Recently, an old yard in Dai County, Shanxi Province caught fire
The yard of the old house
砖墙上、门框上、窗棂上、扶手旁
Densely written
Behind these words
is an ordinary Chinese
Live your life seriously
Photo: Cai Shanhai
on a brick wall
These words are written
An old man named Zhang Fuqing
He used the old house as a "diary"
Write life and thoughts all over the courtyard
Zhang Fuqing is an ordinary farmer
He cares about grain and vegetables
Pour your heart and soul into every grass and tree
"Every year, the apricot blossoms fall, and the medicine is applied once
After the beginning of autumn, another caterpillar medicine is given
Flowers fall and fruit are sparse, and a fruit is four inches away
The bigger the sweeter
Cut the branches once a year"
"You can't call it sun drying (red girl fruit) particles
When the water comes out, it's broken
On the farmhouse manure, the grains are sweet"
The courtyard where Zhang Fuqing lives
It has a history of almost 200 years
For the ancestral house, Zhang Fuqing attaches great importance to it
Because it carries the weight of a home
In the words he left behind
Occurs most frequently
It's about house repairs
Started in 1998
Zhang Fuqing repaired the house
While writing on a brick wall
He wrote it on the foundation stone of the house
"23 April 2005
Fuqing only took 24 days to renovate this house
Expenses of 8,000 yuan"
"In 2011, curtains and color steel tile grilles were installed
Buy back a stove
A pair of hanging lantern stands are installed on the gate"
"In the winter of 2017, the toilet sewage froze
Installing commode and firewood room"
He writes his thoughts and plans on the wall
"In the future, when the west house is built, the wall will be increased with nine layers of bricks
It can be equipped with the height of the east room
When leaving the rafters, be sure to cover the cellar opening
It is 1 meter deeper than in the east room
Maybe it's just my Fuqing's dream!"
"At 77 years old, I want to build walls
Add two feet to the height and mud back wall, with 1,600 bricks"
He left such words to posterity
"I hope that future generations will sweep the house every year, and the mud leaks the house
Winter sweep small west room snow, rat hole, bird's nest, pigeon dwelling
No fires, flood prevention with a gate sealing method"
The little things in life
He writes carefully
"So far there are two brackets in the heart
Take the medicine twice a day, and the child pays"
"2017 New Year's Twelfth
71-year-old Fuqing after taking a bath with Maochuan
Found a gold necklace worth 5,800 yuan
The next day, the owner was found."
"Be sure to evolve your phone on December 1st
Pay the electricity bill online, I can't pay it at the age of 72
Honggang Hongying gives"
In a small courtyard
Zhang Fuqing looked up at the starry sky
I wonder how big the universe really is
"How big is the universe?
The surface temperature of the sun is 6000 °C, and the center is 15 million °C
It is 1.3 million times larger than the Earth and 330,000 times heavier
It takes 20 years for the plane to fly to the sun
The Moon is one-forty-eighth the volume of the Earth
There are 200 billion stars ......"
Until the year before his death
He also wants to go to Kashgar, Xinjiang
"77-year-old me, can Zhang Fuqing go and see?"
June 30, 2023
The old man wrote this sentence on the beams of the house
His son Zhang Honggang still remembers it
The scene of my father writing on the wall before his death
He picked up the brush and dipped it in ink
When you think about it, you start writing
Sometimes wooden ladders are erected to repair the beams
Halfway through the thought, I wrote on the beam
As I get older, it is difficult for my lumbar spine to support
A sentence should be written several times in fits and starts
Brush with a layer of varnish after writing
Prevent fonts from wearing out from the sun and rain
The handwriting first appeared on the wall
Later, it gradually spread to the lintels and window lattices
Even on the beams and chimneys
Later, the new word overwrites the old one
"He is what he wrote for us (posterity) to see
He's just afraid we won't be able to see it."
Walk into the house
Look at the dense text
We seem to be able to hear it
A father's voice to his children
Zhang Fuqing once wrote a family motto on the wall
"Popularize culture, improve culture, and cultivate one's family
Love the country and protect the country, love science, and break superstition
Scientific farming, stability and unity, the people are rich and the country is strong"
He told the children
"Be optimistic
Life is optimistic, physical and mental health
Be able to support parents and educate children on how to behave
Do not associate with unfilial people
Teach children to respect both parents
Learn to understand the law and abide by the law"
The youngest son, Zhang Hongying, said
My father loved two things most in his life
Calligraphy and maps
Zhang Fuqing in his later years
Buy a new map of China every year
It is marked with the new high-speed rail that will open this year
The old man made a note on the wall
News of the high-speed rail from Xinzhou in Shanxi Province to Xiong'an New Area
He wrote with hope
"Look at the development of Xinzhou in 5 years"
It's a pity that the old man Zhang Fuqing
In the end, he failed to fulfill his wish to go to Kashgar
Because of the worsening condition, he was readmitted to the hospital
Spring 2024
Zhang Fuqing died of illness
In the last days of life
The old man calmly explained what was happening after his death
"We both were recuperating at home
The two sons provide living expenses and enjoy their old age
When his father died, the two sons wrote an essay in memory of their father
Fitted into the main landlord's hall wall"
"After my father's death, please pay attention to your mother's thoughts and fluctuations
After burying her father, she can find a companion who will serve her
Or send your mother to a nursing home
Then ask an honest household to live in the landlord of our hospital and open a store
When your parents were alive, they were satisfied with the filial piety of your brothers
I hope that you two brothers will walk together and unite as the Lord
Nurture your offspring
Become the head of a family united by filial piety"
After the death of his father
Zhang Honggang followed his father's wishes
Next Remembrance of the Father
"The little courtyard you took care of
And those with warm handwriting
It will also be endless
Accompany us on our journey."
Before the death of the old man
The apricot blossoms he planted by hand have not yet bloomed
Now the two almond trees in the yard are covered with white flowers
The fragrance is fragrant and opens just right
Countless thoughts in my head
Countless exhortations to the children
Serious about living every day
One stroke at a time
He wrote the years on the brick wall
His words were left to loved ones
The land left to the homeland
It tells an ordinary and down-to-earth Chinese
How to live your life seriously
Source: People's Daily