Chapter 604
Jiang Xu shook the notebook in his hand and explained with a smile:
"I'm doing a series of reports on 'Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in the Middle Yangtze River,' and after Changcheng, it's naturally time to visit Xingcheng. I didn't expect to meet you again. What a fate!"
The three of them found a table and sat down. Jiang Xu enthusiastically shared his experiences in Star City:
"Tomorrow there will be a special cultural lecture at Yuelu Academy. The speaker is Professor Zhou Jing, an expert in Hunan culture. I wonder if you're interested."
Su Miao said with interest, "Professor Zhou? I've read his 'A Study of the Origins and Development of Hunan Culture.' I heard our school wants to invite him to give a lecture next semester, but it hasn't been confirmed yet."
Jiang Xu nodded and said, "If you have time, I have an invitation and can take you along. Tomorrow's lecture will discuss the contemporary inheritance of the Hunan spirit of practical application. By the way..."
He lowered his voice and said, "You're an archaeologist, aren't you? Are you interested in visiting the ancient house? Professor Zhou's office is right next to Jia Yi's former residence. When the lecture is over, we can shamelessly follow him back and take a look around."
Su Miao excitedly tugged at his father's sleeve and said:
"Dad! Can we stay in Star City for one more day? I want to attend lectures and visit ancient houses."
The doting man nodded without hesitation: "Of course! Anyway, it's not far from Yongcheng, we just need to go back before the New Year."
In this way, the three of them made an appointment again and naturally traveled together again.
We went out to eat together at noon. I don’t know if Jiang Xu was too lonely after running alone for so long, but now he was so excited to have someone to work with him that he rushed to pay for everything.
He opened his notebook, which was filled with the "information" he had gleaned. He saw an interesting item and said:
"Go ahead and you'll find the South Gate. I heard there'll be performances of 'Xingcheng Tanci' near the Lunar New Year. This is a unique local form of folk art, accompanied by an instrument called the Yueqin."
After turning a corner, I heard the melodious sound of a piano from afar.
There are many long benches under the old camphor tree at the south gate. Although there are people sitting around them, they are not full.
Su Miao and the other two quietly found a seat and sat down, waiting for the show to begin.
An old artist with gray hair is tuning a pipa guitar.
He was wearing a dark blue double-breasted cloth shirt, and his finger joints were thick, showing the marks left by years of playing the piano.
After tuning the instrument, the old artist cleared his throat and did not make any warm-up opening remarks. He plucked the strings with his fingers, and a plaintive prelude flowed out.
Then he sang in his hoarse and magnetic voice:
"The Xiang River's water is endless, and the Yuelu Mountains are covered with evergreens..."
Su Miao listened attentively. The singing style was neither as sonorous as the northern fast-paced storytelling, nor as graceful as the Jiangnan Pingtan. Instead, it carried a unique sense of vicissitudes and told the story in very plain words.
After listening for a while, Jiang Xu whispered, "This seems to be about the story of Jia Taifu being exiled to Changsha during the Western Han Dynasty."
When the old artist sang to the emotional part, his fingers slid quickly on the strings, and the sound of the piano was sometimes like heavy rain knocking on the window, and sometimes like a breeze blowing through the willows.
The audience around held their breath, and even the street vendor selling sugar-roasted chestnuts stopped shouting.
"...Jia Yi was exiled to Changsha, not because there was no sage ruler; Liang Hong was exiled to Haiqu, not because there was no enlightened ruler..."
"Hey~ This is connected to the "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng", which is really wonderful." Jiang Xu praised.
The song ended with thunderous applause.
The old artist stood up and bowed, but suddenly started coughing. A little girl next to him handed him the kettle that he had placed aside.
He took the kettle and looked at her lovingly: "Thank you, Meiduo. There aren't many children willing to listen to this these days."
While he was taking a break between songs, several tourists from other places asked him questions curiously.
It has been a long time since the old artist felt so much like the center of attention. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out with laughter.
"My master once said that if you want to sing tanci with a 'Hunan flavor,' you have to include all the joys and sorrows of the Hunan land."
He patted the Yueqin beside him and said, "I've had this instrument for fifty years, and I've changed the case three times."
Su Yuanzheng asked curiously, "Master, have you accepted any apprentices?"
The old man nodded, then shook his head:
“I have accepted and taught them, but now there are not as many people as before to support me. I only perform to fill my stomach.
As an old man, I don’t eat much, but I can barely make ends meet. Young people who have to support their families can’t bear it and have to go out to work.”
After hearing what he said, everyone noticed that there was an empty iron box on the low table next to him. Several people opened their wallets on the spot and put a few cents into it.
Su Miao and the other two listened to a few more songs. When they left, Su Miao put twenty yuan into the old artist's iron box. The old man thanked him repeatedly and played a cheerful tune to see them off.
What you think about during the day you will dream about at night. Since he started traveling, every dream Su Miao had was related to the places he visited and the scenes he saw.
That night, Su Miao dreamed that she was holding a pipa, standing in front of the gate of Yuelu Academy, singing a song about time and inheritance.
The Xiangjiang River flows quietly outside the window, like a cultural bloodline that has never been interrupted for thousands of years.
The next morning, there was still a thin mist floating on the Xiangjiang River, but the three of them had already arrived at the foot of Yuelu Mountain.
Yuelu Academy is quiet and solemn in winter, and the remaining frost on the eaves sparkles in the sun.
Su Miao met Professor Zhou Jing, whom he had seen in a blurry photo in a book before. Although he was over fifty years old, he was in very good spirits. There was not a single gray hair on his head, and his hairstyle was combed meticulously.
Professor Zhou's voice echoed in the ancient hall: "The essence of Hunan culture lies in the unity of knowledge and action! The core concepts are embracing the world, perseverance, courage to innovate, and inclusiveness.
It is based on Confucianism, focuses on practice, innovation, and emphasizes practical application..."
When he got excited, he tapped the podium with the ruler in his hand.
…
After the lecture, many people rushed forward to communicate with Professor Zhou, while Su Miao and the other two waited silently on the side.
It was not until half an hour later that Professor Zhou regained his "freedom".
Jiang Xu walked over with Su Miao and Su Yuanzheng and greeted them politely, "Professor Zhou, I'm Jiang Xu, the editor of Echo. I've met you twice before at the magazine. I wonder if you still remember me."
Professor Zhou laughed heartily and said, "Of course I remember. Xiao Jiang, Editor-in-Chief Jiang's nephew, published an excellent article advocating for the protection of ancient books."
Then he looked at Su Miao with a sharp gaze: "My dear young comrade, when I just talked about 'inclusiveness', I saw you nodding your head. Do you have any insights?"
Su Miao hadn't expected to be called out, and hadn't prepared a response, so he could only speak out the thought that had just flashed through his mind:
"Hello, Professor. I'm an archaeology student. When I heard you talk about eclecticism, it reminded me that when doing archaeological work, we should not cut history into isolated fragments, but understand how various cultures intersect and coexist, just like the Xiangjiang River accommodates its tributaries.
Because in many cultural systems, there are overlapping and intertwining situations.”
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