绿林好汉
Forest Heroes
一九九一年秋天,贵州省非耕地开发现场会在素有“小江南”之称的湄潭县召开。
In the autumn of 1991, the On-site Meeting of Development of Guizhou’s Non-cultivated Land was held in Meitan County, known as “Little Jiangnan”.
会议期间,代表们参观了距县城十来公里远的核桃坝村,并听了村党支部书记何殿伦同志的报告。
During the meeting, representatives visited the Hetaoba Village more than ten kilometers away from the county town and heard a lecture given by He Dianlun, the village party branch secretary.
何支书的报告内容丰富,且每一个大的段落都有“顺口溜”作总结,给人留下深刻印象。His lecture was rich in content and each section of the lecture ended with summary doggerel, which impressed everyone.
我是后来在遵义宾馆听了又是作家又是省委副书记的龙志毅同志介绍,才知道有一个何殿伦的。
I didn’t know He Dianlun until I heard about him from Long Zhiyi, a writer and Deputy Secretary of CPC Provincial Committee.
那天晚上,作家龙志毅很兴奋,仿佛还沉浸在核桃坝的山光水色中。他说老省长苏钢同志有一点意见,认为作家应该像周立波那样深入到生活底层去,写一写像何殿伦那样的人。
That night Long Zhiyi was very excited as if he had still immersed himself in the beautiful landscape of Hetaoba. He told me that Su Gang, the former provincial governor, held that a writer should go down to the grass-root life, like Zhou Libo, and write about people like He Dianlun.
没有几天,我拉了《中国青年报》的记者强烈同志,他是来遵义采风的,一起去湄潭县核桃坝村。
Several days later, I encouraged Qiang Lie, a journalist from China Youth News who came to Zunyi for folk-custom collection, to go to the Hetaoba Village in Meitan County with me.
吉普车一进入核桃坝地界，气氛就明显不一样。小马路弯来曲去,绕着座座坡岗,通连到村民组。
As soon as our jeep reached the region of Hetaoba, the atmosphere changed obviously. A small road embraced several earth slopes in twists and turns and led to the Village Group.
从村职业中学散学出来的女孩子们穿着颇时新走在马路上,自行车响着铃铛 ,在山弯里亮闪闪地跳动着,远处一座光秃的石山,纪念碑一样孤零零地兀立在一片绿色的尽头……这里已经很难看到昔日贵州农村那种阴冷荒僻的景象了。
Stylish girls who just left the vocational middle school of the village walked on the road with bicycle bells shining in the bight. In the distance a bare rocky hill stood alone like a monument at the end of a sea of green. Here, it’s already hard to see a gloomy deserted scene, which was common in Guizhou’s rural area.
我们在地头找到了何殿伦。他当时正埋着头在一片绿色中,剪着一些茶枝,他的儿子蹲在旁边,把剪下来的茶枝往土地里插下去。这种茶枝在来年春上活过来,又可以移栽到别的茶园里。
We found He Dianlun at the edge of a field, when he was burying himself in clipping tea branches. His son squatted beside and inserted the clipped branches into soil. After these branches grow to the spring of the next year, they can be transplanted to other tea gardens.
我后来才知道,核桃坝村大多数人家除了种茶制茶,还培育这种茶苗。茶苗五分钱一株,湖南、四川,甚至更远的地方,都有人来购买,此一项,每一户人家就能够收入三千多元。 Later I learned that, in addition to tea making and planting, many villagers in the Hetaoba Village also reared this kind of tea seedlings. The price of the seedling is five fen per plant. People from Hunan, Sichuan or even farther places would like to buy them, which increased by more than three thousand yuan per household.
说实话,何殿伦那张脸是有些出人意料的。它很坚硬,和核桃坝明丽秀美的景象一点都不协调。但因此我们就更真切地触摸了这片土地的过去。
To be honest, I was surprised by He Dianlun’s look. His skin of face was solid which didn’t match the beautiful landscape of Hetaoba. However, for this reason, we could sincerely touch the past of this land.
核桃坝,几大弯,十年就有九年干革命,顿顿红苕苞谷饭,吃水要翻几座山。
Hetaoba have several big bights, revolutions are staged almost every year. People eat sweet potatoes and corn every meal and drink water only after climbing several mountains.
正是何殿伦在雪凌天里,喝下一大碗辣椒水,带领全村十七名汉子跳进冰冷刺骨的湄江,拦河筑坝,引水上山。以后,他又包着黄土,惊官动府,访专家求能人,为核桃坝人寻了一条非耕地开发的路子……
On snowy days, after having a bowl of pepper soup, it was He Dianlun who led seventeen men of the village to jump into the freezing Meijiang River for damming across the river and drawing water uphill. Afterwards, he turned to the government and visited experts to find a way of non-cultivated land development for the villagers.
他站在山冈上,目光远远地望了出去,指着那一片绿一片青的土地说:“我们的土主人是黄泥巴,这种土质最适合种茶,全村一共种了三千多亩茶。
He stood on a slope and looked into the distance. He pointed the sea of green and said, “Yellow mud is the main soil type here. It is suitable for tea planting. There are more than three thousand mu of tea in our village ... ……
靠河崖向阳坡是橘园……庭院经济搞草莓和葡萄……马路通到家门前,从外面运煤来,就把自留山上的林子蓄起来了。”
Orangeries lie on slopes with a sunny exposure near the river cliff ... Villagers plant strawberries and grapes in courtyards ... Roads connect to the door of each house, so coal can be transported to our village from the outside and woods on the hill can be preserved”.
他自言自语的,那情形,仿佛不是给人介绍什么,倒像是一种沉溺,被自己的杰作迷住了一样的。
He kept talking as if he was talking to himself and lost in his masterpiece.
据说何殿伦有一个心愿,这是大型纪录片《我们贵州人》在核桃坝现场拍摄期间,他向导演泄露的,就是想用黄泥巴在村中一截废弃的高炉上塑一尊自己的像。
It was said that He Dianlun had a wish, which he revealed to the director of “Guizhou People”, a full-length documentary, during shooting. He wished to erect a statue of his made of yellow mud on a waste blast furnace in the village.
也许导演的回答太简单了,以致何殿伦把这个念头小心地藏了起来。事实上,当一个人深深地爱着这个世界的时候,唯一的想法就是要活上的超越,那就是他相信自己不会死亡,不过是分散并融进了他创造的一片绿色之中……
Maybe because the director’s reply was too simple, He Dianlun hides his wish modestly. In fact, when a person falls in love with the land deeply, what he or she only wants is to surmount life and death and believe that he or she would not die but integrate into the green that he or she created.
塑像只是提示而已。
The statue is only a reminder.
当我再一次来到湄潭的时候,就已经有很多人从何殿伦那里得到了这种暗示。
When I came to Meitan again, many people had got the hint from He Dianlun.
在县城的另一个方向,出了一个刘国凡。刘国凡是普通农民,似乎没有何殿伦支书那样带领全村百姓改天换地的义务。但他的老家,一个叫团林的地方,却是原来核桃坝那样的干燥与贫瘠。
In the other direction of the county, there’s a Liu Guofan. He’s an ordinary farmer. It seemed that unlike He Dianlun, he had no obligation to lead villagers for village changing. However, his hometown, Tuanlin, was as dry and barren as original Hetaoba.
没有白纸,便画不成画儿,于是,这个冲劲十足的汉子闯了出来。那会儿,人们看见他背着一管猎枪,游荡在县城附近的岭岗上,不见多少猎物,而人却格外地兴奋。
Just as the saying goes, if you have no hand you can't make a fist. Thus, the dashing man made a difference. At that time, people saw him with a shotgun wandering on hills around the county town. Though he didn’t show much prey, he was quite excited.
不久,这个农民在县里有关方面的支持下,就承包了几片荒山,办起了绿色基地。地盘宽了,管理不过来,他便买了汽车雇了人,俨然当起了绿色老板。
Before long, supported by the county government, he contracted several barren hills and built green bases. With the expansion of the land, he bought cars and hired staff for management. Obviously, he became a green boss.
一九九三年六月,这个从团林那个山旮旯下出来的农民,带着仿佛生 而具之的躁动,成了贵州省第一个自费赴美国考察的农民。因为腰缠万贯,他把有关部门配给他的电击枪也带上了。
In June, 1993, he, a farmer born with vitality from the barren Tuanlin, became the first farmer in Guizhou who went to the USA on a tour of investigation at his own expense. As with much money, he carried the stun gun that some department gave him.
直到上飞机前 ———这也是他生平第一次坐飞机,才被前去送行的同志发现,给他把电击枪扣了下来。从美国回来,刘国凡很兴奋了一阵子,因为他不仅开了眼界长了知识,还实实在在地有了物质上的收获。
Not until his first flight in life, an officer, who went to see off, found out and took away his stun gun. After coming back from America, he was quite excited during a period of time for he not only widened his vision, but gained materially.
“我是真正的绿林大盗。”他实在得意极了,“每去参观一个公园,我就留心花卉盆景,琢磨适合栽植的品种,便跟人家讨个枝丫什么的……”
“I’m a real robber from the forest”, he said complacently, “whenever I visited a park, I paid attention to flowers and plants, figured out how to plant them and asked for some branches...”
我认真地看了他的珍品园,那里果然好几个品种都是很稀奇的。远隔重洋,中途辗转,能够把这些洋气的东西带到湄潭确实不易。作为高原 “小江南”的湄潭应该是一座花园城市,刘国凡这样想,也这样做。
I observed his Treasure Garden carefully and really saw several rare varieties there. Indeed, it was not easy to bring these exotic plants from overseas to Meitan. As a highland, Meitan should be a garden city. Liu Guofan thought so and did so.
湄潭酒厂理解并全力支持,具有远见卓识的刘有寿厂长挺身而出,与这位农民签订了近百万元的合同,让他在十年之内把湄潭厂变成一个花园式的工厂。
Under the full understanding and support from the Meitan Winery, winery manager Liu Youshou, boldly singed a contract of nearly one million yuan with this farmer, allowing him to transform the winery into a garden-like plant in ten years.
事业有望,刘国凡山上山下,这基地那园的忙得欢。他要把圃里的苗子侍弄好,然后再栽移到厂区里,一株一株,一行一行,让这个世界,也是他心中的世界,充满大片的绿……
With a promising prospect, Liu Guofan was busy in his career up and down the hill happily. He planned to grow saplings in his garden and transplant them into the winery step by step so that both the world and his mind can be filled with green.
当然,只有何殿伦和刘国凡是不够的。
Of course, the world needs more than He Dianlun and Liu Guofan.
事实上,作为全国农村改革试点的湄潭县,能够有一个良好的农业生态环境,也远远不止何殿伦和刘国凡的努力。只是绿野仙踪难觅,还不大为人所知。
In fact, as one of the national trial bases of rural reform, Meitan has a good agroecological environment because of far more efforts than those made by He Dianlun and Liu Guofan. However, it is difficult to find out these unknown green fields.
比如有一个叫姚召华的,本来的职业是汽车驾驶,非农非耕,却悄悄地置了几面坡,栽植了经济林木———杜仲。我去找了两次姚召华,始终未能相见,只有那几百亩葱郁的杜仲林,默默地为他做证。
For example, Yao Shaohua was a driver, but he contracted several slopes quietly to plant Eucommia ulmoides, a commercial plant. I tried to visit him twice, but I didn’t meet him. What I saw was only a large area of Eucommia ulmoides as a silent evidence for what he had done.
功夫不负有心人,我们的努力没有白费,无论这种努力是自发的,还是自觉的。从国务院一九九四年公布的资料来看,我国的森林覆盖率正逐年回升。
Everything comes to him who waits. Finally, our efforts, that were voluntary or conscious, were not in vain. According to the data of 1994 published by the State Council, China’s forest coverage increased year by year.
如果这种回升是一种大趋势,是一种全球意识,全球行动,那么世界将不再是今天这个样子,我们就会从扼住我们生命咽喉的恶劣生态环境中解放出来。
If the increase becomes a trend and a global awareness, the world will be changed into a new look and people will be emancipated from the life-threatening hostile ecological environment.
“绿林好汉”是我们新世纪的曙光,但愿诺查丹玛斯的“恐怖的大王”最终只是一种假想。
Forest heroes are the dawn of the new century. Ultimately, I wish Nostradamus’ “King of Terror” is just imagination.
去日喀则
Head to Shigatse
拉萨河在曲水附近沁入雅鲁藏布江,虽然宽广的河谷平原仍旧在向前延展,但我们没有过桥,仿佛只是一瞬间,在喜马拉雅山与冈底斯山脉交接的狭谷底,就逆流而上,往西南方向后藏首城日喀则去。
Water of the Lhasa River is infused into the Yarlu Zangbu River near Qushui. Though the broad valley plain continued to expand ahead, we didn’t cross the bridge but suddenly headed to southwestern Shigatse against the stream in the bottom of the canyon between the Himalayas and Gangdisê Mountains.
有一座雪峰矗立在前方,在高原明亮的阳光照射下,它像路标一样醒目而又显著一种凛然超拔的气概。日野大巴在宽阔平直的柏油路上跑很久,才把这高高的雪峰从我们视野里抹去。
A snow peak stood in front of us. In the especially bright sunshine on plateau, it’s like a striking road sign showing a stern spirit. Only after a long drive of the Hino bus, the tall peak finally disappeared from sight.
飞速前进的车轮把想象也带动起来,大家东拉西扯的,为枯燥的旅程进行浪漫的设计。这样走下去,西藏文联的同志说,明天这时候就可以到达加德满都。
As the high-speed running stimulated our imagination, we talked at random and made romantic plans for the boring journey. “If we keep driving like this”, said a member of the Tibet Federation of Literary and Art Circles, “we will arrive at Katmandu by this time tomorrow”.
我们听着很满意,希望总是比现实好的,何况正在中尼大道,又风驰电掣,事情的差异不过一种延伸而已。
We were glad to hear that. Though the reality was always worse than the expectation, it wouldn’t differ too much on the Sino-Nepalese Highway with a fast bus.
但很快,随着一声汽车轮胎的爆响,这种愉快的气息被冲击得无影无踪。趁司机拆换轮胎的工夫,我们拿着自己的干粮下车,坐在路边用起午餐来。
However, soon after that, with a sound of tire burst, the happy atmosphere completely vanished all of a sudden. When the driver was changing the tire, we got off with our solid food to have lunch by the road.
这时候,又一道门坎,我望着前面阴深逼仄的峡谷,脑子里滚过一道尖锐的白光,便有些惊讶那日野大巴偏偏在关口上抛锚。而且,也怪,这么大半天,我们很少看见路边有人烟。可是现在,距离我们不到五十米的山坡上,就有一队藏族女子在修堰坎。
I looked at the dark narrow canyon in front of us and suddenly I realized that the bus just broke down by a pass. Curiously, we seldom saw people on the way before, but at this point a group of Tibet women was repairing weirs. Hence, we cheered up and crowded around the group.
大家提起兴致,又往这支劳动的队伍拥过去,不少人很得意,居然跑到队伍中,挨着两个长得不错的藏族姑娘,让旁边的人按快门,留一张珍贵的照片。
Some people were quite excited and even ran into the group. Someone got close to two good-looking Tibet girls and asked his friend to take a precious photo for him. In Lhasa’s sightseeing spots, to take a photo with Tibets is not free.
在拉萨几个游览点上,邀请藏人照相是要付钱的;而这一群藏族女子却浑然不知,仿佛来自另一个世界似的。我没有照相,但我对她们悠闲的情态很感兴趣,劳动对她们来说,似乎并不在于创造,而主要因为一种方式,大家集合起来,那滋味是荒凉凋零的单家独户无论如何都不会有的。
However, these Tibet women had no such an idea as if they came from another world. I didn’t take any photo, but I was interested in their leisure looks. It seemed that to them, to work didn’t mean to create but a way of getting people together, which cannot be enjoyed by dispersed single households.
而那些砌堰坎的光滑玉滑的鹅卵石,则更加令人惊奇。山坡高高的,远离雅鲁藏布江河床,可这遍地的鹅卵石是从哪里来的呢?
What was more surprising was the smooth cobblestones used for building weirs. The hillside was tall and far away from the bed of the Yarlu Zangbu River. Then where did these cobblestones come from？
这时候,司机已经修好车,我们准备赶路,而那些藏族女子拥到车门跟前,虽不通语言,也没有手势,就那么默默地站着。从那有些忧郁的眼神里,可以看出她们并不希望我们离去。When the driver repaired the bus, we got on to resume our journey. Those Tibet women crowded in front of the bus door. Though we had a language barrier without any gesture, we knew that they didn’t want us to go from their blue eyes.
但汽车发动起来,我们只有用大家都会的一句藏语“扎西德勒”(吉祥如意 )来表达我们的祝福 ,随后就消失在深深的峡谷里。
However, as the bus started, we could only speak “tashi delek” (meaning good luck and happiness) to express our blessings and then disappeared in the deep canyon.
雅鲁藏布江在这里才真正显出它那桀骜不驯的个性。太阳融化着古老的雪山,奔流的雪水带着大量的泥沙,滚滚滔滔涌进雅鲁藏布江河床,聚合成大团大团浪头,黑乎乎的,黄亮亮的,就那么往前翻。江两岸是陡崖高坡,公路从半山凿过去,既艰难又曲折。
At this point, the Yarlu Zangbu River first showed its obstinate and unruly characters. Melted by the sun, torrential snow water pours in the Yarlu Zangbu River with lots of silt and formed big rolling waves which are black and yellow. The river split mountains into two abrupt cliffs on either side, while the highway passed through mountains in twist and turn.
在西藏,凡是比较大的工程,都是由解放军来完成的,而这条公路也不例外。日野大巴沉重地轰隆着,小心翼翼地往前开。我们望着窗外野劲十足的洪水,一瓣心提得紧巴巴的。
In Tibet, all major engineering was finished by the liberation army, so did this highway. The Hino bus rumbled heavily and went straight on carefully. We looked at the turbulent flood outside the window at full stretch.
但雅鲁藏布江不理会这些,直把它那金属一样发黑发黄的浪头抛起来,残忍地往岸壁上砸,一声吼动,一片漫天漫地的水花,一条公路神经质地战栗着。“塌方!”前面突然有人叫了一声。
However, the Yarlu Zangbu River ignored all and only raised its metal-like black yellow waves against the river bank. The highway shivered nervously with roaring and whirling waves. “Collapse!”, suddenly a man yelled.
汽车很快停住,大家老老实实下车来,走过危险地段,等到汽车一歪一跛地开到跟前,又重新坐上去。如此几番上上下下工夫,才来到一座铁桥跟前。
The bus stopped immediately and all passengers got off compliantly. After the bus passed the hazardous location and slowly stopped in front of us, we got on again. After several repetitions as such, we met an iron bridge.
桥面很窄,仅能够一辆汽车通过,几根巨大的铁柱立在恶浪中,激起大片水阵,直往桥墩栏桥面上扑。汽车犹疑疑的,也终于开过去。这时候,我们才稍稍松一口气,因为前面亮一片,道路显然开阔起来。
The bridge was too narrow to accommodate more than one bus at one time. A few huge iron column stood in the river, raising a big wave of water that heavily flapped piers. Trembling with fear, the bus finally passed the bridge. We sighed with relief for the bright view ahead indicated a wide road.
但没有料到那也是一种恐怖。起伏连绵的坡岗上,竟然看不见一棵树;大片大片的土地已经沙化,甚至一棵草也不生长。没有人烟,如果不是汽车发动机的声音,剩下的只是一片沉寂。
Unexpectedly, it was just another terror. Surprisingly, no tree was seen on rolling hillsides and desertification land was everywhere even without a weed. There was no person. In the silence, the automobile engine made the only sound.
太阳在这里显得尤其发亮,把天地间照得白晃晃的,让人感觉一种焦灼。雅鲁藏布江并不都是骄横放纵的,它原来在这宽广无垠的河床上,也泥淖一样泛着死灭的黄光。
The sun was especially bright here and made everything bright, which made people feel anxious. The Yarlu Zangbu River is not overbearing or indulgent. On the boundless bed, it also gives out dying yellow light.
日野大巴的引擎一如既往地嗡嗡着,但已经不是那么单调乏味,而且居然有一种美感,驱动那些胶轱辘运转,而依靠人的双腿,要走出这无边荒凉,简直是不可思议的。
The Hino bus kept humming, but the humming became less monotonous with a sense of beauty during the rolling of tires. However, to walk out of this bleak land on foot is beyond imagination.
忽然间,在那一片灰色中,我又看见了鹅卵石。它与雅鲁藏布江峡口那边躺在坡上的鹅卵石不一样,是夹在山冈断层中的。我终于明白,并很快想到德国地球物理学家魏格纳的板块说,
Suddenly, I saw cobblestones again in a sea of gray. They were different from those on the narrows of the Yarlu Zangbu River and sandwiched between mountain faults. I finally understood the plate-tectonic theory put forward by Wegener, a German geophysicist.
由于印度板块与亚欧板块的挤压,使板块边缘海底剧烈地隆起,形成了当今世界上最高也最年轻的高原,这就是青藏高原。而那些鹅卵石,那些沙碛,难道不是这一片土地曾经沧海的最好的证明?那么,我们曾经领教的那只哲蚌寺的法螺,也应该是确凿无疑的。
Due to squeezing between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian plate, sharp upheavals under sea around these plates formed the highest and youngest plateau, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Hence, those cobblestones and silt became the best evidence for this radical change. So the triton we saw in the Zhebang Temple was true too.
就在这枯燥的背景下,汽车哪时候拐一个弯,等我明悟的时候,已经在一条平直而又宽广的水泥大道上跑起来。问旁边的同志,才知道这是日喀则机场。
In this boring environment, people become slow in reacting. Thus, when I realized the bus turned, it already runs on a straight and wide cement road. By asking people nearby, I knew that we arrived at the Shigatse Airport.
由于海拔高,空气稀薄,飞机降落滑行经受阻力小,所以这机场的跑道是世界上最长的。平日里,这里极少有飞机降落。
Due to high altitude, thin air and low sliding resistance of plane, its runway was the longest in the world. Generally speaking, there is very few planes landing.
而我们车上有一位西藏军区创作室的:当载着医生从北京来抢救班禅大师的飞机在此降落的夜晚,他还是机场一名值班的战士。现在,他是特意带我们进来感受的。
On our bus, a passenger from the Tibet Military Region Studio told us that he was a duty soldier of this airport when the plane, carrying doctors from Beijing who came to rescue Panchen, landed here one night. Thus, he sent us here for visiting it on purpose.
傍晚时分,在雅鲁藏布江一级支流年楚河口上,我们走进了日喀则。
At dusk, we came in Shigatse from the Nianchu Estuary, a tributary of the Yarlu Zangbu River.
