Watching the live-action drama Princess Wencheng in Lhasa, there was one scene that made me immediately burst into tears. That is, Princess Wencheng broke the mirror, turned around and crossed the river, and embarked on a journey of peace in the snowy region without any hesitation.
Because it reminded me of a similar scene that played out everywhere in China 1300 years later. American Peter Hessler wrote a book, "Country Driving," which contains a fascinating description of such scenes:
"But Ren Jing had her mind made up, and she packed all her possessions in a small bag and waited for a ride on a truck. She said nothing and did not look at her mother. The woman begged for mercy and suddenly burst into tears. The girl remained unmoved. Finally, the mother gave in and shouted, 'Go, if you wish!'
She turned around and dragged her stiff legs slowly across the Suisong Road, crying loudly, and as soon as she walked away, the girl couldn't help but cry too - she buried her head between her knees and sobbed. For the next hour, the mother and daughter stood on each side of the street, crying.
Later, Ren Jing's sister arrived, passing messages across Suisong Road. 'She told you to be careful,' she told Ren Jing. The sixteen-year-old girl replied back, 'Tell her I'll be fine.' Five minutes later, her sister added, 'She's crying. She really wants you to stay!"
This is what happens when young girls go out to work in China today.
When Princess Wencheng turned to leave, I don't know how she felt; some history books record that she looked happy, others that she hid her face and wept. But I guess, in the face of the future, her mood should be very complicated, similar to today's first time out of the work of young people, or our first time in an unfamiliar city to participate in the work, there are expectations and concerns. But what about her mother? There is no record of that poor woman in the history books! Facing this farewell between life and death, how would this mother feel? To know, Princess Wencheng departure, but also sixteen-year-old girl!
The Japanese song "Spring in the North" has a line: the city does not know that the season has changed, mom is still sending parcels, send cold clothes to protect the winter. Huawei's Ren Zhengfei's understanding of this is that Japan was also a period of social transition, a large number of young people flocked to the city to work in the city's concrete jungle, can not feel the change of seasons, only when the mother sent packages, only to know that another season has passed. Whenever I hear this song, I seem to see a picture, a mother's silhouette in the window, in the yellow light, low caressing the child's cold clothes, outside the window snow, the dome of the sky like the sea ......
Perhaps, Princess Wencheng's mother, but also for her daughter to prepare a thick cold clothes; perhaps, this mother will also stand in the garden corner of the tower Perhaps, this mother will also stand on the corner of the garden, watching the caravan go away; perhaps, this mother will touch her daughter's childhood toys and try her best to remember her daughter's bright smile; perhaps, this mother will just spread out the rice paper, pick up the brush, and write a Tang poem that has never been circulated ......
On the stage, in the snow and wind, Princess Wencheng sang: the place where you can't go is far away, and the place where you can't go back is your hometown. The place you can't go back to is your hometown.
How far away is it? It took Princess Wencheng three years to get to Lhasa!
When will the hometown return? Princess Wencheng never returned to Chang'an!
Yes, for the sake of a faraway place in our dreams, or perhaps a faraway place we can never go, we are far away from our beautiful hometowns and come to the city. Zheng Zhihua sang "the city's asphalt is too hard to step on the footprints", and can not "roll up your pants, bare feet, step on the beach". We are all drifters in the concrete jungle of the city, how far away is the distant land, when will the hometown return?
Princess Wencheng's role in the later generations pulled up very high, in fact, it is just ordinary and relatives, history books written with a large number of artisans, seeds, medicine, etc., in fact, is a lie, because there is no history books, all based on the imagination to come up with the conclusion. As sung in the play, "I want the poor to be free from famine, I want the sick to be free from sorrow. I want the old to be free from senility, and I want the dead to be at peace." It is also just a dream or prayer of the common people.
Similarly, we are a generation or even several generations, uprooted, to the metropolis, in fact, is the choice of life, the trend of the forced, inside the economic laws, there are behavioral psychology, but only no propaganda in order to build the motherland. If you think about it, if you really want to build the motherland, wouldn't the vast expanse of the countryside need to be built even more?
Of course, we still need to have feelings, that is, love this land, love living in this land suffering people. How to love, from love themselves to start, so as to love their families, love friends, love the people in their power, this is the definition of love of the motherland. Internet fools, in order to an empty patriotic slogan, smashing stores, beating compatriots, certainly not patriotic, they even live in this land people are shouting to kill, they do not even love themselves, they will love the motherland? Guess they don't believe it themselves.
A couple of days ago, a comrade in Chengdu asked me to summarize the sentiment behind Mr. Li Xiaolai's column in one sentence, and I said twelve words: cultivate the spirit of independence and freedom of thought. In fact, as long as you read carefully, you will appreciate this thought between the lines, so his daughter-in-law will say to people that he is ready to transform the world chant. We are forced to leave our hometowns because we have to make a living, and our hometowns are so devastated that it is difficult for us to go back to them. But we can work with Mr. Xiaolai to do what we can, for example, to achieve financial freedom, and then help more people not to leave their homes, and perhaps transform our hometowns into real dream homes!