Hometown feelings

     When traveling, it's inevitable to be asked about your hometown. When I tell them I'm from Zhangye, Gansu, almost everyone looks puzzled, as if they've encountered a completely unfamiliar term. My heart always skips a beat at this. Before they ask where Zhangye is, I break the awkward silence by saying, "You probably haven't heard of Zhangye, but you're certainly familiar with its ancient name, Yumen Pass. Li Bai's poem says, 'The long wind blows for tens of thousands of miles, passing through Yumen Pass.'" "And then there's Wang Zhihuan's: 'Why should Jiang's flute lament the willows, for the spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass.'

    Seeing their puzzled expressions slowly turn into smiles, I finally breathed a long sigh of relief. Indeed, a province easily forgotten, coupled with an even more easily forgotten city, makes it difficult for those not good at geography to pinpoint its location. Fortunately, there's Li Bai, and thankfully, there's Wang Zhihuan, allowing the name of our hometown to shine like gold even after a thousand years of historical erosion. We also have to thank the soldiers who guarded the border, fighting year after year at Yumen Pass. It was they who etched the name Yumen Pass into popular poems, giving those living on this land a source of pride a thousand years later when they speak of their hometown.

    Then they asked: 'The Yellow River flows far up to the white clouds, a lone city stands amidst ten thousand mountains—is that really the scenery of your area?'" Actually

    , the line "The Yellow River flows far up to the white clouds, a lone city stands amidst ten thousand mountains" truly describes the scenery of Dunhuang, Gansu. Dunhuang, a cultural pearl located at the end of the Hexi Corridor, nestled in the northwest frontier, has stood for thousands of years amidst the vast yellow sands. The boundless yellow sand, the solitary ancient city of Dunhuang, and the undulating mountain ranges evoke a sense of grandeur. However, using Wang Zhihuan's poem to describe his hometown Zhangye is also fitting. The Heihe River, the mother river of his hometown, nourishes the once barren desert, creating an oasis and giving rise to the magnificent and mysterious northwest frontier scenery. Lonely desert poplars, soaring eagles, and the setting sun—the vast desert merges with the sky, and the sky and yellow sand miraculously unite together. Further into the desert, one can truly appreciate the beauty described by Wang Zhihuan: "The Yellow River flows far up to the white clouds, a lone city stands amidst ten thousand mountains." The scenery of the frontier at "Renshan" is breathtaking. The Heihe River has carved a long gash in the vast desert, flowing deep into its heart and converging at the meeting point of the sky and the yellow sand. In the boundless yellow sand, the sky and sand blend seamlessly. Several ancient cities of Yumen Pass stand alone amidst the sand, watching over the desert beyond and protecting the people who live on this land. As the sun sets, a crimson glow adds to the desolate beauty of the frontier desert. The vast, boundless desert is so majestic that it makes one feel a sense of boundless pride and invincibility.

    In truth, one's hometown is like a small boat connecting the frontier scenery with the grasslands. To the south rises the majestic, solemn, and undulating Qilian Mountains, their snow-capped peaks and ridges stretching like a giant dragon across the vast grasslands. Snowmelt, like milk, gently flows into the earth, nourishing it. The grasslands nourish the yaks and spirited horses. To the north lies the rugged grandeur and magnificence of the frontier, the starkness and desolation of the borderlands. The poignant lament, "I urge you to drink another cup of wine, for beyond Yangguan there are no old friends," is vividly portrayed here. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu established Zhangye Prefecture in Zhangye, setting up layers of passes to guard this vital southward route. Zhangye thus became the first line of defense, "controlling the key to the three towns."

    In the second year of Emperor Wu's Yuanshou reign, Zhang Qian twice traveled to the Western Regions, pioneering the "Silk Road." In the sixth year of Emperor Yuanjing's reign, Zhangye was named, meaning "to extend the arm of the state to connect with the Western Regions." Large-scale migration of people for cultivation and military settlement began, promoting agricultural production and fostering economic, cultural, and transportation prosperity between the Western Regions and the Central Plains. "Military settlements were established in fertile fields, prefectures were set up along key roads, and post stations were constantly operating, day and night. Merchants and traders flocked to the border." Zhangye thus became a vital town on the Silk Road. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, when Dou Rong served as the Commandant of Zhangye Prefecture, he focused on developing agriculture, enabling the people to live and work in peace. The *Book of the Later Han* records: "When Dou Rong occupied Hexi, the world was in turmoil, but Hexi alone remained peaceful." "His administration was also lenient and harmonious, with close ties between superiors and inferiors." "When peace was restored, those fleeing famine flocked to the north from Shangjun, returning without end." Until the late Ming Dynasty, when the Silk Road shifted from land to water, Zhangye, this ancient Silk Road route, gradually declined and lost its former prosperity. However, the layers of passes outside Yumen Pass still stood like giants on the frontier until the Ming Dynasty, serving as the first line of defense between the Western Regions and the Central Plains.

    Standing outside Yumen Pass, looking at the vast desert and feeling the howling north wind, one cannot help but recall Wang Changling's poem: "Leaving the pass and entering again, everywhere yellow reeds and grasses." Indeed, Yumen Pass, as its name suggests, lacks a certain grandeur and openness, but possesses more... A sense of solemnity and desolation pervaded the air. Autumn arrived early here; after the Autumnal Equinox, a few autumn rains brought increasingly chilly weather. By the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the vegetation had long since withered and died. Empty poplar forests, reeds turned yellow by the wind, and the desolate ancient road to Yumen Pass where neighing warhorses hesitated to advance, soldiers patrolled in orderly long columns inside and outside the city. Even the yellowed reeds outside Yumen Pass were not withered grass; they stood upright and strong like swords, and the soldiers' boots would surely make a powerful snapping sound as they passed through them. "The moon of Qin, the pass of Han, ten thousand..." "The long march has not yet ended, and the soldiers of Yumen Pass have not returned," a testament to the homesickness of countless travelers. "Sitting in my tent at midnight, candles still burning, I only think of returning alive to Yumen Pass," Yumen Pass carries the longing of countless young women in their boudoirs. "Why should the flute lament the willows, for the spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass?" Yumen Pass echoes with the somber, mournful songs of soldiers departing from the frontier. "I urge you to drink another cup of wine, for beyond Yangguan there are no old friends," Yumen Pass tells of the helplessness of parting friends. "Yumen Pass is remote and lonely, with yellow sand stretching for ten thousand miles and withered white grass," Yumen Pass has witnessed countless tragic stories. Yumen Pass sings of grandeur amidst melancholy, and of resolute determination... It bloomed with unwavering resilience.

    The walls of Yumen Pass were sturdy and thick, and it is said that the design of the walls and gates was extremely unique. However, they were deliberately demolished during the "Four Cleanups" Movement, leaving only a small, lonely section standing guard in the vast yellow sand. For thousands of years, it had stood tall amidst iron and fire, protecting the people within Yumen Pass from the invasion and rule of foreign tribes. For thousands of years, it stood firm, guarding the people of Yumen Pass, listening to the echoing camel bells in the yellow sand. And now, this body, which had stood firm for thousands of years, finally collapsed in humiliation. It wasn't destroyed by the gunfire of foreign invaders, but by the hands of its own people. Now, only a small section remains for the people of Yumen Pass to mourn its misfortune.

    At dusk, standing on the remaining walls of Yumen Pass, feeling the sentiment of "the bright moon rises over the Tianshan Mountains, amidst the vast sea of ​​clouds," the howling north wind blows, and the memories of history, like ripples on a calm lake, gradually expand and become clearer. According to historical records, in the first year of the Western Han Dynasty, General Huo Qubing marched into Hexi and fought a great battle against the Xiongnu at Yumen Pass. The battle was exceptionally fierce, with the Xiongnu Chanyu personally leading an army of 400,000 men, their camps stretching for a thousand miles. Flying stones and raging fires raged for thirteen days and nights without ceasing. I often think, in such a brutal war, the "yellow reeds everywhere" of Yumen Pass must have long since turned red! The water in the moat outside Yumen Pass must have been boiled by fire and stained red with blood. For thousands of years, peace has replaced war, and the smoke of history has long since dissipated, but the souls of the soldiers of Yumen Pass forever guard Yumen Pass, inspiring solemnity and reverence in the people living on this land!

    Today, the ancient city walls are crumbling, the Qingshui River is turbid, and the ancient Silk Road is deserted. The dust of history has settled, but Yumen... The pass lies dormant in a corner of the vast yellow sands, long forgotten. Only the people living on this yellow land, relying on a certain environment and circumstances, can awaken the connection between the past and present.

    The yellow land is a prime example of this connection. For thousands of years, no matter how time has passed, the loess has always been thick and steady. The people living on this yellow land have silently cultivated and created. This land, where countless soldiers shed their blood, has become the source of sustenance for the people. If one were to choose a color for one's hometown, it would undoubtedly be yellow—the land beyond the pass. The desert is yellow, the land is yellow, the mountains are yellow—this unique yellow of Yumen Pass surrounds its people in a yellow world from which there is no escape.

    However, this yellow reaches its peak during the spring sandstorms. Sand and stones fly, sky and earth mingle in a vast yellow world, blurring boundaries and blurring distances. The world seems to have fallen into a giant yellow dye vat; as far as the eye can see, everything is yellow. The yellow wind howls, as if trying to weep out the sorrow that has settled in the long river of Yumen Pass's history over a thousand years.

    Sometimes I wonder, in *Journey to the West*, Sun Wukong was blinded by the yellow wind of the Weasel Monster of Mount Sumeru, but later, with the help of the "Wind-Fixing Pearl" from Bodhisattva Lingji, he overcame the Weasel Monster's raging winds and mists. Could that Weasel Monster be an explanation of sandstorms? Do Sun Wukong and Bodhisattva Lingji represent people's yearning to conquer sandstorms? Even the soldiers in Wang Changling's writings were determined that "all travelers from Youzhou will grow old amidst sandstorms."

    Aside from the days of sandstorms, my hometown is peaceful and tranquil. This small town inside Yumen Pass stands resiliently amidst the vast yellow sands, living and moving forward. The town isn't large; a thirty-minute walk is enough to circle its center. It lacks the hustle and bustle of big cities. People, weary from a day's labor on the loess plateau, stroll along carrying baskets, their eyes taking in their surroundings. Shops and stalls of all sizes line both sides of the road, offering a dazzling array of goods—from the mundane to the trivial—from oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar to needles and buttons. A single walk down the street allows you to find whatever you desire, whether high-end or ordinary, large or small. As a child, my favorite things were the strangely shaped sticky candies (a type of candy) behind the glass counters in those small shops, as if the space behind the counters were as magical as the cave behind Sesame in "A Chinese Odyssey."

    Now, with the continuous pace of urbanization and modern supermarkets slowly emerging in my hometown, those traditional little shops and stalls stubbornly survive. Last summer, I took my daughter back to our long-missed hometown. The town was still as peaceful and quiet as ever. I bought her a sticky candy at a small shop, and seeing how much she loved it, I tried one myself. The sweetness was still there, a subtle sweetness that even tasted like home. Slowly savoring it, a peaceful joy welled up inside me!

    Everything was so quiet: the desert, the ancient city, the yellow sand, the small town, and the solidified history…

    Looking up at the sky, it was a deep blue, with the occasional bird flying by…