Prose about the long-lost Liubuxi Ancient Plank Road

Liubu River is the only well-preserved virgin forest in the north of Xuefeng Mountain and is now designated as a national nature reserve. The highest altitude in the area is 1,130 meters, the lowest altitude is 258 meters, and the area covers 122.5 square kilometers.

Walking into Liubu River is like walking outside the world of mortals. Without the hustle and bustle of the world, without the entanglement of fame and fortune, without falsehood and stumbling, here is a miraculous workmanship, a small stream. It is pure and bright, the green trees of the original sub-forest, and the slash-and-burn cultivation of the local people. Natural sounds, heard by chickens and dogs. The erosion of wind and rain in the stilted building is clearly the mark of time.

Due to living in the city for a long time, I, an urban migratory bird who grew up drinking the mountain water of Liubu River and eating the whole grains of Liubu River, feel a little more lonely and irritable. I always want to find something to sort myself out and enrich myself.

So, during the May Day holiday, I made an appointment with Brother Wu Gui, the old director of Liubuxi Forest Farm, to follow the memory and visit the long-lost Liubuxi ancient plank road, looking for a refreshing break. A kind of solace for the soul.

That section of the ancient plank road was left deep in the Lengfengjian Canyon. Going up from the foot of the mountain, the road leading to the ancient plank road is encroached by vegetation and is no longer as lean and smooth as it once was. This important transportation artery between Yuanling, Taoyuan and Anhua counties in those days is now rarely visited. The ancient road has fulfilled its mission as a road, and the meaning of the road has been diluted, becoming a mark and scenery in the mountains.

While passing by a dripping stone wall, I suddenly found a cluster of Lycoris in bloom. Lycoris is the most beautiful flower I saw when I was a child. I haven’t seen it for many years, but at first glance, the flower color is much more colorful than I remembered. It is a kind of wild and natural beauty. Lycoris has a short flowering period. When it blooms, its flower stems are tender green and round, and its petals are slender, strands, naturally curled or half-opened, making it naturally beautiful. It only blooms as a flower in the mountains and fields. It enjoys its beauty alone, is not lonely, and does not feel sorry for itself.

Up, and up again, the mountain road twists and turns, and it is quiet all the way. The sunlight cuts diagonally from the top of the mountain into the valley, forming two color blocks of light and dark. After turning a mountain bend, the ancient plank road suddenly appeared in front of us. It’s been a long time since I saw the ancient plank road, and I couldn’t wait to step on it as if I were seeing a relative. The plank road is still so old, so ancient. It is so ancient that time is of no importance to it. The plank road is still so exquisite, with thick black stone steps either horizontally or vertically, at random heights, and completely natural. At this moment, the ancient plank road is hidden behind the sun, as silent as a symbol. Because no one has visited it for many years, the stone steps are covered with lichen, fern, and moss, making the plank road and the cliff integrated. A thin old tree under the stone steps waved to me frequently, full of excitement after being lonely for too long.

I read the plank road carefully, read the details that I could not understand when I was a child, and read the delicacy and thickness left by my ancestors. I suspect that sunshine sometimes intentionally leaves a space, a sense of mystery and Zen, allowing people to search for lost things. At the end of the plank road, the stone tablet is still there. After years of wind and rain erosion, the words on the tablet have become more blurred, and only the vigorous official script can be vaguely discerned. The stone tablet records the simple material life of the ancestors, the deeds of the ancestors cutting stones to open roads, and also describes the wisdom and will of the ancestors. The ancestors lived in salted fish and pickled vegetables, carrying poles and straw sandals, with bitterness and joy, rude jokes, and stories of men and women, but they had pursuits and dreams, art and creation. Their lives are as concise and simple as the words on the stone tablets.

The ancient plank road is the road dug by the ancestors and the road traveled by the ancestors. The new generation continues to move forward, taking a broad highway and a road to the moon. Maybe the next generation will go further. Generations of people are walking, and all roads are extensions of the ancient plank roads. However, as we go further and further and create many miracles, we make our lives more and more complicated. We have lost the broad-mindedness of our ancestors' minds and the height of their vision, and have forgotten to create a curve for ourselves that allows our souls to rest.