Lyric Prose in Zhou Jun's Prose

At the beginning of the lights, I walked on the empty Danjiang Avenue, and Nightcrawler passed by me. After 23 years, I returned to the original starting point. -inscription

When I wrote this topic, I was not in Zhou Jun, but in the neighboring Fangxian County. Fangxian County was called Fangling in ancient times, named after Li Xian, king of Luling in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Fangxian borders Guanshan and Yanchi River in Zhou Jun, but its customs are different from those in Zhou Jun. Fangxian has been the exile place of Qin prisoners since ancient times, but later Xunxian became a big immigrant county.

The proverb "Zhou Jun made of iron, Yunyang made of paper", which spread in Yunyang mountain area of northwest Hubei, gave a clear note to Zhou Jun and Yunyang. But no one in our generation has seen their true colors. The newly-built two cities only took away the piles of soul-like reinforced concrete and left no unforgettable impression on the ancient city.

This ancient city has been submerged under the first artificial lake in Asia for more than 40 years. The streets paved by the walls, towers, gates and bluestone slabs of the ancient city should be intact. The ancient city disappeared, but it was not destroyed. It sank under the water not far away, and has been affecting the hearts of the old people in Zhou Jun. This is a cruel ending, just like a desperate lover close at hand, helpless separation, endless thoughts and ruthless ending. I can't shake it if I want to, I can't forget it if I want to, and I can't see it if I want to. We can only recall by the fragmentary memories and incomplete relics left behind.

In the late 1980s, when I was in Danjiangkou No.1 Middle School, I followed my classmates from Jiangbei to the earth dam next to Yunyang Normal University on several Sundays. I saw the stone turtle tablet that was shipped from Zhou Jun that year. Some stone men and horses were scattered among the weeds, which made me miserable. The hometown of those students in Jiangbei has become a part of Wang Yang. When the flood flooded, people retreated 20 miles and moved to the dry loess hills. Every time they face the swift river, they always have an unspeakable taste in their hearts.

Last autumn, in front of the museum in Yunxian New Town, I saw several broken stone tablets. I took a closer look and found that the oldest stone tablet, which was a broken ancient tablet during the Chenghua period of Daming, had some illegible handwriting. Fortunately, the county cultural management department repaired it and built a pavilion. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, the ancient monument finally had a shelter from the wind and rain.

In the early spring of this year, at the invitation of my old classmates, I came to the Earth Dam again, which is the original site of the accumulation of cultural relics in ancient Zhou Jun, which is today's New Jingle Palace. Once again, I feel that time flies and things have changed. It turns out that grass can't grow. The messy loess hills have now evolved into a palace community covering an area of 10 million square meters. Huge momentum, bright colors, artificial floors, fresh wood grain, everywhere printed with its predecessor's magnificent atmosphere.

Gujing Music Palace is known as the "Small Forbidden City" because of its momentum approaching the Forbidden City, and it is the first of the nine palaces in Wudang Mountain. When the new Jingle Palace was restored, the largest stone archway (Lingxingmen) and two largest tortoise shell monuments in Ming Dynasty were completely copied, and the Xuandi Hall, the Poor Hall, the God of Wealth Temple, the Imperial Classics Hall and the incense burner were also restored.

As a scenic spot in 4A, the new Jingle Palace has been open to the public for several years. Incense is lingering in the palace, bells are ringing, Taoist priests are doing their homework, and good men and women are worshipping incense. It seems that time and space are reversed and returned to the heyday of the past. It feels awkward to wear modern clothes. The lost scenery cannot be restored, because time and space cannot be reversed.

Undoubtedly, whether as a museum or a scenic spot, today's work has indeed contributed to the protection of ancient cultural relics, and has also created a platform for people today to mourn the loss of their homes. This is a great move!

As a stranger living in Zhou Jun, I have a close relationship with Zhou Jun.

When I was a child, I saw people who moved from counties in my hometown in northern Hubei. Someone nicknamed me "Old County". An old saying is so bleak! In the countryside, "the old man is dead" means that this person is dead. Does Laojun County mean that the ancient city of Zhou Jun has fallen into the water and disappeared? If so, it's not too much.

When I was a teenager, I left the countryside and walked into the deep mountains of Xunxian County, where my parents contributed their youth and we also contributed to the construction of the third line. A winding railway line, drilling a cave, crossing the bridge, passing outside the closed secret factory, leads to the far southwest. I finished junior high school in the mountains, was admitted to No.1 Middle School in the city, and spent three years in a small town with a changed name and surname.

This small town named after the first artificial lake in Asia left me the impression that it was far less bright than the county town in my hometown. I was walking along the bumpy Danjiang Avenue, and the dust raised by passing cars stained my newly bought white clothes. I wandered under the dim street lights of Yuejinmen Cinema because the money was robbed by gangsters and I couldn't buy a movie ticket. I wander around Xinhua Bookstore on Zhou Jun No.2 Road, because my first love came home from here, and I wait for her silently here. And a year later, in the late autumn, when the leaves were falling, I came to the yard here by boat from the distant Jiangxi army. A heavy door, separated by a pair of melancholy eyes, gave me a tangled answer. I walked out of the yard and stumbled out of this sad city. Never look back.

This town doesn't belong to me, and neither do I. I am just a passer-by. This is not the same as Laojun County, let alone Gu Jun.

When civilization encounters fierce collision in the process of modernization, when people can't find the north in the period of social transformation and orbit change, behind the glitz of a city that has lost its cultural heritage, there are often feelings of struggle, filth and decadence.

Later, when I was old enough to talk about marriage, I met a woman who was in love, and her home was far from Yicheng under Xiangyang. I still remember the first time I walked into her house with my lover.

On the mountain not far from the Han River, dozens of families crowded together. In a courtyard with blue bricks and red tiles, I saw an old man over 60 years old, bald and hunched, speaking authentic Zhou Jun dialect. This old man is my future father-in-law. Who would have thought that after running hundreds of miles, my life is still inextricably linked with Zhou Jun. It seems that my fate with Zhou Jun is inevitable.

On that early spring afternoon, spring day shuttled through the thin clouds, sparrows landed on the haystack and played, and hens led several chickens to peck at the stone trough. The scene was idle and the atmosphere was harmonious. It is rare for the old man to lean against the straw pile, smoke, drink tea and bask in the sun. It is this carefree and lazy environment that evokes the old man's deep homesickness.

The old man said that his hometown is on the slate beach 20 miles outside Zhou Jun. This family has two acres of dry land and eight paddy fields. In the slack season, I go up the mountain to collect firewood, go down the river to fish, and then pick up the city to exchange some salt money. Life is hard, but it is peaceful and quiet.

"Carriages can indeed run on the ancient city walls of Zhou Jun," the old man replied affirmatively.

The tower is tall and majestic. The gate is made of wood, covered with tin and painted with scarlet paint. The gatehouse is spacious, and it is not too narrow to live in a few households. There is also an allusion to the gatehouse, called the sparrow in the doorway-the person who has seen the receiver (market).

In the old man's narrative, I have a general impression of the ancient city of Zhou Jun in my mind: the ancient city is located in the middle reaches of the Han River, surrounded by water on three sides and mountains on one side, which is impregnable. Merchant ships, stopping at the dock of the ancient city and reaching Shaanxi and Hankou directly, can be regarded as the throat of Hanshui traffic. "Zhou Jun is made of iron" is really an old saying.

The old man was in high spirits and continued to tell the story of 1948' s liberation of Zhou Juncheng. The sound of guns shook the earth, scaring people into hiding indoors and not going out. Gunfire and gunfire played intermittently for a day and a night. When I got up in the morning, I opened the door and saw Zhou Juncheng liberated by the red flag.

1958, Danjiang dam was completed, and all districts in Xunxian sent personnel to participate in the general assembly war. The old man was fortunate enough to join the ranks of 100,000 dam-building troops and work as a cook in the company's cooking squad. At that time, there was a natural disaster for three years, and there was news of starvation in the local area, but 100,000 troops never went to the construction site hungry. The old man said that in order to ensure that the 100,000-strong army does not stop grain, the grain convoys on the highway come and go every day, and sometimes they have to get up in the middle of the night to unload grain.

Under the dam, along the river, there are all kinds of reed mats along the way, stretching for more than ten miles. Migrant workers live in this kind of shack made of thatch and reed mats all the year round. One winter, it was snowing lightly and Whitestorm was blowing. It was really freezing. Someone kept warm secretly in the shack. Unfortunately, the shack burned down and even the camp burned down. The next day, a dozen companies collectively went up the mountain to cut thatch and build shacks. Fortunately, there were no casualties, otherwise things would be big.

Two years later, the old man returned to his home in Shibantan and never returned to the construction site. Until 1968 moved out and got on the bus at Danjiang Railway Station, the old talents glanced at the construction site of that year, and a tall concrete dam lay in front of them. This winter, the immigrants reluctantly left their homeland, and their steps were both sad and quiet.

Shortly after the migrants left, Danjiangkou Dam was filled with water and the unit was put into trial operation. Overnight, the ancient city of Zhou Jun disappeared in the middle of the river, and the ancient city of Yunyang was also submerged. The people of Xun County not only lost an ancient city, but also lost the splendid civilization in Gu Jun. Zhou Jun and Yunyang, whether made of iron or paper, were all silent underwater in the end, and all roads lead to the same goal. Due to the different location, there is still a sandbar in Yunyang ancient town. At that time, Yunyang No.1 Middle School still existed on the sandbar for more than ten years, and only moved into Shiyan City in recent years. And the ancient city of Zhou Jun, "Who do you know without Wang Yang?" I can't see anything, let alone the sandbar.

In the past two years, there have been many posts on the Internet looking for Gu Jun, and the donkey friends in Danjiangkou have also taken many photos as a souvenir.

In the spring and summer of this year, there was a drought in northwest Hubei, and the Danjiangkou reservoir area opened floodgates to help the brother counties and cities in the lower reaches of the Han River to resist disasters. The water level in the reservoir area once fell below the dead water line. The rocky stone forest is exposed on the surface of the small Pacific Ocean. Shuidu Happy Flying Group organized many outdoor activities, visited the small Pacific Ocean and watched the Stone Forest, leaving many precious light and shadow materials. Posting a report on the "Water Capital Forum" caused great repercussions in the small town and attracted some photographers from the Shiyan "Dongfeng Forum" to visit.

When we, the younger generation who have never seen the ancient city of Zhou Jun, are facing the big rivers and fluttering in the wind, what we urgently want to see is just an ancient city ruins? What is the charm of Gu Jun? How much cultural heritage is left in Gu Jun?

At the location of the dam in the reservoir area, 60 miles away from the ruins of the ancient city, small towns have gradually sprung up, with wider roads, higher buildings and denser population. On a hot summer night, the lights are bright, but people flock to the outdoors, stopping, wandering and wandering on the main road, along the river and on the second bridge. There is no room for restless hearts in tall buildings. On the bluestone road in ordinary alleys, you may walk more steadily and calmly!

The old Zhou Jun is gone forever, and there are fewer and fewer old people living in Zhou Jun. Under the strong impact of the modernization process, the civilization and culture in Gu Jun have disappeared. A city without cultural background, like a homeless outcast, lacks confidence in everything, because it has lost its soul, aura and charm in its bones.

Walking in the winding alleys of the town, I can occasionally catch a glimpse of the streets and businesses named after "Zhou Jun", but there is no legacy of ancient Zhou Jun. There is no doubt that these streets and businesses are used by later generations to commemorate the ancient city of Zhou Jun. I want to tell future generations that my ancestral home was in Zhou Jun, and my ancestral grave was buried in Shan Ye outside Zhou Jun. Among them, the naming of counties and cities can best reflect people's homesickness for today's government.

The predecessor of Xunxian Town was Xiaochuan Town, and the ancient city of Zhou Jun sank into the choppy river under a small hill called Guanmenyan in this town. At that time, Zhou Junren moved to other places in succession, and only Ogawa stayed. As a dutiful son, Ogawa has been guarding his old house and ancestral grave. For more than 40 years, in the face of the river flowing under his feet, he suffered more sadness and thoughts. Therefore, when thinking to the extreme, I simply changed my name and pinned more complexity on a name once used by my ancestors, which is a nostalgic complex of Danjiangkou people. Besides, what else can I do?

At that time, immigrants left the hot land and went to Mianyang, Jingxiang. The humid climate in the south, strange villages, muddy rivers and foreign languages are intertwined into an environment that makes it difficult for immigrants to integrate. Some people who are not acclimatized quietly sneak back to their hometown, facing the turbulent river in front of them, shedding sad tears, some visiting relatives and friends, and more are waiting for a love and a fate under Lushan Mountain. Poor or bitter, even if you die in your hometown, it is more practical than living in a foreign land.

This homesickness was greatly enhanced after the rural contract system was contracted in the 1980s. More immigrants moved out, locked their homes, abandoned fertile land and joined the team returning home on a dark and windy night. In my hometown of Dachuan, next to cliffs and dense forests, like the reed mat shed where the dam-building army lived in those days, it rose from the ground and became a piece of vicissitudes of life, which is the origin of the name "Back Mountain Brigade".

Old immigrants go back and new immigrants go out. The old and the new alternate, and it is difficult to leave the homeland!

Jun County, once a big immigrant county and now a big immigrant city, paid special attention to it three times in history: the first time was in the ninth year of Yongle in Daming, and the court ordered 300,000 military and civilian craftsmen to overhaul Wudang Fairy Mountain, which lasted 14 years; The second time was 1958 after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and 65,438+10,000 migrant workers went to Xun County to hit the Danjiangkou Reservoir Dam. The third time was in the seventh year of this century, the main heightening project of Danjiangkou dam in the middle route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project was fully launched. Three years later, on 20 10, the resettlement project of the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project, which attracted worldwide attention, was launched in an all-round way, and 38,000 Danjiangkou people left their homeland in tears and emigrated abroad.

Is it the aura of Wudang Fairy Mountain, or the charm of Zhou Jun's surging waves and green waters, which makes history frequently reviewed here? I don't know.

When the wanderers far away from the ancient city of Zhou Jun once again came to the riverside to pay homage to their hometown, Cui Hao of the Tang Dynasty boarded the Yellow Crane Tower, and the sentence "I only look at my hometown, and the twilight is fading, and the waves on the river are gloomy" is full of sadness and helplessness?

(Prose Editor: Yue Ran)