Chapter 51 westbound communication

westbound communication one Brother St. Tao: We set off from Peiping on August 22 and arrived in Harbin on the 24th.This is at least an interesting place, please listen to my impression of Harbin. It is divided into four parts: inside the road, outside the road, Nangang, and Majiagou.Majiagou is a new urban area, let alone.Nangang is a residential area, and it is said that the buildings have a unique flavor; it is a pity that we went there on a moonless night.Outside the road is a Chinese-style city street, we only walked for ten minutes.The Harbin I know is Daoli in Harbin, where we live.

Daoli is not Chinese at all.The streets are full of Russians, walking and sitting; there seem to be more women than there.It is said that there are only hundreds of thousands of Russians in Dali, and more than three hundred thousand Chinese, but Russians probably like to go out on the streets, so I feel that the streets are full of them.You walk on China Street after dusk (or walk in front of Nangang Qiulin Foreign Trade Co., Ltd.), and look at the crowds and excitement.Shanghai Avenue and other places are also noisy at night, but the chaos has its own purpose, but here is almost full of shopping.

There is no other place where this kind of idleness is found. The foreigners here are not as superior to the Chinese as the British and Americans in Shanghai, but they are not inferior to the Chinese as some people think.The Chinese are not allowed to be bullied by them, so how can they be bullied by the Chinese?The Chinese don't particularly respect them, but it's true.Their products are very miscellaneous. Of course, there are many small businesses in foreign companies, and there are also many people who drive cars along the street to solicit passengers. Barefoot naughty boys can be seen everywhere.In this way, we can mix with the Chinese, and there will be no barriers.Perhaps this is because the Belarusians have nowhere to go; but this phenomenon is much more comfortable than Shanghai, Shenyang and other places where Chinese and foreign people live together.In Shenyang, Shanghai, I watched with cold eyes, and I was often angry and worried.

Most people here speak Russian, even the broom sellers.Most of them have some foreign rules, such as "humming" when making promises, and keeping the streets clean.But they don't hold back their Russian language and foreign rules, and they don't mean to show off. They just regard it as commonplace, which is quite different from the "ermaozi" elsewhere.Their foreignization is a natural trend of life, not extravagant decoration, and it is for "the whole people", not for a few "high-ranking Chinese".When a stranger comes here, he can absorb so many exotic flavors without feeling suffocated; Shanghai under the rule of foreigners, Qingdao and Beidaihe, where the new aristocrats spend their summers, are like two worlds.

But although there is a high level of civilization here, there is no culture at all.If you stay for a week or two, or even a month, you will probably not get bored, and it will depend on who you are.There is no decent bookstore here, and Chinese and foreign books are very rare; although there are a few Russian books in the windows of some big foreign companies, they are only novels for the leisure of businessmen.The most bizarre thing is that the Chinese translations on the market signs here, such as "You Jeddah", "Minniang Jiuer", "Ali Gu Nao Ruci" and other transliterations, do not know who came from it.No wonder, secondary education, which is still in its infancy, is already the highest education here!Does this count as the whole Europeanization mentioned by Mr. Liang Shuming?I don't think it can be counted.Harbin is the same as White Russia in Harbin. If things go on like this, it will end up being neither a donkey nor a horse.Although I am a traveler who feels a lot of freshness, I can't help but think so.

Although this is a Europeanized city, the leisure places are even better than those in Beiping.Big stores open from 9:00 am to 12:00 am, rest from 1:00 am to 3:00 pm; open again at 3:00 am, and come back at 5:00 am.At night, it is natural to turn on the lights as usual, and let the dazzling window decorations adorn the open market.Shuttle-like men and women are much more than during the day.Russians, at least in Harbin, seem to have an indissoluble bond with the streets.On the most lively road in Paris and London, it seems that there are only so many people shopping at night.There are many benches for rest on both sides of the street, and there is no shade from the trees; many Russians just sit there like this, some of them come here for entertainment.There is a small garden in the middle of the quieter street, surrounded by a short fence, and there are many people walking back and forth in it. ——From now on, you can definitely imagine that a vast park is absolutely indispensable in Harbin.

This is now called "Tokushi Park".The size is similar to Zhongshan Park in Beiping, but the layout is naturally different.There are many flower beds inside, and flowers of various colors are used to form various symmetrical patterns; the most interesting is the two grass lions at the entrance.It is crouching, covered with green and oily tender grass, bigger than common lions, and looks very natural.There are hills, curved water, pavilions and bridges in the garden; the bridges are foreign-style, and they are exquisite.You can row a boat in the water, and there are still some bends to turn.This is intriguing.There are also teahouses, movie theaters, electric horses (available in places such as Shanghai World), etc.The movies here are not divided into scenes, and they are always played from a certain time to a certain time; it was quite strange at the time, but it was later discovered that it was a foreign method.On the day we went, it was being played; I don't know if there will be some good movies playing elsewhere.There are also many people in this park at night; it is said that Russian women often like to walk in the garden in a row, the length of the row is about as wide as the road, and there are always two rows of people walking at the same time, which is very beautiful to think about.Outside the Teshi Park, the police told us that there are still some small gardens, the nature of which is not known.

The roads here are all made of stone.Some people say that the stone road is less dusty; as for not using asphalt, it may be because the winter is too cold and the asphalt is not frozen.In short, it is true that there is less dust. When you come here from Beiping, you may think that there will be more dust, but it will be counterproductive. Walking on the streets here is indeed much more comfortable than in Beiping in many respects.Because the roads are good, so are the cars.It's not just sitting still, there's more!Cheap again!Fast again!The streets are full, yes, they come as soon as you raise your hand, just like the Beiping Yangche.There are few foreign cars here but they are expensive; you can take a car for a few cents, and the price is equal to that of a foreign car if there are more people.Most of the Russians drive, and they drive "great"; turning, reversing, doing nothing, and you don't worry at all.Paris and London naturally have excellent drivers, but they are full of horses and horses, and they can't show their skills; sometimes the taxis on the street are almost like donkeys.In this regard, Harbin is stronger.Mr. Hu Shizhi advocated "car civilization". This is the first time I have come into contact with car civilization.There may be more cars in Shanghai than here, but they are too noble to be interesting.There are also quite a few horse-drawn carriages here, and they are also cheap, similar to or even cheaper than the ones in Nanjing five years ago.

Another cheap thing here is Russian food.We ate noodles at Tianjin Restaurant on the first day, thinking it would be cheaper; but we didn’t know that we ate Russian lunch on the second day, which was much better and much cheaper than Tianjin Restaurant.Last summer in Shanghai, someone invited me to eat "Russian cuisine". It seemed that it was very popular at that time, probably because it was cheap and good.Russian dishes have a large portion, which is convenient for ordering and sharing; it is more free than eating other countries' dishes; and it is heavy in oil, which suits our taste.We saw that Russian women's shins were much fatter on the street, and later we saw the same in various stations in Siberia; we often said that it might be because the oil in the dishes was too heavy.

Finally, I want to talk about the Songhua River. The roads are all in the south of the Yangtze River, and that side is called Jiangbei.There is a Sun Island in the middle of the river, and there are many people in summer, and some people often take the whole family to spend the whole day there.The best thing to do on the island is naturally swimming, followed by boating.I don't like the place much because it's untidy and uncomfortable to walk around.It was not the right time for us to go, we wanted to bathe in the water, but we gave up because we didn't bring any clothes.There is a temporary photographer on the island.I went with a Mr. Xu, and we sat in a small boat for him to take a picture.There were four or five Russian women and children in bathing suits on the shore, jumping and squeezing to the side of our boat, some were submerged in the water, some were climbing on the boat, and they were photographed together in the photo.This kind of innocence is also somewhat warm.There are a lot of photographers walking around in Harbin, which I have never seen in other big cities in China; it is also a foreign thing.The photo will not be good, but it was desirable at that time, and it is enough to commemorate it.From Sun Island, we rowed a boat and went outside the road.I have just started rowing, and I have been to the three seas of Beiping several times; this time is the happiest.The boatman steers, and his oars are always there for me.The oars are foreign-style, long and well-proportioned, supported on small iron forks, stable and flexible; the paddles are thin and curved.There are no algae on the river, and it looks very spacious.In this way, it was easy to please, and we had a pleasant afternoon.We left Harbin the next day.

This letter was written by hand in the car in Siberia on August 31, and it was delayed until today.In terms of time, but not in length, this letter is too long, so please forgive me! Brother Ziqing, October 8, 1931, London. two Brother St. Tao: This time, I will tell you about our trip to Siberia. When I usually think of Siberia, I see a vast plain in front of my eyes, illuminated by a dim setting sun, or blown by a bitter north wind, or covered by snow and ice.I believe half of this impression comes from "Chile Song", and half comes from the translated novel; what we saw on the train was not so thrilling-probably because of summer.Desolation is indeed good, but there are no hills along the road, and thousands of miles of green, it turns Siberia into an ordinary countryside.There are only wooden houses dotted everywhere, which is unprecedented.It rained five of the seven days we spent in Siberia; in the drizzle, these shimmering wooden houses had a special tone. The first two days were sunny, and the sunset on the first day was beautiful; only then did we acknowledge the greatness of Siberia.The plain gradually became vaster, and its edge was not as clear as the day, but seemed to extend to infinity.There is only a large area of ​​deep and shallow golden light in the west, like a sea.These are islands, we pointed out; those are ships, still shaking in the breeze.The golden light dazzles extremely rottenly, it doesn’t exist on this earth.To make a metaphor, maybe it looks like a raging flame, but after all, the flame is too ordinary.The dark and light tones are a bit like the drawing boards of a famous oil painter, with one thick block and one light block; although he is inadvertent, his spirit and posture can be seen in every point and pile.When we mentioned the name "Xia", we felt that the tone was very loud, as if it was full of light.Speaking of "sunset glow" again; the tone of "wan" has some meaning of ecstasy, which makes people feel "it's almost dusk". Mr. L said that there is no equivalent word for "Xia" in English, so it can only be called "Sunset". If this is the case, we will feel sorry for the British. In the evening of the second day, I crossed Lake Baikal; this is a very famous lake, which I was eager to see.I remember Guo Moruojun’s poem saying that Su Wu was herding sheep on the shore of Lake Baikal, which is really a beautiful and sad imagination.Walking across this lonely lake in the bleak twilight, I can't help feeling nostalgic.Before dinner, we suddenly saw a piece of water far away from the window; everyone guessed, it’s not Lake Baikal, right?By the time dinner was over, the car had gone along the lake.Looking to the north, I saw a faint whiteness, but I couldn't think of another place over there.The lake is very monotonous.Every point seemed equally calm, not a single sail, not a single bird.Night is coming, this should be the kingdom of the dead, right?But I still sat by the window and watched.We didn't pay attention to where the east side started; now, like the west side, it is endless white water.It was more than two o'clock in the car, and Lake Baikal was still outside the window; it was so dark, I walked into the house, and I didn't know when it would end. At the junction of Europe and Asia, there is a section of road that has a Chinese artistic conception, with continuous green hills and leisurely flowing rivers, and there are only a few random twists and turns during the few miles.The mountain is high and steep, with not many peaks and peaks, like a large screen cut out.The car walked along the river at the foot of the mountain; the river bank was also high and steep, and the water seemed to fall suddenly.From the top of the mountain to the surface of the river, there are neat double stacks; except for those few bends, the road for these few miles is neat.Although orderliness is an advantage of the West, its sophistication is still close to that of Chinese landscape poetry or painting.I saw a narrow boat in the river, and a person was sitting and paddling slowly. The boat and the people were gray in color; this is really a Chinese painting. There is a room in the car for four people, and there are only three of us.When I got in the car, I thought it would be good to occupy a room all the time.But at night, a woman came, who seemed to be working or farming.She calmly slept on the top bunk; this would never happen in China—we are not only three men, but also three foreigners!She got off the next day, and the only gentleman in the third-class car came; he probably moved to another room the next day because we went in and out of the sliding door at night and disturbed his sleep.After that came Bing, Bing after all... We all say that there is a fate with Bing.Finally came the Ph.D. in Economics, whose name, as I remember, was Joseph, and he told us that in poker you keep the points by name.In the past, all the visitors only spoke Russian, and we occasionally agreed to a word or two; we learned it from the guidebook of the Wanguo Sleeping Car Company, such as "no", "three", "how many", and so on. The word "no" is used the most, accompanied by a shake of the head.This is of course straightforward, but it often interrupts the conversation from then on; at this point, the person probably either stands outside the door and window to watch the scenery, or closes his eyes to sleep.This Mr. Joseph was different, he said he knew French besides Russian; both LH and LH knew French, and we immediately felt that the room became more interesting. But Mr. Joseph's French is really not good enough, he can only speak a few words. It was very difficult for the two of LH to deal with it, but he was very talkative, and he always talked in detail.He told us that the Russian newspaper said that Hankow party members had burned the Mobil Kerosene Company; he also asked the names of several Chinese.It's hard for him to remember these names!One afternoon, he took a pen and paper, drew a map, and discussed world affairs with us.He said that Russia bought machinery from the United States and sold it grain; China bought grain and daily necessities from the United States and let it make money for nothing.He clicked a few points on the map and wrote, "Blood!" "Blood!" Said that China can only drop blood to the United States, nothing else.He seems to think that China is completely Americanized, so he asks "America?" for this kind of thing, "America?" , "China" was accepted. He asked what party we were.The three of us are not in the party; he is very strange, pointing to the chest, "I—doctor—the Communist Party!" Pointing to his friend who is also a Ph.D. in economics, he said, "He—doctor— —The Communist Party!” He likes to drink, and often goes to drink with his friends in the dining car.He also invited us two or three times, always saying, "Comrade—beer," pointing to the dining car.Thank you all.In the end, he seemed embarrassed, pointing, "I—Bourgeo—you—Prolitiat!" He often pointed to his clothes and said, "It's not good-looking—Russia;" pointing Our way, "America!" (Talking to an eighteen-year-old Russian worker in another car two or three days later, a Korean interpreter. This is an innocent worker, his clothes are much rougher than ours Yes, but it is much more expensive than us. He showed envy, but I think of Mr. Joseph’s words, and I am a little envious of them.) He is a kind person and is very helpful to us.When he was approaching Moscow, he was peeling pine nuts (I saw Russians eating a lot of pine nuts along the road, picking them off and chewing them one by one, which seemed more interesting than cracking melon seeds), while telling us that he had a wife and son, and now he was waiting at home. What about him?Pointing to the distance, he said that he lived with them outside the city in summer, and moved into the city when it was cold.After getting out of the car, he even came to the window to say goodbye to us.He has black hair, a purple face, and a round beard; he says he is now the editor of an economics magazine. I was supposed to arrive in Moscow at two o'clock in the afternoon; I missed it by five o'clock, and by then it was completely dark.The car to Poland was about to start; full of desire to see Moscow, but seeing only darkness, I had to get in the car and leave with the greatest disappointment.In the afternoon of the second day, I changed trains in Poland and went to Paris.When eating in the dining car at night, the waiters wear small dresses, bow and talk to the guests, and most of the guests also put on neat clothes and sit upright, which is very different from the atmosphere of the Russian dining car.I gradually became a little restrained. Brother Ziqing, November 15, 1931, London.