Liu Baiyu

November 17 ......

Fog shrouded the river, the weather was severe. At twelve o'clock, the "Jiangjin" anchored downstream. After the Yangtze River and the Jialing River merged, the river suddenly opened up, and the sky suddenly felt low. Thick yellow fog, gradually hidden Chongqing. A quarter of an hour later, the boat was again traveling on the narrow river between the two sides of the Bison cliffs.

You see that the rapid drift of the waves together, really "the water will be ten thousand fulcrum, Qutang fight a door". And two or three wooden boats, but the two rows of wooden oars shaking in unison, like birds flapping their wings, are swimming against the current. I thought of Li Bai, Du Fu in that distant era, with a flat boat, fighting the waves into the rush, it is how many majestic struggle, will inspire the poet how many magnificent poetic ideas ah! ...... Soon, the river is more open and vast. The two rivers, suddenly meet, joyful embrace, stirring up clouds and mist, waves boiling, to this point seems to be a little calm, the water and the sky, gray and distant mountains unfold a volume of light ink painting.

From the Yangtze River downstream, this wish really do not know from when in the heart rooted. The son, when I was young, I read "The Great River Goes East ......" read "the sound of apes on both sides of the river ......" and I was always tempted to do so. Later, I heard that the Yangtze River originated in a glacier, the spring glacier covered with strange and colorful snowdrops, and the Yangtze River there is just a clear stream; but when you see it that rushing and whistling, such as ten thousand waterfalls hanging in the air, Bang Ran Miles, can not help but in the mystery of the atmosphere of the "fairy tale world" on the layer of heroes coated with glory. Later, I went to Chongqing twice, twice climbed Pequat Hill to see the night view of the river, from the lights of ten thousand homes, a brilliant sea of stars, to recognize the lights on the sailing ships slowly floating away, how much I want to follow the waves, straight to Qutang, straight down the Jingmen ah. But personally enjoy the scenery of the Yangtze River, until this time to realize. Therefore, this time on the "Jiangjin", as I wrote a letter the next day:

"These two big, all day long I was in the lounge, through the glass window, looking at the Three Gorges. Yesterday the whole day was in a hazy shroud of fog. Today it is sunny. This stately and beautiful weathered Yangtze River is really beautiful."

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sky turned clear. On both sides of the Yangtze River, layers and layers, endless are majestic peaks, pines and bamboo green and furry cover a layer of embroidery curtain. Near the bank on the steep wall, the back of the slender man can be seen. You look forward, in front of the mountains in the river volatile, is still for the fog, but the fog is not as thick as in the morning, that yellow, and was milky white. Now is the "dry season", the river suddenly revealed a black reef, a yellow shoal, the boat is often in the very narrow between the two navigational markers meandering, sailing downstream. The mountains are gathering more and more, gradually the twilight is low, gradually into the dusk, the red and green lights gradually flash, and the verdant mountains blurred into a gray.

While I was sorry for the nightfall, the Yangtze River in the darkness of the night unfolded another kind of charm to me. At first, there was a star of light here and there, as if the Yangtze River was winking at you. And then it is dark again, you feel the waves are rolling and boiling from the slight rippling of the ship's hull. A particularly majestic sight, appearing late at night. I walked to the deck alone, then the river wind hunting, up and down before and after, a dark and gloomy, and countless strong searchlight light, from the top of the ship to the river, the sky on the river a cloudy haze, the flash of electricity, wind and water, not only make a person y appreciate the "high rivers and gorges of the thunder bucket" of the heck of the momentum, and you feel that your own and nature is so close to the whole universe, like the whole universe, are listed in your chest. The water and the sky, the wind and the fog, all merge into one, as if you were not a boat, but you yourself were fighting with the river." The dawn is ahead, and we should strive." At this time, a solemn and beautiful emotion filled my heart, I feel that this is the big time I experienced suddenly concentrated on this rushing Yangtze River. Yes, isn't this how we fight and sail through the night to the dawn in our whole life? Now the men on board are sound asleep, the whole world is sleeping, and the cockpit is showing a peaceful light. Think what a magnificent life it is to take hold of the wheel, and through the flashing torch of electricity to find a way to break the waves from the midst of them! Our philosophy is the philosophy of revolution, our poetry is the poetry of battle, and because of this our life is the most beautiful life. Lenin had a great saying: "Forward! How good it is! This is the life!" ...... The "Jiangjin" sailed forward with its whistles blaring loudly and y.

November 18

In my letter, I recounted, "On this day, I flew as if in a majestic and magnificent symphony. I have voyaged on the oceans, I have flown on the skies, but for the first time, on our mother river, the Yangtze, I was absorbed by such a mighty power of nature."

In a haze, I heard the broadcast to Fengjie. It was light when we anchored. When I got up and looked around, the peaks were just showing a gray outline from the darkness. When I came to the lounge, I saw two cliffs in front of me and a narrow river in the center, which had entered Qutang Gorge. The river turns with the wall, in front of the sky reveals a piece of golden sunlight, like a golden belt across, the rest of the sky is still a sea of clouds. The mouth of Qutang Gorge is the most dangerous place of the three gorges. Du Fu's "Kui Zhou Song" said, "Baidi is the town of the three gorges, and Qutang is more dangerous than Bai Juan Pass." The ancient song says: "Rippling place name in Sichuan is as big as a horse, so Qutang can't go down; Rippling place name in Sichuan is as big as a monkey, so Qutang can't swim; Rippling place name in Sichuan is as big as a tortoise, so Qutang can't go back; Rippling place name in Sichuan is as big as an elephant, so Qutang can't go up." This pile of rippling water refers to a pile of huge black reefs. It is aimed at the mouth of the gorge. As soon as the water rushed into the mouth of the gorge, it came straight towards the reef. You can imagine that it was really a thunderbolt, the ship like an arrow off the string, the slightest difference, will be crashed into a smash. Now, this huge reef, has long been blown up. However, the Qutang Gorge, surging rapids, waves such as thunder, the river formed countless eddies, the boat rushed through the eddies, only to hear a clattering sound of water. After eight kilometers of Qutang Gorge, dark clouds, suddenly hidden, a blue sky on the top of the gorge, floating a few small pieces of golden clouds, a note of sunlight like lightning fell on the left cliffs. On the right side of the peak on a white cloud like silver pieces of bright, but the sun has not yet descended. At this time, far ahead, countless layers of mountains above the misty clouds, suddenly appeared a red mist, you see, interpretation of the purple peaks, set off by a fog, really beautiful. Just like the deep valley reflecting upward the glitter of red gems, people seem to enter the realm of myth. At this time, you look towards the river, is also colorful: two sides of the giant rock, reflections such as ink; in the middle of the zigzag tiki, but like there is a flash of the road, above the swinging of the fine waves of light; close to the mountains, it is turquoise such as emerald. Minute by minute, in front of the red mist more red and brighter. Boat more and more close, gradually see a peak pavilion standing in the red fog, gradually see that the red fog is millions of strong sunlight. At 8:20, we came to this clear golden sunrise.

Looking up, I saw Mount Wushan. The sun shone down from above, and the fog rolled up from below, and the clouds were quite spectacular. Just from a distance to see that straight peak, standing on the mouth of the Wushan Gorge, the mountain as an axe, Junxiu Jiongnuo, people told me that this is the Wushan twelve peaks of the first peak, it seems to greet guests from upstream and said: "Look, this is the Wushan Wushan Gorge." The "Jiangjin" was close to the foot of the mountain and entered the mouth of the gorge. The reddish sunlight shot into the glass hall and shone on my face. In the middle of the gorge, strong sunlight and milky-white clouds are intertwined, a few steps away, this side is sunlight, that side is clouds, it is really mysterious. A few wooden boats from the lower reaches of the river, the sails and canopies to the sunlight like transparent white feathers, but the mountain gorge is getting narrower and narrower, the front of the two mountains facing each other, it looks like not even a gate so wide, and outside the door, completely white fog.

At 8:50, the ship was full of people, all looking up. I also ran up to the deck, see the top of the peak, there is a thin stone towering like a man looking at the river, that is full of magical misty legend of the Beauty Peak. It is said that a fisherman in the river fishing, suddenly encountered a violent storm, the boat overthrew the top, his wife held a child from the peak looking out, looking forward to his return, day by day, January January, he finally did not come back, but she is still regardless of the morning and evening, regardless of the wind and rain, stood there waiting for him to this day, still there waiting for it! ......

If the Qutang Gorge is like a gate, then the Wu Gorge is like a winding gallery on the river. The boat follows the mountains to the left, a turn to the right, every curve, every bend, all unfolding to you a wonderful picture of the landscape. The mountains on both sides of the river are so strange and unbroken that the twelve peaks of Wushan, each with its own posture, have been given a high evaluation of beauty and names, which obviously add to the poetry of our river and mountains, which are infinitely varied. Suddenly is the dark gray rock from the high altitude straight down into the heart of the river, people think of a huge exclamation point; Suddenly is the green fuzzy grass Ban, like a piece of music full of ghostly feelings; Especially nice is the hanging rock on a pile of autumn frost dyed red weeds, almost like a mountain full of rhododendrons, the gorges rapid and steep river, the river is full of big and small eddies, the boat can travel slowly, like a traveler in the mountains and mountains in the middle of a slow pace. But this is just so far away from the people, have plenty of time to enjoy the reckless, vast Yangtze River on the magnificence of nature. The eagle hovered over the high gorge, the river waves followed the mountains and stirred, the shadow of the mountains and clouds, daylight and water, intertwined into a piece.

Ten o'clock, the river becomes broader, the rapids steady crossing, through the Wu Gorge. Ten o'clock fifteen minutes to Badong, has entered the Hubei province. Ten-thirty to the mouth of the cattle, the river waves surging, pushing the boat on the waves, swaying forward. The river has just run out of the Wushu Gorge, not yet had time to breathe, but then rushed into the third Xiling Gorge.

Xiling Gorge is relatively wide, but the river has become particularly vicious, everywhere is the rapids, everywhere is a dangerous beach. The boat is like a meteor with the angry waves rush, and a roundabout around the dangerous beaches floating into. The most famous three dangerous shoals are: Leak Beach, Green Beach and Kongling Beach. At the beginning of the drainage beach, you look at the ten thousand horses galloping river will suddenly feel that the river is simply in the rotation of the river, a thousand, ten thousand whirlpools, making the "Jiangjin" ship violently vibrate up. Although this section of the river is dangerous, but there are countless beautiful legends. At eleven fifteen, we arrived at Sister Return. According to Yuan Song's "Record of Yidu Mountains and Rivers", Sister Return is Qu Yuan's hometown and the place where Xiong Jie, the son of Chu, founded his country. Qu Yuan was later exiled to Miluo River and died there. Legend has it that on the day of Qu's death, someone saw him on the Miluo River with a crown and a white beard, riding a white horse and floating away. Legend: Qu Yuan died, was a big fish pack back to the sister return, finally returned to Chu from exile. All this sounds too magical and strange, but it reflects the people's infinite nostalgia for Qu Yuan.

There is a large, iron-blue reef on the front side of the Sisters' Return, towering over the river, and it passes through a long stretch of rapids and rounds the drainage beach. In the most precipitous place, "Jiangjin" with all the energy, trembling, trembling forward. The rapids just rolled through, saw in front of a strange peak protruding, the body of the river along the right side of the peak, but the left side of the peak appeared a river, so this is the birthplace of Wang Zhaojun Xiangxi, which at once brings to mind Du Fu's poem: "Mountains and ravines to the Thorny Gate, growth of the Princess of the Ming Dynasty still has a village." We looked at Xiangxi for a while, and then the boat went along the mountain peaks into an incredibly dangerous long gorge, the Bingshu Baojian Gorge. Here is completely a narrow alley, I went to the bow of the boat, look up, only to see the yellow stone blue rock, high and the sky, and then sailed a section to the green beach. The river falls steeply, rough waves, waves splash, when you have not had time to look carefully, the boat has been like an arrow as fast as flying down, the huge waves for the bow split, swirling, together, and then agitated away. The river is like a boiling water, everywhere is foam, everywhere is the wave. The comrade on board pointed to a township on the rock and told me: "Many navigators on the Yangtze River voyage were born here ...... Every wooden boat that wants to cross the green beach has to ask the people here to lead the way." At this time I was watching a wooden boat against the current, look up the sound of this green beach is very scary, but people from the raging waves to master a way forward, but also overcame nature.

Noon, we came to the Kongling beach in front of the Yangtze River, people know: "leakage beach green beach is not beach, Kongling is the ghost gate." Can be seen its dangerous. See a gray reef covered with water, "Jiangjin" ship but anchored. The original Kongling beach a narrow channel can only pass a boat, then there is a riverboat is on the line, we had to wait down. Who knows that actually waited for so long, see that on the ship is how careful. When we sailed down the Kongling Beach, really is a rocky area, we are not like in the vast Yangtze River, but in the jungle to find trails trekking forward.

November 19th

In the morning, a reddish sunlight illuminated the calm waters of the river as bright as glass. The Yangtze River, in its three days and thousands of colors, is no longer as foggy as it was the day before yesterday, nor is it the same as yesterday's "Wushan Mountain and Wuxia Gorge", but rather: "The land of Chu is vast and boundless, with a vast expanse of ten thousand hectares". The Yangtze River, after passing through the Long Gorge, is now so peaceful, like a young mother who has just given birth to a baby. The color of the sky and water is really soft. The river is like a slightly flickering silk, there are two snow-white gulls slowly and "Jiangjin" parallel flight into the water and sky, condensed into a transparent mist, a cluster of sails, like a bunch of bunch of snow-white flowers in the blue sky glitter.

On one such day, a very quiet day on the riverboat, I immersed myself in the "red Rosa" Luxemburg's "Prison Briefs".

The staunchest leader of the proletarian revolution in Germany in 1918, I felt in her letters the light of a great revolutionary's mind and the warmth of her heart, breaking through the shackles of the bars and shining on the earth, you see, on this page:

The rain falls softly and evenly on the leaves of the trees, and the purplish-red lightning flashes again and again in the leaden gray, and in the distance, the rumbling of thunder is like a surging sea. like the aftermath of a raging ocean wave kept rolling in. In the midst of all this gloomy and dismal scene a nightingale suddenly called from a maple tree in front of my window! In the rain, in the lightning, in the rumbling thunder, the nightingale cried like a clear silver bell, and it sang as if it were drunken, and it wanted to overwhelm the thunder and sing the dim ......

I also had a magnificent sight last night about nine o'clock, when I noticed from my couch the rosy return of light reflected on the window glass, which astonished me greatly , as the sky was completely gray. I ran to the window and stood there fascinated. In the middle of the gray sky there appeared in the east a huge rose-colored cloud of rare earthly beauty, which, separated from everything, floated there alone, looking like a smile, like a greeting from a strange distance. I drew a long breath of relief, and involuntarily stretched out my hands to this charming picture. With such colors, such images, then life is wonderful and worthwhile, isn't it? I feasted my eyes on this glorious picture, swallowing every ray of its rosy haze until I suddenly couldn't help but laugh at myself. Good heavens, the beauty of the sky, of the clouds, and of the whole of life does not exist only in Frontek, and need I come to say good-bye to them? No, they will follow me, wherever I go, as long as I live, the sky, the clouds and the beauty of life will be with me.

The Jiangjin sailed slowly through the calm waves. As I read, a very precious feeling permeated my entire body. I must write it down at once, I would like to write it in this rushing and whistling, but also quiet and gentle Yangtze River together, because it reminds me of the day before yesterday I thought of the "combat navigation through the night towards the dawn" imagination, in the past, how many people, from their arduous battles to look forward to a better tomorrow, ah! And when I bear the bright sunshine and the beautiful scenery like today, I can't help but realize that the fragrant, serene breath of our whole earth, the breath of socialist life, is the freest and strongest light emitted from all over the world, whether it be in Asia or Europe, America or Africa, by the blood of all the pioneers, united together. I finished reading the "Prison Briefs", a round sunset so round, so big, like a bright red coral ball, the whole river in a vein of faint red light, in front of like a kind of fine silk curtain softly, gently scattered down.

Let me end this day by copying a paragraph from one of my own letters:

At night, at about nine o'clock, I saw a very, very small light in the darkness of the night in front of me. People pointed out to me that it was the Yangtze River Bridge, and the Jiangjin was steadily approaching Wuhan. Since then, I have been standing on the ship to look out, gradually gradually see the neat row like a horizontal string of pearls, in the glittering. I looked at, I think in this vast boundless river, this is exactly our mother river dedicated to our a crown of pearls ah! ...... and then forward, the river countless blue, white, red, green lights, dragging a long reflection in the floating, that is countless ships sailing, and that by a pearl painted the outline of the bridge, completely like rising in the clouds, like, towering in the air, and the bridge that side, the lights are thick like a brilliant golden river, what is that? Carefully distinguish, it is the hundreds of millions of lights on both sides of Wuhan. When our "Jiangjin" ship, loud and clear to the city of Wuhan issued a salute to the sound of cheers, my heart rises a solemn emotion, take a look! We created a new world how brilliant it! ......

1960