Chaozhongcuo? Yong Quanzhou

Citong flower road and Citong city, eight hundred years of glory.

The incense of thousands of Buddhas from thousands of religions, the sound of Sanskrit in the red house of Yanji.

East and West Pagoda Temple, Luoyang Bridge Ferry, Forget Camp.

In the silence of the night, Nanyin falls into a dream, and the moon rises in the ancient harbor.

The east wind is coming, and the rain is falling more and more. In the misty slanting wind and drizzle, I saw a touch of red. The red was so free and unrestrained, and the red was so beautiful and intense. I know it’s the time of year when the eryngium flowers bloom again.

?When Su Shi was demoted to Hainan, he once wrote a poem "Hainanese people don't eat cold food but go to the graves to search for them with a ladle of wine". There is a sentence in it: "Remember the past day in the south of the city, kapok. The Erythrina truncatula blooms." I am grateful to Su Shi for his visit to Lingnan and for recording the spectacular scene of these two Lingnan red trees in full bloom. I am also grateful that I saw such a unique "Quanzhou Red" at the same time.

Quanzhou people really love red. Although the enthusiastic and confident Erythrina flowers are not as fresh and elegant as plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums, they are very similar to the character of Quanzhou people who love to fight and dare to win, thus forming an indissoluble bond with Quanzhou. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties or even earlier, Quanzhou, where zayton flowers were planted everywhere, was called the city of zayton and was famous all over the world.

At that time, the scale of planting Erythrina in Quanzhou City should be far greater than it is now. How many eryngium flowers are needed to create a "City of Light"? Although the debate about the authenticity of "City of Light" has never subsided, as a Quanzhou native, I truly feel that "City of Light" is too appropriate to describe Quanzhou. Even if we don’t imagine the glow of eryngium flowers all over the city, just the incense offered by followers of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Manichaeism (that is, the Mingjiao in Jin Yong’s works), plus Buddhism, Taoism, and Mazu, it is still It is enough to make Quanzhou shine grandly and brightly.

When I was young, I always felt that the hometown of thousands of religions and thousands of Buddhas was intertwined with many beliefs. Devoted men and women rushed to organize various "births" and "festivals", as long as once every half a month, as short as once every few days. During the first month of the lunar month, people have to "say goodbye" almost every day. To the extent that they make it their profession, it is not only difficult to understand, but even somewhat inexplicably inappropriate when spoken about. When I grew up and learned more about the origins of "festivals" and the folk traditions behind this running business, everything suddenly became clear to me.

?Remember what my grandma said, "If you worship, you will be protected"; I recall the various sumptuous meals prepared by adults for "Bowing" when I was a child; I think of the New Year's temple fair, where adults would "Bowing" while While chatting, the children chased and played and set off firecrackers nearby, until the adults were summoned into the hall with a wave of their hands, and no matter which Bodhisattva was sitting above them, they kowtowed three times in a scrawled manner. Just when he was being scolded by the adults and was about to kowtow again, when he heard that the troupe was coming and was about to set up a stage to sing, he turned around and ran around until he disappeared. The scolding sounds of the adults behind him had long been forgotten. In fact, children don’t know anything about Gaojia opera or Liyuan opera, but it’s refreshing to peek at the actors’ makeup, and the must-haves for watching the opera, such as mouth-watering candied haws, popcorn and maltose.

Let’s talk about the changes in Quanzhou. In recent years, whether it is during the winter or summer vacations when I study abroad, or even when I return to my hometown to work in the past ten years, I have truly felt that the buildings are getting taller and taller. , the roads are getting wider and wider, there are more and more parks, and the acceleration of urbanization refreshes all the memories of childhood. Sometimes people feel excited, but more often they may feel confused. My memory doesn't match up, and my roots seem to be lost. The swallow-tail ridges and red-brick ancestral houses that used to be everywhere have been transformed beyond recognition during renovations. Now I can only take my children to Wudian City and other preserved ancient villages. In the new attractions, tell them that the house where their mother once lived and the table they used used to look like; tell them that in such a house, recite The Sanskrit sound of Buddhist scriptures is constant all year round.

Su Shi's "Ode to Red Cliff" contains: "If you look at the changes in the general, you will see that heaven and earth cannot last a moment; if you look at the changes in the general, things and I will be endless. And how envious! "Compared to human life, the East-West Tower, Kaiyuan Temple, and Luoyang Bridge that have existed for thousands of years have experienced generations of people looking up and praying, and have also recorded many stories. "Looking at things that don't change", it is precisely these seemingly unchanging objects and repeated people and events that form the rich, diverse and vibrant Quanzhou.

So when walking in the ancient city of Quanzhou, even if there are a lot of people around me, I will suddenly feel the insignificance of life, forget about those lofty ambitions, pursue and run, and my heart will become extraordinarily calm.

?Heng once asked me, what is my favorite city? The one I didn’t even think about answering was Quanzhou. He asked again, which city is the city he most wants to visit? I answered Dunhuang at that time. yes. Everyone loves their hometown, but they always yearn for a completely different distant place. Hometown is our solid roots and stable backing. Even if we travel when we are young and are unruly, we still have to go home in the end. In the dead of night, I will fall asleep accompanied by the long Nanyin. Maybe I will dream of the sad and plaintive "Out of Hanguan" by Zhaojun, maybe I will dream of the touching and touching "The Story of Jingchai" by Wang Shipeng and Qian Yulian; the moon rising from the sea. Sometimes, my heart will be filled with the tide of the ancient Quanzhou Port, and I will be filled with endless nostalgia.

?Finally, I would like to share with you Mr. Yu Guangzhong’s "Luoyang Bridge", in memory of the old man and of old Quanzhou. Don’t forget the homesickness, let’s do our best!