Farewell, my hometown, Sanxue Street and Dongmutou City

There is no way to know what the old courtyard house that I have never seen in the whole family is on West Street. Long before I was born, it was gently touched by an excavator, and it became a flat ground. Those forgotten clods and broken wood turned into fragments of words in the family's mouth, and they floated into my imagination again. inside:

Early that morning, the sun climbed over the dusty tiles and shone into the square yard surrounded by several huts. The yard was brightly lit at once. The loess was golden. The sun was shining through the glass, and the house became brighter. My aunts got up from the east and west wing rooms and cleaned up. The four sisters looked at the shiny leaves in the yard and thought that they could call the children in the front yard, tie the ropes to the trees, and play rubber band jumping games together. Grandma also came out of the main room, carrying a white porcelain bowl with cooked and sliced pork liver in it. She knocked on a stainless steel basin standing beside the room with chopsticks, shouting: Mimi, Mimi! Only the roof tiles of several houses from far and near were clattering in turn, and a cat with a white body and a round face jumped into the yard like a fly, purring and eating breakfast. Spring is bright, and it is the season of recovery. Everyone borrowed a camera from the neighbors, helped grandpa out of the room with all hands and feet, and helped him sit on the stool, and took this black and white photo in my hand. . Behind the grandfather is the wall of the main house. The rammed wall is cracked with wide or narrow cracks. Along the cracks, the wall is falling off layer by layer. It is especially serious in the place where it is connected to the ground. It is probably due to poor drainage in the courtyard. Because of this, the crack at the base of the wall turned into a dense black in the photo, making the wall itself extraordinarily thick-this is the only image reference left by the old house for me, and it is also the last photo of my grandfather before his death. A few years later, my grandfather passed away from a serious illness. After a few years, the old house was in ruins. After many years of tossing and turning, the family finally moved back to West Street. Life. In the square Ming city wall, many people have such stories. But there are also some old streets and courtyards that have been quietly staying for a hundred years.

——Outside the South Gate is the most prosperous place in Xi'an. The office buildings and shopping malls with full glass curtain wall reflect the continuous traffic flow. Entering the South Gate, South Street is also a modern and dazzling atmosphere. Each building has its own unique declaration, standing shoulder to shoulder, one higher and lower. In the brightly lit corner, there is a small and delicate pagoda. Its shape and cornice shape are quite similar to those of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. This pagoda is called Baoqing Temple Pagoda. Behind the pagoda is an antique archway with three words "Academy Gate" written on it. Entering this archway, it is isolated from the previous world of flowers and flowers. The world formed, suddenly the whistle of the cars disappeared, replaced by the sound of xun or flute as the footsteps moved back and forth; the electronic screen also disappeared here, and all the slogans and notices in the gate of the academy were implemented. From the principle of "can write books", vigorous calligraphy is written on rice paper and wooden boards, so even signs such as "no spitting" are worth pondering.

Five years ago, I walked on this street over and over again, walking straight along the academy gate, passing Sanxue Street, crossing Fuxue Alley, and entering Dongmutou City, this square block is adjacent to it. There are many streets around, but I prefer this path: the further I go, the quieter the atmosphere becomes with each intersection or turn. In the middle of Sanxue Street, there is an ancient tree with intertwined roots. Its trunk is bent, leaning on the wooden frame painted with vermilion next to it, and it stretches gracefully toward the sky-time has such a charm, roads, trees, houses and so on. Things that are clearly separated have been exposed to the sun for a hundred years together, and then they are engraved with similar patterns and plated with similar light, and they are completely integrated into one, declaring its territory to those who come. And I, the newcomer, with a pen in his pocket and a crumpled blueprint in his hand, looked at the tree in front of him and drew a circle on the drawing in surprise.

From early spring to summer five years ago, there were students with similar outfits walking there. Sanxue Street and Dongmutou City were the school’s annual topics. The teacher recounted over and over how much this Ming and Qing ancient neighborhood was. It's important, and we think about what we can "build" for it day by day -- "It's not necessary to build something out," the teacher replied.

So our walks are like a treasure hunt. On the streets that have been slightly ruined, we follow the old and new roofs to find clues and piece together the street texture here: Dongmutou City is located in a traditional street. Guanzhong Siheyuan, whether it is brick or earth rammed, still retains its former pattern. The hut on Fuxue Alley, which I have to pass through every time, turned out to be the school gate in the Qing Dynasty. The brick houses on both sides still use the wooden frame roof of the school building. Accompanied by Xin Xin students into the book hall. The more I know about this place, the more I feel that I don’t need to do a lot for it: many residents here have opened storefronts for painting, calligraphy and painting or carving, which together with the academy gate constitute an important stationery district in Xi’an. They operate and live in the same place. This place not only saves costs, but also ensures the stability of the business to a certain extent - I think what is needed here is probably the repair of the actual room, or some small installations on the block to bring a little more here. The vitality and passenger flow, those skilled craftsmen can make this place better.

Three years ago, a piece of news spread among the classmates: "The overall relocation and reconstruction plan of Sanxue Street and Dongmutou City has been approved, with one core, three axes and two belts, creating a model for cultural blocks" - it turned out that I once walked through it step by step, The long and narrow street in the memory that the family has seen, after drawing a line on the map, it becomes a simple "belt".

A year ago, I passed by Dongmutou again, and it was in ruins. A black, shabby wooden door hangs on a white-painted brick wall that has not yet been demolished. I stared at it blankly, remembering what seemed like a long time ago, when I was a little kid, when I was bouncing down the street, I was interrupted by a rattan chaise longue on which a pompous uncle shook He waved his fan staggeringly, and behind him was such a white wall; he also remembered that five years ago, an aunt came out of such a black wooden door and said to me, "My cat has given birth, we need to see it. See?" The little white cat has blue eyes, long hair and a long tail, just like the Mimi in grandma's yard that Dad always talks about.