At eight o'clock in the morning, Xiao Ma, Xiao Wu, Xiao Zhou and I said goodbye to Zhenyuan, took a train to Kaili, and then transferred to a bus from Kaili to Xijiang.
For me, who has always had a complex with ethnic minorities, Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village is the place I most yearn for during my trip to Guizhou. The winding cobblestone paths are paved in very regular rows, like flowers, round bronze drums, and Miao characters. The moment you set foot on the road to Xijiang, you are integrated with the culture of Xijiang that has been accumulated for thousands of years. In fact, culture is often a silent form of expression that requires you to communicate across time and space with your heart. We followed the footprints of these cultures step by step, walking up and down the village and searching for them.
Many things in Xijiang have been commercialized, but in those inconspicuous corners, at a certain moment when you look back, you will find the original appearance of Xijiang. We were guests at the home of Gu Zangtou (Miao King). We were fortunate enough to witness the Miao King in full costume leading tourists from afar to offer incense and pray for blessings in the Guzang Hall. There were cow heads enshrined on the incense table, as well as large and small bronze drums. It is said that most people do not have bronze drums in their homes. Yes, the bronze drum is a symbol of status. Most people enshrine chicken feathers in their home shrines. The real big drum of the Miao people was buried. When the Drum Tibetan Festival came in the tenth month of the lunar calendar in the thirteenth year, the big drum was invited out. People in the village killed pigs and ducks, put on the most luxurious clothes, sang and danced, and celebrated grandly. Drum Tibetan Festival. After the festival, the drum was buried again until the next Guzang Festival thirteen years later. The Miao Village's Twelve Way Road Wine, singing and dancing to welcome guests are just entertainment programs specially created for tourism. Unfortunately, it rained during the two days we arrived in Xijiang, so we did not enjoy such courtesy. When asked why, they said that Miao clothing and silver jewelry are very expensive and should not be exposed to rain.
The Miao people have lived in the stilted buildings in Xijiang Miao Village for generations. They are very simple and enthusiastic. When you ask them for directions or inquire about their living customs on the road, they all smile and answer your questions carefully. Although sometimes you can't understand their words at all, their enthusiasm and kindness make your heart warm. Warm. No more words are needed, they are the answers you are looking for. The mountains and rivers on one side are dyed with an ethereal beauty, and the land on one side is derived from a splendid culture. I met a family hosting a full-moon banquet. The host was carrying rice wine to see off relatives and friends on the path in front of the door. Everyone had to drink two bowls of rice wine before they were allowed to leave. The faces of the host and guests were painted red to share happiness and joy. I happily went up to ask for a glass of rice wine. The host told me that it was brewed by them at home. Because I heard that I had to finish the wine in the bowl, I kept telling the host to pour less wine into the bowl. As for the wine, I ended up drinking two and a half bowls. I felt a little dizzy after finishing it. It felt really good.
The well-proportioned wooden houses with green tiles in Xijiang Miao Village are the most memorable. I leaned lazily on the beauty's back, slightly opened my hazy eyes, watching the raindrops dripping down the eaves, looking at the smoke from the neighbor's kitchen, my heart melted here, I whispered to Xiao Wu like a dream , wearing a bamboo hat on the head, a pair of rain boots on the feet, carrying half a kilogram of rice wine in his hand, swaying on the warm stone road up the mountain in the village, it was a kind of fairy-like day, leisurely travel Oh, beautiful, beautiful. I really wish that time would stop like this and everything in front of me would be frozen into eternity.
Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, I came and left in a hurry, but I never went far.
Listen, my heart is whispering in the rain on the stilted building; listen, my heart is meditating on the small black tiles; listen, my heart is dreaming in the wooden house of the Miao family; listen, my heart Jumping on the slippery cobblestones in the alleys of the village; listen, my heart is flying in the silent reeds in the bronze drum field...