1300 years is long enough. In fact, most of the oldest buildings have a history of hundreds of years. The history of urban development is a history of the continuous transformation of the old city. It is obviously unrealistic to protect every ancient building and every brick. Showing guests around West Street is confronted with low and shabby shops, common daily necessities in rural markets, and many ideas, such as tearing down and rebuilding the characteristics of the old city, which are not commensurate with Quanzhou, a famous hometown of overseas Chinese and a developed private economic zone.
It was not until I took Mr Mao Huai Su to West Street to sketch that I changed my naive view.
Knowing that I like art, Xiaolin, a classmate who works in Licheng Hotel, told me that a Shanghai painter came to Quanzhou to sketch and recommended me as a tour guide. I hurried to meet him: neat blue cloth, faded big satchel, thin face and gray hair, as kind as a retired teacher. He nodded and could feel self-restraint and kindness in his smile. As soon as I said "Be kind to the teacher", Kobayashi immediately interrupted me and said, "He is deaf and dumb." I paused. "Call someone else. I don't know sign language. " Teacher Mao seems to see my attitude, and there is a little helplessness in his smile. Kobayashi suggested that you can communicate with each other with paper and pen.
The sky is blue, and the autumn sunshine in the afternoon is warm as spring. Turning from Nanjun Lane into East Street, the milky white bell tower nearby and the bronze twin towers in the distance come into view at the same time. Mr. Mao was overjoyed. He took out a blank sheet of paper, scribbled a few words with a pencil and handed it to me. I took a look and it was "beautiful". It seems to be a hint, and I also carefully looked at the scenery in front of me-although the city is noisy, people and cars are chaotic, wires and clothes of various thicknesses are randomly carved on both sides of the street, and the street view is not elegant at all, but the red bricks and white stones, ancient street pagodas, multiculturalism and traditional folk customs are full of natural vitality. In front of the stalls specializing in bowl cakes, tender cakes, Shangyuan pills and flower bags, there are always a bunch of people around, some are tasting, some are bargaining, and some are obviously acquaintances, chatting with the boss. There are few trees in the street, and the colors of branches and leaves are covered with thick autumn. Teacher Mao took out a sketch book from his satchel and drew it. Soon, the real scenery was presented in the form of black and white lines. I watched the old man's every move greedily, like a little apprentice who stole the teacher, surprised and happy. Although I also bring a sketch book, I still have no confidence to draw it.
The street section of the western vegetable market is the most crowded, which can be described as traffic. A few times, we almost got hit by a car. I wrote a note urging Mr. Mao to leave quickly. He always smiles, but his feet don't move. Several vendors leaned over and handed notes to each other to see what game we were playing. A middle-aged man who bought vegetables commented on the onlookers: "This old man paints very well."
The greatest charm of West Street naturally lies in Kaiyuan Temple, which is the crown of this rare work of art in the old city of Quanzhou. I have to persuade Mr. Mao to push west, on the grounds that it is too late now. Because it is inconvenient to speak with a pen, I didn't introduce the eternal legend of the Huang family donating land to build a temple, didn't explain why the four characters of "Sanglian Dharma World" were hung in the Ursa Major Hall, and didn't elaborate on the amazing discovery during the excavation of the ancient ship in Quanzhou Bay. Two towering pagodas make Mr. Mao have no time to take care of it. His eyes seem to be nailed and haven't moved for a long time. Then, there is more than one beautiful picture of the East West Tower left in the sketch book. I stood quietly behind him like an extremely good boy, silent and speechless, and all I heard was the cheerful symphony of paper and pen. "The wisdom of the ancients, great art" closed the sketch book, and he wanted to finish it. He wrote a few words on the note and handed it to me.
When the sun goes down, the sky turns from orange to dark gray. When I left, it suddenly occurred to me that Mr. Mao should write some souvenirs. He readily agreed. In the dark, he squinted at Sita and drew in my notebook. Finally, he wrote: "1985 1 1 4th of the month, Comrade Guo Peiming asked me to draw a corner of the West Tower, which was quite unsuccessful. Let's talk about this commemoration. Mao Huai Su was recorded in Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou. " Since then, an unforgettable memory has been frozen.
On the way back to the hotel, Mr Mao Huai Su reminded me with a note that Quanzhou is a famous historical and cultural city to be proud of, and many things are worth cherishing. He also talked about the influence of his grandfather Mao Heting and his uncle Yan Shu. The former is a modern scholar, while the latter is a famous modern writer. As night fell, I said goodbye in a hurry and never saw Mr. Mao again. After he returned to Shanghai, he gave me a book ticket designed by himself. At that time, I didn't understand the value of the book ticket at all, and I didn't remember where it was stored. I just think this elder is very amiable. I sincerely hope that he will have a chance to sketch in Quanzhou again, but I got the news that he has passed away. The year is 1997.
The acquaintance between people is accidental, and I met Mr. Mao Huai Su only briefly. Most of the details at that time were already blurred. In recent years, I have learned some information from the commemorative activities held in Shanghai for him, and his image has gradually enriched. 1927 Born, member of China Artists Association and China Printmakers Association. He has worked in Art editor and binding design in Shanghai People's Publishing House and Shanghai Fine Arts Publishing House, and has written many books. Mr. Mao's ancestor was the royal family of the Yuan Dynasty, and his wife Zuo Zhongxian was a descendant of Zuo. The Mao family has been deeply involved in the cultural field and has been friends with Wuxi for three generations. Therefore, Mao Huai Su designed exquisite and unique book tickets for Qian Zhongshu and Jiang Yang respectively. Dai Mu, the former president of China Deaf-mute Association, read Mr. Mao Heting's 400,000-word chronicle and said, "Like reading a modern history, Mr. Mao's education is only elementary school, but he is physically and mentally disabled. It is amazing that he should have such a heavy hand." In 2008, a young man in Shanghai visited the exhibition of Mao Huai Su's posthumous works and left a message: "I wish I could not meet you when I was alive." Mr. Mao can no longer satisfy my invitation to visit Quanzhou West Street, but many cultural landscapes preserved by a city's proud history can only be known if they are lost.