May 12, 2008 AD. This day is destined to be remembered in human history. 2:28 p.m. on this day.A place in China that is not familiar to people - Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, suddenly shook the mountains, and the sky was dark for an instant... Immediately, towns disappeared one by one, farmhouses and residential buildings collapsed, and groups of children The old people, men and women were buried alive in the ruins, their heads were broken and their waists were broken, blood splashed in the river, it was horrible... At the same time, more surrounding villages, more towns, and more people were buried by more serious landslides...

Beijing is shaking.Shanghai is trembling.People in Guangzhou ran out of the buildings in horror, and even Taiwan compatriots across the sea felt the shock. A magnitude 8.0 earthquake!The earth in China is shaking!From that moment on, China's 1.3 billion people fell into great pain and sorrow, tension and anxiety.The world is also watching this strong earthquake in the big eastern country with anxiety. Rescue the wounded as soon as possible to ensure the safety of people in the disaster area.Immediately, the voice of Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the State, echoed over the land of China.

The disaster is more serious than we expected... Compatriots and comrades, in the face of disasters, the most important thing is calmness, confidence, courage and strong command.I believe that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and the people are united and united, and we will be able to overcome this particularly severe earthquake disaster!Immediately, the voice and figure of Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council appeared on the plane over the disaster area.More than two hours later, he arrived at the front line of the disaster area.

Since then, the whole Chinese people have been concerned about and concerned about the disaster area all the time... Since that day, my heart has been pulled away to that place full of ruins, bloodshed and death. I can't help it.But after I went, I wanted to leave. I couldn't bear to step on those lifeless lives still lying in the ruins.As soon as I left, I blamed myself again: how lonely and lonely those cold bodies lying on the floor and mudslides are, why don't you spend more time with them? So I went back there again. I have been there three times since the earthquake.Every time I go, it makes my heart tremble——

The first time I went to the disaster area was the seventh day after the earthquake. On the second day after arriving in Chengdu, I entered a hard-hit area.It was a mountain town devastated by an earthquake.I couldn't see a complete house in front of me. The local people told me that this place was beautiful before the earthquake, and people from Chengdu often came here for leisure and vacation.Now we have nothing, not even the piggies.A fellow countryman said so. The People's Liberation Army is here to clean up the rubble.There are instructions on it: the large-scale rescue search will end after seven days-this time has exceeded the limit of human life.Although exciting news came from the frontlines that survivors had been rescued somewhere, for most of the buried people, the chance of survival after seven days was basically gone.

In front of the ruins, two bulldozers roared, and piles of cement boards and bricks and tiles were turned over in disorder.There were many local people watching around. At first I didn’t know what they were waiting for, but later I learned that there were still buried people there, and those who were alive were waiting to see their relatives... One midday woman in particular caught my attention.She is wearing a doctor's white coat, indicating that she is a medical worker.She is a doctor in a town near us, and her husband has been buried in it and has never come out.She came to see him today... A fellow villager told me quietly.

My heart ached - for this poor female doctor, and for countless people in the disaster-stricken area who had the same fate as this female doctor. She has been rescuing the wounded in another place, and came here a few times in the middle, but because her man was buried too deep, she couldn't dig it out for a while.Clearing up the ruins today, I think I can see her man.The fellow continued to whisper in my ear.My heart constricts at the sound of the bulldozers... The waiting time was too cruel.You want to see the result earlier, but you don't want to see the result.To the lady doctor as to everyone in our room.

The bulldozer continued to roar, and the ground seemed to be shaking violently.In front of my eyes, the broken floor boards were lifted and pushed away one by one... I noticed that the female doctor's footsteps kept moving forward, but her body was tightly held by two female compatriots. Several soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, led by a major, appeared in front of the bulldozer. They expected that the buried people below would appear immediately, so they walked ahead.There are two soldiers holding yellow body bags in their hands-this is very uncomfortable to watch, but the soldiers are performing their tasks.The remains of the victims after seven days are basically in the stage of decay. In order to protect more living people, timely processing of all the remains of the victims is another important task assigned by the disaster area headquarters to the rescue force.Soldiers are scrupulously carrying out orders.Their duties are very sacred. Those little soldiers have only been in the army for a few days, and most of them are born in the 1980s. If it is not for earthquake relief, how could they do such work as collecting corpses?

The remains of the victims of the earthquake were horrible, but in order to prevent the plague, someone had to deal with them.Soldiers took on such a task. Out!Out!Suddenly someone shouted.So we all flocked to the ruins, but were blocked by the soldiers.Only the female doctor was allowed to move forward... It's him.I just bought him that jacket, the first time he puts it on... said the female doctor.I heard her voice tremble. The body of a victim was carried out by four soldiers and carried to a concrete floor beside the ruins.Then, we were also allowed to approach... It was a male victim. His face was gray and black, covered with dust and blood, and there were bloodstains on his abdomen. He was obviously crushed to death by a heavy object.

I saw the female doctor kneeling on the ground with one foot, wiping the victim's face with her sleeve.Immediately, a soldier brought her a basin of water and a towel, so the female doctor gently and professionally scrubbed her husband's head, scrubbing and scrubbing for her husband bit by bit... We The face of the dead man can already be seen clearly.At this time, the female doctor raised her head and said to the officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army: Thank you, thank you for allowing me to meet him... Then she buried herself in arranging her husband's clothes.

The major of the People's Liberation Army waved to the soldiers with red eyes, signaling them to leave the scene.I saw officers and soldiers wiping tears. At that moment, I didn't know when my face was covered with tears... I wanted to go up to comfort the female doctor, but I didn't.I found that none of the people present did this.People stood silently behind the female doctor, silently watching her scrubbing and tidying up her dead husband. I can't watch it anymore, and I can't help but cry aloud if I watch it any longer. I'm leaving.But when I walked less than ten meters away, a heart-piercing cry broke my heart——I turned around and saw that the female doctor was lying on her husband's stiff body. Weeping on the dead body.Why the crying was so loud and terrifying, I still don't understand. On the way from that small town to another disaster area, I found that people in many places were lighting candles and various ghost coins in front of their collapsed houses, obviously they were performing sacrifices. I suddenly understood: this is the first seven days after the disaster.There is such a traditional custom among Chinese people: on the seventh day after the deceased has passed away, the living relatives will hold the first sacrifice for them. So I seemed to suddenly understand why the female doctor was crying so heartbreakingly.I think it may be that the last time she saw her husband turned out to be the seventh day after the deceased had left her.For the female doctor, her husband's first memorial day came too soon, and she naturally couldn't accept it.The folks told me that this female doctor participated in the rescue of more than 30 survivors in another town, but she had no time to save her husband. I have heard a lot of such heroic stories in the disaster area, but this is the first time I saw a heroine face the grief of her lost relatives... Coincidentally, it was 49 days since the earthquake that I visited the disaster area for the second time.Seventy-seven forty-nine days is another important day for Chinese people to commemorate the dead. On this day, I was interviewing in Shifang, Deyang.The disaster experienced by that mining area during the earthquake was devastating.After many mountains collapsed, not only the entire mine was buried under 100 meters of ruins, but also many migrant workers were buried in mudslides during the construction of bridges and roads along the way.Due to the intense rescue efforts in the previous period, their remains were still left untreated.However, according to the opinion of the local emergency command department, the buried victims are generally no longer excavated, but disposed of on the spot. Beichuan County and many places have adopted such a method.However, people in certain places are also allowed to re-excavate the buried people under certain conditions and then dispose of them. On the way back from the interview that day, I encountered such a thing. This is a completely collapsed mountain.It is said that there were twelve migrant workers working here at that time, and they were all villagers near the mining area.When the earthquake happened, they were busy building roads and bridges on the mine, and without exception, they were all buried in stones. Large-scale machinery and equipment did not take into account this remote mountainous area, and have been carrying out intense rescue and clean-up in the most critical and more casual places. More than 40 days later, after the villagers applied to their superiors, they got several large-scale mechanical equipment to help excavate and clean up.So on the death day of Qiqi, the whole village came to the front of the collapsed mountain, preparing to carry out a thorough clean-up of the ruins and excavation of the victims. The scene was dull.Only the roar of machinery.Suffocating are the twelve wooden coffins lying aside - ready to receive the twelve buried and bring their bones back to the village... They can't just be buried in the wilderness like this.Gotta get them back and get settled.A cadre-like person said to me. After all this time, what will the remains of the victims look like?I was a little worried and said in a low voice. The epidemic prevention team will arrive soon, and it is estimated that they can still handle it.If the villagers don't do it, they are worried that their relatives will be buried in the rocks and no one will deal with them.The person who looked like a cadre was a little helpless. The mood of the people is understandable. coming!The People's Liberation Army epidemic prevention team is here.Just as we were talking, we saw a truck approaching, and immediately jumped out of the car were four soldiers of the chemical defense force in protective suits. They were here to help dispose of the remains of the victims. Excavation is underway.The body of the first victim was quickly dug out. Many villagers rushed forward, but quickly retreated...the head was gone.Someone whispered so.After hearing this, many people shrank back timidly. Only the chemical defense soldiers bravely stepped forward to spray the victims' bodies with liquid medicine.They then gently packed the remains into body bags with the help of the excavator's tipping bucket.Because of the broken head and missing arms, the installation process was very laborious.After being packed into body bags, the remains of the victims were moved to the side of the coffin.Someone who looked like a cadre was shouting: Come and recognize me!So the families of the victims came forward to identify them one by one. It's him.It's the baby's father.A woman burst into tears.She was quickly pulled aside by several villagers.The body of the victim was also moved into the coffin by several young adults, and someone wrote the name of the deceased on the coffin... The whole process is basically like this procedure.I found that during the excavation process and the identification of the dead, most of the families of the victims were not so distraught. Maybe they shed too many tears in the past few days, maybe they already knew the ending. Is there a way out of being buried under a rock?impossible.An old man was smoking a stuffy cigarette, squatting aside and muttering.I asked him if any of his relatives were inside, and he said: two children are inside, one is 28 years old and the other is just 20 years old... When he said this, tears welled up in the old man's eyes.I dare not let the baby's mother come over, she must die after seeing it.God's sin! I don't think I have any words to appease this old man who lost his two sons, and I can't even imagine how the old woman who is still at home waiting for her son to return faces such a result. Come here, your baby is out!Someone shouted at the old man. The old man hurried over immediately.Without waiting for the anti-chemical soldiers to disinfect, he rushed to the two remains, but was finally dragged down.Baby, you are all gone, how can I explain to your mother?I might as well die...Suddenly, the old man rushed towards a cliff like crazy... Several young and middle-aged men rushed to hold the old man back, but the old man struggled desperately, broke free from the boys' arms several times, and tried to rush to the cliff over and over again, but finally stopped his recklessness because he was no match for the strength of the crowd.And this scene deeply hurt the hearts of those present, and also made the originally dull excavation site a little chaotic.The emotions of some families of the victims began to get agitated, and they rushed up to the collapsed stone pile desperately and pulled it up with their hands.Although this will not do much, it seems that they can't wait to see their relatives who have been buried for dozens of days... The victims who were put into the coffin could not be calm, their relatives kept beating the coffin, Some even had to remove the body bags again and again to get close to the dead. The chemical defense fighters had to take forceful measures to isolate them. However, there were still some people who clung to the coffin and refused to leave. That scene made people have to cry. Apparently, at the moment of the earthquake, twelve migrant workers were working on the same site.Therefore, the place where they were buried was within a dozen square meters, so that the excavation did not delay for too long.However, due to the violent force of the mountain collapse, some of the bodies of the victims could not recognize who was who at all.The cadres had no choice but to ask the families of the victims to get a rough idea before putting them in the coffin.The remains of most of the victims were already highly decomposed, and turbid blood flowed out of the body bags from time to time, making the smell at the scene very pungent.The chemical defense soldiers repeatedly asked several cadres to transfer the remains of the victims. Then everyone get ready!A farmer with the appearance of a cadre greeted dozens of strong men in Zaiyang.Immediately, the coffin-carrying team in groups of four took their positions, and everyone prepared to lift the coffin in an orderly manner. one two three-- Wake up -! Immediately, several Taoist priests at the scene blew shrill suonas.Someone lit the firecrackers, bang—bang! Go home——! Everyone shouted in unison: Come home—— The mighty coffin-carrying team extended to the depths of the mountain along a rugged path, and soon many people joined in, making the whole team grow stronger... I stood on the pile of rocks where twelve migrant workers were once buried, and watched this special team. I couldn't calm down for a long time: the victims finally went home. Time is finally reunited, is this sadness or joy? The great earthquake brought no joy to the living and the dead, but only sorrow.Because since then, in our lives, we have lost a lot of joy and family affection, and have added countless sorrows and longings... 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake, how many living people have to bear such a heavy tragedy?At this time, the latest authoritative news released by the State Council Earthquake Relief Headquarters appeared in the text message on my mobile phone: As of June 30, 2008, the Wenchuan Earthquake had killed 69,195 people, 374,000 One thousand one hundred and seventy-seven were wounded, and eight thousand four hundred and three were missing.It has been dozens of days, and most of those missing can actually be included in the death list.So we know that in the Wenchuan Earthquake, more than 80,000 lives have left us forever. More than 80,000!The instant earth shattered and ruthlessly took away so many lives! If these more than 80,000 lives are arranged in a neat team, how majestic it is!However, now they have all fallen—the kick fell in front of our eyes and beside us, with painful expressions and nostalgia, and even most of them with severed limbs and broken bodies... Pain is the deepest feeling I feel every time I come back from the disaster area.So no matter in the disaster area or back to daily life, when I look at every familiar or unfamiliar person, I have more friendly smiles and respect than before.Because I think about one thing in my heart: how good it is to live!Let us pay tribute to every life!Salute every day of life! This day is September 18, and Beijing is still immersed in the joy and frenzy of the two Olympic Games.But I couldn’t sleep on the night of the 17th, because the next day I will go to the Wenchuan earthquake-stricken area again, because this day is the 100-day anniversary of the death of more than 80,000 victims... I seem to be looking forward to a certain important day Even so, I still felt rushed when I left, and even some relatives and friends around me asked me strangely: Why are you going to the disaster area again? What can I say?Facing many questions, I explained at first that it was the 100-day anniversary of the death of the victims of the earthquake. Later, I was asked too many questions, so I didn't want to answer anything. Does the sadness I feel for those who died in my heart become a little weird in reality?Is it my weirdness or their weirdness, I don't understand. But I still have to go.Perhaps it was God's deliberate arrangement. On the 19th, the flight from Beijing to Chengdu was delayed again and again, and the flight after 9 o'clock did not take off until 10 o'clock.It was only after arriving in Chengdu at noon that I realized that there was a lot of rain here, just in response to an old saying: When people are sad, God also has to rain. I know God is crying... Xiao Li from the Chengdu Fire Brigade waited there early.When I got off the plane, he drove me towards Beichuan.We walked very fast. Along the way, Xiao Li was still talking about a work we created together a few days ago. Xiao Li started to cry as he talked: I shouldn’t just be carrying out orders that day. In fact, if I stayed Save them, they might still be alive...Xiao Li said that on May 13th, he was ordered to convey an emergency order to the troops in the Deyang area. Seeing him driving a fire truck, the common people stopped him desperately, pointed to a piece of ruins and said to him: A pair of sisters were buried inside and were still alive. They hoped that he, the People's Liberation Army (the local people collectively refer to firefighters and soldiers as the People's Liberation Army), would help rescue them.But Xiao Li bears the great trust of the team leader and cannot stop.With great difficulty, he broke free from the chasing and abuse of the common people, braved the strong aftershocks, and drove hundreds of miles to complete the urgent task of delivering the instructions of the leaders.Later, on the way back, he deliberately went back to the small town where the car was stopped.He saw that the pair of sisters buried in the ruins had been dug out by the common people, but they closed their eyes forever and lay in the cold rain... Xiao Li cried sadly, crying that he had not done a good job of serving the people thing.When I went to the disaster area for an interview for the second time, he told me about it.This is the second time I have heard him speak—in fact, he has told me countless times, and every time I listen to it, it hurts my heart. Cold weather is their 100-day death anniversary, I specially bought a wreath to commemorate them... Xiao Li pointed to the trunk. So we didn't speak to each other for quite a while. I could imagine Xiao Li's mood, and I also hoped that I could go with him to pay homage to the soul of the sister. right here!On the way to Mianyang, Xiao Li drove through some mountains and turned to a small town where ruins can still be seen, then stopped the car abruptly and said. Isn't this Tongping?I found out that this town seems to have been to Hi! yes.Here it is.While talking, Xiao Li opened the trunk and took out the wreath. I suddenly remembered: Before leaving Beijing, I would pick up a photo of a young female teacher with the same name as Deng Youmei, a famous writer of our Writers Association, from the ruins of the collapsed middle school in this small town during my first interview in the disaster area. I keep a copy of the teacher qualification certificate with me, I hope I can find out if Deng Youmei, whom I have been thinking about all this time, is still alive... The scene of the ruins of the middle school is completely different from the scene during my first interview: except for the teaching office building that was not completely collapsed, the rest of the ruins that buried more than 200 students and teachers have disappeared. up.There are only groups of local villagers who are burning incense and paper money in the rain, or using raincoats or plastic sheets to pay homage to the dead. Do you know Deng Youmei? It's her, Teacher Deng... I took a photocopy of Teacher Deng Youmei's photo and asked those local villagers who were lighting incense to pay homage. I have seen this teacher.But after the earthquake, I never saw her again... I was very disappointed. After asking for a long time, only one fellow villager said such vague words. No wonder.The victims counted by our school has not been finally cleared until now. Some of them have not been found, even their bodies have not been found, and no living people have been seen, so they can only be treated as missing persons.Teacher Deng Youmei may belong to this category.A local cadre-like person told us. After placing the wreath, Li An borrowed a few sticks of incense from a fellow villager and lit it, then bowed three times to the land where the ruins were no longer visible. I followed his example and bowed three times.I thought of the young and beautiful teacher Deng Youmei, and wanted to borrow a few incense sticks from my fellow villager to pay homage to him, but I immediately dismissed the idea—I hope that when Teacher Deng Youmei can be resurrected, because I really can’t accept a person with only two The young and beautiful female teacher in her teens just walked away without a sound... I think she should be alive, because there are many living children in the disaster area waiting for her to take classes, and she herself can only be regarded as an adult. Baby! Beichuan County is our destination. But along the way, Xiao Li and I hardly spoke, and we were immersed in our respective sorrows. After passing Shifang, it soon entered Beichuan territory.In fact, there are not many roads from Shifang to Beichuan, but I just feel that this road is very long, and the length makes me feel a little hairy... I think there is only one reason: Are those undead on both sides of the road constantly chasing us alive? Many people called for help and told about all kinds of suffering and loneliness during the hundred days after they left the world... My body was a little cold, and I asked Xiao Li how he felt, and he also said that it was very cold.Whether it was the reason of the rain or a psychological effect, in short, we couldn't figure it out, and we were trembling all over. The first stop is still the familiar and unforgettable site of Beichuan Middle School. Little has changed here, much like the first time I arrived, still the vast ruins of a massive collapse.It seems that I heard that an earthquake museum will be built, and the site may be protected. We arrived here after 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and there are still dozens of people paying homage to the scene, and there are hundreds of wreaths piled on the ruins, including government, private, and more Worshiped by the relatives of the victims... It was strange that it had been raining all day.God is crying!A gray-haired grandmother next to the middle school murmured to me wiping her tears. I saw a middle-aged couple among the mourning crowd. They almost fell on the ground and wept. Their voices were completely hoarse. They were tearing their hearts rather than crying. Due to time constraints, we couldn't stay longer at the site of Beichuan Middle School, so we boarded the car and rushed towards the old Beichuan County, two miles away.We found that the car couldn't move, because there were too many worshipers on the road leading to the county, especially the relatives of many victims brought wreaths and other offerings, which occupied the road and it was raining, so we just You can stop halfway and walk inside... This is the third time I have come to Beichuan County.Every time I face the dead city, my feelings cannot be described in words, whether it is pain, sadness, want to cry, or want to cry, it's all... I want to cry, and I want to hope for the thousands of victims who were buried under the rubble and broken walls It is possible for the victims to be resurrected; I want to cry because I don’t know how those victims who could not be rescued and who did not die at the time passed away in pain at the last moment; The grief that disappeared in an instant, can the heavens know?This kind of collapse of buildings one by one, the pain of the destruction of one, ten, or a hundred families, can it not be heartbreaking? This Beichuan County, the dead city that was most severely destroyed by the 5.12 earthquake, you just need to stand on the ruins there and imagine for a while, and tears will flow down... You don't need to touch those cold ruins, As long as you stand there and hold your breath for a few seconds, you will feel chills all over your body, until you can't stand still—this is the same feeling I feel every time I go to Beichuan County. What is different this time at the scene of the 100-day death anniversary is that I saw a few couples of old people, they were crying with pictures of their sons and daughter-in-law, or offering incense in front of the pictures of their sons, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter. The most uncomfortable thing... an elderly couple told me that their son and his family were all killed. After the earthquake, they had never seen a shadow. They had been buried under a mudslide more than ten meters deep, and it was said that they would become part of the Earthquake Museum. remain as it is. Writer, do you think we can let the government dig it out, and let us take a look at it and it will be the end of it?The old man looked at me with dry eyes, hoping to get an answer from my mouth. I am speechless.Only tears told them: It is estimated that the possibility is unlikely. It's getting dark, and the dead city is lit up with sparks, flickering and flickering...Let's go, or we won't be able to return to Chengdu.Xiao Li urged me to leave quickly. I knew he was a little scared, but so was my heart. When I left the dead city of Beichuan, I turned around and bowed deeply three times to the ruins where thousands of people were still buried... I am not a fan of these victims, but I really want to cry a lot because I know It will be a long, long time before I come here again.Thinking of this, I suddenly had the feeling of saying farewell to my loved ones—I couldn’t help crying like those family members who lost their loved ones, and I couldn’t stop crying... We left Beichuan and the disaster area, but I saw many people walking towards the disaster area holding wreaths or other offerings along the way. My sister just left the next day... My son and his mother still talked to me on the fourth day, their 100th anniversary is a few days away. I haven't seen my dad so I'll stop by whenever I have time... They told me like this, and continued to walk to the ruins and dead cities, dead towns, and dead villages one after another, to talk to their relatives in heaven, and to offer wine to them... Oh, God, there is no such thing as a hundred-day death anniversary. How many? forever?forever.What a sad death day! So I thought again: In the hundreds of kilometers of land in the Wenchuan Earthquake, the living and the dead seem to be separated forever, but they exist on our earth in different forms of life. Yes, between the living and the dead, there is one thing of qualitative importance: only life comes first.