The American Woods in autumn are beautiful and charming, and only Americans who grew up in foreign countries can fully appreciate them. To my confusion, I had never heard anyone talk about it before I returned to America. I used to live in China, which was picturesque and quiet, with its own unique loveliness: thin bamboo swaying, lotus pond reflecting the upturned cornices of temples, and lush land. Subtropical sunshine and starry night sky make it look so charming and soft. Summer to Qiu Lai, Jin Ju in full bloom, suddenly bleak west wind, yellow flowers gaunt and desolate. There is a saying: the end of autumn is unbearable, and the fragrance is waiting for spring. All the leaves on the tree are blowing in the wind, leaving only dark brown branches shivering in the wind. Almost overnight, the earth was covered with plain winter clothes. Everything is gray. In the desolate world, there are several small farmhouses crouching, and everything is lifeless. People are also wrapped in dark blue and gray cotton gowns, losing their former vitality.

In this way, after roaming in the East, I set foot on the beautiful Yuan Ye in England, and I was fascinated by lavender and tan in late summer. Even in the primrose season, hedges are not more lovely. Dreamlike tranquility makes people forget the troubles of the world, indulge in quiet fertile fields and ancient gray stone houses, and indulge in the smoke rising in a still atmosphere. The land of England is shrouded in a beautiful and comfortable atmosphere, which will really make you fall asleep after fatigue.

With this in mind, I crossed the Atlantic to new york. Besides those who are used to the slow trams, rickshaws and trolleybuses in China, who else can feel the appalling vitality displayed by the noisy new york? On the street, one car after another, you just avoided one car, and then thousands of cars came-crossing the road became a thrilling adventure. In contrast, bandits who rob roads in China are also gentle. On the elevated railway, the train rumbled past, which made people dizzy; There is also an underground roar that is obviously from the belly of the universe. I was caught by those yawning fans. They swallowed hundreds of people in one place and vomited in a place thousands of miles away, but these people were still worried and upset. The boring subway makes me unbearable, and the trolleybus makes me nervous. Whenever I hold on to the sling in the tram, I will regret to recall the past scene in China: the tram moves slowly, there are pools of clear water on the roadside, and ducks paddle their webbed feet leisurely; From time to time, I bent down to pick a wild flower and threw it to the naked and dark children crawling in the dust.

New york awakened my sweet dreams, and Lin Qiu in the United States amazed me.

A week later, when I was walking in a forest in Virginia, my ecstasy could not be expressed in words. Before that, no one had ever told me how beautiful the scenery in the forest was. Of course, they also said, "You know leaves change color in autumn." But what impression can this give? I thought it was just light yellow, tan or light rose. However, I saw a scene full of vitality and color, incredibly rough, gorgeous and full of wild vitality. Under the dark cliff, a towering tree rose from the ground and a fiery vine climbed up, just like a heroic sentry-I will never forget this scene.

The winding path in the maple forest is like a path leading to the Golden Street in Heaven. Walking around, the branches above my head are staggered, orange, pink, scarlet, dark brown, light yellow ... colorful. Wandering in the forest is like walking on a bright carpet, which is a bright color that Beijing carpets don't have, and it is also difficult for emperors to buy wealth. Those fine vines and tender grass must still be tender and petite in summer, but now they are unwilling to be lonely and compete for beauty.

How beautiful! There is no such thing on earth! However, I doubt whether Americans can enjoy this kind of scenery year after year. Anyway, I'm surprised at Lin Qiu. The northern lights won't surprise me, although it will be confirmed later; Mount Vesuvius won't surprise me. Even if one day, the sky disappears with the tune from Gabriel's horn, I wonder if I will be surprised. When I first walked into Qiu Lin, I was deeply moved by the beauty of this quiet thing. I don't believe there is anything in the world that can give me a deeper revelation of beauty.

Once again, I was lost in meditation on beauty. It has always been my pleasure to find the loveliness of everything in the world and to think about how the essence of each nation is naturally revealed in different ways of beauty. In other words, my attention is not focused on the places where tourists flock, because ordinary people in that country are rarely seen in those places.

I found that France was not in the Louvre, but in an old woman. Wearing a long blue dress and a white scarf, she knelt by the tinkling stream and pounded her clothes. She is so hardworking and virtuous. She suddenly looked up and smiled at me, smiling with humor and amorous feelings everywhere. A wrinkled face, forever young eyes, light waves flowing and full of vitality-I almost froze.

The inaccessible Alps, covered with snow, are particularly magnificent against the blue sky, but they do not really reflect the characteristics of the Swiss people. Swiss people are hardworking, peaceful and calm. In that small piece of land, pear trees should be carefully planted against the wall, vines should be carefully pruned to prevent them from growing wildly, and clusters of fruits should be carefully counted. Everything there is small and neat, with its own unique beauty. The towering Jungfrau will always stand on that small piece of land, but I doubt whether the Swiss can secretly love her all the year round.

How strange! I don't know why, only when my thoughts are connected with my motherland-China, which raised me, can I think about the differences between different nationalities in such an orderly way.

I don't know how many foreigners just got off the train from Shanghai and finished their first trip to China, saying to me, "... Alas, China is not as beautiful as Japan! "

I just smiled and didn't want to answer immediately, because I knew the beauty of China.

Japan gives people the impression of exquisiteness. This is not only because of its lovely porcelain, gorgeous and elegant kimono and those charming children who crackle and walk quickly-these are well known; Its beauty lies not only in the small terraces on the hillside, but also in neat but unstable houses and fairyland-like small life paradise-these can be seen everywhere.

The great beauty of Japan lies in you and me. As passers-by in a hurry, it is difficult to find out where it is during a cursory glance.

It is this kind of beauty that makes a hard-working coolie put down his pole, eat some rice and fish casually, and work in the garden with a handkerchief. They are absorbed in their work, relaxed and happy, and completely immersed in the joy of creating beauty for themselves and their families. The whole family gathered around him and watched with admiration. Everyone has a garden in Japan. If fate refuses to give a poor man a square foot of land, he will spend some money to buy a large piece of land. After several hours of hard and happy work, he will gradually have a miniature garden: rockery, gazebo and a pool of clear water. A few pieces of moss can be used as a lawn; Some grass makes trees; Then plug the fern into the gap and there will be bushes.

It is this beauty that makes a Japanese innkeeper change a set of exquisite decorations in his room every day in order to make his guests comfortable. Today, he selected an ink painting from his collection. The picture is elegant and realistic, and a bird stands on the reed. Tomorrow, there will be a dark blue porcelain vase in your room, with a blooming Sydney in it, which will make you realize Buddhism and Taoism involuntarily. Sometimes, what appears in your room is an old carpet. On the faded carpet, a pair of people carrying lanterns are marching, which looks strange and interesting.

I've heard a lot of gossip about Japan recently. Some people even say that the Japanese don't even have the qualities of ordinary people. I dare not jump to conclusions. I will wait until someone combines the incomparable evil and gentle love of beauty for me before expressing my opinion. This tender love can be found in almost all the poor and rich in Japan. People pursue beauty spontaneously all their lives, not out of consideration for money, but out of desire for beauty. If beauty is really right, isn't there any truth in it?

This elegant beauty can be seen everywhere in Japan, but certainly not everywhere in China. Therefore, I can't blame those friends who just saw China and declared her ugly. There is no doubt that the poverty of life makes the poor always think about how to fill their stomachs. In the life of ordinary people, it is pitifully beautiful.

One day, my gardener was digging in the garden. I asked him, "Would you like to plant this flower in front of your house?"

He gave me a distrustful look and dug hard: "It's no use for the poor to grow flowers," he said. "It's all for the rich."

"Yes, but it doesn't cost you money. Look, I can give you several kinds of flowers. If your land is not fat, you can get some fertilizer from the fat pile here. I will give you time to take care of them. Planting some flowers will cheer you up. "

He bent down to pick up a stone and threw it out. "I want to order." The gardener's answer is simple.

There is no doubt that the poor in China are frugal in everything they do. I also lived somewhere in the mainland for a while. There, I asked a peasant woman how to arrange food and clothing if there is a good harvest and surplus in a year, and whether to save or spend the surplus money.

Recalling the good old days, the peasant woman smiled and said excitedly, "Let's eat more!" " "

In a country full of bandits, they didn't put their savings in a trusted bank, but ate them all, because it was the safest place, at least no one could take them away! God knows whether their health will improve.

Visit the cities in China, and their ugliness will surprise you-everywhere is crowded, dirty and messy; The street stinks and makes people sick. Sick beggars, unkempt and unkempt, use their despicable means of making money to beg piteously and live a parasitic life. Several mangy dogs are sneaking around timidly. If you glance at the shops or residents' homes, you will find that everything is based on the principle of practicality: the table is not painted, the stool is obviously not designed to make people feel comfortable sitting on it, boxes, beds, messy old things, and primitive cookers-all of which are crowded in that incredible little space, which makes people upset and has no pursuit of spiritual wealth that can be reflected in beauty.

A few days ago, I stood on the top of a mountain in Jiangxi, looking at a hundred miles of mountains and rivers, and felt extremely relaxed and happy-under the sun, the stream was sparkling; The Yangtze River is very long and winds into the sea, just like a yellow avenue. Trees give shade, cottages give shade. Pieces of rice fields are as green as jasper and as neat as a chessboard. Everything seems so quiet and beautiful.

But I know my motherland too well. I know that if I walk into that fairyland, I will find that the stream has been polluted, and the river is crowded with dilapidated boats with reeds as the roof, which is the only habitat for thousands of hungry fishermen. Under the green trees, next to the house, garbage stinks in the sun, flies swarm, and yellow dogs everywhere will bark at me. Although there is fresh air to enjoy, the house is small, windowless and as dark as a cave. Children are filthy as hell, their hair is messy, not to mention their noses, which always flow into their mouths! I can't see a flower, and I can't see an artificial beauty to ease the monotony of life. Even the clearing in front of the straw house was ground into a threshing floor, and the hard ground glowed green under the sunlight. Poverty? Yes, but this is often the result of laziness and ignorance.

So, where is the beauty of China? Anyway, it's not superficial. Don't worry, listen to me slowly.

This ancient country has been silent and listless for centuries, and never cares about what other countries think, but it is here that I discovered the rare beauty in the world.

China didn't show up at those places of interest. Even in Beijing, the destination of this traveler's trip to the Far East, we didn't see any places of interest: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Great Mosque ... which was gradually established in this country according to the needs of life. It was built for themselves, not to attract tourists or make money at all. Indeed, for many years, these places of interest have been hard for you to see.

China people naturally don't know what an exhibition is and what an advertisement is. No matter which big silk shop you walk into in Hangzhou, you will find it simple, generous, quiet and dark. Rows of shelves, neat packaging, and neatly arranged price labels hanging on the packaging. In foreign countries, shopkeepers often hang carefully folded silks and satins on display shelves to attract people's attention and customers. But these are not here. You will see a shop assistant coming. When you tell him what you want to buy, he will bring you five or six packages from the shelf. The wrapping paper was torn off, and suddenly a dazzling brilliance appeared in front of me. The dragon robe is made of this material. Looking at the splendid and colorful brocade, velvet and satin piled up in front of you, you will feel dazzling, just like a group of colorful butterflies dancing in front of your eyes. You have chosen what you want, and this splendid scenery will once again disappear into darkness.

This is China!

Her beauty is antiques and historic sites, which embodies the noblest thoughts and artistic pursuits of the nobles of past dynasties. These ancient things, like their owners, are slowly declining.

The high gray wall facing the street is magnificent and daunting. But if you have the right key, you may be able to step into the elegant courtyard. In the yard, the ancient square brick floor has worn a lot after hundreds of years of trampling. A tangled pine tree, a pool of goldfish, a carved stone bench, on which sat an old man with a crane hair, dressed in a white silk robe, as solemn as a Buddhist monk. In his pale and dry hand, it was a polished black wood pipe with silver at the top. If there is friendship, he will stand up, make a few deep bows and accompany you into the building with impeccable manners. Two people sitting in a tall wooden nanmu chair, a total of fragrant teas; The silk scroll paintings hanging on the wall will make you admire, and the carved beams and painted buildings in the air will tempt you to linger. Beauty, beauty everywhere, antique, subtle and elegant.

My thoughts brought me to a temple again. Although the living room of the temple is spacious, it is a bit dark. There is a small clearing in front of the living room, bathed in sunshine all day. There is a flower bed made of blue bricks in the open space. After a long time, the color of the brick has almost faded. Every spring and Qingming, the huge reddish buds in the flower beds break through the ground. When I went in May, the sun was shining, the peony was in full bloom and the color was bright, and the red powder became a fire. There are milky white flowers in the center of the flower bed, and the pale yellow flowers are really beautiful. The flower bed is exquisitely shaped, and guests can only enjoy the beautiful scenery from the darkness of the room. What more can a husband ask for? What does the husband think?

I know some families have ancient paintings and bronzes. There is also a long history of embroidery. When these things were born, no one thought there would be any America. Their history may really be as old as the treasures of ancient Egyptian pharaohs!

Some sad things happened in the process of changing China. Some ignorant young people, forced by poverty or careless, learned to exchange these cultural relics for money. These antiques are priceless national treasures and artistic treasures with high aesthetic value. They are not worth any personal possession, but should only be collected by the state. But they can't understand this yet!

Foreign countries have committed all kinds of crimes against China, and one thing that cannot be ignored is the plunder of beautiful women in China. Those anxious antique collectors, adventurers who traveled all over the world, and bosses of major businesses plundered many treasures from China's beauty treasure house. This is really an ignorant plunderer, because he doesn't know that what he thinks can be sold for thirty silver dollars should not be sold at all.

In addition, among the younger generation in China, many people's thoughts seem to be immature and their performances are staggering. Since they doubt the past and abandon the tradition, they are bound to abandon the incomparable works of art in old China, snap up many shoddy western bargains and hang them in their rooms. We love many features of this country, but who will inherit the classical beauty of China now? How to solve the inevitable depravity caused by blind worship of foreign things and flattery? Does it mean that with the abandonment of tradition, we must also lose the cornices of temples?

But I always feel gratified that there are always some people who will inherit all those ancestors who love and pursue beauty with the enthusiasm of masters and bring it to a more peaceful era.

A few days ago, I went to the studio of a famous modern painter in China. Looking at the advertising pictures, the stereotyped images of bodybuilders, and the sunset pictures with poor colors on the sea, my heart sank-a pile of crude oil paintings! But in an obscure corner of the studio, I found a small watercolor painting. This is a country road. On the evening of summer in Jin Woo, there was a light blue fog, and some silver-gray diagonal lines crossed the picture. A faint candlelight shone from the window of a friendly cabin. A lonely man was walking alone with an oil umbrella in his hand, and his swaying figure was cast on the wet stone.

I turned to the painter and said, "This is the best one."

His face suddenly became clear.

"Do you really think so? That's what I thought! This is the hometown street I used to see every day, but, "the painter sighed," I painted it for fun, and this painting can't be sold. "

If I have to find out the flaws of China's beauty, I can only say that it is too quiet and elegant, and most people seldom appreciate it. This kind of beauty originally belonged to them, but those princes and nobles or religious groups took it for themselves, and many people could not acquire aesthetic knowledge and fully enjoy the fun of life. For hundreds of years, people who are extremely poor and uneducated can only die in silence, indifferent to the wonderful and dumped beauty. The pursuit of beauty has become the privilege of aristocratic society and leisure class, while the poor think it is only a pastime of the rich and has nothing to do with themselves.

Ordinary China people need to cultivate aesthetic taste and discover the beauty around them that needs to be explored. Once he understands the meaning of beauty, once he realizes that beauty does not exist in the annoying stone paintings with four corners, or even in the priceless treasures of the rich, once he realizes that beauty exists in their gardens and is waiting for him to explore from the messy environment caused by carelessness and laziness, a brand-new spirit will spread in this beautiful land.

Although millions of people struggling in poverty here have been working hard all day for a mouthful of rice, I know that in any case, people can't live on plants alone. What we need most is the beautiful scenery that everyone can enjoy freely-Tang Cheng Xia Ying, graceful flowers, fresh air and lovely nature.

I told Mr. China about this idea the other day. He said casually: "granaries actually know etiquette, but they don't know honor or disgrace until they are full and warm."

I thought the same thing.

However, I believe my gardener had a good meal last night. At that time, he was working happily on the lawn. I sat under the bamboo bushes and meditated. Suddenly, a strange light awakened me from my meditation. I looked up and saw a gorgeous sunset glow in the west, which fascinated me.

"Oh, look!" I shouted.

"Where is it? Where is it? " Cried the gardener, clutching the hoe handle tightly.

"There. Look how beautiful this color is! "

"Oh, no!" The gardener said in disgust that he bent down to cut the grass. "If you shout like that, I thought a centipede had climbed on you!"

To be honest, I don't think the love of beauty should be based on filling the stomach. No matter how many gourmets there are, they are just gourmets. Besides, if what my teacher China said is absolutely correct, how can I explain the following words? Wang, an old and deaf mother, is the poorest of the poor widows. She works hard all day sewing clothes for a bowl of rice. However, the chipped bottle on her desk is full of flowers she got from somewhere all summer. When I first gave her green digestion, she cried with joy.

And that little tobacco shop. The old shopkeeper who lost all his teeth spent the whole day happily taking care of an unknown flower in his pottery basin. The farmers outside our yard let a hollyhock plant grow naturally around the house. And those "little kids" on the street often put their faces on my door shyly and ask me for a bunch of flowers.

No, I think every child can sow the seeds of beauty in his heart. Although hard life sometimes stifles it, it is immortal, and sometimes it thrives in the meditator's heart. For these people, even living in the palace and having dinner with the Yellow Emperor is far from the greatest pleasure in life. They know that they will never be satisfied unless they find beauty and the highest state of life in some way.