Chapter 4 talk about cultural exchange

The day when the delegation of Chinese writers arrived in Cairo was at 4 o'clock in the morning on February 7th.In the chilly spring, we wrapped our coats tightly, stepped off the plane, and walked towards the welcoming crowd.It was a young woman who delivered a large bouquet of flowers to my arms. Her long eyebrows and beautiful eyes exuded a quiet and elegant air. When she opened her mouth, she spoke very pure and fluent Beijing dialect.She said her name was Duma De, and she and her husband, Black and White, were both students of the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts and had lived in Beijing for five years.She pointed to a young man from the United Arab Emirates who was busy greeting Chinese guests in the crowd, and said, "That's black and white."In the waiting room, there was enthusiasm and laughter, and our conversation was quickly interrupted... During the few days in Cairo, I often thought of this couple of painters, but I never had the chance to meet them.

On the opening day of the Asian-African Writers Conference, we were invited to the "Modern Art Museum" to visit the "Painting and Sculpture Competition Exhibition" of the United Arab Emirates.Under the shade of the trees in the Art Museum, I suddenly saw a little girl in the arms of the nanny, wearing light-colored clothes, and a necklace with the Chinese character "Fu" in red gold hanging around her neck.I walked out of the crowd and went to hold the little girl's hand.She wasn't shy at all, she rolled her black eyes and smiled at me.The nanny laughed and said, "She is the daughter of the painters Black and White and Dumad. Look, isn't her parents' art exhibition in the color shed over there?" I quickly caught up with the crowd and walked into the color shed.

There are watercolor paintings all over the walls, all of which are Chinese scenery, there are girls with double braids and buckets, and farmers leaning over to plant rice seedlings in the terraced fields filled with water... It is really dazzling, if it is not full of people standing around me I met guests from various countries in Asia and Africa, and what I heard in my ears were all kinds of languages ​​in Asia and Africa that I didn't understand. I really thought I was watching a Chinese painter's exhibition in Beihai or Zhongshan Park!At this time, Duma De accompanied a group of guests and walked past me. I managed to squeeze in and only said: "I saw your little daughter, it's so fun..." She also only said with a hasty smile. "She was born in China, her name is Xiaohong..."

As she spoke, she was surrounded by the crowd to a large glass cabinet displaying Chinese painting utensils to explain.I heard others exclaiming that their paintings combined the characteristics of Chinese classical paintings and ancient Egyptian paintings to create a unique style.I must admit that I am a layman to painting, but I like their paintings, they give me an extremely warm and friendly feeling! After the conference closed, a group of us made time to visit the Cairo Museum. Accompanying us was a Chinese student surnamed Hua.This young man, with a bookish face and thick glasses, has been talking to us about the ancient culture of Egypt with great interest since he got on the bus. The expression of enthusiasm and intoxication is not like telling people, but rather Like Wen Li's pictures of splendid ancient Egyptian culture one by one in his mind!But the museum closed early that day, and we only had 30 minutes to browse the world's oldest culture of 6,000 years!Disappointed, we had no choice but to quicken our pace and hurried past the large stone gates, the large sarcophagi placed horizontally, and the large stone statues lined up.However, this young man stroked almost every stone with pleading eyes, and explained to us: "In 3312 BC..." Followed by the museum guard who shouted loudly:

"Please hurry up, the door will close in five minutes!" On this day, no one had a good time. When they went out to get in the car, everyone sighed with regret, especially the young man who just stared blankly along the way. Looking out of the car window, it seems to say: "What a waste of time!" I am full of joy!Cultural exchanges must be done by young people who love the culture of friendly countries.Egypt, China, India... are all the cradles of world culture. Our ancestors traveled through mountains and rivers and worked hard to open up a road for cultural exchanges for us.While overthrowing the imperialists and colonialists who hinder Asian-African cultural exchanges, we need tens of thousands of young people like the painters Dumad and his wife from the United Arab Emirates and this Chinese student surnamed Hua to "carry on the past and usher in the future." , Make a great cause that no one has ever done before!

(This article was originally published in "Beijing Evening News" on March 25, 1962, and was later included in the collection of essays "Xiaozha Gleaners".)