Foreword
The tranquility that the city cannot provide, the relaxation that work cannot provide, the leisure that fast-paced life cannot provide... Perhaps all of these are in Bishan.
"When you talk about Bishan, there is light in your eyes." When chatting with a friend, her words brought me back to the small village in my memory.
What is there in Bishan that makes me yearn for it? Sunshine, fields, insect chirping, breeze, distant mountains, old houses, bookstores... Bishan is like a natural custom-made village that satisfies all my imagination of the countryside.
A small village near the clouds
Bishan Village is located in Yi County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province. It is an ancient village nestled deep in the mountains. The Bishan in my memory is a picture of "high mountains, wide fields, embroidered streets, white walls and black tiles, row upon row". In the distance of the painting are towering mountains filled with smoke and cascading greenery. Nearby, among the large rice fields at the foot of the mountains, is a small village with black tiles and white walls. Cicadas are chirping in the trees and rice waves are undulating in the breeze. The villagers live and work here. In their free time, they drink tea and chat on the stone benches in front of their homes, coaxing children and teasing dogs. Everything is safe and comfortable.
I like walking in small villages in the early morning. The earth has just woken up from the mist and morning light. There is a soft, transparent and cool breath floating in the air, carrying the moisture of the soil and the freshness of the plants. Spread it on your face and penetrate your nose, feeling refreshed both physically and mentally. From time to time, ancient houses covered with moss appear in front of us. The towering horse-head walls are covered with mottled traces of time, like an old man who has stopped time, quietly guarding the village. The ancient village is also noisy in the early morning - in the pool of water in the village, frogs croak one after another, croaking and telling what it means to overwhelm the guest with the guest, which is very interesting.
Following the country road, you will pass by a rice field with rolling waves and heavy ears of rice filled with the joy of harvest. No one is working in the rice fields in the early morning, only scarecrows of different shapes are silently guarding this land. Looking at a few children laughing and playing in the fields, Jay Chou's "The Fragrance of Rice" floated in my mind, "The so-called happiness is chasing dragonflies in the fields with bare feet until tired, stealing fruits and being afraid of being stung by bees." "Who are you laughing at? I leaned on the scarecrow, blew the wind, sang songs, and fell asleep." This is my carefree childhood.
At the end of the wheat field are the mountains. I walked along the shady path towards the depths of the mountain. Sometimes I stopped to look at the grass growing tenaciously between the rocks, the white walls and black tiles that were shadowy among the green trees at the foot of the mountain, and sometimes I could see the gurgling spring water in the mountain stream. Take a sip and drink it, the clear water seems to flow down your throat and into your heart. Anxiety and worries are instantly washed away, leaving only a sweet and refreshing taste.
Bookstore in an ancient village
In this quaint village, a group of people, with the ideal of rebuilding rural culture, opened a bookstore in an old ancestral hall with a history of two hundred years. "Bishan Bookstore".
Crossing the long and narrow stone road, where the winding path leads to a quiet place, is the bookstore of Chaimen Zhufei. The mottled gray walls of the old ancestral hall are covered with traces of time, and the whole building looks vicissitudes of life and heavy. If it weren't for the wooden sign of Bishan Bookstore hanging at the gate, it would be difficult for tourists to find this bookstore among the rows of ancient houses in the village. Pushing open the bamboo door and stepping on the century-old bluestone slabs, you walk into the bookstore. The first thing that catches your eye is the eaves of the patio above your head, with its square outline cutting out the azure sky. During the pitching, light and dark alternate, and the high distance of the sky and the solemnity of the old ancestral hall complement each other. In the middle of the log-colored beams and columns under the eaves, there are four quiet and powerful characters of "Bishan Bookstore".
I was immediately shocked by the strong aroma of books here - three bookshelves stood along the wall, with local books, poetry, and novels arranged in order. There were more than 20,000 books stored here. The second floor of the bookstore is my favorite. After passing through the narrow corridor and climbing the steep wooden stairs, you will reach the open and bright reading space on the second floor. Looking out of the window, the mountains in the distance and the nearby villages are all shrouded in mist. The dark colors are ink and the light colors are white spaces. This mist seems to be a halo of ink that has not yet melted, blurring the scenery in front of you. Smudged into a natural ink painting.
The second floor is the old book area. I lingered among the yellowed title pages and the slightly old smell of books, a cup of tea and a few volumes of old books, and it was an afternoon. When I got tired of reading, I went to the cafe on the first floor, ordered a cup of coffee and some snacks, and chatted with a stranger. Maybe we had the same favorite books and writers, until the sun set in the west and the moon went up to the west building... …
Huizhou has a lot of rain, so rainy days are a good time to go to the bookstore. Watch the rainwater flow slowly along the tiles on the roof, and then pour down along the eaves in all directions; watch a water curtain fall on the bluestone slab along the "Bishan Bookstore" plaque hanging under the tiles on the second floor, A symphony is played with the sound of raindrops; mixed with water vapor, the earthy smell of the countryside and the fragrance of ink in the bookstore hit your face. There is no more poetic reading than this.
Sunset at Yunmen Tower
The Yunmen Tower standing at the head of the village was built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and is the symbol of the ancient village. The tower has five floors, white walls and black tiles, and the tower bell rings crisply in the breeze.
Sitting under the tower, you can see the mulberry fields and rice sea in the east, and the foggy clouds and mountains in the north. But I love sitting by the Yunmen Tower at dusk and waiting for the sunset.
At dusk in the green mountains, the wind blows wildly, and the sky and the earth are vast. Flocks of blackbirds circled the fields, and clouds spread like gorgeous curtains overhead, like turned pages of poetry. The setting sun shimmered like a red fireball with a golden edge, and two or three hot sparks burst out, so that the dim outline of the distant woods suddenly appeared as continuous light blue lines. Then, the setting sun slowly penetrated the thin clouds, seemed to be rolling in the golden red clouds, and then slowly sank below the dark horizon.
I quietly watched the sky dimming, watching the smoke rise, watching the twilight close, watching the stars rising...until the only sound of wind chimes from the Yunmen Tower was left in my ears. Probably everyone has loneliness and pain deep in their heart, and every dusk in Bishan is a healing experience for me.
I used to be unable to stop and see nothing else because of the sense of accomplishment, value, and self-realization that work brings. But when I sat in front of Yunmen Tower, watching the distant mountains and sunset in the endless silence, I seemed to have encountered the self deep in my heart that was anxious because I couldn't see the future. The sunset on Bishan is like a gentle palm, gently brushing away the fatigue and confusion all over my body. The mountains were silent. I let go in this silence, relieved my burden in this silent sunset, and drew endless strength.
Conclusion
In Bishan, I do the same things and see the same scenery every day, but I can’t get enough of it. These sudden blank spaces in my busy life have allowed me to get rid of tension and impatience, learn to reflect and settle, and feel full and full inside. Bishan is like a natural gas station, turning every moment of pause into strength, making me more relaxed and calm when I get back on track.
I left one early morning and passed by Bishan Bookstore. The girl from the bookstore was riding an electric bicycle back from picking flowers. A large handful of blooming wild flowers were swaying in her basket. She smiled sweetly. Say goodbye. Having traveled to so many places and said goodbye so many times, this scene is still the most lingering image in my mind, because it is the place I am most reluctant to leave.
About the author
Liu Mingran is a freelance writer.