Lotus Zhang House
There is an icon of "Lotus Zhang House" on the map of Bangzhen Old Street. When you look at the word lotus, your eyes will light up and your heart yearning. Then he asked: "Where is the Lotus Zhang House" now?
I regret to tell you that it is gone. Fortunately, Ms. Cao Zhongju, who is from Bangzhen, wrote it into the novel as a prototype when she wrote the novel "Lotus Liang" according to the old man's legendary "Lotus Zhang Zhai". After all, the novel is a novel, and there is a difference between the "Lotus Zhang Mansion" in reality and the Liang Mansion in the novel, hoping that someone will dig deep into the historical materials of Bang Town, unveil the dusty veil, and let the true situation of "Lotus Zhang Zhai" surface!
1. The novel "Lotus Beam" was first published in "Heart Language" on February 19, 2019
Heart Language Culture, the first part of the novel serialized when the press was written: "The novel "Lotus Beam" is another masterpiece by Mr. Cao Zhongju, and the story is based on Bang Town, an ancient town in Chongming, Treasure Island! The story is fascinating and worth reading. Thanks to Mr. Cao's love, he first recommended ......" on the official account of "Heart Language". (The following is a screenshot of the first article published by "Whispers of the Heart")
2. Ms. Cao Zhongju's similar description of "Lotus Zhang House".
In Ms. Cao's novel "Lotus Beam", a place north of Bang Town is called "Wangang Town", where there is a Liang house, and lotus flowers are planted in the ditch of the house, and in the summer it is full of lotus flowers, and people call it "Lotus Liang".
In order to let readers know about the "Lotus Zhang House" in Bang Town, the descriptions of the "Lotus Zhang House" in Bang Town in the novel are now included as follows:
She asked her mother very strangely, often in her dreams there was a big house surrounded by lotus flowers. Her mother told her that this was her hometown where she was born. The Liang family house is surrounded by a ditch, and there are a lot of water chestnuts and lotus flowers in the ditch, and in summer, the old house is full of lotus flowers all around. Therefore, the people of Gangwan Town call the Liang family house Lotus Liang. In autumn, she and her grandfather sat in a large wooden barrel, shuttling through the water chestnut vines and the ditch covered with verdant lotus leaves, using a small bamboo pole with an iron hook at the top, hooking the water chestnut vines to her side, stretching out her little hands to pick those hiding under the green leaves and wearing a dark green coat, some wearing a light red coat, two pointed horns at both ends, and four horns with four horns. Children are active by nature, sometimes picking a pink lotus flower, and sometimes catching a few crucian carp and a few ditch shrimp.
(Picture from the Internet)
When Liang Ranhua returned to his hometown, he felt both fresh and familiar. She happily visited her grandfather's room and the old house of the Liang family. Grandpa lives in the innermost one. The one facing the south side of the east room is a study with a picture of my grandfather on the desk. The navy blue robe is covered with a black horse with a longevity pattern, and the smiling grandfather holds a manuscript in his right hand. The black-and-white photo studio has been processed, his face is a little flushed, the heavenly court is full, his hair is flat, and a pair of big bright eyes on his face are staring ahead. On the south wall, there are several large bookcases, ranging from paperback books placed vertically, as well as wirebound books and hardcover books placed horizontally. In a large porcelain vase there are several scrolls of paintings. Liang Ranhua couldn't help but touch these thick books with his hands. Grandma said, "You can't touch grandpa's book casually, you can't get a copy until grandpa agrees." After reading it, put it back in its place. She stuck out her tongue, immediately retracted her hand, smiled at her grandmother, and stepped out of the study.
Liang Ranhua worked hard to find the scene in his dreams. Just after the snowy winter, the pink lotus flowers are nowhere to be found, ah! The emerald green lotus leaves are only a few withered yellow poles, in the east of the ditch, a cluster in the west, hanging horizontally and vertically, swaying in the cold wind. The old gardenia trees are still there, and the dark green leaves are still energetic in the cold wind of early spring. The tall osmanthus tree in the patio was leafy, a long way above the eaves. The bamboo branches in the flower beds on the outer wall of the patio are crowded together next to each other. The plum blossoms in the yard exude a faint fragrance.
She crossed the high threshold to the atrium. The floors of the middle hall and the front hall are paved with 30 centimeters of square bricks, and the square bricks are overhead on the small green bricks 20 minutes high, and Liang Ranhua's high heels are stepping on them, making a hollow drum sound. Eight crimson painted pillars stand on either side, supporting the beams on either side. The beams are carved with all kinds of fish, insects, flowers and birds, and the colorful paint depicts them vividly. She walked through the spacious hall and slowly made her way from the back house to the middle. The ground is also the same as the inside, paved with small green bricks with a herringbone pattern. In the middle there is a cobblestone passage leading to the front hall, and the lush Maimendon crowds the two sides of the passage, and several flower beds of different shapes are distributed on both sides of the passage, sparsely growing with some green shrubs. In the fish tank, which is still wrapped in delicate grass curtains, there are several red, golden, and white goldfish. Today the sun is good, they swim around gracefully, one moment, a few fish gathered together, my tail lined up with your tail frolicking and chasing, and the next time sniffing the walls of the fish tank with my mouth. Liang Ranhua was afraid of disturbing them, so he slowly walked around the fish tank lightly. Unexpectedly, her figure fell into the fish tank, and a group of goldfish sank to the bottom of the fish tank with a splash. Liang Ranhua waited apologetically for a long time before the fish slowly floated up cautiously, a sparrow flew over the yard, and the timid fish immediately dived down again......
"Xiaohua, do you remember the third grandmother?" Liang Ranhua walked and watched, and unconsciously walked to the door of the third grandmother's house. The third grandmother smiled and said, "Come in! Come and sit in the third grandmother's house." ”
"Yes. Liang Ranhua vaguely remembers that at that time, the third grandfather brought back from outside a fair-skinned and fashionably dressed little daughter-in-law. The third grandmother in front of her was dark, wrinkled, and her hair was a little yellow. A pair of dark blue coarse cloth trousers, with a thick cotton jacket over a tweed plaid blouse. If you meet on the road, you will never dare to recognize each other.
The third grandmother moved a long wooden bench and placed it next to a square wooden platform, and said, "Sit down here for a while and tell the third grandmother about your life in the United States." ”
"Well, thank you Third Grandma!" Liang Ranhua remembered that the Third Grandma was one of the few women in her generation who could read and write. She looked at the horizontal and vertical cracks on the back of the third grandmother's hand and asked, "Is the third grandfather okay?"
"He's gone. ”
"Huh?" Liang Ranhua clearly didn't understand the words of the third grandmother.
"Passed away. ”
"Does the third grandfather have fifty?"
"If you're alive, it's fifty. He was gone for almost ten years, and he sent me back to my hometown to protect me. The third grandmother said and took a basket from the rice jar, went to the inner room and brought out a basket of fried peanuts and broad beans, and said, "When Xiaohua went out, it was only a little higher than the platform, but now she is a big girl." ”
"......" Liang Ranhua lowered his head and smiled.
"Xiaohua, how are you outside?"
"I'm in college. Liang Ranhua then said: "Third grandmother, I often dream of large lotus flowers and boats in the bay harbor. ”
"Xiaohua, this is the lotus flower of our Liang family. ”
Liang Ranhua rolled his eyes, stared at the spotless old furniture of the third grandmother's house, and said with a smile: "The third grandmother's house is really clean. ”
"It's all antique, shabby. ”
"Third grandmother, looking at these old furniture, it's like meeting an old friend I haven't seen for many years. Liang Ranhua patted the copper handle on the drawer with his hand, a copper stalk bent into a semicircle with small hooks at both ends, which was set in two copper noses, and a semicircular copper skin was padded under the handle. Slap it and make a pleasant bronze crashing sound. She looked up and looked at the third grandmother's box again, there was a big wooden box on it, and there was a lid on the front of the big wooden box and the box body together, which happened to be a round copper skin larger than the mouth of the bowl, and a copper lock was hung in the middle of the copper skin. The chest below had two small doors, and the frame of the small doors was nailed to a copper skin two inches wide and four inches long, and a copper lock was also placed horizontally on the copper skin. Next to the wooden box was a tall and large three-waisted flower chef, the paint had faded, but the elm tree pattern showed her high value. The ancients and flowers carved on the waistline of the door are lifelike, the paint has receded, and the gold painting on the ancients is still there.
After lunch, the guests formed pairs and lined up at the table to play cards and mahjong. Some people drank a little wine and found a place to take a nap, and many more sat in a place with a few chairs and chatted. The children fiddled with the whips they had picked up, and they were more likely to grab the heads of the cannonballs. Liang Ranhua and his parents, uncle, second mother, and third mother counted the gifts, some gave a piece of silk, some gave a box of pastries, and some sent quilts and red envelopes. According to the name on the gift, Liang Ranhua registered them one by one, and then was carried into the house by his aunt.
After dinner, the runners moved the platform in the atrium, gathered the chairs in the other rooms in the atrium, and those who liked to listen to the drama went to the atrium to listen to the small choir playing and singing. The small choir was invited by the second uncle from the teahouse shop in the town.
The small choir is all singing the drama with a good lip gloss, and after each song, the people who run the hall use a plate to send the reward money given by the grandfather to the stage.
Liang Ranhao didn't understand these babbling raps, and had already climbed to the stone lion outside the front hall with the children to play, and a row of red lanterns hung outside the front hall, illuminating the stone lion brightly, a red satin tied a big bow under the neck of the stone lion, and the red color hung under the golden characters of "Lotus Liang". The children rode on the back of the stone lion, put their little hands into the bow, and took out the candy and cake hidden in the bow.
In the kitchen, the dishes and chopsticks that were received were disposed of, and the people who were waiting outside the gate called Hanako came out and led them into the kitchen from the west corner door. A small table was set up in the kitchen for them to eat with fish and meat. After each of them gave a few more birthday peaches, they were sent away from the corner gate on the west side, and these people arched their hands and said Wishing you prosperity!
The children who played next to the stone lions also learned to arch their hands and say Wishing you prosperity. These people hurriedly turned around and said, "Little Master is rich!"
Liang Ranhua was thinking about the books in his grandfather's study, and came to his grandfather gently, muttering a few times with his mouth close to his grandfather's ear. Grandpa lifted his horse coat, reached into his robe with his right hand, and took out a string of golden bronze keys. Liang Ranhua took the key with both hands, turned around and left excitedly, and after crossing the threshold of the atrium, he trotted to his grandfather's study. He took out the match he had already asked for from the second aunt, lit the Mobil lamp on the desk, and lit the candle on the coffee table.
Liang Ranhua is holding a candle in one hand and rummaging through his grandfather's books with the other, including Jinling Spring Dream, Yue Feichuan, Xue Rengui Zhengdong, Dream of Red Mansions, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yang Jiajiang will be a teacher, as well as books written by masters such as Zhang Taiyan, Lu Xun, Cai Yuanpei, Zhu Ziqing, Liang Qichao, etc., as well as a summary of secondary education written by grandpa...... She took a relatively thin Linhai biography and sat on the large wooden chair in front of her grandfather's desk, looking greedily.
She sometimes laughed, sometimes tears rippled as she saw it. For a while, I was amused by the naivety of the son-in-law of the little biography, and for a while, I cried for the experience of the child daughter-in-law. She had forgotten the hustle and bustle outside the study, and she had forgotten the piano on the other side of the ocean, until the guests dispersed and her mother came to urge her, and then she left her grandfather's study. Because she said that she would go to Linhai Middle School with her grandfather tomorrow, she couldn't sleep too late.
3. Ms. Cao Zhongju invited the "Heart Talk" group of friends to gather at home
On June 1, 2019, at the invitation of Ms. Cao Zhongju, the WeChat group members of the "Heart Talk" group went to her home to get together. Lu Anxin, a teacher who is enthusiastic about local culture, has been in contact with each other since August 2011, since I published "Chongming Bangzhen Reminiscences" on my blog, and later established contact on WeChat, but I have never met. So as soon as we met, I didn't know each other, so I asked, "Who is Teacher Lu Anxin?"
Everyone laughed and pointed to a young man. In addition, the teachers in the "Heart Whisper Author Group", although they have a lot of contacts in the WeChat circle, they don't know each other after meeting, and then they pair up one by one!
The picture above is taking a break in the pavilion of Mr. Cao's house, from right to left: Huang Hanliang, Shi Yulong, Lu Anxin, Shi Huixin, Lu Jinzhou, Huang Huixian, Cao Zhongju, Lu Wenbin.
Above: I met Mr. Lu Anxin (left) for the first time, and said to him with a smile: "Like you, who is so enthusiastic about spreading local culture, Bang Town is only one in a hundred years!
He said: "It's all my own hobby, I just love culture!"
His soft words, I felt were heavy promises. The latest information shows that after the establishment of the "Heart Language" culture at the end of 2018, 1,351 original articles have been published so far (see screenshot below), and this gratifying achievement comes from their hard work! Their efforts will surely be recorded in the history of Chongming's local culture.
My wife was also invited to participate in this gathering. Ms. Cao worked hard to start a business and developed into Qidong Sansan Co., Ltd. in Qidong, and served as the chairman, and successively won the honorary titles of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province Model Worker and National 38 Red Flag Bearer. She learned to surf the Internet at the age of 60, began writing novels at the age of 63, has published "Bleak Sunset" and "Tearful Choice", and "Hibiscus" has also been completed. The first draft of "Lotus Beam" was published in "Whispers of the Heart". In recent years, she has been learning poetry knowledge and constantly enriching herself, which can be said to be a model of learning from the past.
My wife attended the Chongming hometown party for the first time, and felt the strong hometown sound and deep nostalgia of Chongming. After the party, she sent a group of messages in the WeChat circle of friends, with the title of "Strong hometown love, happy to get together!". Below: My wife and I took a photo with Ms. Cao.
Fourth, how much do you know about the articles published by Ms. Cao Zhongju?
Ms. Cao has published two novels, "A Poignant Sunset" and "Tearful Choice" (see picture below), and she is a contracted author of Jiangshan Literature.
The following pictures show Ms. Cao's published novellas and short stories, as well as her writing plan:
(To be continued)
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