Keep the Lotus Leaves
Fang Huzhai
After two years’ absence from China, I returned on leave in late October. On the 30th I took a train to Wuhan. New train, all sleeping berths, non-stop, semi-open rooms. Very comfy.
Wuhan is where my parents live. Because of the hot weather and cold winter, I never imagined to live there myself. Besides, my past memories of Wuhan were associated with bumpy roads, crowded buses, abusive remarks between strangers in the street.
Now Wuhan has changed, especially in this past two years. Skyscrapers were rising along the city’s 4th main road. This area will be the Wall Street of Wuhan in the future. In the narrow electronic market streets near Jianghan Road, I no longer saw women asking passers-by: “Do you want good (meaning “porn”) disks?” Obviously some measure had been taken to rid the streets off them.
Wuhan’s parks are now mostly free to the public the whole day. They used to be free for morning exercises, an advantage that Beijingers never have. Now you do not have to rush to the park in the morning anymore. In the park near my home, I saw people dancing, playing music and singing, even after 8:00 a.m. For some, it is a way to cope with unemployment. For most, it is an enjoyable retirement life.
The so called “Farmer’s dishes” (nong jia cai) are now hot in Wuhan’s restaurants. They are inexpensive and the portion is generous. Wuhan people like nice food and the richness of local produce provides a good variety of cuisine suitable for people of all income levels.
There is much change with buses, which are now colorful and clean. There is no ticket seller on the bus. Passengers drop their fares into a box. Bus stops serve many routes. Signs at the stops indicate the names of stops and the amount of fares clearly. Public transit system is the area where I see the greatest change.
I visited the Yellow Crane Tower, the Guiyuan Temple and the East lake. At the Yellow Crane Tower they had ancient bell music and dance show, free with purchasing of tea, 10 yuan minimum. The performance was professional but their VCD not worth the money.
At home, I read Taiwan novelist Yu Lihua’s See the Palm Trees Again. I bought the book before leaving China ten years ago . I was reading others’ story then but now I felt reading one of myself. It made me more sensitive to things in my life. Like the hero in the novel, I am debating which side of the Pacific to choose for the rest of my life. Only that my case is more urgent: I just celebrated my 50th birthday while he is in his 30’s. Reading the novel made me feel nice at home to experience what had lacking in my life in the U.S. Browsing the family album, I realized that I had been left out for many family occasions. Now tiny little things in life seemed more significant to me. Going out to buy breakfast in the morning, my sister washing my clothes, bicycling in the shiny downtown streets in the evening, getting laundry from the street corner laundry lady, all reminded me of the convenience and richness of life here in China as compared with the solitary life in my town in the U.S..
Yet I could not rid my mind of some people back in the U.S. Some people, with whom I do not have close ties, somehow weigh on my heart.
Indeed, before any decision can be made as to my future life, or before there is even a chance to make such a decision, I might just as well take this opportunity to enjoy Wuhan. It rained on and off since I arrived. Taking a walk under an umbrella on the street where my home was after dinner, I savored the coolness. I went into a restaurant to the welcoming smile of the owner lady to investigate the menu. I browsed the colorful displays in a CD store and a bookstore. Nowadays, with money, one can buy any kind of “spiritual food”. So many classic movies. I wanted to buy some, but there would be the regret of not buying others, so I did not buy any.
The Jiefang Park Road in the rain was shiny with colors and lights. Trees arching over the street, colorful buses and cars, pupils off from evening classes, well lit stores and restaurants beared a likeness to the measured hustle and bustle of a small town.
One night I passed Jiqing Street and saw a snack bar, called “sweeties store” locally. I ordered four Shaomai (steamed unsealed dumpling), a bowl of rice wine, a cup of dates boiled with white fungus, a local delicacy and ate slowly. I heard that Wuhan writer Chi Li had written about this street specifically in her writings. I could now feel why it was a lovely hangout place for Wuhan residents. A L shaped short street, it now is besieged by new skyscrapers and standing in the street, one feels like standing in a valley. On both sides of the streets are food stalls and restaurants of different kinds. The old buildings and new high-rise mansions form a bemusing contrast, indicating the rapid development of Wuhan and the persistence of tradition in the city. It is like a melody with mixed yet harmonious tunes.
It was on a foggy day that I went to the East Lake and the fog gave some poetic flavor to the scene. Wooden boats were available. It would be nice to sit in one with a loved one, sailing through the dying lotus leaves and drinking tea or wine, chanting Li Shangyin’s poem: “I keep the lotus leaves to hear the rain drops”.
For an expatriate, home is like a lotus leave that is kept in heart to hear the raindrops familiar since childhood..
Nov. 16, 2005 At Fanghuzhai,
照片是东湖残荷。
- Re: 留得残荷(已投稿,请勿转贴)posted on 11/17/2005
忍不住调了一下看:
- Re: 留得残荷(已投稿,请勿转贴)posted on 11/17/2005
我老爸也调整了一下,还加了他写的诗。 - Re: 留得残荷(已投稿,请勿转贴)posted on 11/17/2005
这首诗好,远好过昨天读过的那什么“水莲”。。。
这以图配诗也很好,有国画风。只是我个人觉得第一幅似乎是阴雨天
,阿姗搬来安塔路细亚的阳光,于是枯叶就格外分明了。
但我还是喜欢第一幅的阴郁! - Re: 留得残荷(已投稿,请勿转贴)posted on 11/17/2005
不管光线怎样调,无望就是无望。这生活需要刷新,重新起动了。 - Re: 留得残荷(已投稿,请勿转贴)posted on 11/18/2005
原照阴天,配以残荷,过于凄凉,调亮一些,略微冲淡,便于观感,阿姗所改,一扫阴沉,充满希望,故附打油一瓶:西风洗罢晚装残,淡抹胭脂半倚栏,莫道徐娘不映日,春风还我碧连天。 - Re: 雨后posted on 11/22/2005
雨后的阳光 照着
树与草上的露水
梦不再模糊
一转身的距离
你远行若船上的风帆
灰鸽子在小巷的尽头
数着飘下的秋叶
刹那即永恒
再难的追寻和遗弃
有时候不得不弃
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