Is it a mistake? Of course, it is not mistaken, and it is not a joke or a spoof. It's the real qualification of us Chongqing people to tell our own stories!
On the afternoon of December 16, the classic bookstore on Nanbin Road was crowded. He Zhiya, a famous expert in literature and history, Li Zhengquan, an expert in place names, and Wu Jingya, a famous writer, gathered together. What they are looking forward to is a "story meeting" about the city of Chongqing and the people of Chongqing - columnist Mara appeared with his new work "Oral Chongqing: The History of Folk Life from the Mother City to the Rivers and Lakes", and slowly unfolded a picture of Chongqing full of fireworks with vivid characters and wonderful stories.
When the picture scroll is opened, there are not only the personal memories of the people in the market who worked to wind the clock of the Liberation Monument more than 70 years ago, but also the narration of famous descendants like Fan Shaozeng, the prototype of "Silly Teacher".
Mara, the author of "Oral Chongqing: A History of Folk Life from the Mother City to the Rivers and Lakes" (hereinafter referred to as "Oral Chongqing"), was a reporter and columnist for the Chongqing Morning Post. The Chinese chapter of the book is also mainly derived from his column "Malatawang, City and People" in the Chongqing Morning Post since April 2011. But it was the idea of Yang Yi, Marat's best friend and founder of Classic Bookstore.
Liu Xue'an, Bai Zhiqing, Ren Hongjun, Lu Zuofu, Luo Zhongli, Chen Sa, Chen Kun, Huang Ke...... Chongqing has produced so many celebrities in different fields. They are scattered in the countryside of Chongqing, standing on the banks of the Yangtze River and the Jialing River, like stars, illuminating our city, guarding the city, and giving the city warmth, strength and miracles. Yang Yi said that the Mara column just strung these stars into a star chain of urban characters.
"Oral Chongqing" was born.
According to the different characteristics of the interviewees, Mara divided the entire "Oral Chongqing" into 9 sections. "Of the 62 people who told us stories in the book, 16 of them have passed away......," Mara said at the sharing session, adding that the storytellers are the real protagonists more than himself and the new book. "That's why we chose the theme of the session 'Tribute to Storytellers'. ”
The "winding up" of the bell for the Liberation Monument mentioned at the beginning of this article is from the first part of the book, and the narrator is Hu Mingfu, who was the head of the engineering and technical group of the Street Lamp Management Office of the Chongqing Municipal Public Utilities Bureau at the time. In 1954, a mechanical bell was installed on the Liberation Monument, and the task of calibration and maintenance fell to the Chongqing Municipal Street Lamp Management Office at that time. "The unit also provided me with an imported watch and a British bicycle. Hu Mingfu recalled in the book.
Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine that the mechanical clock installed on the top of the Liberation Monument was driven by two hammers weighing about 30 kilograms to slowly fall to drive the gears to rotate, and then to drive the four hands on the clock to move. Hu Mingfu said that he climbed from the stele to the top of the stele for about five minutes for the first time, "My task at that time was to go to the bell once a week, and I couldn't let the bell stop." Every time I operate, I use my hands to shake the handle to shake the hammer that has fallen to the bottom to the top, and I have to calibrate the time before it is completed. ”
Not only that, but how Hu Mingfu made Chongqing's street lamp opening and closing fully automated through his own continuous experiments, and how he climbed out of the dome at the top of the Liberation Monument to repair the anemometer, and other extremely unique experiences, are all shown in detail in the dialogue with Marat.
Interestingly, it was also a coincidence that Hu Mingfu was asked to tell these interesting experiences. "I've never gone through an official or an organization to find people (interviewees), I just go with the flow. At the sharing session, Mara said with a smile that Hu Mingfu was the best example. "At that time, I was waiting for the train at Liziba Station of Rail Transit Line 2. I accidentally saw a person next to me holding a book called "My Life" reading. Curious, Mara stepped forward to inquire, and the person reading the book happened to be a colleague of Hu Mingfu, the author of the book.
There are more "unimaginable", which have been swept away and revealed in the memories of "Oral Chongqing".
For example, if you are studying science, you must have an impression of the famous British mathematician Russell. He has made great achievements in the field of mathematical logic, and his History of Western Philosophy is also a classic among the classics in the field of philosophy...... Many people would not have imagined that such a big man had been concerned about a Chongqing man in the 1950s and 1960s: Ren Hongjun (one of the pioneers of modern science in China and former president of Sichuan University), and also mailed him luncheon meat and canned sardines from England.
"This book has a ...... to see, a story, and a warm " At the scene, He Zhiya, a famous expert in literature and history, was not only a guest, but also one of the tellers of the story in the book. In his opinion, he also has some experience after reading "Oral Chongqing", "It turns out that we have so many stories in Chongqing, and some of them are still little known. He Zhiya said, for example, that he hadn't noticed that "He Rijun Comes Again", which had been sung from Zhou Xuan to Teresa Teng, was from Chongqing people.
As a baby who grew up in Dragon Lane under the Liberation Monument, when it comes to the Liberation Monument that is frequently mentioned in the book, it naturally shows an emotional outpouring that is different from others. "We have retained some things from the past with images and words, but I think we miss not the small alleys and simple houses of the past, but the joy of happiness in the simple life (of the past), the frank and simple interpersonal relationships. ”
He Zhiya said that the oral history is actually the process of change and development of our city, and these people and stories are also worth sharing with more people.
Upstream news reporter Qiu Jinyi, practical Xi Hu Yan, courtesy of Classic Bookstore