Gusu Ajiao is a native of Lianyungang . He came to Suzhou 20 years ago. This famous city in the south of the Yangtze River with a history of 2,500 years gave him a feeling different from other cities when he traveled all over the country. Different from the rapid changes in other cities, Suzhou's changes are fast and slow. The fast ones are the modern new city style, and the slow ones are the historical old streets, old lanes, ancient bridges and ancient gardens. Time seems to have stood still on these old buildings. For a foreigner who works hard in Suzhou, these monuments are more like spiritual coordinates, as he himself said In that way, "Suzhou can give me a sense of security and certainty, and I am very happy to live here!"
Gusu Ajiao's comic works
And his comics record the small joys and comforts of Suzhou life, which not only have the warmth of fireworks in ordinary life, but also reveal the joy of poetry.
Gusu Ajiao's comic works
Some people praise his works, including "the fireworks in the world written by Wang Zengqi, the philosophy of life in Su Dongpo's style, and the wisdom of life in Ji Xianlin's writings." I think this evaluation is appropriate.
The comic collection "Little Man in the World" written by Gusu Ajiao
Gusu Ajiao is about the same age as me, and the people and things he describes are familiar to me, so there is more emotional resonance.
Suzhou is my second hometown. My grandmother and mother’s home is in a city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, 55 kilometers away from Suzhou city. I spent my childhood here and returned here to work and settle down after graduating from university.
Before I started a family, there was a time when I would take a train to Suzhou City every weekend. My sister and I would visit gardens, visit ancient temples, climb the peaks in the suburbs of Suzhou, and ride a human-powered tricycle through the narrow ancient streets. It was an unforgettable and beautiful time. Later, we got married and had children, so the two sisters’ travels to Suzhou City were interrupted.
Gusu Ajiao's comic works
In the summer vacation of 2014, I took my daughter to visit Suzhou city. One of the stops was to the Baoen Temple Pagoda, the first ancient temple in Wuzhong . People in Suzhou call it "Beisi Pagoda". This is a pavilion-style pagoda that was built in the Southern and Northern Dynasties Liang Dynasty and has a history of 1,700 years.
My sister and I often climbed this pagoda back then. After more than ten years, I climbed the pagoda again with my daughter. I felt a lot of emotion in my heart. While climbing up, I told my daughter old stories.
I remember when my sister and I were still playful and noisy, the two girls imagined that the "dong dong dong" footsteps of other tourists on the wooden stairs were enemies approaching, so we ran away quickly, letting out a string of cheerful laughter like silver bells. Before the tourist's figure appeared at the top of the stairs, we found the ascending stairs and climbed up quickly. If we were not seen by the next tourist, we would win the game. Just like this, layer after layer until the top of the tower. Now that I think about it, this game is very boring, and running around in the pagoda is a bit disrespectful, but I had a lot of fun playing it at such a youthful age. Now when I think of it, all that's left is a smile on my lips. The legs and feet are not as sharp as they were then, and time will always leave traces on people's bodies more or less. Even if it is as majestic as a pagoda, it is still experiencing changes in climate and warmth, and the rise and fall of incense. The city of Suzhou under the pagoda has experienced thousands of years of wind, frost, rain, and snow. Times have changed, and many people and things have become a thing of the past. However, the Buddha has great wisdom and solemnity, and never reveals his sorrows and joys.
In order to protect historical monuments, visitors are no longer allowed to climb the Beisi Pagoda. It is no longer possible to stand on the top of the tower and overlook the entire ancient city of Suzhou. The scenes we visited have become precious memories buried in our hearts and cannot be reproduced, just like our youth that cannot be reproduced and will never come back.
But the old city of Suzhou is still young. It is ancient at the same time and young at the same time. The old is history, and the young is creating history. This is the charm of Suzhou.
Suzhou Beisi Tower Picture comes from the Internet
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