Original: Quiet time - Baiyi Ancient Town, Pingchang County, Sichuan, a tourist attraction in northeast Sichuan
My hometown of Pingchang Baiyi, also known as Baiyi'an, ancient liuzhou city, more than 10 kilometers away from the county seat, located on the bank of the Ba River in the upper reaches of the Qu River, the Jin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty had set up Yongkang, Yongmu, Yongmu County, the state has a history of 2,000 years. Ming Chongzhen Jia Shennian built a white-clothed Guanyin deity statue in the archway of the current old street, which was originally called "white clothing". "The sun comes out to shine on the east gate, there is a Liuzhou City in the Ba River, and there are beautiful people in Liuzhou City..." This hometown folk song is about the beauty of Baiyi Town.
Since I left PyeongChang, I haven't set foot on the land of Baiyi for 40 years, and my impression of Baiyi has remained the same as it was 40 years ago. Stone slab ancient street, red walls and green tiles, cooking smoke, sunset sunset. The ancient town is quiet and peaceful, and there is no dispute with the world. Ancient streets, ancient trees, ancient scenery, simple, elegant, fresh, surrounded by mountains and hills, the Ba River is wrapped like a jade belt, and the white clothes are like a paradise-like wonderland.
On August 23, 2019, at the invitation of Baiyi Town and the organizing committee of the "Praise the New Era, Sing the New White Clothing" activity, I came from Chengdu and participated in the three-day Baiyi Ancient Town Wind Collection Activity.
After 40 years of leaving the white clothes, I once again set foot on this haunted homeland, which is no longer the original appearance. The white clothes I remember show the simple beauty of the original ecology, with few artificial decorations, and today's white clothes have built a new street at the mouth of the river, a new bridge has been built on the Ba River, and the people who come and go between the ancient town and the new street no longer rely on ferries to cross the river. The town's earthen wall tile houses have been turned into green brick buildings, and there have been elevator houses with 20 to 30 stories high. The ancient houses, ancient streets and ancient docks on the other side of the river are the ancient town of Baiyi with a history of 2,000 years. Thousands of years have passed, and the ancient town of Baiyi has long been rejuvenated. The ancient town is still the ancient town, but the history and culture of the ancient town that has been precipitated for 2,000 years has finally been excavated and carried forward.
I learned from the Organizing Committee of the Baiyi Activity that in order to create a baiyi water town and shape the humanistic scenery of baiyi, in recent years, the local government has invited designers and developers at home and abroad to jointly explore the history of the ancient town, highlight the water town, humanities and architectural scenery, repair the old as old, and comprehensively repair the streets, docks, buildings, etc. of the ancient town, and finally maintain the original style of the ancient town. Now Baiyi Ancient Town, just like the ancient town of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, hangs red lanterns in front of the store, the shop beckons the wind stretches, the night view is feminine and charming, and there is more "Bang!" in the middle of the night. boom! "The beating is more exciting. In the quiet time, enjoy a sense of tranquility and elegance, or stroll under the moonlight, quietly enjoy this tranquility and beauty, it is really indescribable comfort. Now Baiyi is a well-known tourist town in the eastern part of Sichuan.
40 years ago, there was no such beauty and enjoyment, in the era of the planned economy, people were busy with food and clothing, material and cultural life was very scarce, people turned a blind eye or turned a blind eye to the beautiful scenery around them, who would chant a poem for such a beautiful view?
Since ancient times, white clothes have produced beautiful women, which is not false at all. I met one in 1979, she was a Sichuan opera actress, living in Baiyi Ancient Town, singing excellent, when I was not yet 10 years old.
That summer, I went with the adults to the baiyi countryside to visit relatives. The shuttle bus runs to the mouth of the Baiyi River, to the Baiyi Commune to cross the Ba River, and to cross the river you have to take a ferry. Pushing us across the river is Uncle Wu, he is the old man on the Ba River, from before liberation to after the reform and opening up, all the water village customs he experienced one by one, including her... Yang Liuqing.
Yang Liuqing is an actor in the Prefectural Chuan Opera Troupe, famous for dressing up in green clothes, and her singing and dancing styles are high-fived and applauded. Unexpectedly, we actually met her here.
"From the first to the fifteenth of the first year,
Fifteen moons high,
The spring breeze swings,
Yang Ya Willow Shoots.
Peach blossoms in March,
The lover carries the book,
Carry the book with the letter,
Ask for a purse bag..."
The song came from the shore, melodious and melodious, like a lark singing. Attracted the attention of adults.
When the boat reached the center of the river, I squeezed into the bow of the boat, and between the gaps of the adults I saw a woman standing on the grassy beach on the opposite bank of the river. Dressed in a Sichuan opera costume, she draws in the colorful light, leaving her dancing reflection on the river.
"Isn't she Yang Liuqing, why is she here?" One elder said, with a look of surprise on his face.
Another uncle said, "I don't know." She played the green coat, I like to watch... She is beautiful and her singing voice is beautiful. ”
White Pier
Uncle Wu, who pushed the boat, said: "After the dissolution of the County Sichuan Opera Troupe in 1977, she was sent back to her hometown because she arrived in the county to petition and wanted to restore the Sichuan Opera Troupe, and she was a farmer like all of us. She has been practicing by the river for almost two years, and she is fascinated... What a great kid, want to act, no stage! ”
The patriarch sighed briefly.
The boat arrived at the grass beach, and Uncle Wu told us to wait a little longer. He said he was going to bring Dinner to Yang Liuqing, and when he was done, he would send us to the commune dock.
Wind gathering activities
He bent down and opened the small wooden door in the rear cabin of the ship, and from inside came a clay porcelain bowl filled with red amaranth rice and kimchi. He staggered off the boat. Yang Liuqing also greeted her from a half-human-tall artemisia grass one foot deep and one foot shallow, and her red and simple face, under the reflection of the light, looked very good.
The boat continues on the Ba River.
One of the uncles in the same boat asked, "She doesn't farm the land, she practices singing all day, does the commune care?" ”
Uncle Wu pushed the paddle board, wiped a handful of sweat and said: "This child's life is bitter, her father and mother died early, and it is the villagers who drag her to grow up." If there is work to be earned, the commune is too lazy to take care of it. I don't know where this day is a head. ”
The uncle looked at the grass beach and said, "It's fast, this time will not be too far." ”
The sunset glowed golden on the river, and Yang Liuqing smiled at us. I found that Yang Liuqing was tall and tall, really beautiful in the light of the sun, her water sleeves dancing lightly, with the Ba River as the background, like a beautiful watercolor painting.
In 1980, the Pyeongchang County Chuan Opera Troupe was restored, and the original Sichuan Opera Troupe actors were also recalled. On the evening before Yang Liuqing left, Uncle Wu brought Yang Liuqing dinner for the last time, and he fell on the grass beach and never got up again.
The new Sichuan opera repertoire began to be staged in the Prefectural Sichuan Opera Troupe, and the cheers and cheers continued. The small county town began to get busy again like a festival.
Every time I pass by the gate of the County Chuan Opera Troupe, I can occasionally hear the familiar Shanxi folk song: "From the first to the fifteenth of the first month, the fifteenth moon is high, the spring wind swings, the Yang Ya Yang willow shoots ..."
Group photo
It is Yang Liuqing's voice, her melodious singing, which always reminds me of Uncle Wu, and at the same time let me see the tears in her eyes.
Today, the Prefectural River Theater Troupe has long since disbanded. In the 1990s, Yang Liuqing also went to Guangdong, and it is said that she and her friends set up a cultural media company, received many performance projects, and although she made a fortune, she was still active on the stage as an actress. I heard people in Baiyi's hometown say that after Yang Liuqing went out, she never came back, but she would send a lot of money back every year to comfort the people who helped her when she was in difficulty. Especially Uncle Wu, she would ask someone to burn a lot of paper money in front of his grave.
Baiyi Ancient Town
Yang Liuqing has been away from Baiyi for twenty or thirty years, and if she knows that her hometown has undergone earth-shaking changes, she will be very pleased. Of course, the relatives in her hometown also hope that she will go home to see, after all, there are her own roots here, and no matter how far away the wanderer, she can't give up this family affection.
(End)
A panoramic view of Baiyi Ancient Town