The original work of Five Cities

It is backed by the Yellow River, standing on the Song Dynasty, like a noble who is no longer prominent, and its eyebrows are still extraordinary.

The capital is in Zhengzhou, isn't it. This is its luck. The old capital, which used to be too old for water, gave its busy modernization tasks to its neighbors for free.

The accompanying person said that the old place names recorded in the history of the Song Dynasty were all several meters underground in Kaifeng today. The Yellow River is often cut off from water, and layers of silt accumulate, which deeply hides the dense footprints of the Song Dynasty. The ancient city of Pompeii was hidden too much. China people are gentle and gentle, and even the natural forces do as the Romans do, and take it step by step. Kaifeng, the ancient capital, was refreshed again and again by the brush of disaster. People fled again, re-cultivated, re-built, re-awakened the charm of the ancient capital, and re-summoned the prosperity of the market. Kaifeng's proudest prosperity can be found in the Riverside Map at Qingming Festival.

Kaifeng, like our whole nation, has stood in the desert of disaster again and again, vowing to restore its former prosperity under the mud. However, everything under the mud belongs to memory, which is like a silver-gray dream with no other color. As a result, Kaifeng became a faded site.

Only the tallest and strongest buildings are not buried. The steps are lost, but the temple is still there; The bottom of the tower is silted up and still indestructible. I went to Kaifeng with my friends that day, and I don't know how many steps I climbed, ancient pagoda, ancient pagoda, palace, palace, palace. Tired, I looked up and down and said to my friend, "I really want to photograph the stone steps in the weeds and tell the time." The friend said, "Stop shooting, and the camera at one end will become modern."

That's true. The power of time can only be slowly climbed and experienced by physical strength, not easily seen in a photo. When it's easy, it tastes bad.

Many ancient pagodas in China are forbidden for people to climb, but Kaifeng ancient pagodas are arbitrary. Don't worry too much about countless people crowded in the tower. Climbing this tower is a test of strength and will. The tower steps are very narrow, steep and dark. You can't stop without struggling to climb to the window of each floor. When you get to the window, you immediately have a desire to watch at a higher level. The psychology of climbing the tower can form a strong suspense line, and the spire at the top of the tower is the supreme call. Don't go into the tower. After entering it and climbing it, few people return halfway. Let the physically and mentally weak people look up quietly. There is a relay race between youth and life in the tower. The ancestors who built the tower a thousand years ago inadvertently left two commanding heights, physical and psychological, to see if the descendants of several generations have any promise and skill. When climbing to the last floor, I really want to shout: "I report for duty, my ancestor!" " "

Yes, only the construction far above reality can summon future generations forever.

Second, Nanjing.

The gold powder of the Six Dynasties can make it famous forever, not to mention the political tide of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the bloody fire of modern times.

Many things that originally belonged to the whole country became particularly strange and unforgettable when they arrived in Nanjing. There were many prostitutes in previous dynasties. How can they have the cultural accomplishment and political knowledge of "Eight Wonders at Qinhuai" in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, which makes the whole political and cultural history colorful? There have been many peasant uprisings in past dynasties. How can they be as powerful as Zhu Yuanzhang buried in Zijinshan and Hong Xiuquan who made Nanjing the capital of Tianjing? There are many ancient capitals, unlike Nanjing. Until modern times, the city was bloodbath by foreigners for a while, and then it was a historic tactic in artillery fire, and it was turned upside down again and again.

As far as its trunk is concerned, the Chinese nation stands tall in the Yellow River Basin. The north is the foundation of the feudal dynasty. When I arrived in Nanjing, I was infected by Chu customs and habits, and the scene naturally became weird. Nanjing will certainly accept the Yellow River civilization, but it is only close to the Yangtze River and has a different personality from the Yellow River. The strangeness of Nanjing should be attributed to the strong collision of two big rivers and the heterogeneous convergence of a huge nation.

This kind of collision and convergence, the wave trend is great, and the momentum is overwhelming. Therefore, the charm of Nanjing City is unparalleled, deeply engraved with the grand and tragic experience of the civil war. The ancient city wall near Xuanwu Lake was brushed by vines, and the ruins of the Ming Palace Museum can still be found. The bell of Jiming Temple is faintly audible. The stone statue of the Ming Tombs stands tall, the running water of Qinhuai River is not dry, the shops of Confucius Temple are thick and dense, the autumn leaves of Qixia Mountain fall every year, and the posture of Zijinshan remains unchanged for thousands of years. The avenue to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and Linggu Temple is always so charming.

Other old people condensed history into palaces; Nanjing, on the other hand, dissolves history in nature. In Nanjing, there is no pure academic visit, and there is no drama that can abandon history. Beijing is a luxurious gathering, Hangzhou is the precipitation of overcrowding, and Nanjing is neither extravagant nor crowded, and it has generously opened up a school of mountains and rivers to let people know about the great topic of China history. I have told my friends in Nanjing many times that Nanjing is one of the appropriate destinations for China scholars who are equally interested in scenery and history. I never hide my love for Nanjing except that it is too hot in summer and my language is not very good.

Many famous sentences in my heart are related to Nanjing, especially Liu Yuxi's Stone City:

The mountains are still the same, surrounded by abandoned ancient capitals, and the tide is beating against the lonely empty city as in the past. On the east bank of Huaihe River, the ancient cold moon, midnight, peep at the old palace.

More than 65,438+0,000 years ago, the poet has developed his meditation on homesickness into such a style. In addition, 1000, Nanjing was really full of anger.

Third, Chengdu.

For the whole of China, it is a great comfort to have a Chengdu hidden in the mountainous southwest.

I first entered Sichuan along baoji-chengdu railway. Looking at the Loess Plateau for so long, even my eyes turned yellow. Occasionally seeing a sidewalk and a stone house in the mountains will make the spirit suddenly shake, but it will soon disappear, and it will always be a bare mountain peak, slowly retreating with the rumble of wheels, endless. There are also steep mountains, but you can't see them in gray and yellow. The creator must have taken a long nap and dumped the gray and yellow on the palette here.

At first, there were tunnels, one after another. When passing through the tunnel, the noise of the wheels was deafening, and I didn't care. Anyway, I have looked everywhere many times, but there is no hope of green. But why are there so many tunnels? I just rushed out of one and then rushed into another. I can't count them. Finally, I feel that something big will happen in such a grand prelude. Sure enough, I don't know which tunnel I escaped from, and the whole carriage cheered: outside the window, a beautiful scene fell from the sky. The mountains are covered with green grass, waterfalls splash and yellow flowers burn, and even the rocks are wet and covered with moss. Rows of orange trees outside the window, green lined with golden oranges, seem to reach out and pick them. The land is black and oily, the houses are dense, and people and animals are prosperous. When the creator woke up, he rubbed his eyes and felt ashamed of his mistakes, as if he were trying to make amends here.

From then on, we don't want to leave the window for a moment until the arrival of Chengdu.

Taking Chengdu as the destination, ancient travelers can feel at ease and suffer thousands of miles into Sichuan. Although the Shu Road is difficult, Chengdu is here, no matter how difficult it is, it is elegant, even the thin literati can stand it.

Everything about Chinese civilization is not lacking in Chengdu. It is far from the southeast, far from the sea, and rarely dissipates anything, except that it gathers closely, leads a heavy life, and is rich and comfortable. There are so many mountains guarding it. Although there have been various collisions, they have not been involved in the catastrophe covering Kyushu Island, nor have they been used as a big battlefield thousands of miles away. Because it is very safe, it retains the sense of humor handed down from generation to generation; Because it is not so exciting, there will always be a spicy hobby; It is precisely because of its desire to fly over Chongshan that a large number of talented writers have been born.

Chengdu is a rich historical and cultural treasure house in China. There are many topics here, so there are many teahouses. The talkative Chengdu people prepared a dazzling array of snacks for themselves and chewed them carefully with history.

Most of the places of interest in Chengdu are the remains of foreign tourists. Chengdu people are very generous. Keep them well and pay tribute to them. Compared with Chongqing, Chengdu is much stronger in applying for electricity. It is this sinking force that establishes its stability. Chongqing is a little too busy.

Chongqing also has obvious advantages. Its Chaotianmen Wharf faces the Yangtze River and points to the sea, and its whole body echoes this direction. Shen Jing's Chengdu lacks this direction. In ancient times, Chengdu people shed tears and chopped oars in Wangjianglou. I don't know how many twists and turns it took to reach infinity.

The eternal problem of Chengdu still exists: how to go from deep to wide?

Fourth, Lanzhou

It is often said that the most difficult thing to adapt to in the northwest is food. But what impressed me most in Lanzhou are two kinds of delicious food: beef noodles and white melons.

Therefore, this long and narrow ancient city in the upper reaches of the Yellow River left me with two charms: thick and sweet.

Lanzhou beef noodles are very particular about ingredients. They must be cooked with good beef legs, then cut into small cubes and mixed with chives, dried peppers and peppers. The thickness of noodles depends on the customer. The authentic way is to cook a bowl separately, then pour in a proper amount of beef soup and cover it with the freshly fried ingredients. A big bowl is full, and the noodles are clear, shiny and fragrant. First, the taste is heavy but not greasy, smooth and spicy. Pass a small bowl of fresh soup. If you need beef, cut it into another plate. Sliced meat is dry and crisp, served with garlic sauce. When eating beef noodles in Lanzhou, most people will eat more than usual.

My friend in Lanzhou, Mr. Fan Kejun, is a man who has gone through a lot of hardships and often takes me to a small shop to eat beef noodles. Master Ma, who cooks, is very old. When he sees Mr. Fan coming, he will take care of everything by himself, allowing no mistakes. Teacher Fan told me softly that Master Ma was really a chivalrous man. Although he only cuts meat and cooks noodles every day, you can entrust everything to him. More than 30 years ago, an actor who came here to eat noodles every day was suddenly taken to prison, and the sentence was not light. His wife, relatives and friends all left him, and no one came to visit him during the Spring Festival. Unexpectedly, he appeared in front of the prison, holding a bag of chopped beef in his hand, speechless, and turned out to be Master Ma. Every year for 20 years. Twenty years later, the actor's grievances were rehabilitated, and he re-entered the stage, making him famous throughout the city. No matter how he invited him and thanked him, Master Ma did not accept it at all. He just smiles when he comes to eat beef noodles every morning.

Just then, Master Ma's beef noodles were ready and served. As long as I take a bite, I will taste the strong Lanzhou flavor.

In terms of flavor, melon noodles and beef noodles are in sharp contrast. When you eat this kind of melon, you must cut it into long strips. The mouth is cool, and the taste is not strong. Chew a few times and it will melt in your throat, and you will feel refreshed immediately. It is said that white melon is an exotic variety. Lanzhou accepted it and soon made it famous in China. Although Lanzhou is located in the remote northwest, it is a famous hometown of melons and fruits. As long as they are good fruits, most of them can survive in Lanzhou and add a sweetness. When the train passes through Lanzhou Station, the carriage will be filled with all kinds of melons and fruits like magic. Impatient passengers will immediately cut food with knives, and the carriage is full of sweet and delicious fragrance.

The fragrance of melons and fruits also echoed in Lanzhou folk customs. Slightly different from the imaginary Northwest Great God, the atmosphere here is quite generous and open. The clothes are fashionable, the shops are fashionable, the streets are generous, the paintings and calligraphy are exquisite, the songs and dances are flourishing, and the audience's interest in watching plays is free and easy. Beijing Opera, Yue Opera and Shaanxi Opera are all watched. Even if a foreign drama is performed, the box office value is still high. Dunhuang must pass through Lanzhou, so there are many foreign tourists in Lanzhou. One of Lanzhou's great regrets is that the airport is too far away from the urban area, which is extremely inconvenient; However, the English level of female announcers in Lanzhou Airport is higher than that in the national airports, which brings a kind of comfort to international friends.

This is Lanzhou, where opposing flavors blend together, bringing peace to the northwest plateau and comfort to travelers who have traveled long distances. The fact that the Chinese nation can dig a deep well spewing the fountain of life in such a distant place shows that its physical strength is still strong after all. There is a Lanzhou station there, crossing the helpless plateau for thousands of years, and we will feel a little proud.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) Guangzhou

After all, I have to talk about Guangzhou.

On New Year's Eve the year before last, I stayed in Guangzhou because I couldn't buy a plane ticket. Many friends pity me and invite me to their home for the New Year. I also took the opportunity to walk around the house.

Walking into every living room, there are big flowers. There are all kinds of colors, and many names are hard to remember. My favorite is a kumquat tree planted in a big pot. Its dark green leaves and golden fruits are all shining. A woman writer picked two casually, handed me one and threw it into her mouth. Her husband smiled and said, "She ate it all before the Chinese New Year!" "Tomorrow is the New Year.

That afternoon, some friends invited me to see the flower market in the evening, which was particularly lively on New Year's Eve. Go to the suburbs to see the flower beds in the afternoon. On the way to the garden, a car was full of flowers. People in Guangzhou don't like flowers picked from broken branches. They are used to potted plants at the roots and transported in pots. Many flowers are tall and dense, covering the top of the truck cab. Looking from a distance, I saw groups of flowers flying in the sky, which was amazing. These flowers will rush into every household, and people will pour wine and bless them among the flowers. I think, compared with other parts of the country, Guangzhou people have more right to say: Spring Festival is coming!

Unfortunately, when I came back from the garden, I got the plane ticket and rushed to the airport at once. Finally, I didn't see the flower market on New Year's Eve.

On the plane, the flowers in Guangzhou are still hovering in my mind. I think most mainlanders spend the Spring Festival decorated with red paper firecrackers, where spring and auspiciousness are artificially paved. Only in Guangzhou, it is very difficult to let the floats run for a season and bring the real spring life into the house, so it is the most honest and thorough celebration.

It is said that even in the most turbulent times, the flower market in Guangzhou has never stopped. Just like people in Guangzhou drink morning tea and go to Guangzhou every day, no matter whether the tide is high or low in Yun Qi or whether the clouds are falling.

From a certain point of view, the flower market and morning tea are just small embellishments of life, and there are many social events. How can we be so intoxicated? All kinds of fierce singles have arrived in Guangzhou all the way, which is already bleak. If they are spun into flowers and tea, it will be even harder to find. "What happened to Guangzhou?" Someone is shouting. Guangzhou people don't seem to hear it. They mumbled an incomprehensible Cantonese, turned around and called the fragrant petals, and then picked up the tea lamp.

Guangzhou has always been far away from the capital and facing the sea. This orientation naturally contradicts the feudal tradition of China for thousands of years. Thousands of miles of post horses are exhausted when they run here, and ships sailing in Nanyang are always ready to pull the wrong start.

When postal horses were really annoying, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Huang Zunxian and Sun Yat-sen stood up here and spoke to the clear voice in the north. In the event of a fire, they will pack their bags and go north generously, making a mess of things. The Northern Expedition, Northern Expedition and Guangzhou will always be the starting point of the Northern Expedition.

Going north often fails. Then come back, still drink morning tea, visit the flower market, and live a secular emotional life as if nothing had happened.

In recent years, Guangzhou seems to be talking to the north again. It is busy, open and brave. However, this speech is different from the past. It doesn't have to give up the morning tea and flower market for the time being. It is so thick and bitter that the generous words, mixed with tea and flowers, float away.

As a scholar like me, walking on the streets of Guangzhou sometimes feels lonely. Not without friends. In Guangzhou, there are many classmates and friends, but they are also very lonely. We are all looking for and expecting something. We can't create it in a hurry like the people in the market, and its effect is not like morning tea and flower market, but only meets daily and seasonal consumption.