the site of the Songhu Battle, Baoshan, Yangpu, students walk behind, often can not keep up with Li Xianming's footsteps. Practicing family, walking fast is a common thing. When he walked to the North Bund, Li Xianming's pace would slow down, he had too much to say, but he didn't know where to start. Baohuali's eight-bay grocery store, the triangle vegetable farm, the former site of Chengxin Middle School where Zhu Kezhen and Hu Shi studied, too many details, like a tide, invade people's memories. After rounds of urban construction and urban renewal, some material things have more traces of wind and frost and years, but in time, they can finally be found.
When he arrived at No. 490 East Hanyang Road, standing at the intersection downstairs of the old building, Li Xianming would always tilt his head, stretch out his fingers, point in the air, and in the gaze of his classmates, he said, see no, the purple curtains on the twelfth floor used to be my house. Passers-by also looked in the direction he pointed, puzzled, probably thinking that it was another culturally protected building. The students said they wanted to enter this building to take a look, Li Xianming hurriedly shook his head, there is nothing to see, let's go, I have moved away for more than ten years.
Near the hometown timid, the old neighbor has almost moved, but Li Xianming weaves an illusion, in his heart, those people stay in the building forever, the neighbor's sister is lying on the balcony, John Zhao is playing football in the elevator room, the sister who looks like Zhou Huimin is walking through the corridor, Gu Pansheng ... As long as he does not push open the iron door of the building, those people will always be alive, but if he pushes it open, everything will collapse in an instant. He had to keep them, and if one day, the feeling of longing was hard to suppress, he would go to see them, as if it were a final time trip.
Set for Li Xianming's lecture on the North Bund. Wang Xiaoyun photo
In 2022, in the summer after the epidemic, Li Xianming gave a lecture on the life of early citizens in Shanghai at the Construction and Investment Book Bureau on the North Bund, and the lecture was full and the questions were hot. At the end of the lecture, Li Xianming was escorted out of the lecture hall of the bookstore surrounded by the audience. Inadvertently looking up, in the crowd outside, there was a woman standing, she was holding a little boy and smiling at Li Xianming. The familiar eyebrows are exactly the same as they were at the beginning. Li Xianming also smiled at her, he wanted to say hello to her, but suddenly remembered, he never seemed to know her name. But when I looked back next, the two figures outside the crowd disappeared again, and everything seemed to be an illusion just now.
Back home, Li Xianming took out his mobile phone and seemed to have not contacted John Zhao for a long time. As soon as he wanted to call, the bell rang as if he had a premonition, a female voice, and the next morning was a memorial service.
John Zhao, who used to be the best fighter, has been guarding the North Bund where they grew up together since graduation.
Li Xianming put down his mobile phone, sighed, took off his shoes, and stood barefoot on the carpet at home.
“...... The harrier entered the forest and got up to collapse Zhejiang Zhao. The servant walked with his hands on one leg and palm, and made Zhang Chaoyang hang up. Raise the elbow arhat staff in a row, hang up the palm and stand like a loose. The Qi Sinking Dantian pressed the palm, and the pole was completed and infinite. ”
Reading the song tips, after a set of eight poles was played, Li Xianming was already sweating profusely.
At the request of the interviewee, Li Xianming and Master Ma are pseudonyms