accompanying pictures provided by the author
text | Wang Hongbin
The Thousand-year-old Yaozhai in Jianghua, Yongzhou, is now popular. Many people enthusiastically recommended it to me, saying how Tong Chongkou is rich in Yao characteristics and how clean and beautiful it is. I always nodded frequently, smiling without saying a word. Does anyone know that I actually knew it many years ago? Who would know it more than me?
In the early 1990s, when I was just starting work, I happened to pass by Tong Chongkou and got out of the car and stopped for a short time. I saw the waterwheel for the first time there. It is dark, round, three meters in diameter, shaking, squeaking, and turning slowly. The bamboo tube tied to it scooped water from the clear and clear river at your feet, sprinkled it slowly, and then poured it into the compressed and deformed green field between the two mountains on the riverside with a "scream". This simple and clever way of traffic surprised me and felt fresh. From childhood to adulthood, the common thing is the long, wooden leaves in my hometown, and two people have to lean on their bodies and step on them hard. I have never seen this kind of water wheel before. Oh, I remembered that this kind of water truck flashed through the movie "River without Navigation Beacon" filmed based on Ye Weilin's novel. It was almost exactly the same. I even suspected that it was filmed here. The black face and heavy body make me feel that it is very old. The lush green mountains contrast with each other, and I think it is very beautiful and natural. Unfortunately, there was no camera at that time, and it did not take pictures of its unique figure. Later, it collapsed and disappeared at some point. I never saw this kind of real water truck that was used in other places, leaving deep regrets.
Next to the lonely water wheel, by the quiet river water, and in the lush grass, we accidentally found clusters of water bracken , which attracted a burst of exclamation. This was the first time I saw this thing called water bracken. It was as green as jade, refreshing and tender as it could be pinched out of water. It was so soft that it would break if it was accidentally broken. Everyone held it in their hands as treasures. It is said that this wild vegetable grows on the waterfront of the mountains and is rare in number and is not easy to encounter. It is much crispier than bracken and is a real mountain delicacy.
Since then, the name Tong Chongkou has been deeply engraved in my memory.
More than ten years later, due to work, I met Tong Chongkou again. I lived here for several months and almost traveled to every corner of it. I realized that the first time I only glanced at the door of Tong Chongkou, and the second time I saw the whole picture and deeply felt its simplicity and beauty.
Tongchongkou is located in the overlapping Yao Mountains, deep in the Nanling , seventy or eighty kilometers away from the county town, which is very "Yao". The peak penetrates the clouds and surrounds it tightly. It connects the mountain outside the mountain by a hovering road passing by. It is as peaceful and quiet as a paradise, and it also looks a bit quiet. It lies at the bottom of the valley, and the situation is empty. Walking in the cramped Yao Mountain for a long time, it was very dull. Tong Chong's mouth suddenly appeared in front of him, with the dark willows and flowers bright, and his mood suddenly became clear. The Majiang River and another unknown small river flow out from the deep mountains and streams, pass through the village and meet in the village, and the entire village is immersed in the sound of waves day and night. Two small stone arch bridges were built on the rivers, with beautiful faces and hanging vines, as if they grew naturally from rocks. The yellow earthen houses and the black wooden houses are jagged and straightforward. The ancient trees in front and behind the Yao family are towering, and the trees are beautiful, which reminds people of a large tree with swaying branches and leaves in the art textbook. There are also several golden nanmu in the village, tall and straight. It is said to be a precious tree species, but no one seems to care about them and let them grow by the river. They have been safe and sound for so many years.
Most of the people living here are pure Yao people, like living fossils, which preserve many Yao people's ancient style . After living there for a long time, I became familiar with local people and was often invited to visit, usually having an evening meal.In the mountains, it gets dark early, the Yao people live in scattered, their lives are blocked and monotonous, and they can communicate new things together, and the time for a night meal is often stretched for a long time. Two large iron pots are placed side by side on the wide rectangular stove. The stove is very large and can stuff a few wood trunks. The firewood was dry and it was not a pity to throw it in. The flames of happiness were jumping in the stove, the "bang" shovels were flying in the big pot, the "chef" who was self-taught in Yaoshan held the pot, the big stove was full of fire, and a dish was ready in an instant, and the stove was filled one after another.
On the beams above the stove, there were crowds of bacon hanging, which were so dark that it was as hard as stones. Although it is not good to look at the photos, it is a real Yao family bacon, a rare thing. Take as you eat, wash the black greasy layer by layer in hot water, revealing the golden and attractive bacon base color, then cut it evenly and put it in a bowl, light and transparent, and it will be fragrant if you stir-fry. Gently hold a piece into your mouth, chew it slowly, and the aftertaste is endless. The thin ones are not thick, the fat ones are not greasy, and even those who don’t like to eat fat can deal with a few pieces. Wine is indispensable, it is the kind of melon wine with strong stamina. Tea is also indispensable, it is the kind of wild tea, which the locals call winter pear tea. Tea trees grow in deep mountains and valleys, with thick and scorched tea leaves, and long and short tea stems . The tea juice made from this kind of tea is golden in color, with a hint of sweetness in its mellowness. Drinking it in big mouthfuls is the most satisfying thing to quench your thirst. You just praised this kind of tea for its deliciousness, and the enthusiastic owner filled you with a full bag of film bags.
invites people around, but there are exceptions. I remember that at such a night dinner, after drinking, a stranger in his fifties at the same table told me that he was from another village on the other side of the mountain, a middle school teacher, obsessed with the Yao culture. Over the past ten years, he has crossed mountains and ridges, traveled to villages and villages, and collected many Yao songs scattered among the folk, about two or three hundred songs. This trip was for the purpose of collecting folk songs. I was a little surprised to see me. He performed impromptu and sang many Yao songs in Yao dialect, which were authentic and ancient, and then patiently translated them to me in Chinese. The interest came, and a series of long drums to movements were performed, which attracted everyone's unanimous praise. Songs helped to cheer up the wine, and wine also helped to cheer up the song. Unconsciously, the atmosphere reached a climax, and everyone spent a very pleasant night together. At that moment, I felt that the world in the mountains was magical and the world outside was very far away.
Tong Chongkou sways in my memory, there are many things that are sweeter than sour in the deep forest, white buckwheat , the crisp wooden bell on the neck of the yellow cow in the valley, the stilt house hanging faintly on the ridge, the cloth belt looks like a floating mountain road, the neatly stacked firewood piles on the roadside, the hollow monotonous sound of logging on the mountain, the lonely wooden bridge across the river...
Over the years, the local government and the Hunan Radio and Television Village Poverty Alleviation Team have fully explored the unique advantages of Tong Chongkou, and made a big plan to build Tong Chongkou into a new tourist attraction. The dilapidated wooden houses on the road to the river turned into magic and clusters of dazzling small Western-style buildings. An antique Yao corridor was built on the desolate river beaches in the past.
After renovation, the Majiang River has become wider, the water has become larger and clearer. A string of round and colorful jumping stones have been scattered on the cool river surface, which is unique and has become a must-check in when many people visit this place. The two golden nanmu trees, which are five hundred years old, have been carefully protected and become more and more beautiful.
also found the rare two red bean trees in the county. They are the red bean trees in the Tang Dynasty that " red beans grow in the southern country. They will grow a few branches in spring. I wish you to pick more of them. This thing is the most love-loving" that grows on the wet stone walls, one male and one female, looking at each other silently across the river, unable to express their love-loving. The road has also become straighter, flatter and more beautiful, and Tong Chongkou is closer to us. Walking out of the boudoir and lifting the veil, the ancient and young Tong Chongkou is walking towards us with a new look.
The quiet and leisurely landscape is an ideal place to return to nature and get close to nature. It is a distant dream of stopping your heart when you look at the peak and forgetting to return to the valley.
Author: Wang Hongbin, from Zoumajie Town, Shuangfeng County, is now working in the transportation system of Yongzhou City.
