From "little youth" to "big expert" - the legendary road to success of a cultural director
When I was in middle school, the intense study life could not stop me from loving novels.
Mr. Feng Jicai's writings about the strange people in the old Tianjin Wei world are still impressive.
Since I entered the field of archaeology and cultural exposition, I have also encountered several "strange people", the most strange being Zhang Yufei, director of the Cultural Management Institute of Faxing Temple in Changzi County, Shanxi Province.
Said he was strange, not only because the process of our acquaintance was very magical, but also because his road to becoming a talent was especially bizarre.
What kind of legendary method, you have to listen to me from the beginning.
heard the name
Around 2006, when I was studying archaeology at Shanxi University, I often went to Taiyuan Nangong Used Book Market on weekends to buy old books.
Once in Xintao's "World of Cultural Relics" in the third issue of 2001, I read an article by Mr. Wang Dongman, a famous contemporary writer and calligrapher - "The Treasure of Faxing is Really Elegant".
The article introduces some interesting things about Mr. Wang's visit to Faxing Temple in Changzi County, Changzhi during the National Day in 2000.
After introducing the visit, I also introduced a young man I met during the visit——
When the business was over, a young man came, "Do you want to explain?" The young man's Mandarin surprised me.
I answered him jokingly: "There is no charge for the commentary, right?" The young man is also very good at talking: "Well, I will explain it to you, if you think my commentary is worth the money, give it, if you think it is not If it's worth it, don't give it." "If you explain well, I just don't want to pay for your explanation..." Before I could finish the joke, the young man said "that's fine," and then Take us to reopen the Yuanjue Hall...
The young man's explanation was naturally more vivid and richer than my description.
Before I knew it, nearly two hours passed.
I suddenly thought of the conversation when I met the young man, and I hurriedly paid for it, but the young man repeatedly declined, saying that he did not specialize in eating this bowl of rice, but cultivated in the village, and was only interested in cultural relics.
After some politeness, the young man suddenly smiled sadly and sighed without thinking. Today, it finally reached 94.
I don’t understand what it means, and the young man only explained it in detail. Today is October 5th, which means that the National Day holiday has passed for 5 days. Within 5 days, Faxing Temple only sold 90 tickets. I’m really worried. This National Day can't even break through 90 tickets. With your arrival, you finally added 4 more tickets to Faxing Temple, reaching 94!
It seems that it is a bit extravagant to want to achieve 100 tickets!
A ticket costs 5 yuan, which means that throughout the National Day holiday, Faxing Temple does not even have a ticket income of 500 yuan.
It's no wonder that the young man kept saying that he couldn't make a weatherproof glass cover for the National Treasure Everbright Lamp.
After reading Mr. Wang Dongman's article, I remembered two points.
One is the treasure in Faxing Temple, and the other is this very sentimental young man.
Knowing that Faxing Temple is easy to handle, the information is that it is really incredible. This is a national key cultural relics protection unit announced in 1988. The original site is located in the Cilin Mountain Col in Changzi County, Changzhi.
It was built in the first year of Shending in the Northern Wei Dynasty. So far, there are still "three musts" in Faxing Temple - the Tang Dynasty stupa, the burning lighthouse, and the Song clay sculpture twelve circles.
In particular, the twelve-circle statue of the Song Dynasty clay sculpture is known as "the crown of the Song Dynasty sculpture". I can’t even compare to the image.” This is what I roughly learned from the materials on Faxing Temple.
No matter how bad it is, it is very easy to have time to visit, but it is a great fate for that young man with feelings to meet again.
Accidental acquaintance
In a flash, many years have passed, and the time has come to May 2015.
At that time, I was a graduate student majoring in archaeology, and I went to Changzi County to participate in a monument investigation project.
At that time, Director Li Lin of the County Cultural Relics Bureau suggested that we go to Faxing Temple first, which is the most concentrated place of early stele inscriptions in the county.
On the early morning of May 16, we drove from the county town to report to Director Zhang of the Faxing Temple Cultural Management Office.
Director Zhang graciously took us to the stele inscription display room in the side hall on the east side of Yuanjue Hall, where more than a dozen stele inscriptions from the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, Ming and Qing Dynasties were neatly arranged.
After Director Zhang settled us in a hurry, because there was a temple fair in the area and the security and firefighting tasks were very heavy, he went on duty again, and I was so anxious that I didn't even see his appearance.
Three days later, the temple fair ended, and the tranquility of the past was reappeared in Faxing Temple. We came to do rubbings on the stele in the early morning, and Director Zhang also came to the stele gallery to chat with us when he was free.
A person's level can sometimes be heard in a few sentences, and this is my first impression of Director Zhang.
I have seen a lot of people who specialize in stele inscriptions, but I have never seen one who is as familiar with the stele inscriptions in the stele gallery as Director Zhang. I was surprised to memorize a large section of the inscription.
On the afternoon of May 22, the last inscription on the stele was finished with paper, and it was decided that I would come to finish the ink painting tomorrow morning, and then finish the work at Faxing Temple.
On the morning of the 23rd, I arrived at Faxing Temple from the county seat at six o'clock in the morning.
Director Zhang lives in the temple. He has been up and patrolling for a few laps. When he sees me, he arranges the staff to open the door of the inscription exhibition room, and I go in to work.
Finished in half an hour.
Director Zhang stood behind me and kept focusing on watching me as I carried out the spreading, and when I finished, he helped to pack up the tools.
After the work was over, I was relieved, and I had the leisure to take a serious look at his face.
Not tall, with a clear face, a slightly long face, a slightly pouted mouth, a few wrinkles between his forehead and brows, and the image of Kasyapa next to the Lord of Yuanjue Hall, his characteristic is his curly curly hair.
Most memorable is his baritone, slow and nice to speak.
After a few days of harassment, I have to say thank you when I say goodbye.
After a few words, I suddenly remembered Mr. Wang Dongman's article, and I said casually, "Director Zhang, let me ask you. When Mr. Wang Dongman came to visit in 2000, he said that there was a young man who explained that in the temple. Where is he now?"
After hearing this, Director Zhang smiled, showing half of his white teeth, and the wrinkles between his brows deepened, but he still said slowly, "That's me."
Gosh, I can't believe it.
I said, "Isn't that a young man?" Director Zhang smiled and said, "I was not a young man fifteen years ago?"
I think so too.
Now in his early forties, is he not a young man who has stepped back fifteen years?
know each other
He recalled that year: In 1991, 12 ancient painted sculptures were stolen from Chongqing Temple in Changzi County. After the case was solved, the county cultural relics department decided to send all-weather cultural security personnel in Chongqing Temple.
Because of the harsh conditions in this place, there are also four or five miles away from the nearest village, and the bus only leaves once a day, which is still ten miles away.
As a farmer at home, in order to earn a little more monthly income, he came to the barren mountain temple alone with his luggage. Vegetables depend on digging wild vegetables in the mountains.
In the twelfth lunar month of that year, he also took care of Faxing Temple.
This is how one person has been holding on for many years.
Director Zhang said that the nature of his work at the beginning was to visit temples, and he didn't know anything about cultural relics.
As for how much effort he put in and how many hardships he suffered later, Director Zhang did not mention it. In his own words, "the hardships and even the tribulations are not enough to be humane to the outside world." Even his Mandarin, I guess it is not It can be practiced overnight.
But when I met Director Zhang, he was no longer the young man he used to be, but a "model worker in Changzhi City". His identity has also changed from an ordinary temporary worker to a Faxing Temple within the establishment. , Director of the Cultural Relics Management Office of Chongqing Temple, and has published many books. He has a certain academic level of ancient sculpture researchers in Changzhi and even the whole of Shanxi.
This comparison between the past and the present is amazing to me.
How can a young man who visits temples have the perseverance to persevere in the barren mountains and mountains for more than 20 years?
How can a farmer who works at home grow into an elite of esoteric academia?
Although the result surprised me, the process made me even more curious.
But I don't want to ask further, and it may be more worthwhile for me to keep him curious and mysterious.
In that chat, Director Zhang was also surprised that I even knew about the young people in Faxing Temple written by Wang Dongman.
He took me to his office, and wanted to give me a copy of his book "Buddha Shadows - Appreciation of Painted Sculptures in Faxing Temple and Guanyin Hall in Chongqing Temple", and seriously inscribed on the title page: "Liu Wentao's younger brother Yazheng, Zhang Yufei Yiwei Su Mengxia at Faxing Temple." On the day I came back, I wrote under Director Zhang's signature, "Mr. Zhang Yufei gave this book to Faxing Temple, a famous temple in Shangdang, two days after Yiwei Xiaoman."
From Yiwei Xiaoman to Renyin Xiaoman, seven years have passed, will the young man come back safe and sound?
Liu Wentao