Chapter 154 Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms are the pride of Japan.People who go to Japan, before arriving, they must first think of cherry blossoms; after arriving, they must first talk about cherry blossoms.If you arrive between summer and autumn, Japanese friends will regretfully say: "You missed the cherry blossom season!" If you arrive in winter, they will keep you and say: "Stay longer, wait until you see the cherry blossoms before leaving!" I have seen cherry blossoms, at least a few times, dozens of times.Look at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo, Ueno Park, Chidorigafuchi...; in Kyoto, Nara...; in the rain, in the fog, under the moon...There are cherry blossoms everywhere in Japan, and some have hundreds of trees The flowering trees are huddled together, and some of them are quietly independent by the roadside and water.

Spring in Japan is immersed in the atmosphere of cherry blossoms! My Japanese friend told me that there are more than 300 kinds of cherry blossoms, the most of which are mountain cherry, Yoshino cherry and Yae cherry.Mountain cherry and Yoshino cherry are not white and red like peach blossoms, nor are they white and green like pear blossoms. They are lotus gray.Yaezakura is more plump and ruddy, similar to the crabapple in spring in Beijing.In addition, there are light yellow tulip cherry blossoms, weeping cherry blossoms with low-hanging flower branches, Bigan cherry blossoms that bloom first during the "spring equinox", and chrysanthemum cherry blossoms with more than 300 petals.In the cherry blossom song written by Huang Zunxian, a poet of the Qing Dynasty:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Afterwards, the whole country is wildly rejoicing year after year... This song has written all the joys and sorrows of the Japanese people watching the cherry blossoms in spring. The "ten-day tour" is short. After the continuous cloudy weather, the spring sun is warm, and the cherry blossoms bloom all over the mountains. After a gust of wind and rain, they wither quickly, and the mountains are full of falling flowers!Therefore, Japanese literati wrote many sad poems about "life is short". It is said that the characteristics of cherry blossoms are also "early blooming and early falling".

Maybe because I am a Chinese, my association with cherry blossoms is not so gloomy.Although I saw the cherry blossoms for the first time in the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo in the spring of 1947, the cemetery was full of gloomy grave-sweepers with their heads bowed, occasionally drunken people singing dirge songs after drinking too much wine. When I walked through the dome-like corridor covered with lotus gray flowers, it also made me feel depressed. When I went to Japan this spring, it was the season of cherry blossoms. I saw cherry blossoms everywhere, in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hakone, Kamakura...but the cherry blossoms I saw on April 13th in Kanazawa, But it is the brightest and most solemn cherry blossom that I have ever seen!

On April 12th, it was raining heavily, and we went to visit the fishing village of Uchitan, not far from Kanazawa City.On the way, I happened to hear that tomorrow is the day when the workers of the taxi company in Kanazawa will go on strike.There are twelve taxi companies in Kanazawa City, with 250 vehicles and hundreds of drivers and workers.For the oppression of their lives, they demanded wage increases. They have gone on strike five times, but they have not achieved their goal. Tomorrow's strike will be the sixth. That afternoon, we were on the rainy beach and at the farmers’ homes on the Inland Bank, and we heard many touching stories about workers and peasants fighting against the U.S. military’s occupation of farmland as shooting ranges and finally winning.In the evening, I participated in an enthusiastic mass welcome meeting. Everyone was so excited that they couldn't sleep well. They got up early the next day and hurriedly packed up to set off. I completely forgot about today's car drivers' strike.

At 8:40 in the morning, we came out of the hotel, and eleven cars were neatly placed at the door.We got into the car respectively, and slowly zigzag down the mountain road.The weather was fine, the warm east wind was blowing, and the bright sunshine dazzled our eyes... Then I suddenly remembered, isn't today the day when the car drivers go on strike? Didn't their strike start at 8:00 in the morning?Didn't they delay their strike time in order to send us to the car?I quickly asked the Japanese friend who was sitting with the driver in front of me what happened.The Japanese friend turned around and said with a slight smile: "In order to send the delegation of Chinese writers to the station, they held an emergency meeting last night and decided to change the strike time to nine o'clock in the morning!" At the time of the two words of thanks, the driver who was looking carefully and calmly, staring at the front, tilted his head slightly, and said humbly: "Promoting the friendship between the Japanese and Chinese people is also part of the struggle!"

My heart jumped suddenly, and like a lit firework, sparks of gratitude burst out from the depths of my heart... On the mountain road in the early morning, there were no other vehicles, only our eleven cars, rustling gallop.At this time, I suddenly saw that on both sides of the mountain road, there were hundreds of trees and thousands of cherry blossoms that bloomed after the rain!The cherry blossoms, in piles and layers, are like a sea of ​​clouds, crimson in the morning sun, shining brightly.When the zigzag mountain road is covered by the boundless flower clouds, we are like sitting in eleven light boats connected end to end, above the turbulent east wind, splashing flower waves on both sides, swiftly Forward to the rising sun!

When I went down the mountain and arrived at the city center, I still didn’t see any other vehicles on the street. I only saw many car dealerships on the side of the street. The gates were wide open, and there were cars of all sizes lined up inside the gates. There were large red flags on the gates. , the auto workers stood neatly by the door, smiling and watching our line of vehicles pass by. When we arrived at the station, we got out of the car, held the hands of the drivers tightly with enthusiasm, thanked them for their help to us, and wished them victory in their struggle. The warm farewell scene has passed, the train has been driving for a long time, and the snow-capped mountains and rushing spring water are blowing in front of the window, but there is still this wonderful cherry blossom in front of my eyes, which I have never seen before!

I turned around and asked my Japanese friend, "Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but from the perspective of Japanese people, where is the beauty of cherry blossoms?" He scratched his head and said with a smile: "There is no beauty in the world." Flowers... As for the love for a certain flower, it is because of the feelings in each person's heart. Japanese literati feel the shortness of life from the beauty of the cherry blossoms, and the samurai think of the heroic sacrifice. As for ordinary people, they I like cherry blossoms because they first brought the news of spring to the people after the miserable winter. In Japan, there are so many cherry blossoms! They are everywhere on the mountains, by the water, by the streets, and in the yard. The snow is still there There is no melting, the winter clothes have not been put on, and the dark room is still cold in spring. As long as a gust of east wind blows from afar and the sun shines in the sky, the cherry blossoms will bloom all over the mountain!

Whether it's the mountain cherry, the Yoshino cherry, or the double cherry...the people on Mishima, Japan, report the exciting news of spring to the people next to it. " These words made two things clear to me.One is: the cherry blossoms bloom all over the three islands of Penglai, and they are the flowers of the Japanese people, which will always give the Japanese people the excitement and encouragement of spring; the other is: the psychological activities of flower watchers have formed a special love for certain flowers.The cherry blossoms in Kanazawa are no more beautiful than those in other places.A car driver’s heartfelt and moving words expressing the profound friendship of the working people of Japan to the Chinese people made the cherry blossoms all over the mountains in Kanazawa in my eyes turn into a cloud sea of ​​flowers of friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people, and let the light boat of friendship, Like an arrow, march towards the brilliant sunrise!

Reminiscing late at night, full of warmth, I am happy to write a pen to praise the cherry blossoms. The night of May 18, 1961. great". )