Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 177 A Bright Red Sun Rises in the East
After leaving Chengdu, the jeep headed west. Even before leaving Chengdu, just outside the city, the road conditions deteriorated. The driver and guide, Lao Wang, kept explaining the route to Liu Yimin.

With his dark skin and fluent Mandarin, it's hard to imagine that he is a Tibetan.

Wang Tianfu is his Han name. He used to be a Tibetan soldier under a chieftain. Before the liberation, he fled Tibet and joined the People's Liberation Army, becoming a truck driver. Before retiring from the army, he frequently traveled between various nearby military units, undertaking the task of transporting supplies.

He joked that he knew the neighborhood so well that he could drive there with his eyes closed.

The further they got from the city, the hotter it became inside the jeep; the tarpaulin on top was already soaked through from the sun. Liu Yimin opened the window, his body bouncing up and down with the road bumps in the back seat.

"Comrade Xu, how are you feeling?" Liu Yimin asked with concern.

Xu Chi turned around and said, "It's alright, but it can't compare to when I was young. Back then, when I was working on the Gezhouba Hydropower Station construction site, my feet were covered in mud every day."

Meeting Xu Chi was unexpected for Liu Yimin. Xu Chi told Liu Yimin that he had come to write a reportage reflecting the current lives of Tibetans. Liu Yimin didn't know Xu Chi was coming, but Xu Chi already knew Liu Yimin was coming.

In his words, after so many years in the literary world and knowing so many people, he believes that rumors are more reliable than official news.

"Knowing you were coming here, I put down my work to keep you company. I've taken someone else's spot, I'm sure some people will be unhappy about that," Xu Chi said with a smile.

When Liu Yimin asked out of curiosity, Xu Chi mentioned that the editor of "Stars" magazine had arranged to go with the United Front Work Department, but as soon as Xu Chi arrived, the spot was taken.

The jeep was loaded with supplies and could only accommodate four people: the driver and guide Lao Wang, Xu Chi, Liu Yimin, and another cadre from Aba. They got into the jeep after arriving in Aba and were responsible for coordinating the subsequent field trip.

"We're almost at Dujiangyan. Writer Liu, Writer Xu, would you like to go and see Dujiangyan?" Driver Lao Wang said, turning around and pointing to Dayanhe River not far away.

Xu Chi asked Liu Yimin for his opinion: "Yimin, you say it. I'm just hitching a ride with you, so I'll listen to you."

"Let's talk about it when we get back. We'll have to take this route on the way back anyway, so it's tough at first and easy later!"

"Row!"

Liu Yimin opened the window and looked out at the Minjiang River not far away. From a distance, the river shimmered like a jade ribbon.

On the bus, Xu Chi asked about the novel "The Kite Runner" and its subsequent plot developments. Liu Yimin recounted the story to him again, which Xu Chi listened to with great interest. Old Wang, sitting next to him, only heard the latter half and was itching to hear more, so he urged Liu Yimin to tell the whole story.

Xu Chi continued, "Let this old man speak for me, Yimin. See how good my memory is. If I've made any mistakes, point them out to me."

On the rest of the journey, Xu Chi recounted "The Kite Runner" from beginning to end, and Liu Yimin was impressed by his memory.

After finishing his speech, Xu Chi looked at Liu Yimin and said, "Cao Yu is indeed Cao Yu. He can think of so many things from a novel. When I read it, I never thought of them!"

"Comrade Xu, you're not involved in theater, so of course you don't have Teacher Wan's sensitivity," Liu Yimin explained with a smile.

“But I should always have a sensitivity to reportage. Writing this reportage requires a lot of material. If we work together, we can complement each other and achieve the best results.”

“Your reportage focuses on the stories of typical figures. I came here to understand the lives of the Tibetan people and the chieftain system here. There are still differences between us.”

"Comrade Lao Wang, tell us about your life in Tibet before." Xu Chi looked at Lao Wang.

Old Wang lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, sighed again, and began to speak. Old Wang wasn't highly educated, but he had attended literacy classes in the army for a few years, and as a driver, he had learned some cultural and technical knowledge, so he could finally be considered somewhat educated.

Because they only had a little education, they started their story by recounting their own upbringing. They explained that each household had to send someone to serve as a hidden soldier under the chieftain, and during wartime, they had to provide their own supplies to participate in wars between chieftains.

His father died in a war between chieftains, and he naturally succeeded him as a Tibetan soldier.

“Our chieftain is a minor chieftain. The largest chieftain is Maisang Chieftain. The last chieftain of Maisang was Huaer Gongchenlie, who married Zaxi Zhuoma, the daughter of Ronggong Chieftain, through a marriage alliance. He was a chieftain who was good at business and made a lot of money through business. With money, he had weapons and controlled many minor chieftains. Our chieftain, Nanmuda Chieftain, also surrendered to Maisang Chieftain.”

Huaer Gongchenlie was the last chieftain of Maisang. In 49, after assessing the situation, he took the initiative to request peaceful liberation and became a local government official in Aba. He made a significant contribution to the peaceful liberation of the area and even went to North Korea to offer his condolences.

With Lao Wang's explanation, Liu Yimin and Xu Chi began to have a clear understanding of the former Tusi (chieftain) power in Aba.

They are local tyrants here, nominally government officials, but in reality, they are the local rulers, wielding absolute power of life and death. Everything within their territory, including the people, is their prey.

Why did the chieftain of Maisang become powerful? Unlike previous chieftains, he rectified the customs and discipline of the tribe and protected merchants and travelers, which is why he became powerful.

The advisor to the Masang chieftain was also the abbot of Gerten Monastery, thus he held religious power. In effect, he combined political and religious authority.

This Gerten Monastery later became quite unsettled.

As we got closer to Aba and the altitude increased, the jeep stalled twice. Fortunately, Lao Wang was a veteran driver and skilled in vehicle repair, so he quickly fixed it.

"Writer Liu, Writer Xu, don't worry, I will definitely get you to Aba safely and bring you back." After saying that, Old Wang patted his lower back, the hard, metallic sound giving Liu Yimin and Xu Chi a solid sense of security.

After resuming their journey, Xu Chi gestured with the map and said, "Our first stop in Aba is Wenchuan County. Sanjiang Commune is located in Wenchuan County. I think we should go to Wenchuan County first."

Old Wang threw away his cigarette butt and said, "Sanjiang Commune has been abolished; it's now Sanjiang Township. There's no Revolutionary Committee in the county anymore; it's all the county government now."

From 79 to 80, revolutionary committees and communes in various places began to be abolished one after another. However, when people spoke, they would still unconsciously utter the old names. The communes and revolutionary committees that people talked about told everyone that the memories of that past period still remained.

Upon arriving in Sanjiang Township, they first went to the township government, where officials from Aba were waiting for them.

"Hello, writer Liu, writer Xu, Tashi Delek, welcome to Aba! I am Sozerang from the United Front Work Department of Aba!"

"Tashi Delek!" Judging from his dark, shiny skin and accent, Liu Yimin knew without a doubt that he was Tibetan. Around forty years old, lean and wiry, he wore traditional Tibetan clothing: a long-sleeved robe and loose-fitting shoes.

Aba has a high altitude and low temperatures. Fortunately, the locals in Chengdu had reminded them to buy thick coats.

Sozerang invited Liu Yimin and Xu Chi to eat at the canteen in Sanjiang Township. The food served was not Tibetan cuisine, but proper Sichuan cuisine.

There are a lot of Han Chinese people in Wenchuan. Sanjiang Township is located in the south of Wenchuan and is named after the confluence of the Xihe River, Zhonghe River, and Heishi River. While eating, Suozhelang introduced the situation here to Liu Yimin.

“This used to be the territory of the Wasi chieftain. The chieftain of Wasi at that time was called Suoyanchuan. The Tibetan soldiers who sacrificed their lives were mostly Tibetan youths from the foot of Qionglai Mountain. Would you like to rest for a while? Or do you want to go and see the Braid Tomb after you finish eating?” Suozilang asked.

"Let's go straight there and pay our respects to the fallen heroes first," Liu Yimin said, and Xu Chi agreed.

On the way there, Sozerang recounted that period of history in detail:
"After receiving the order from the Qing government, Suo Yanchuan sent his chieftain Suo Wenmao to gather his Tibetan soldiers. The Wasi chieftain was not a very large chieftain, and the number of Tibetan soldiers under his command was limited."

Among the 2000 Tibetan soldiers were two other troops: one led by Hakri, the garrison commander of the Wasi chieftain, and the other by Amurang, the commander-in-chief of the Dajinchuan chieftain. The Wasi chieftain held a grand send-off ceremony; the white hadas (ceremonial scarves) and the sound of horns echoed throughout the Minjiang River.

The arrival of this Tibetan army delighted Yijing, the local military commander in charge of Zhejiang Province, as it was the last reinforcement he had under his command.

The tiger-skin hats worn by the reinforcements gave Yijing a sense of certainty of victory. He believed that the foreigners were "sheep," and the tiger-skin hats represented "tigers"—with tigers under his command, he could certainly kill the sheep.

Yijing ordered the Tibetan soldiers to be the vanguard, leading troops from various provinces to rush towards Ningbo. Hakri and Amurang and their Tibetan soldiers fought bravely and tenaciously, but their commander was unreliable, the rest of the troops were also unreliable, and their equipment was outdated. In the end, almost all of them were killed on the battlefield.

Tushe Suowenmao led Tibetan soldiers to ambush the British army, killing more than a hundred people. He was awarded the peacock feather and official hat by the Qing government for his meritorious service.

Hakri and Amurang died in battle, and their statues were erected in the "Gaojie Shrine" that commemorated General Zhu Gui, who died in the battle. The graves of the fallen soldiers were called Baizhang Tomb.

After Suo Zelang finished speaking, their jeep stopped not far from the pigtail grave. Liu Yimin and Xu Chi looked at the somewhat simple cemetery. He took many photos with his camera; these photos would be useful for the stage play's set design later.

"They are all heroes!" Xu Chi exclaimed.

The four men stood before the grave and bowed deeply.

After driving around Sanjiang Township, Xu Chi pointed to the distant mountains and said, "That's Qionglai Mountain. Qionglai Mountain has nurtured many heroes and heroines. That's Jinchuan over there. Emperor Qianlong lost many soldiers and generals trying to conquer Jinchuan."

The battles of Greater and Lesser Jinchuan were ranked second among Emperor Qianlong's Ten Great Military Achievements.

"There should be Jiajin Mountain over there, right?" Liu Yimin asked.

Sozerang said, "It is Jiajin Mountain, the first snow-capped mountain our predecessors crossed on their way north."

“We also suffered heavy losses on this mountain!” Liu Yimin sighed.

Xu Chi and Liu Yimin kept making notes in their notebooks. Suo Zelang sat down next to Liu Yimin, feeling embarrassed, and asked him what works he had written. He only knew that Liu Yimin was a writer, but he didn't know much about what he had written.

Xu Chi sat down with a smile and began to speak. After listening, Suozhelang said, "Writer Liu, you are so talented at such a young age. We also have many young people from Han areas here. They are all very hardworking. They were not used to it at first, but now they have become a part of Aba."

There are many cadres who came to Aba to provide assistance, as well as some young people who were assigned there, all working in various positions.

After making their way around, they returned to the township government, where they rested for the night before slowly making their way to other parts of Aba.

Liu Yimin looked at Xu Chi and said, "Comrade Xu, you're in good health. I thought you'd be short of breath. Apart from speaking a little slowly today, you seem perfectly normal."

"It's not that high up here. If I can't even get up here, I might as well not come at all." Xu Chi's face was a little red, but he looked relatively healthy.

Liu Yimin vaguely felt a little short of oxygen, but he didn't feel uncomfortable.

They stayed in the township government building, using the office floor as their bed. In the evenings, the township head and other staff members of Sanjiang Township would gather around their makeshift beds, offering them drinks and listening to their stories about Beijing and the South.

The most frequent questions people asked were: How big is Tiananmen Square? Is the road in front of it particularly wide? They also asked if anyone had seen the old man. Xu Chi had, of course, seen him and even asked him how he composed poetry.

Xu Chi became the most popular person, and everyone asked him about the situation at the time. Xu Chi proudly recounted the story.

After that, wherever they went, whenever someone learned that they had come from Yanjing, they would ask the same question. Some Tibetans would even tell them with tears in their eyes, "He sent Jinzhumami to rescue us."

Whenever driver Lao Wang hears someone mention Jinzhuma Mi, a sense of pride involuntarily rises on his face, and he tugs at the hem of his clothes.

“I ran away for a while, and when I came back I became Jinzhuma Mi, writer Liu, one of the people I rescued. When I was first rescued, my face was still very numb, and I couldn’t believe it at all. It was just like when I first met the first People’s Liberation Army soldier after I went out.”

When Lao Wang recounted his return with the army, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Seeing this scene, Liu Yimin couldn't help but recall a line from "The Serfs": "They are the soldiers who broke the iron chains. A bright red sun rose in the east..."

The next morning, it was very cold. The Tibetan comrades from Sanjiang Township gave their Tibetan robes to Liu Yimin and Xu Chi. The two men wanted to keep some money, but the comrades firmly refused, saying, "Comrades, we are comrades!"

The road became increasingly difficult to navigate as it went deeper, winding and twisting.

A gentle breeze whispered in my ear, and a kind voice said, "Little one, go and see for me. I left in such a hurry back then that I didn't get a good look!"

(End of this chapter)