The magical Daya Bay

Magical Daya Bay

——Gao Jianlong

Daya Bay is a fictional place in Lu Yao's novel "The Ordinary World". The protagonist Sun Shaoping is a front-line miner in Dayawan Coal Mine of Tongcheng Mining Bureau.

It is said that when the writer Lu Yao worked in the Propaganda Department of Tongchuan Mining Bureau, he often went deep into the mining area, ate, lived and worked with the miners, experiencing life and understanding life. Finally, he wrote the masterpiece "The Ordinary World" which won the third Contradiction Literature Award. So, is this fictional Dayawan Coal Mine actually the coal mine owned by the Tongchuan Mining Bureau?

With this question in mind, on June 18, 2012, we drove straight from Provincial Highway 305 to Guangyang Town. The car climbed up beams and crossed ditches on the winding mountain roads of the Loess Plateau. After a bumpy ride, it headed west from Guangyang Zhidao to the last stop of our long journey - Yakou Coal Mine. The wheat in the farmland along the way is golden, and from time to time a combine harvester drives past the car window, and the joy of the harvest dances on the faces of the farmers. Approaching the mining area, from a distance, you can see that buildings are densely packed into a huge mountain bay. The majestic and tall coal preparation building, the flying wheel, the mountain-like coal piles, and the rapid roar of the train all reveal the hugeness of the mining area. And full of momentum. Going further, we suddenly saw a mountain gate made of steel. There was a striking slogan on the door, "Welcome to the birthplace of Lu Yao's masterpiece "The Ordinary World"", which made us feel more cordial and gave us a feeling of returning home. With excitement, we took photos in front of the mountain gate.

I can’t help but feel that leaders who are literate and love literature are in an extraordinary state. I have long heard that writer Yang Zhihua, one of the Three Musketeers of Coal, works here. At the same time, Lan Ali, Secretary of the Mine Party Committee, is also a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Writers Association. After contacting us, we met with the swordsman and Secretary Lan, and explained to them the itinerary and emotions of the five people walking the long distance again, as well as the sufficient reasons why Yakou Coal Mine was the final stop. In Secretary Lan's office, he happily opened a design blueprint for us and said that the mine was preparing to promote corporate culture and Luyao Literature Memorial Hall. It is necessary to take practical actions to effectively improve corporate culture, enhance the new image of coal miners, and enrich and activate the cultural life of mining areas. After seeing the design blueprint, we are very applauded for Secretary Lan’s brilliant decision-making and creativity. Secretary Lan and writer Yang Zhihua were also invited to write messages on the signature book for this event. Secretary Lan wrote about "Legendary Daya Bay"; Yang Zhihua wrote about "The road is long and immortal, literature is sacred".

In front of the mine office building, Secretary Lan pointed to a huge poster on the roof of a building for us to see. There was a black and white photo of Lu Yao holding a cigarette in his hand and meditating. On the side, "The magical Daya Bay creates the "Ordinary World" and demonstrates the miners' great new image." Three lines of large red characters stand out on the sky blue background. Fortunately, the mine leader found the original character in the novel, the miner, and let us interview him. Unexpectedly, this person's real name is An Suozi. He is 59 years old and is from Lintong, Shaanxi. He has been working underground for 32 years. He is thin and not tall, but has excellent physical fitness. He is now retired, but he is still employed. At work, he is a simple and down-to-earth man from Guanzhong who loves his job and is dedicated to his work.

When we came to the wellhead, we pointed to a sunny cement slope not far away. An Suozi told us that Lu Yao came up from the well with them and lay on this slope to bask in the sun with the miners. Yang Zhihua also said that many places in the mine related to Lu Yao no longer exist, but this place remains the same. With reverence, we all took photos on the slope where Lu Yao once lay. I really hope that Lu Yao knows someone under the spring and can lend us a pair of discerning eyes and a little aura of literary creation.

Leave the wellhead and come to the Blackwater River. On both sides of the river are the vegetable fields of the surrounding farmers and some trees, mostly acacia and willow trees. Under the warm sunshine in June, the green branches and leaves looked shiny. In the shallow flowing water, there are a few stones for people to cross the river. Dense aquatic plants grow on the river beach, dotted with many unknown flowers, and pairs of butterflies dance in the grass among the flowers. The mountain opposite is not very high, but the vegetation is extremely lush. A path leading to the top of the mountain winds weakly on the steep mountain, looming among the trees. They said that Lu Yao had climbed to the top of the mountain along this path, looked down at everything in the mining area, and conceived of that great masterpiece.

It was almost noon when we came up from the Heishui River.

An Suozi said goodbye to us, and we repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay and invite him to dinner. He just said that he had to go to work in the evening, and eating would take up time and affect his rest, so he refused to go. Looking at his leaving figure, I felt a little lost.

Yes, it is the thousands of ordinary workers like An Suozi who work diligently and selflessly in their ordinary positions that made the literary masterpiece "The Ordinary World" possible. Created the magical Daya Bay - Yakou Coal Mine.