2005年11月2日

观唐师曾师兄拍摄图片随感

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《百岁镇与千年国》

 文/ 阿忆

　　传说中，古代南洋有座百岁镇，镇中多百岁仙人，镇领导为满足游人好奇，造了一条无衣巷，让百岁老人脱去衣衫，裸出沧桑的皮肤，三三两两坐在巷子里，迎接游客的拜谒、抚摸、临摹画像，也承受着南部世界的烈炎、阵雨、蚊虫。镇子很快有了声色和人气，游客觉得老人们很强很长寿，但却很惨很无助，离开时总会给无衣巷一些碎银，还带动了百岁镇的餐饮和住宿。不过，老人们渐渐累了，风雨中失去道骨仙风，呈现出腐朽的样子。但镇领导不打算让老人们重新穿上衣衫，道理很简单，老人越是沧桑，游人越是感动，留下的金银细软也就越多。镇领导并非无义之人，他拿出不少碎银，把传说中镇子的创始头人形象做成护身符，挂在老人身上。但是，老人们还是敌不过种种蚕食，一一仙逝，小镇归于冷寂。
　　看今天，中国的城市已变成世界，生机勃勃，只有乡村残留着长寿的祖国，但脉搏微弱，我们该做怎样的镇长？造一尊昂贵的大理石门神，借红色辟邪？还是拿出一点点盘缠，涂上一层昔日的油彩，使附着在木制建筑中的祖国避开烈日、酸雨、白蚁、人为的侵蚀，更为长久地伫立在黄河之滨？

　　生存还是死亡，这是一个十分简单的问题。

One-century-old Town and Millenaries-old Country

 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Aryee

　　It is said that once there was a "one-century-old town" in ancient Southeast Asia, where there lived a lot of people over one hundred years old. The leader of the town, in order to satisfy the tourists' curiosity, built a "disrobed alley" in which the old men were summoned to sit by fours and fives with their clothes disrobed and their aged skin revealed. They endured the tourists' visit, touch, facsimile and the southland's torridity, shower and mosquitoes. The town got prosperous soon: the tourists always donated some money to the alley before leaving because they thought those old men were miserable and helpless though healthy and longevous; and the tourism brought alone the development of the restaurants and inns of the town. However, the old men got tired day after day. They lost their mien and turned moribund. Even though,  the leader didn't intend to let the old men put on their clothes. The reason was simple: the more senescent the old men were, the more moved the tourists would be and more money they would donate. The leader in fact was not blackhearted. He made amulets according to the image of legendary cacique of the town and let the old men wear them on. The old men yet could not bear all kinds of erosion and passed away one by one. The small town finally returned to desolation.

　　Nowadays, while all our Chinese cities are internationalized and full of vitality, the countrysides remain the old long-live China at their last gasp. What kind of leaders should we tend to be? To erect an expensive marmoreal god in lucky red as apotropaion at the gate or to oil paint the old wooden buildings to protect them from burning sun, acid rain, white ants and contrived destroy so that they could stand at the bank of the Yellow River for a longer time?

　　To be or not to be, that is really a simple question.