Original prose: The boat arrived at Ziqiu Town, it was already dusk.

The Story of Ziqiu

It was already dusk when the boat arrived at Ziqiu Town. It's just winter, but people in the town are already gathering around the brazier to make a charcoal fire. It’s no wonder that this place is about 1,800 meters above sea level, connected to the mouth of Yuxiakou at the top, Yakou at the bottom, Huoshaoping to the north, and Huangbai Mountain to the south. It’s extremely cold at high altitudes.

After dinner, I had nothing to do, so I went out on the street with my fellow travelers. Entering the town from the dock, the road is in a herringbone shape, with two small streets, deserted and sparsely populated. If someone is holding a bamboo pole and sweeping across the street, insurance will not cover them. The wind from the Qingjiang Gorge whizzes straight to the town streets.

It is said that the busiest time in Ziqiu was during the Anti-Japanese War, which was similar to my hometown of Enshi. At that time, Ziqiu was an ancient town in the middle of the Qingjiang River. Ships on the Yangtze River could only sail to Xiangwangtan, so this became the only dock. Ships come and go, people come and go, soldiers, bandits and merchants travel, and the world is prosperous in troubled times. Even the mountain people from Badong and Hefeng, who are as far away as the western border of Hubei, travel across mountains and rivers to carry salt here.

Of course, after the dam was built at Geheyan, the ancient town of Ziqiu has been submerged in the Qingjiang reservoir area. Therefore, every time the boat passes the Ziqiu Bridge, there are always people with gloomy moods and dazed faces; there are always people who never forget to say: Our boat is walking on the back of Lao Ziqiu.

Xinziqiu was built in Taoshan. "Ziqiu's sister-in-law, Momoyama's sister" is well-known. Once, two writers were passing by Ziqiu in a car and suddenly saw a beautiful head sticking out of the window of a house. It was a real beauty with beautiful faces, refreshing peach red and white plum blossoms, which made the two writers’ eyes almost pop out. They believe that "a handsome bird emerges from the mountains" and this woman is the most beautiful woman in the world. It's a pity that the car passed by in a flash and I didn't have time to go into the town to take a look. Later, they went to Ziqiu and Taoshan several times, visiting the streets and alleys without knowing where the beautiful lady was, leaving only deep regrets.

I stayed in Taoshan for a few days this time and noticed that the women in the town were not as mysterious as the legend said. The old people sighed and explained: All the good-looking girls have gone to Guangdong and Hainan.

My heart is full of melancholy, and the search of the two writers has become a spiritual desire and an emotional sustenance.

Ziqiu people are very humorous, and they all seem to be masters of telling jokes and stories. That night, we invited two elderly people in their sixties to tell stories at the town government guest house. They were drinking wine, roasting on the fire, eating meat and vegetables, and laughing all day long. One person said: Peel the tangerines and talk less. Another said: The peach blossoms have fallen to the ground, thank you very much. One said: Let me tell you a story about getting your hair permed. There was a girl in the town who went to town with her family behind her back to have her hair permed. When she came home, her mother was shocked and asked her: How did it get like this? The girl said: It's hot. Her mother turned from surprise to joy and kept saying, "It's okay, it's okay. Fortunately, my face didn't get burned." Another said: Let me tell you a story about Mazi. These humorous, funny and witty stories made us laugh. I think Ziqiu is indeed a rich mine of folk literature and folk culture. The life information, character traits, spiritual wisdom, and life insights of the Ziqiu people conveyed by them, as well as the changing times and the changing world, make those ordinary people themselves The story has unusual emotions and implications.

The night before we left Ziqiu, a centenarian passed away in the town. The mourning hall was built in the courtyard of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and the mayor took us to watch a funeral dance. Local people say that the three treasures of Ziqiu culture, including folk songs, southern songs and funeral dances, have been enduring since ancient times. When the Pearl River Film Studio came here to film a movie, more than 300 mourners gathered. There are also families who use karaoke instead of mourning, but it is still not as interesting as singing folk songs, playing flower drums, accompanying ten sisters, and dancing. The local people watch the funeral all night long, singing and dancing, and are very emotionally involved. Ziqiu belongs to a root area of ??Tujia culture.

I stood in the mourning hall and listened to the long shouts of the drummer, and I seemed to hear the sound of the passage of time; watching the mesmerizing dance of the mourners, I seemed to realize the ebb and flow of life. Ziqiu's funeral dance may be the passion of life and the outpouring of emotion. Because of my trip to Ziqiu, the writings of me and my fellow writers and poets have stirred up so many rich associations, sent out so many unique sighs, and shed so many moving stories! Can we say that Ziqiu is a legendary story of the Ba people? In other words, Ziqiu is a long-readable quatrain from the Tang Dynasty? So small, so far away, so exquisite, and so long-lasting.

Ziqiu Nanqu

The cliffs on both sides are like locks, and the blue water in one bay is like a phoenix, hence the name Suofeng Bay. There is Bawang Cave on the mountain, and there is Qingjiang River at the foot of the mountain. Bawang Hotel is located in it. Listening to Ziqiu Nanqu here is quite poetic.

Ziqiu Nanqu is now called Changyang Nanqu. In fact, it was first discovered in Ziqiu, known as "Little Hankou" in the west of the county. Later, it was inherited by the Tujia people from generation to generation, and the beautiful melody spread throughout both sides of the Qingjiang River.

Ziqiu Town Cultural Station invited seven folk artists to sing southern songs for us. They sat in a corner of Bawang Hotel near the door, surrounding the fire, with calm and deep expressions, like philosophers who had penetrated the world and transcended the mortal world.

Among them, two artists are worth mentioning.

An old man named Tian Changxi once played the role of an old artist singing southern songs in the TV series "Home in the Three Gorges". He was wearing a camel-colored bandana, holding a cloud board in his hand, crossing his legs, and looked leisurely as if he had seen the world. Another artist named Qin Yuanxin was somewhat deaf, so the villagers called him Qin Deaf. Deaf Tan is a versatile character. He is not only good at singing folk songs and southern songs, and dancing funeral dances, but he is also good at playing chess, writing calligraphy, and can read simplified musical notation and music notation. This is evident from the Tujia village, hidden dragon and crouching tiger.

Old man Tian waved his wrist, and the cloud board sounded. Deaf Tan plucked his fingers, and the three strings resounded. The seven men sang in harmony with the music, and their singing style was like the ancient Yishui style, slow and melodious. The melody of the southern song is like the rolling hills of Ziqiu, gentle and twists and turns, revealing a comfortable, pleasant and slightly desolate and sad taste.

Spring is gone and summer is coming,

Before you know it, it’s autumn again.

A small boat under the Liulin River,

The fisherman is standing on the bow of the boat...

This is the traditional aria of Ziqiu Nanqu "Spring is gone and summer is coming" , which vividly depicts the scene of Qingjiang fishermen enjoying themselves. What surprised me was not that its singing was so beautiful, but that its diction was so elegant. How could such a sunny spring and white snow take root and bear fruit in the Tujia village of the Lower Liba people? Where is the origin and flow of Ziqiu Nanqu?

Tan Deafzi said: "Ziqiu Nanqu was originally a palace elegant song, which was introduced to Changyang around the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. He was originally a court musician who was forced to escape from the ancient city of Jingzhou because of molesting the princess, and fell into poverty in Jingzhou. Ziqiu makes a living as a street performer. He plays and sings southern tunes with a sanxian incognito. This kind of folk art that he performs and entertains himself in the wilds brings joy and sustenance to the people of Ziqiu in the mountains. , you sing it and I practice it from generation to generation, and the southern tune has been passed down. In the blink of an eye, it has been around for more than two hundred years."

Whether Deaf Tan's words are credible remains to be seen. However, it is an indisputable fact that the Tujia people are satisfied with the pastoral life where they can live a good life with meat and wine, and it is also an annotation of their call for change and their desire to go out of the mountains. Ziqiu Nanqu caters to their self-sufficiency mentality of small-scale peasant economy, which is really a misunderstanding of history and art. Old man Tian interrupted the conversation between Deaf Qin and I, shook the cloud board and said: "I will sing you another song "Sad Autumn". It is a northern tune. I have only collected one song now. It is a treasure among southern tunes." As a result, the elegant charm floated in Suofeng Bay again.

The fallen sycamore leaves are blown by the golden wind,

The fragrant osmanthus and the red begonia are floating in the air.

Whose family is playing the Yao Qin in the quiet night?

I can hear the tinkling of the iron horse in front of the eaves...

The seven artists sang extremely well Calmness, but in the calmness overflows a true love of life, a simple understanding of life and a simple state of mind, like the clear river that has accumulated years.

In memory of Ba Wang

Perhaps there is only one cave named after Ba Wang in the country. Bawang Cave is located on the bank of the Qingjiang River in Ziqiu Town, Changyang, adding a heavy sense of history and distant vicissitudes to the birthplace of the Ba people. I went there once a few years ago and I still remember it vividly.

Not to mention how beautiful the screen-like stalactites are, not to mention how majestic the sword-like stalactites are, and not to mention how ingenious the stage in the cave is; I just want to say that I am in I saw Bawang here, and I stood in Bawang Cave to miss Bawang.

The white tiger is the totem of the Ba people. At the north end of the White Tiger Hall in Bawang Cave, there is a rock that resembles a human figure. It was a strong-bodied Tujia man, with a long silk handkerchief wrapped around his head and a fringed double-breasted suit. He blew an ox horn diagonally toward the Qingjiang River.

I think this is Ba Wang. This is Ba Wuxiang, the leader of the Ba people, who was born in the red cave of Zhongli Mountain in Wuluo. This is my Tujia ancestor Linjun. "Blow a horn to the king and the emperor, and blow out a clear river." With such a vivid image, who else could he be if not him? "After Lin Jun's death, his spirit turned into a white tiger." Who else could he be if he were not such a heroic figure? Perhaps, this is the meaning of "Bawang Cave".

On this rainy day in early summer, when I took a boat from Geheyan via Zhongli Mountain to Ziqiu Town, I kept thinking about and silently reciting Ba Wang's poems. Three women who wrote prose came to Ziqiu for the first time. They went to see Bawang Cave with the editors of newspapers and magazines, and I walked alone in the streets of the town. While watching, I thought, did they recognize Ba Wang and pay homage to Ba Wang as devoutly as I did?

When the young Bawu Prime Minister was in alliance with the four surnames of Black Cave, he threw his sword into a cave and made his earthen boat float in the river. He was promoted to Lord Lin for his bravery and wisdom. He led his people up the Qingjiang River in an attempt to move westward to find a land and water where they could live and work in peace and contentment. Later, the city of Yi was established and the pass was defended, which made the small state of Ba Fang as stable as Mount Tai for hundreds of years. During the Western Expedition and the Eastern War, strong martial arts, excellent command and wise decision-making were required, all of which created a generation of heroes for our nation.

It is said that Yuxiakou, not far from Ziqiu Town, was probably the Yicheng where King Ba came to rule.

As long as you take a look at the beautiful scenery, easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack terrain, and abundant agricultural and animal husbandry resources in this area, you will admire Ba Wang's foresight from the bottom of your heart. What I don’t understand is that after King Ba met the Salt Water Goddess in the Yanchi River, the Goddess loved him so much that in order to keep him, the Goddess transformed into a locust to prevent him from traveling westward. And how could King Ba have the heart to bend his bow and shoot the locusts, and lose the infatuation of the Salt Water Goddess?

I walked around the town in the rain and visited two bookstores. One of the pamphlets compiled by locals recorded the conversation between Ba Wang and the goddess, which seemed to provide annotations for my questions. The goddess said: "This land is vast, with fish and salt produced, and I would like to stay here." King Ba said: "I ask for land, but I can't stop it." King Ba flatly declined the goddess' offer to open up territory for the descendants of the nation. Love, isn't this a life-and-death love and the swan song of love that resounds throughout the world? Ba Wang, I see your bow and arrow hands shaking, and your heart bleeding...

The companions have returned from Ba Wang Cave, and they all look very comfortable. When it comes to what we have seen and heard, there are some who are surprised, some who are sighing, some who are lyrical, and some who are daydreaming. I didn’t ask them how they felt about Ba Wang. I thought that remembering Ba Wang and his long-lost love was not a story that everyone needed. The mountains, rivers, rocks, wind, rain, clouds and mist could also please the temperament. I believe that King Ba is a man of temperament, just like us.

About the author

Gan Maohua, a Tujia nationality, is a well-known essayist and lyricist. Born in 1947, his ancestral home is Gao'an, Jiangxi, and his ancestral home is Enshi, Hubei. A member of the Communist Party of China, he graduated from the political cadre college class of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee Party School in 1985 and is a political engineer. In 1968, he went to Gao'an, Jiangxi, and then transferred to Changzhi, Shanxi to join the team. After 1974, he successively served as deputy secretary of the party branch of the workshop of Shanxi Taihang Saw Blade Factory, deputy director of the propaganda department of the party committee, and vice president of the party school. In 1988, he worked as editor of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Hubei Enshi Autonomous Prefecture and as secretary-general of the Writers and Entrepreneurs Association. Since 1990, he has served as office director, propaganda section chief, and ideological and political work office director at the Enshi Autonomous Prefecture Branch, Yichang Branch, and Three Gorges Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. He began to publish works in provincial magazines in 1979, joined the provincial Writers Association in 1980, and the Chinese Writers Association in 1998. He once served as director of Hubei Writers Association, director of Hubei Popular Music Art Committee, executive vice chairman of Yichang Writers Association, honorary president of Yichang Prose Society, and representative of Yichang Municipal People's Congress. He is the author of 16 various literary works, including 2 novel collections "The Most Beautiful" and "Ding Feng Bo", 10 essay collections such as "Western Hubei Customs Record" and "This Side of Water and Soil", and a collection of lyrics "Lower Riba People" and "Three Hundred Lyrics". "First" and other 3 volumes, and 1 commentary collection. His works have won the first Hubei Literature Award, the first and second Hubei Minority Literature Awards, the eighth and ninth Hubei Qu Yuan Literary Awards, the sixth National Bing Xin Prose Award, and the 17th Stars Award of the Ministry of Culture. , the 10th National "Five One Project" Award of the Central Propaganda Department and other important awards. In October 2019, he won the honorable title of "Advanced Individual Retired Personnel" in the National ICBC System. Songs written by Gan Maohua, such as "Women in the Mountains Call the Sun", "Knock on the Qin and Drums", "Sisters of Qingtan, Yetan's Sisters", "Tujia Sisters of Qingjiang Gallery", etc., have been widely praised by the literary and art circles. He participated in the CCTV Youth Singing Competition and won the Silver Award for National Singing. It was included in the China Conservatory of Music's demonstration textbook edited by Jin Tielin. These songs are not only widely sung across the country, especially in the Three Gorges area, but also have works broadcast on CCTV, provincial channels, city channels and other art channels almost every year. Gan Maohua was hailed by critics as a master of romantic writing, and earned the reputation of "Three Gorges Talent, Tujia Singer".