Ji Dongliang: Kissing the land of Xihaigu
Our reporter Zhang Pengyu
Where is Xihaigu?
Once upon a time, just hearing its name made one feel thirsty.
Drought, poverty, and backwardness are the labels attached to Xihaigu, and they are also the three problems that plague the people of Xihaigu.
"Xihaigu" in the sense of administrative division is named after the three counties of Xiji, Haiyuan and Guyuan in its history. Although it has not existed for a long time, it is widely known as "the best in the world".
On this land, the indomitable Xihaigu people have fought against the sky, with the earth, and with the water, composing an epic history of poverty alleviation.
Ji Dongliang, a writer from Xihaigu, recorded all this in the long reportage "Notes of Xihaigu" (Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House).
witnesses, witnesses
For Ji Dongliang, who was born and grew up in Sri Lanka, poverty is an unforgettable memory, and his ultimate dream since childhood was "eating food stamps".
"Walking in Xihaigu, passing people's door, no one may ask you 'have you eaten', but will definitely ask you 'drink water'. Because on this land, water is really as expensive as oil. In dry years, cellar There is no water in the house, and the draught has to be carried dozens of miles away, so there is only here the saying 'the stagnant water is afraid of being scooped by a spoon'." Ji Dongliang said.
The personal experience from life experience made him think about the reasons why Xihaigu people have been struggling on the edge of survival for a long time.
In the first few chapters of "Xihaigu Notes", Ji Dongliang sorted out the poverty history of Xihaigu.
Historically, Xihaigu is located in the collision and fusion zone of ancient Chinese farming culture and nomadic culture. The ecological environment is harsh, the geographical pattern is closed, and the soldiers and bandits are frequent. The continuous social unrest has exacerbated the contradiction between people and land. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was "A thousand miles of red land, ten rooms and nine empty spaces", even Zuo Zongtang sighed in the memorial to the Qing court, Xihai is "barren in the world".
But behind the heavy suffering, Ji Dongliang also saw the tenacity and tenacity of the people of Xihaigu.
He studied the root cause of poverty for thousands of years in order to show a spirit of people who are poor and ambitious and a heroic spirit that dares to teach the sun and the moon to change the sky.
In 1982, with the implementation of the "Three Wests" agricultural construction poverty alleviation project, Xihaigu began to be "reborn".
This land has witnessed the remarkable results achieved by a series of major national measures such as Minning cooperation and poverty alleviation.
In 2020, Xihaigu entered a moderately prosperous society and opened a new chapter of development.
"In the past 40 years, I have been a witness and a witness. I am well aware of the confusion and pain of the elders and villagers in this land, as well as their struggles and pursuits, dreams and hopes." Ji Dongliang said.
Since 2018, he has gone deep into Xiji, Haiyuan, Yuanzhou, Longde, Pengyang, Jingyuan, Tongxin, Yanchi, Hongsibao and other counties, towns, and villages, focusing on 40 interviews and investigations, bringing countless vivid and touching stories. Recorded in "Xihaigu Notes".
On April 22 this year, at the "Ji Dongliang's long reportage "Xihaigu Notes" seminar", He Xiangyang, director of the creative and research department of the Chinese Writers Association, said about the writing of this book: "A novelist, to write about The reportage of my hometown, in a completely sinking way, moved me very much. What is sinking? It means sinking, going deep into life and taking root in the people. This book is the author's exploration of Pengyang's experience, Caichuan's model, Ecological migrants and labor migrants, observe the details of daily life such as sand control, aquaculture, and water cellars, and observe the valuable results obtained after the practice of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization."
Original ecological record cute them
"Xihaigu Notes" selects representative major events from Chapter 6 "Millions of Immigrants" to Chapter 19 "Reborn", describing the great changes in Xihaigu farmers' economic escape from poverty and spiritual baptism. With warm brushstrokes and original ecological techniques, a group of vivid characters are created.
In the book, Li Zhiyuan, a farmer in Pengyang County, has both legs disabled. He has voluntarily planted trees for 24 years and 100,000 trees. When her daughter was almost buried alive in flying sand, and her husband who worked together to control the sand passed away due to illness, he fought on the front line of sand control for decades, and was hailed as "a model of mankind's conquest of nature"; "In the section, the village cadres who gave their hearts to the masses and the "Minning people" who emerged from the "Minning counterpart poverty alleviation cooperation"...
For more than 20 years, thousands of Fujian cadres, team members supporting education, medicine and agriculture, experts and academicians, and volunteers of the Western Plan have shouldered the historical mission of helping Ningxia get rid of poverty, and are affectionately called "Minning people".
Among them is Lin Yuechan, the former director of the Fujian Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office, who was called "Mama Lin" by Ningxia people. He went to Ningxia more than 40 times in 10 years, leaving his true feelings in Xihaigu; Lin Zhanxi, the father of the world's Juncao and a professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Taking "being able to do something beneficial to the people in this life and this life" as his pursuit... There are many people who are obscure and dedicated to Xi Haigu like them, all of whom are lovely people in Ji Dongliang's eyes.
Chen Yucheng, deputy general manager of Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House, called Ji Dongliang's method of creating characters "original ecology".
He said: "The author uses almost no rhetoric, completely adopts the original ecological method, and eloquently tells the mortal heroes around them. The calm and restrained brushstrokes can hardly hide the nobility of the people and the light of the spirit of the times shining on them."
"Original ecology" is how to write it as it is in reality.
During the interview, Ji Dongliang was most impressed by what an old man with a white beard on the top of a mountain said to him on a mountain ridge in Haiyuan County - "Oh, 'Sanxi' agricultural construction, 'Double Hundred' Poverty alleviation, promotion of poverty alleviation in thousands of villages, poverty alleviation for millions of poor people, east-west cooperation, Minning model, targeted poverty alleviation, targeted poverty alleviation... Alas, the state has spent its mind and money. There is no such thing as a state. Help, how can you wipe off the hat of poverty, and work with the rest of the country to get rid of poverty and go to a well-off society, I can’t even dream of it, thank you very much.” In the author’s opinion, the old man’s words are simple and unpretentious, more than any rhetoric. more convincing.
"The old man does not know a word, but he can tell the national poverty alleviation strategy without a word, which shows that these policies have been pushed forward solidly and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people." Ji Dongliang said.
Only come back to solve the nostalgia
"The Story of Shangzhuang", "The Story of Splendid", "Haiyuan Book", "The Spring of Wild Wheat Stacks"... Ji Dongliang has written many works with the background of Xihaigu.
"My hometown has changed so much! I can also feel it from these few works of mine. In the past, it was difficult to drink water, travel, go to school, and earn money... When it comes to life, there is one word: difficult. Now you can eat tap water and be able to Access to expressways, key schools, land appreciation, poverty alleviation workshops in villages, and part-time jobs at the door of the house... When it comes to life, one word: easy." Ji Dongliang said: "The most obvious change is the beauty. The ground is withered,'''''long red and yellow'', and now 'doves, sparrows, pheasants, and unnamed birds are chirping happily, dancing in the woods, swinging in the wind'."
In "Xihaigu Notes", there are not only emotional details and vivid stories from the author's personal experience and interviews, but also the exploration of historical and cultural roots and red genes, such as rural reform, environmental governance, economic innovation, tourism services, education Poverty alleviation, women's growth... There are many and many more.
Bai Ye, president of the China Contemporary Literature Research Association, commented: "This book can be called a "Historical Records" and an encyclopedia about Xi Haigu."
The writer himself is also a character in the book.
In the fifth chapter, "My Life Memories", the author's nostalgia is revealed everywhere.
Ji Dongliang said: "Nostalgia exists in any age group, but in other age groups, nostalgia is vague, but as I get older, my nostalgia becomes more and more clear - my hometown is used back and forth. "