One thought on “Poetry from Hongri Yuan, translated by Yuanbing Zhang”

1. And we got it.

   The suona sound of the Nuo opera was heard in the thunder and lightning. A flash of lightning struck, and a nao came out from behind. Its long hand grabbed my camera and the other hand grabbed her arm. She threw the warm jade to me. I had to abandon her, and the tools of science and art. I picked up warm jade, so I can live, and nao got.
   I entered the village at night, when the two hills beside the village spewed colorful fireworks. The whole stockade was quiet. As I passed a lotus pond, light spilled out of those rooms, or fireworks overhead. I looked up at the light buried in the darkness, and in a flash some paper floated over my face. Then I heard the lane came the sound of the bell, faint, slowly towards me, I looked to the side. Nearer I saw his face – a shaved old man with white hair. The white light hit his face and the sound of a trumpet could be heard in the background.Why did you hit that light in my face, he said, annoyed. Hello, I am very sorry, it is too dark to see what is in front of me in this light, so I have to turn the light away, now what do you think? I turned the light closer and said. Yes. He replied. His face seemed to improve slightly. Then I stepped forward and asked, “What is this place?” Do not know the place also dare to come, to not let a person joke, the old man paused like to say something but did not agree. I had no alternative but to apologize. I said, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you and the villagers.”If there’s any difficulty, I’ll leave. When I turned to leave. The old man struck a match and lit the straw smoke of the black ball. He said, do not go, come here to stay. What I mean is that if you really come here, it will be a worthwhile trip to get to know this place. The ordinary people may not know the scenery of this village. I was standing there. He said, “Let me go if you want.”
   I followed him around the back of the village. We passed a forest of stink trees in the dark. The grass under his feet made the same pounding noise as his shoes, and the lights in front of him rang. A fork in the road cut across the road and the sound of running water could be heard below. The old man went down. His figure stopped on a black stone, and the lines of the bulge outlined the whole stone. The old man took a cigarette and said, in the early Qing Dynasty, the king of Pingxi has not yet rebelled, there are a dozen tigers in the ranks, thin but natural strength, like a nao. When the palace was first built, the beam had not yet been built. I saw him swishing his feet on the top of the stairs.Forty or fifty people chasing him did not catch up, that is, set up a ridge purlin. The king of Pingxi was very pleased. One day, the princess carrying pipa in the banquet to play, guests repeatedly praised. But the princess said, not concubine credit all by my father pass me warm jade. The visitors gathered and examined the tusks of the lute. In the cold winter, the tooth column was warm and inviting. At this time there is a door off the road, can take down for you to watch… The voice did not fall, the princess has turned away. The banquet went on as usual, and King Ping Xi poured the wine alone, his face showing difficulty. That Nao seems to know the mind of the king.He got up out of the banquet, climbed the eaves by the princess courtyard. The lights were shining and quiet under the eaves, and when he reached the princess’s residence, he tried to turn around and enter, but the door was locked. Suddenly he heard the sound of a parrot in the room. He then imitated the cat to meow several times, then he imitated parrot to shout again, the cat is coming! Here comes the cat! At this time, the princess got up and called her maid, and went quickly. The parrot was killed by the cat. The maidservant carried the lantern into the room and Nao followed. That princess at this time in the heart seems to have some foreboding, close to the pipa. Just listen to her shout, thieves! The pipa was taken captive. The arrow behind the door, such as Rain Water, Nao climbing the door of the big tree through the tree, he will climb to the house, the house finished his climb. There was no sign of her.
   I don’t remember how the day broke. The old man moved his lips, and the words that came out of his mouth were dark secrets.
   When I came again, it was the local organization “Talc village invites you to celebrate the New Year” poverty alleviation activities, and I am also on the list of invitees. At that time I had left the original post in the magazine photographer, and my wife back to her family, in an unknown small county live a semi-hermit life, to tell the truth, this life is really a bit boring and bleak. Every day is not with his wife for some daily things quarrel is for the creation of worry. When I was bored, I got a call from the old man. I don’t remember how I left the phone, maybe we exchanged the phone.But I have no idea where to put his note? His voice was louder than before. He said, please be sure to visit, first, the number of villages is too small, this event will have the provincial capital of the media to report, of course, if you can come to set is a guest identity, round-trip fare can be reimbursed; Second, as a photographer, you also hope to make more efforts in the publicity. We can buy all the works you have taken this time. You see, I mean the royalties. Before he finished, I had the idea of hanging up in my mind, and I didn’t know what he was talking about. Of course, it’s not bad to go out for a trip, after all, these days I am really challenging the limits of my patience.
   At dinner, I talked with my wife about business trips. She and I quarreled. I said I was paid for this activity. Her mood got better, so I just arranged things at home. A sleepless night, my brain is full of talc village switch screen. Get up, wash gargle, I clutched the suitcase left, his wife lying in bed issued slightly snoring.
   The plane through the clouds and fog, I did not have a bit of nostalgia, just like the clouds in front of me, lift your eyes to see the first time is always wonderful, with time through but repeated in front. Got off the plane. To pick me up is a Wuling van, the body is full of mud, parts of the shell was kicked up his foot. Every day to the provincial capital to run twice, although rest assured security… He said. No answer, I can only nod. He beckoned me with a smile. Through the bustling Wuyi Square, we went west, the scenery changed constantly, the mood also changed,I had sunk in a lot, probably because I hadn’t spoken to strangers for a long time, and I could see clearly how that boring and embarrassing atmosphere had penetrated my skin. Raindrops came from the window, and I stared at the snow on the top of the mountain, slowly sliding speed made me think of the early appearance of water. The rain must have come from the snow above, I said, wondering if it would come into the cracks. Please also put up the window. I heard what he said. But I still chose indifference, continue to look out the window, once again to the distant snow mountains,A flock of birds came towards the east, and the smoke under them passed some woodcutters. Eat this. He turned his head. I waved no. The refusal seemed to make him more excited and speak more forcefully, He took out a lighter from his pocket and lit a cigarette. He said, “When I was a child, the secretary of our team took us to plant eucalyptus trees. His belly was quite big, and he couldn’t go far enough to catch his breath.” Once he planted more than ninety trees in a row. When he reached one hundred, he and the trees rolled down the hillside. The tree was not put well, hit the boulder, the body suddenly wear, we went to the time of blood put half,People are flat. They all said that the tree is called the Blood Tower, and now it is intuitive. He talked about all kinds of stories that tried to impress people, and I leaned against the window quietly, which made the atmosphere seem quieter. The snow and ice melt as we speed up, and the curtain of night is lightly covered. So the death of the secretary is inevitable? I think that’s the sound he’s expecting. Not so, he said, pouring a few pieces of gum into his mouth. Let’s have the barefoot doctor. I remember her coming back from another village,She has two horses. Her husband is also her assistant, because her husband Hanmao longer someone to send him nicknamed Nao. It was Saturday, the brown horse treading red dust in the eucalyptus forest, A slender path is spread out here, the head is a shaking green, the body under the rapid rhythm of the dark, and aimless red has been extended. She stood in the carriage with her lantern, and in the distance we could hear the whipping of the whip on the flesh and the dropping of the lantern. But we are just waiting, perhaps this is the only thing we can do, before the blood of the secretary has not been flowing into a magnificent stream,It’s the best choice after all. The clerk asked me and one of them to prepare some firewood, the specific reason is probably to prepare for her arrival, or to drive away the wolf. As we climbed the hill, there was a tap of hoofs on the opposite side, and I urged the other man to hurry. The sky was dark and scary. We couldn’t see anything. All we knew was that there was a sound, and the grass turned green from time to time. We started running frantically. Suddenly, the sound of a carriage came from our right ear, and before we could hold our heads, the hoofs came over us, and we held our heads in pain and cried out,Immediately the carriage lost its balance and fell down. I slowly calm down from panic, I tried to wake up the companion around, and to the surrounding touch, and finally not far away to touch a warm hand, and I moved forward to touch, as well as breathing! We carried her a long way. I must admit it was a long night. There was no starlight and there was a dry dust smell around it. I was not sure whether it was snot or blood. For my companion hath not told me of his mouth. Two white figures across our heads,After circling for a while, they flew to the blue swamps under them, and the water vapor came from the eastern hills and covered them for a short time. Then we heard the sound of wood burning, and we saw them when we turned the slope. They sat around the fire, and the scattered light made them so bright that I suddenly forgot the shadow behind me. We put her down and the clerk winked at us to get out of the way so that he could do artificial respiration. After the completion of the document sweating, the whole person is also breathless, fortunately, she can finally wake up from the lethargy.She gently drew out the eucalyptus branch, having chopped off the extra end before, We can see that the secretary is still suffering from pain, his two eyebrows tightly squeezed together, like two silkworms biting together. After a long cry, the whole person seems to be a lot better. Suddenly, a slip of white channeling to the front, it stretched out the beak, forward a dig, the secretary of the abdomen will be restored to a bigger hole, I walked past incredibly can see the opposite of her. The secretary was so empty, but somehow still able to speak, just when she put the warm jade in the pocket, the Nao, I do not know where to jump out, tearing her clothes to go out. We were about to rush past when a white mist hid her husband’s silent laughter.
   Around a clump of dense ash trees, a dark brown rain covered bridge reflected in front of me. After crossing the covered bridge, the car stopped at the gate of the village. When I entered the gate, the bonfire had been lit by the lotus pond, and a middle-aged man in a white shirt stood beside the old man. Holding two long chopsticks, he stirred the vegetables in the pot and clinked glasses with the people around him. The old man introduced me to him, and I knew that he was the director here. After putting down my luggage, I talked with him and laughed. Welcome. He told me about you several times. The director glanced at the old man,The two looked at each other with a smile, and then said, if you can, I hope you will show your works in the beautiful scenery of Talc Village. If this can be done, then I think it can be solved easily. In addition to traditional literature and art, calligraphy, painting and literature, There are also some fashionable internet celebrity anchors, who run all over the mountains with their mobile phones, looking for so-called “traffic” in the mountains, looking like psychic shamans in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In the eyes of some traditional experts it is true, as for my Nikon camera is not much traditional, but just a small tool for modern people to use the giant machine processing, not traditional and not completely “modern.”
   The thought of putting up with the anchor working on my pillow at zero is admirable. The first few nights of insomnia can not sleep, bursts of coy words to hear very annoying. After the conversation, we know that she is not as delicate as the makeup, it is true that there is a hard material, from the assembly line of the industrial park in the economic development zone, A friend took her to an MCN agency. At the beginning, she was brisk. Thinking of not standing on the empty assembly line with black and white upside down, she immediately signed for twelve years, and after signing it was different. The boss told her that the basic salary increased after the positive, the workload will also go up,So she was doing the same thing in her new job. The difference is that the former mute, now like a chatterbox in front of the camera to talk. It’s more comfortable than before, I said. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, I think so. She went on to say that I seem to be more relaxed than before, and now I think it is all my own pain. Don’t look at people with language communication, in the final analysis, the real good relationship is no language, only degradation. She turned to look at her phone in the live lights, a circle of white light shining on her delicate makeup. I turned to sleep, I do not know if my snoring fans will cancel attention.
   The next morning. The sunlight tilted slightly, hitting the sides of the vegetation. The other side retains a vivid green. We packed our clothes and went out of the diaojiaolou. After walking through a section of oil cypress road, she seemed tired. There’s always a pause. I asked her, how, can hold on for a while? She nodded. Squatting, she took out a pair of shoes from the bag to put on, I saw her heels have a ring of red bulge, crawling around some ants. As we entered the ridge, frogs and snakes crept over from time to time, and I reminded her to be careful, and she smiled. While I was taking pictures,On the one hand, I talked with the people who accompanied me. According to the requirements of the organizers, we took a lot of realistic works. Most of the works were about the working life of the mountain people. Nowadays they also renovate some houses for tourists, from the farther streets of Hsinhua to Taipa. I asked him what is Cotai. He said that in the late qing dynasty, there was a scholar who was admitted to the first prize and came back to visit his relatives and changed his name. It used to be called Toad Cave. It was probably because he was afraid of people’s speech and afraid of having a toad going to heaven. Now there are people called toad hole… When he asked if I was from the province, he stopped talking about the past and wanted to ask some specific questions about the present. I said it was a photojournalist. A lot of things can only exist in pictures and can’t write. He said no more.
   Round the ridge, we entered the dense fir forest, cool and cool, I believe I will never see such a huge towering trees, they climb one by one to ask me to take pictures of them, and I agreed. Only she stood aside, I told her to go up, she shook her head, and then walked toward the light. Out of the cedar forest, but also through a cliff path, we dare not look down, trembling in the past. We entered Taipa from the back, when it was already dark and some fire-breathing shows had begun.
   After the host reported behind the scenes, some people wearing heavy paint masks came out from the backstage. A lot of people, it is impossible to see. She tapped me on the shoulder and pointed upstairs as we made our way through the crowd. At the foot and in front of me is a dark, from time to time while the beam hit me just to see her figure. Come on, let’s go. She said. She had been looking for a long time when I came to the railing. The water of the Yuanjiang River in the bustling stone alley was overflowing. A boatman came from afar and the sound of the suona flute was heard from time to time. Before I knew it, she had set foot on the bow of the boat. From time to time, the Nuo actors poked their heads out. The libretto is probably: lead a horse shallow drink in the stream of flowers, incense chasing fog, voice quiet, spring breeze blowing, and to ask a thousand riding Guan Shan, north wind Amoy to gravel, to the end of life, old friends, double temples white Linqiong to.
   Soon, the band disappeared in the ear, the smoke dispersed, the red boat stopped under a maple tree. Standing in the distance was a piece of General Rock, below which was a long shed, winding and winding into the valley. As I got closer, Fong saw them wearing masks, hoods and covering their faces. They were so dark that they couldn’t see anything clearly. I watched them pour liquid into some black dust, and the droplets and powder stuck together into little balls. What is this? I asked. Gunpowder Ryoko! The man said, “Ju,” the kind that rushed to the sky. You’re talking firecrackers.I asked. Yes, yes, that is it, his voice is kind, like laughing, hand still in a hurry to pick up the unformed bright son. He was standing in the sun, and I asked him if it would explode, and he said yes, after a man broke in two and flew his head a few miles away. The family called the boss called hundreds of people to find, there is a direct hit into the sieve. On the “explosion” sound, he shouted a voice, eyes also elongated some. As the sun rose higher and higher, he took out a plastic lunch box from under the case. He said he had a wife and a house.Three, cold in winter, hot in summer, can live, it is not on the floor, but also warm in winter and cool in summer. You beat your wife? I asked out. He ladled half spoonful of rice, and put down the spoon, said with a smile, also hit, where there is no hit, hit me dead, she returned to me dead miles. As usual, it’s part of our love. He bared his teeth laughing, want me to die, the house back to them to live, I hope the stepfather will not hit my wife, children. Even so, he will feel nothing, but some of the vegetation wall. The maple poplars near the waterways are a great length of leaves,The water dripped down overhead, and the next day it dried up. Think back and Mo wasted, called the bulldozer out roots made tea. There are a few plants only long branches do not long dry, do not worry about it, this is inherited the heritage of perennial herbs, the winter disappeared tragic, itch people also add a fire, light to half the mountain, The ashes came curling up over my head and were about to set the mountain on fire. The fire engine rolled over with a jolt of smoke. They got out and rolled into the fire, pulling water guns and extinguishing the fire in the afternoon. There was only one car at first, then the fire came,He called and called some people, fire engines filled the slope, they rushed up the mountain in dense, the fire out, people can not go down. Not far from the fire engine long some narrow leaf Luo stone, car corner out of a few pink flowers. Some snow hangs on the top so white that the mountain and the people grow old together. While he was eating by himself, a middle-aged man came by from another shed. Grilled tube in the rice, squatting from the side pocket set a cigarette case to see them talking is Huan, I fold the body to go back to the mountain.
   Halfway up the mountain, the mountain steam was getting heavier and heavier, and there came some rustling. As I took a closer look, a soldier in armor ran out, his flag behind him cracking. The wind was getting stronger and the soldiers were out of sight. Again approached and heard shouting “chaos born in governance, cowardly born in courage, weak born in strong.” It was a training ground for the army. A blue mandarin jacket stood on a horse in front of the troops. The blue mandarin jacket shouted the command, and the soldiers held their spears to the left and to the right. Suddenly, the blue mandarin jacket shouted,Water guns ready! The soldiers, with orange flags on their backs, trotted into the woods. They picked up their long guns and returned to their original positions. They shot at the green human targets. Transparent bullets penetrated the targets and splashed water. A round of gunfire passed and they began to take targets. Some took the prize in the blue jacket’s hand – half a pickled fish. Others were taught a lesson by him. He slipped and fell under the hoof of the horse, looking very funny. My laughter caught his attention. They yelled at the mountain, I was scared out of my mind, I couldn’t control my body,I buried my head in the haystack, I don’t know how long it had been, the sweat soaked my body, I was cold, the whole person was trembling in the fog. Suddenly, something patted me, turned around and looked at the blue jacket has gathered a group of orange soldiers, said, where come from. I stuttered at what he said and could not say anything. They carried me into the city, a black wall with huge stones at the bottom and fir-tree sleepers a third down. Two boulders is the city gate, dozens of people together to pull the door to pull out a small crack. The blue mandarin jacket rode in first, and the light spot projected on my eyes.
   After a few days of observation and adaptation, the nervous problem then improved, I began to eat with the blue mandarin jacket. Where are you from? I am a photographer, and I have been making a living by this profession. My parents are also engaged in this kind of literary work. Photography is about taking shadows. The blue mandarin jacket interrupted me. Nevertheless, I patiently explained to him that photography is not just about shooting shadows, but about taking a person’s appearance into a photograph and preserving it. I said… Oh, like some understand, the appearance of people in the form of shadow preserved for future generations to pay homage,Is that what you mean? Although it is different, it is roughly the meaning. I left the message. I don’t think we can come up with a final answer even if we argue. I continued to add, if I can give you and your subordinates to take a picture, easy for you to understand, you think? The blue mandarin jacket nodded.
   The shooting place was chosen in the open space of the Heaven Pavilion, and the blue mandarin jacket let the lady sit beside him. Some servants stood behind him, and the orange soldiers squatted in two rows or with spears or guns pointed to the end, I asked them, Baojiashuguo sweet? They shouted, Sweet! Blue jacket to see the picture is very happy, this is really a magical thing, small is small, but it is a real person, I did not think there are such magical things in the world. It’s such a blessing to meet you, such a great artist. From now on, I have one more thing in my life, or a job, that is to take a panorama of the country in the blue jacket.
   All day I roamed the city, photographing palaces, servants, and subjects in blue robes. On the whole, they are hard-working, go to the market to hear people say bad things about blue mandarin jacket. Brave, sincere, witty, honest, kind, this is what we know about him, the man said with a smile, his father was not dead, he came to this street to play with us, every day until dark do not go back. Once, a ruffian robbed my things, he ran up, will ruffian good lesson meal, the whole thing returned to me. I’ve heard countless stories about him, and not one of them is not a compliment.
   They collected the blue mandarin jacket from the bottom of the box and gave them poetry and calligraphy, and I shot with them one by one. I collected a lot of this kind of material. In addition, they also took out various items related to the blue mandarin jacket, such as urinals, water tanks, wooden swords, used plastic bags, torn pieces of draft paper. Even blue mandarin jackets and used toilet paper for diarrhea are offered at home. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I also photographed them one by one, for use from time to time. Wandering in the streets, imperceptibly to noon, the attendant around me to pack up and return to the palace to eat lunch. I said goodbye to the people who were moving things. I thought they were so enthusiastic that they didn’t want to refuse them. They said yes and came back in the afternoon.
   The attendant on the road told me to cut down on these people. These triffids are merely licking out some benefits from them, and this kind of thing must not be taken to heart. If we don’t have a picture of them, we’ll have to cut your head off. He said backhanded me a cigarette, I waved away. And I thought that if it wasn’t for this technology of imprinting time through light and shadow, Who will go to the effort to engage in this occupation, but who will care about these, if it is not boring to skip class, is never on the road today. Now the twists and turns of the future life of some people greedy for such truancy skills, true some funny.
   We had come to the front of the palace. The high beams and cornices let the wind flow in. From time to time there was a “whir,” like a wooden flute lying flat on the ground. Walk through a section of double-layer white marble Xumi, then entered the inner hall, blue mandarin jacket has been in the room and the ministers were laughing. See me coming, he said with a smile, come, hard work of the great artist, sit down, please sit down. I bent down and smiled and sat on his left side. Two meat dishes and a soup dish were placed in front of me. The taste was really the same as it looked. It was tasteless and I frowned.Blue mandarin jacket made a request to see the picture in the camera. I said yes and got up and went over. He pressed the forward on, looked carefully one by one, and said, yes, yes. It really opened my eyes. It was exactly the same. The color of the paint was original, and it was a super real work of fine brushwork. According to the principles of photography, this should be the art of science, I corrected. Yes, yes, the art of science. As soon as he finished speaking, Blue Mandarin Jacket took a water gun from his subordinate’s hand, pulled the bolt on it, and said, “Can the artist know what this is?” Guns. I replied.Not yet. With that, a transparent bullet whizzed out of the chamber and went through the carved red door, leaving no trace in the air. It is the science of art, added the blue jacket, I think you should have very few such immersed things, if not too noisy or too boring, water bullets just right, you can hear the sound, but not see the voice, I thought this is the science of art. I nodded. Can you switch, blue jacket, look at me seriously. I was surrounded by ministers staring at me. I laughed and said,This object and your object or slightly different, even if it is no longer made any artistic value, but also please cherish the science of this art, so that I can serve you better. I tried to keep a deliberately artificial expression. Then he sat down again.
   After dinner, the attendant led me to the harem, This time, we shot the princess. She was sitting in the side room. When we arrived, she said that the princess was embroidery. She looked at the works on the wall. From the layout and texture, it was generally Xiang embroidery. I and the squire bowed, and when I looked up, I found her! My heart jumped quickly. The scene of the past floated in front of me, if not dressed, it is clearly at that moment of her. How should I speak, if I do not speak, the bullet in the water gun must pass through my body again. If so! What is the end? Why is she here? Is she willing? The people living in the palace, but under one person, the existence of ten thousand people, must be a good one. If so, do we have to ask her? What is the meaning of such a question?
   If there’s any need for an artist, it’s all right to say, she said, gathering up her embroidery. I returned to God, said that the princess’s daily life can be, not too particular. If the princess has any request can also tell me, can adjust at any time. I took a few pictures at random, I looked at each picture carefully, Her eyes, her nose, her ears, her lips, her every tiny wrinkle, yes, it was her, and my heart was beating wildly again. No matter whether she is in the indoor scene, or outdoor, whether it is to pick up the cup and chat with the maidservants, or under the laurel flower smile.The memory and appearance of her in my mind cut open my mind. When he was young, the attendant went into the inner room to facilitate, and the servant girl led the way with him. When no one was there, she leaned in and said, “You’re going to run for your life.” What he said at the lunch was no joke. I stared at her, you… If you can, I’ll go with you. She said.
   We climbed out of the palace from the narrow animal cave, and the snow-white clouds thickened, turning from white to black. Thunder and lightning from which walk through, the loud light let me and her every step are frightened. In that corner, I was just a tiny member of the bottom, and I stayed at the top of the tower. ‘What’s the difference in the choices made, ‘she said.
   The suona sound of the Nuo opera was heard in the thunder and lightning. A flash of lightning struck, and a nao came out from behind. Its long hand grabbed my camera and the other hand grabbed her arm. She threw the warm jade to me. I had to abandon her, and the tools of science and art. I picked up warm jade, so I can live, and nao got.

   Introduction to the author:
   Zhu Lianhuai, born in Liuyang, Hunan, Han Nationality in 1994, has published his poetry collection The Gentleness of Piety. Works scattered in the “Stars,” “Yangtze River Poetry” “poetry tide” “prose poetry” and other publications. He is a member of Hunan Writers Association, a director of Liuyang Writers’ Association and a student of Mao Zedong Literature Academy.
   Contact mode:
   Address: Public Security Bureau of Liuyang City, Hunan Province
   Tel: 1760 5167844
   WeChat: 1434515208
   Postcode: 410,000

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