《高行健文集》

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高行健文集- 第14部分


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omHollow…thenameskeepgettingbetter;buttheplaceyouwantisn’tthere。Thisisjustasmalltownbutthereareseveralroutesandquiteafewbusesgothrough。Thebusiestroute;withfiveorsixbusesaday;istoCementFactorybutthat’sdefinitelynotatouristroute。Theroutewiththefewestbuses;oneaday;issuretogotothefurthestdestination:itturnsoutthatWuyizhenisthelaststop。There’snothingspecialaboutthename;it’sjustlikeanyotherplacenameandthere’snothingmagicalaboutit。Still;youseemtohavefoundoneendofahopelesstangle;youmaynotbeecstaticbutyou’recertainlyrelieved。You’llneedtobuyaticketinthemorninganhourbeforedepartureandyouknowfromexperiencethatwithmountainbuseslikethis;whichrunonceaday;justtogetonwillbeafight。Unlessyou’repreparedtodobattle;you’lljusthavetogetintothequeueearly。

But;rightnow;you’vegotlotsoftime;althoughyourbackpack’sanuisance。Asyouamblealongtheroadtimbertrucksgobynoisilysoundingtheirhorns。Inthetownthenoiseisworsestillastrucks;somewithtrailers;blastontheirhornsandconductorshangoutofwindowsloudlybangingthesidesofthebusestogetpedestriansofftheroad。

Theoldbuildingsonbothsidesstandflushwiththeroadandallhavewoodenshopfronts。Thedownstairsisforbusinessandupstairs;washinghungouttodry—nappies;bras;underpantswithpatchedcrotches;floral…printbedspreads—likeflagsofallthenations;flapinthenoiseanddustofthetraffic。Theconcretetelegraphpolesalongthestreetarepastedateyelevelwithallsortsofposters。Oneforcuringbodyodourcatchesyourattention。Thisisnotbecauseyou’vegotbodyodourbutbecauseofthefancylanguageandthewordsinbracketsafter〃bodyodour〃。

Bodyodour(knownalsoasscentoftheimmortals)isadisgustingconditionwithanawful;nauseatingsmell。Itoftenaffectssocialrelationshipsandcandelaylife’smajorevent:marriage。Itdisadvantagesyoungmenandwomenatjobinterviewsorwhentheytrytoenlist;thereforeinflictingmuchsufferingandanguish。Byusinganewtotaltreatment;wecaninstantlyeradicatetheodourwitharateofupto97。53%success。Forjoyinlifeandfuturehappiness;weweleyoutoeandridyourselfofit…

Afterthatyouetoastonebridge:nobodyodourhereandthere’sacool;refreshingbreeze。Thebridgespanningthebroadriverhasabitumensurfacebutthecarvedmonkeysonthewornstonepoststestifytoitslonghistory。Youleanontheconcreterailingandsurveythetownshipalongsidethebridge。Onbothbanks;blackroof…topsoverlappinglikefish…scalesstretchendlesslyintothedistance。Thevalleyopensoutbetweentwomountainswheretheupperareasofgoldpaddyfieldsareinlaidwithclustersofgreenbamboos。Theriverisblueandclearasitleisurelytricklesoverthesandyshoresbutclosetothegranitepylonsdividingthecurrentitbeesinkygreenanddeep。Justpastthehumpofthebridgetherushingwaterchurnsloudlyandwhitefoamsurfacesfromwhirlpools。Theten…metrehighstoneembankmentisstainedwithwaterlevels:thenewgreyish…yellowlineswereprobablyleftbytherecentsummerfloods。CanthisbetheYouRiver?AnddoesitflowdownfromLingshan?

Thesunisabouttoset。Thebrightorangediscisinfusedwithlightbutthere’snoglare。Yougazeintothedistanceatthehazylayersofjaggedpeakswherethetwosidesofthevalleyjoin。Thisominousblackimagenibblesattheloweredgesoftheglowingsunwhichseemstoberevolving。Thesunturnsadarkred;gentler;andprojectsbrilliantgoldreflectionsontotheentirebendoftheriver:thedarkblueofthewaterfusingwiththedazzlingsunlightthrobsandpulsates。Asthereddiscseatsitselfinthevalleyitbeesserene;awesomelybeautiful;andtherearesounds。Youhearsounds;elusive;distinctlyreverberatingfromdeepinyourheartandradiatingoutwardsuntilthesunseemstopropitselfuponitstoes;stumble;thensinkintotheblackshadowsofthemountains;scatteringglowingcoloursthroughoutthesky。Aneveningwindblowsnoisilybyyourearsandcarsdrivepast;asusualsoundingtheirdeafeninghorns。Youcrossthebridgeandseethereanewstonewithengravedcharacterspaintedinred:〃YongningBridge。BuiltinthethirdyearoftheKaiyuanreignperiodoftheSongDynastyandrepairedin1962。Thisstonewaslaidin1983。〃Itnodoubtmarksthebeginningofthetouristindustryhere。

Twofoodstallsstandattheendofthebridge。Intheoneontheleftyoueatabowlofbeancurd;thesmoothandtastykindwithalltherightingredients。Hawkersusedtosellitinthestreetsandlanes;itpletelydisappearedsometimeagobuthasnowrevivedasfamilyenterprises。Inthestallontherightyoueattwodelicioussesame…coatedshallotpancakes;straightoffthestoveandpiping…hot。Thenatoneofthestalls;youcan’trememberwhichone;youeatabowlofsweetyuanxiaodumplingsbroiledinricewine:theyarethesizeoflargepearls。Ofcourse;you’renotasacademicaboutfoodasMrMatheSecondwhotouredWestLakebutyoudohaveaheftyappetite。Yousavourthisfoodofyourancestorsandlistentocustomerschattingwiththeproprietors。They’remostlylocalsandallknowoneanother。Youtryusingthemellifluouslocalaccenttobefriendly;youwanttobeoneofthem。You’velivedinthecityforalongtimeandneedtofeelthatyouhaveahometown。Youwantahometownsothatyou’llbeablereturntoyourchildhoodtorecollectlonglostmemories。

Onthissideofthebridgeyoueventuallyfindaninnonanoldcobblestonestreet。Thewoodenfloorshavebeenmoppedandit’scleanenough。Yougetasmallsingleroomwhichhasaplankbedwithabamboomatonit。Thecottonblanketisasuspiciousgrey;eitherithasn’tbeenwashedproperlyorthat’stheoriginalcolour。Youthrowasidethegreasypillowfromunderthebamboomatandluckilyit’shotsoyoucandowithoutthebedding。Whatyouneedrightnowistooff…loadyourluggagewhichhasbeequiteheavy;washoffthedustandsweat;strip;andstretchyourselfoutonthebed。There’sshoutingandyellingnextdoor。They’regamblingandyoucanhearthempickingupandthrowingdownthecards。Atimberpartitionseparatesyouand;throughtheholespokedintothepapercoveringthecracks;youmakeouttheblurredfiguresofsomebare…chestedmen。You’renotsotiredthatyoucandropofftosleepjustlikethat。Youtaponthewallandinstantlythere’sloudshoutingnextdoor。They’renotshoutingatyoubutamongstthemselves:therearealwayswinnersandlosersandtheloseristryingtogetoutofpaying。They’reopenlygamblingintheinndespitethePublicSecurityOfficenoticeonthewallprohibitinggamblingandprostitution:youdecidetocheckwhetherthelawhasanyeffect。Youputonsomeclothes;godownthecorridorandknockonthehalf…closeddoor。Yourknockingmakesnodifference;theykeepshoutingandyellinginsideandnobodytakesnotice。Soyoupushopenthedoorandgoin。Thefourmensittingaroundthebedinthemiddleoftheroomallturntolookatyou。Butit’syouandnottheywhogetsarudeshock。Themenallhavebitsofpaperstuckontheirfaces;ontheforehead;lips;noseandcheeks;andtheylookuglyandridiculous。Theyaren’tlaughingandareglaringatyou。You’vebuttedinandthey’reclearlyannoyed。

〃Oh;you’replayingcards;〃yousay;puttingonanapologeticlook。

Theygoonwiththeirgame。Thelongpapercardshaveredandblackmarkingslikemahjong;there’saGateofHeavenandaPrisonofHell。Thewinnerpenalizestheloserbytearingoffastripofnewspaperandstickingitonadesignatedspot。Whetherthisisaprank;awayoflettingoffsteam;oratally;isagreeduponbythegamblersandthereisnowayforoutsiderstoknowwhatit’sallabout。

Youbeataretreat;gobacktoyourroom;liedownagain;andseeathickmassofblackspecksaroundthelightglobe。Millionsofmosquitoesarewaitingforthelighttogooutsothattheycanedowntofeastonyourblood。Youquicklyletdownthemosquitoandareenclosedinanarrowconicalspace;atthetopofwhichisabamboohoop。It’sbeenalongtimesinceyou’vesleptunderahooplikethis;andyou’velongsincepassedtheageofbeingabletostareatthehooptoloseyourselfinreverie。Today;youcan’tknowwhattraumastomorrowwillbring。You’velearntthroughexperienceeverythingyouneedtoknow。Whatelseareyoulookingfor?Whenamangetstomiddleageshouldn’thebelookingforapeacefulandstableexistence;findanot…too…demandingsortofajob;stayinamediocreposition;beeahusbandandafather;setupafortablehome;putmoneyinthebankandaddtoiteverymonthsothere’llbesomethingforoldageandalittleleftoverforthenextgeneration?

ChapterTwo

ItisintheQiangregionhalfwayupQionglaiMountain;intheborderareasoftheQinghai…TibetanhighlandsandtheSichuanbasin;thatIwitnessavestigeofearlyhumancivilization;theworshipoffire。Fire;thebringerofcivilization;hasbeenworshippedbytheearlyancestorsofhumansbeingseverywhere。Itissacred。Heissittinginfrontofthefiredrinkingliquorfromabowl。Beforeeachsipheputsafingerintoitandflickssomeonthecharcoalswhichsplutternoisilyandsendoutbluesparks。ItisonlythenthatIperceivethatItooamreal。

〃That’sfortheGodoftheCookingStove;it’sthankstohimthatwecaneatanddrink;〃hesays。

Thedancinglightofthefireshinesonhisthincheeks;thehighbridgeofhisnose;andhischeekbones。HetellsmeheisoftheQiangnationalityandthathe’sfromGengdavillagedownthemountain。Ican’taskstraightoutaboutdemonsandspirits;soItellhimI’mheretodosomeresearchonthefolk…songsofthemountain。Dotraditionalsongmastersanddancersstillexisthere?Hesayshe’soneofthem。Themenandwomenallusedtoformacirclearoundthefireanddancerightthroughtodaybreak;butlateronitwasbanned。

〃Why?〃IknowquitewellbutIask。I’mbeingdishonestagain。

〃ItwastheCulturalRevolution。TheysaidthesongsweredirtysowechangedtosingingSayingsofMaoZedongsongsinstead。〃

〃Andwhataboutafterthat?〃Ipersistinasking。Thisisbeingahabit。

〃No…onesingsthoseanymore。Peoplearedoingthedancesagainbutnotmanyoftheyoungpeoplecandothem;I’mteachingthedancestosomeofthem。〃

Iaskhimforademonstration。Withouthesitation;heinstantlygetstohisfeetandproceedstodanceandsing。Hisvoiceislowandrich;he’sgotagoodvoice。I’msurehe’sQiangevenifthepoliceinchargeofthepopulationregisterinsistthatheisn’t。TheythinkanyoneclaimingtobeTibetanorQiangistryingtoevadebirthrestrictionsandhavemorechildren。

Hesingssongaftersong。Hesayshe’safun…lovingperson;Ibelievehim。Whenhefinishedupasvillagehead;hewentbacktobeingoneofthemountainpeople;anol
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