神马文学网Music leads the way part two: Kuqa and Korla
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Music leads the way part two: Kuqa and Korla
Source: CCTV.com
08-02-2006 12:45
Lifting your veil is a folk song. It was first collected by a Chinese Han musician Wang Luobin more than half a century ago. Since then it is known all over china and people all love it, Today we follow the wonderful music to this Xinjiang Kuqa and Korle. Let's unveil another beauty of China.
The vastness of Xinjiang is breathtaking. And the beauty of it leaves you gasping. The road stretches on and on and on and the landscapes look so close yet so far away. The sheer scope of nature here leaves the car looking like a little ant moving under the equally endless sky. Heaven is indeed pretty close here, when you look at the land below. The folk song "Lift Your Veil" was born here in Xinjiang and originally sung by the Uygur people, who are a fun loving, always cheerful, and sometimes very mischievous lot. You can tell that from the wicked humor of Lift Your Veil. The famous Chinese Han musician, and music collector, Wang Luobin took this song out to the rest of the country, and we all fell in love with it. Now we are going back to the heart and soul of it. Join us for a journey to a wild wild west that will fulfill your pursuit of the wildest, in the heartland of Xinjiang.
The southern flanks of Tianshan mountain, outside the city of Kuqa. The bizarre terrain looks barren, and boundless. It's at once exhilarating, and at the same time slightly numbing. The yellow earth takes on a glamorous red flame around sunset time. Local Uygur people call it Danxia, which means raggy Little hill. This land has been sculpted by a strong wind that always blows in the same direction, and the gentle erosion of occasional rains. Sitting in the middle of this landscape, is the city of Kuqa,our destination and a little green oasis in the desolate cradle of the Gobi desert.
The city of Kuqa is quite small. But it was once an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Kuqa was also once the center of the ancient Qiuci Kingdom. For over a thousand years, the mighty kingdom flourished but now few traces of that glory are left. Only the great stories live on.
Kuqa city is divided into the new district and the old. The old district is where you can still see the traditional white adobe homes, the typical Uygur homes. It is also where you can find many distinctively arabesque style mosques. This is the main mosque in Kuqa, generally called the Kuqa Mosque. It's the second largest mosque in Xinjiang, right after the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar. Made of bricks, it was reconstructed after the original mosque was burned down in 1931.
On Friday afternoon, the road near the old bazaar starts to choke up with all kinds of transportation, all heading in one direction, to the market.
The big bazaar is like a huge pallet carrying a vibrant mix of all the dynamic colors of the local life.
What you find here is different. It's not like the bazaar in Urumqi, which expressly targets tourists. This is a real trade center for the locals. Along with many commodities, you can taste many good things. Especially recommended are the melons, and the iced yogurt. All these sights and sounds and tastes are more than enough to satisfy my thirst of curiosity about the local life. The typical headwear (you know the kind Xinjiang people wear, a cap without a brim in the front, just a round skullcap) of the Uygur people adds a touch of exotic as the men here wear them with such style, be they simple or intricately embroidered jobs. "Friendly, cheerful, spontaneous and generous" - these are the words that come to my mind to describe these people.
In Kuqa, you can also find the biggest Nang in Xinjiang. It is a kind of wheat pie. If you visit People's homes here at afternoon tea time, say at around three o'lock, they'll probably offer you some Nang as a gesture of welcome. The market in Kuqa is held every Friday and it hits its height around three o'olock.
When we've finished at the market, Changying's friend Aliya takes her to visit a typical Uygur home.
--Lift your veil, let me see your face. You have long, slender eyebrows, which are just like the crescent moon on the sky.
--You also like this song?
--Do you know why they say Lift your veil?
--In our Uygur tradition, at a wedding, the bride has her face veiled and when the right time arrives, her
mother will lift her veil and present her to the groom.
There is a story about this song, which Wang Luobin also collected when he adapted this humorous music from a Uygur tradition.
Around harvest time, the Ugyur farmers would gather together to have some fun. And as one of the diversions an old man would dress himself like a woman with a handkerchief covering his face. At the end of this little game dance, the veil would be whipped off and the old man revealed, much to the mirth of the crowd around. And the background music would be the famous "Lift Your Veil". Wang Luobin adapted it into Mandarin and turned it into a much-loved favorite with the rest of the country.
The ride on the donkey cart is actually pretty comfortable and relaxing. Aliya took me to a nice Uygur courtyard in Kuqa, to her Uncle Yasef's home. The little garden is filled with flowers and plants that thrive in the dry heat of Xinjiang.
The Uygur people are hugely welcoming to guests. The grape arbor provides blissful shelter from the relentless sun, and to sit here in such a comfortable courtyard and enjoy a moment of cool breeze under the grapevine is a real treat in itself. Even if you were a stranger, they would welcome you with whole-hearted hospitality, offering all they have - from tea to fresh fruits to dry fruits to home made yogurt torefresh you.
Of all these foods, Changying's favorite is the Yogurt. It's delicious and incredibly sour. So she add lots of sugar.
Another favorite Uygur dish is what they call
67 kilometers north of Kuqa, we arrive at the Tianshan mountain, that divides north and South Xinjiang. We are going to visit a mysterious canyon.
The great canyon glows red if you come at the right time, when light plays tricks on the humongous rocks. This mountain was formed about one hundred and forty million years ago during the Cretaceous age. After eons of pummeling and stroking and lashing by wind and rain, the rock formations have developed their own utterly original character. Floods still often visit here and that's why we have the reeds at the entrance of the canyon. The complete hike to the other side of the canyon is some five thousand meters and it takes you about two hours. The canyon is not that famous around the country so not many people come here. It's more or less untouched by human intrusion. So if you listen very carefully it's one of those places where you can hear the land singing, old old songs, to itself.
The rocks were here long before people arrived, but nevertheless, on the mortal scale, the traces of civilization left around here are amazing enough. The ancient Qiuci kingdom was a bridge between the cultures of the East and the West and the region is littered with many Buddhist caves with murals and other ruins that bear witness to the long history of the area. Among them are the ruins of the Chauhuli (Subashi), a Buddhist temple built about a thousand years ago, when Buddhism dominated the region before the Muslim faith took over. And on the road between Kuqa city and the Great Canyon, you'll find the Kizilgaha Beacon tower. Built during the West Hang Dynasty, it's more than two thousand years old. It stands 13 meters high with a base perimeter of over 20 meters and its one of the best preserved beacon towers of its kind in Xinjiang.
Somehow the ancient beacon tower reminds me of Wang Luobin. One passes on military information and the other pass on music heritage. After all, he was the one who gave this wonderful wonderful music to the rest of the country. His mission accomplished his legacy remains.
It may not be appropriate to compare military and musical legacies, but why not? They both stir the citizenry in their different ways.
The Taklamagen Desert, the biggest desert in China. We made a little detour into it before arriving at Korla, which is some five hours drive east of Kuqa. The desert landscape is dramatic but after a while, it becomes mesmerizing.
The desert can change its nature at very short notice. You can be in this golden landscape then suddenly, out of the blue, so to speak, you can find yourself being whipped by filthy grit, in a devastating sand storm. Still, the very unpredictability of these vast sands gives them an extra dimension of beauty and undeniably commands a mighty respect.
Withstanding all these years of wind and sunshine on the desert, these are legendary poplar trees. Apparently they lived for a thousand years, and they have remained standing another thousand years after their death.
For a thousand years, the Kuqa dancing and singing has been famous all over China. It has been immortalized in poetry. The songs and dances might not be quite the same today, but the talents have passed down along with a continuous quest for beauty.
For a brief time, the desert is a great playground, and it's splendid, but think twice if you feel like moving in as a permanent resident.
In his book, Wang Luobin says that I walk along the border of the desert year round, my feeling is that the more harsh the environment is, the more imaginative the people are. Now coming to think of that, I think it's quite true. Look around, the vast desert, not one drop of water, but think of the wonderful Uygur music.
I've lost the track of time, don't know how many hours have gone by. I wonder if they have only sand around here?
The answer is certainly no. There's a lot of water too, at least around here. This is the biggest fresh water lake in China, the Bositeng Lake, less than an hour's drive outside Korla city. The lake covers a total area of 1150 square kilometers. Under a cloudy sky, the lake glows here in the desert.
It's hard to believe there is such vast water amid the vast desert. And that is the big Bositeng lake, certainly, it has a little brother, the small Bositeng lake.
The little brother bristles with reeds. A ride in a fast boat on a waterway like this with the Gobi mountains looming is quite a cool experience. You have everything you need for a sandy seaside resort, the sunshine, the blue water, the golden beach. So don's forget to bring the bathing suit.
One explanation for the source of this water is that it comes from the snowmelt at top of Tianshan mountain. Yet it remains a mystery as to how such an amount of water accumulates amid the vast desert.
From the great lake, we head further northwest to the legendary Bayibuluke grasslands. This time the ride takes us some eight hours.
Each land has its own character and that character influence the people living on it. This is Bayibuluke grassland and it's the Mongolians living here. So, we need to listen to some Mongolian music.
Just like the music, the land is boundless and lends you a sense of cutting free.
The Bayinbuluke grassland is the biggest highland grassland in China. In Mongolian language, Bayinbuluk means Rich spring water. The green grassland amidst the snowcapped Tianshan mountains is the home of the Mongolians.
We have everything the Mongolians offer to their guests. And some bread. But the most precious gifts are their songs.
The songs are soaring and uninhibited. Somehow you get the feeling that only people living a carefree life on such boundless fertile land could express themselves in such a open way.
This grassland is not exactly the kind that's knee-deep in grass. That's because it's at such a high altitude. The grass won't grow tall here. Yet the local people are very proud of it. They say it's very nutritious. They'll tell you their lambs grow robust and strong on it.
The treasured centerpiece of the Bayinbuluke is the Swan Lake. A huge area of wetland swamp made up of many lakes, this is where thousands of swans come to spend the summer before they migrate to the south. You know why the swan make this place their home? The local people told us proudly that's because the swans only stay at the most beautiful place.
During the past few days, I have spent many many hours on the bus, a car or a jeep, have eatern many sweet sweet water melons and of course, listened to many great music. And I imagine the journey of the lone music collector Wang Luobin. He must have had a different experience but I believe we all have a great time.
Editor:Wang Ping