Urgently looking for travel notes and prose by famous writers

Mr. Yu Qiuyu's

Ordinary Venice

In Europe, Venice is one of the cities I am more familiar with.

I am not qualified to call Venice an old friend, but when we met, I was already calm and calm. The rest was just a calm look and ordinary words.

No matter which time there are, there are always too many people, and there are more and more people, and I feel tired of it.

I have been wondering why tourists from all over the world, regardless of region, age or cultural level, are willing to come to Venice first. In terms of scenery, it can neither be said to be majestic nor beautiful; Although it has a lot of preservations, most of them are not of high quality; when it comes to customs, it is only busy and does not offer many stimulating offerings; when it comes to delicacies and specialties, although a few can be listed, they are not as good as those found in all parts of Europe. So, why do I think it is mainly because of its interesting ecological landscape.

First of all, it is in modern times and there is no noise of cars and horses. All transportation is by boat and walking, so its urban meridians are a spider web of rivers and alleys. This kind of water city can be found elsewhere, but it is not as pure as it. For most tourists from all over the world, wandering in the river alleys of Venice is like entering a childhood dream; secondly, this pure water city is close to the sea and was once the gateway to the world, the center of gravity of Europe, and the overlord of the Mediterranean. , Shakespeare's topic. Even for a time, it was a free camp, a warehouse of talents, and an anomaly in the Holy See. Relics of its past glory have been left behind, and the main relics are the closely arranged buildings by the water whose age and ownership are unclear, including those churches and squares. This makes history become a riverside landscape, and tourists read history by boat, reading it with texture and roughness. This seems to be a bit symbolic. In my opinion, this way of sailing is very consistent with the psychology of most travelers who do not like sticky history but like to browse history. Thirdly, although it is so special and interesting, it is crowded with dense shopping malls and puts itself The handicrafts that most please outsiders in the history of the area and the surrounding areas are displayed together, coupled with a variety of restaurants, so that tourists can stay here. More importantly, it doesn't have the hustle and bustle of some tourist destinations in the world where the dazzling low-level vendors drag tourists away, giving people a sense of security with nothing to hide from. Each of the storefronts is so small and elegant. Entering gently, the owner greets you with a smile and then stops looking at you, letting you choose or leave. This atmosphere is very charming.

......

Of course there are more exciting features, but from my normal perspective, this is roughly it.

Unfortunately, it is these advantages that bring disaster to it. Since everyone is here to see an interesting ecological landscape, we must try to protect it and prevent damage. However, it is easy to protect rocks and waterfalls, difficult to protect cultural relics and historic sites, and even more difficult to protect ecological landscapes.

The alley can only be so small; the old building can only be left soaking by the water; so many people come and go, it can only make it troublesome to unmoor the small boats. During the day, the seafront has an extraordinary momentum, but at night, it can only be threatened again and again by the wild tides; of course, the mere tourism income cannot cover the cost of building a sea-blocking dam, controlling pollution, and repairing dilapidated buildings, and can only be used by MPs, Scholars and citizens have called again and again.

Have you not noticed that the warning lines on the wall indicate that the city has been flooded by sea tides more than a hundred times in the past thirty years? Have you not noticed that many old houses along the canal have been soaked by sewage? It is old and in danger, the winding rivers are already emitting bursts of stench, and the remote alleys are also smelly. There is no doubt that there are tourists enjoying and playing, and there are also tourists running wild and excreting.

Venice is so good that it has to work hard.

I pay special attention to the alley doors in Venice for a special reason.

The ecological landscape of Venice has not changed much for hundreds of years, so a figure closely related to China should also be familiar with this scene. He walked out from here and thought about all this in the distant east. This was a spiritual price paid in advance for him, but the reward was astonishing. In the future, many Westerners began to miss the East as they chanted his name again and again.

Of course, I mean Marco Polo.

Whether Marco Polo really visited China and whether his travel notes are true or false have always been controversial in the international academic community and will inevitably continue to be debated. What is not controversial is that there must have been this man, a traveler familiar with the East, and he must have been Venetian.

As to whether he has really been to China, both the opposition and the affirmative have produced strong evidence. For example, the opposition believes that his participation in the attack on Xiangyang written in his travel notes does not match the time; that he served as the general manager of Yangzhou is inconsistent with reason and has no basis in historical data. The affirmatives believe that his detailed description of Yuan Dadu and Marco Polo Bridge, and his accurate account of the assassination of Ahema cannot be based solely on hearsay. After reading various information, I believe that he did come to China, but the scope, identity and depth of his travels were exaggerated in his biography.

Back then, he walked alone among the Chinese. Now, there are many Chinese walking in front of his house. I have made several jokes in the alleys of Venice, all involving Chinese tourists. Mostly, I met batches of readers and friends from Sichuan, Zhejiang or Hunan here. After exchanging pleasantries and saying goodbye, we each went into the alley. But the trouble is, we just turned two corners and met again. They laughed for a while and broke up again, wandered around for a few times and then bumped into each other face to face. Later, even though I was laughing, I thought it was too repetitive and just wanted to escape. As soon as I retreated behind the wall, I saw another group of friends in the boat next to me calling me.

I sometimes wonder if this is Marco Polo’s spirit in heaven joking with us. If he wants to make a joke here, he must first find the Chinese. He must be happy to see so many Chinese people suddenly appearing in his hometown.

Shakespeare wrote a play called "The Merchant of Venice", which gave many viewers who had never been to Venice a little understanding of the city's commercial style at that time, and developed a certain affection for the merchants here. opinion.

I have met many Venetian merchants here, and the general feeling is that they are responsible, honest, elegant, and not treacherous at all. This further confirms one of my previous judgments: Only a developed business market can cultivate good business personalities. People who are opportunistic, cunning and cunning are not because they know too much about business but because they don’t understand business.

When I went to a glass shop, the owner of the shop invited me to make an exception and watch the firing process next door. The reason was that he liked Chinese culture. Seeing that he was skilled in cooking, he casually called him master. He quickly said no, there were few masters in Venice, and he was still an apprentice. His face was flushed by the fire, and he was probably in his sixties.

The most unforgettable one is a Venetian merchant selling masks.

I was originally studying Italian mask comedy, and I also knew that the center was in Venice, so I saw a mask vendor on the beach that day. I was so excited that I admired it for a while and then picked it out. A few pairs, asked about the price and prepared to pay.

The stall owner is old, with a clear-cut face and a solemn look. When I was admiring the masks just now, he didn't react at all, and he didn't even nod to me. He just took off the masks, looked at them, and hung them up again. When I took off the two masks he had just hung up, he suddenly looked at me in surprise and said nothing. When I brought all the selected objects to him, he finally smiled and nodded to me, meaning: "Expert"

At this moment, a friend who spoke Italian came over. He asked me about the masks I planned to buy, then turned around and started talking to the old man. The old man was very happy to hear his fluent Italian, but after listening to a few words, he moved his eyes away from my friend's face, put down the mask that he had planned to pack, and went to play with other goods.

I quickly asked my friend what was going on. My friend said that they were bargaining and he would not give in. I said, let’s just go with the original price, it’s not expensive. My friend was hesitant, so I spoke to the old man in English.

However, I kept saying "just pay the original price", but the old man just said "no" softly and never looked back.

My friend said, this is really a bad temper.

But I know the real reason. The old man is a mask-making artist. When he saw my selection just now, he thought he had met a close friend. As soon as we bargained, he was suddenly disappointed and sad.

If you are an expert, you should see the value, and respect should arise from spiritual communication.

This is the Italian who still has Roman blood flowing through his veins. I know that I am doing a small business. It doesn't matter whether it is big or small. I don't care whether I am poor or rich. I just want to keep my self-esteem. Professional self-esteem, artistic self-esteem, and personality self-esteem.

I went to a store and pushed the door open and there was an old man sitting there. After looking at a few items, I carefully asked: "Can it be cheaper?" His answer was to raise his hand and say, "Do the door Over there."

Of course, this kind of business won't do much, and this kind of attitude is really outrageous. Of course, not all Italian businesses are like this, but in any case, a kind of model has been left here.

Desolate and desolate, this is the price they pay. Some say it is also the tragedy of their personality.

In a city like Venice, where travelers from all over the world come and go, it’s not difficult to find a way to make some serious money, but they don’t want to. The store was passed down from ancestors, and the door is half-closed. We don’t want too many customers to come in, because this is the scale we have set long ago. We will neither be poor nor rich. It is just right. Being poor or rich will be a burden. . Therefore, they are not seeking money, but adhering to an ecology.

The peace, depth and tranquility of European life are partly related to this.

If it is a tragedy, I have some respect for this kind of tragedy.

We've had enough of that glittering farce.