地窖出生的孩子

Child born in cellar

“這些年，不少來采訪的記者都曾問過我，你童年時(shí)期記憶最深刻的事是什么？”汽車在公路上疾馳，周興和說話間停住話頭，陷入久久的沉思。良久，他抬起頭來緩緩說道，“要說記憶最深刻的，或許，就是我出生時(shí)那個(gè)陰暗潮濕的地窖，就是我開始記事時(shí)那個(gè)擋不住風(fēng)雨的草棚吧……”

"Over the years, many journalists have asked me: 'What is your deepest memory from your childhood?'" As the cars gallopped on the road, Zhou Xinghe stopped talking, and lost in thought for a long time. Later, he raised his head and said slowly, "Perhaps the deepest memory of all is the dark and damp cellar in which I was born, and the thatched hut where I could not keep out the wind and rain when I began to remember..."

周興和所言不謬。

Zhou Xinghe was right.

時(shí)值深秋，我來到生于斯長(zhǎng)于斯他的家鄉(xiāng)三臺(tái)縣。

In late autumn, I came to his hometown Santai County, where he was born and grew up.

三臺(tái)，位于川北丘陵地區(qū)，原本是個(gè)歷史悠久人杰地靈之地。早在春秋戰(zhàn)國(guó)時(shí)期，郪王國(guó)都城就建置于此，此后歷為州、郡、府之治所，唐宋時(shí)與成都齊名。這里既是交通“襟喉之地”，又是商品集散地和經(jīng)濟(jì)文化中心，素有“川北重鎮(zhèn)、劍南名都”之稱——然而，滄海桑田，斗轉(zhuǎn)星移，自明末清初之后，這里卻是極其貧窮和落寞了。

Santai, located in the hilly region of northern Sichuan, was originally a place with a long history and outstanding people. The capital of Qi Kingdom was built in here during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Since then, it had been the government office of the state, prefecture, and county, in the same name with Chengdu in the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is not only a throat in the transportation, but also a commodity distribution center and an economic and cultural center. It is also known as the "important town in the northern Sichuan and the famous capital of Jiannan". However, as time goes by, the land had changed dramatically since the end of Ming dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, and it became extremely poor and lonely.

周興和的老家，坐落在三臺(tái)和鹽亭分界的一個(gè)山坳里，一條崎嶇的山間小道，連著山那邊鹽亭縣的毛公鄉(xiāng)，下山來就是三臺(tái)縣的三元鄉(xiāng)。山下有條小河，叫魏河。千百年來，魏河兩岸的人們，都在這塊土地上辛勤耕作繁衍生息。

Zhou Xinghe's hometown is located in a col of the boundary between Santai and Yanting, with a rugged mountain path connecting the Maogong Township of Yanting County on the other side of the mountain, and Sanyuan Township of Santai County comes down from the mountain in this side. There is a small river under the mountain, called Weihe River. For thousands of years, people on both sides of Weihe River have been working hard and reproducing on this land.

1953年農(nóng)歷八月初八，周興和就出生在這貧瘠的山窩里。他出生那年，天干地旱，過了處暑，灸熱的太陽依然烘烤著這塊龜裂的土地。他來到這個(gè)世界的那個(gè)午夜，雖說已至仲秋，但家里依然又悶又熱。

Zhou Xinghe was born in this barren valley on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month in the year of 1953. In the year he was born, there was severe drought and the earth was dry. After the end of summer, the hot sun was still baking the cracked earth. The midnight when he came to this world, though it was already the middle of autumn, was still stuffy and hot at home.

他降生的地方，的確是山坡上一個(gè)裝紅苕的地窖里。

The place where he was born was indeed a cellar of sweet potato on the hillside.

他家棲息的這個(gè)地窖，和北方人居住的那種冬暖夏涼的窯洞有著本質(zhì)的區(qū)別。在四川農(nóng)村，農(nóng)民常在坡壁上挖出土洞，用來儲(chǔ)存紅苕洋芋之類的東西。由于南方多雨，植被繁茂，這種地窖夏天潮濕，冬天陰冷。遇到雷雨天，雨水就嘩嘩沖刷著洞口，像要把地窖沖塌；到了冬天，嗚嗚的寒風(fēng)透進(jìn)洞里來，像要把人凍僵。

The cellar that his family lived in is fundamentally different from the cave houses in the north, which are warm in winter and cool in summer. In the countryside of Sichuan, the farmers often dig holes on the slopes to store things like the sweet potato or potato. Because of the frequent rain in the south China, the vegetation was lush, so the cellar was damp in summer and cold in winter. In a thunderstorm, the rain would wash away the cave entrance, as if to collapse the cellar; in winter, the howling cold wind blows into the cave, and seems to freeze everyone.

在鄉(xiāng)村，只有那種窮得不能再窮的人家才會(huì)在這種地方棲身。

In the countryside, only the kind of family that could not be any poorer would live in such a place.

“在我童年的記憶中，家里真是一貧如洗。潮濕悶熱的地窖里，只有一張用竹木搭起的床鋪、床上鋪的是干草，干草上只有一張破爛的草席，草席上只有一床破爛的棉絮?！睍r(shí)間過了幾十年，周興和還清晰地記得當(dāng)時(shí)的情景，“破爛的窖洞外，是用茅草搭的一個(gè)草棚，用以擋風(fēng)避雨。茅草棚里，一眼泥灶，一口破鍋，鍋里煮的東西，大概和大戶人家的豬食相差無幾，更不要說和如今城里人養(yǎng)的貓狗食物相比了?！?/p>

"As far back as I could remember things in my childhood, the family was really poor. In the damp and sultry cellar, there was only a bed made of bamboo and hay, with a tattered straw mat and a tattered cotton batt on the straw mat." Decades later, Zhou Xinghe still vividly remembers the scene: "Outside the dilapidated cellar, there was a thatched hut for shelter from the wind and rain. A mud stove and a broken pot in the thatched shed probably contained the same food as the pig swill of some rich families, not comparable to the food of cats and dogs that people in the city have these days."

不過，日子盡管過得艱難，降生到這個(gè)破窖里孩子嗷嗷的哭聲，還是給這個(gè)貧苦的家庭添了一絲生氣，帶來一絲喜悅，特別是老來得子的父親，更是喜不自禁。

However, despite the hard times, the baby's cries from the cellar gave the poor family a touch of life and joy, especially for the old father.

周興和的父親叫周顯文，是一個(gè)鄉(xiāng)鄰皆知的苦命人。

Zhou Xinghe's father was Zhou Xianwen, a poor man known to the neighborhood.

循例，寫人傳記，至少要刨根問底上溯到主人公的八代祖宗，如若此人祖上曾在朝廷為官，或是社會(huì)名流，聲名顯赫，便可以此來證明主人公是出自名門望族。但，周興和祖上是官宦人家還是貧家小戶，是大富大貴還是窮愁潦倒，由于他父親幼年失親，他的家史已無從稽考——只是，他父親對(duì)祖父的情形還是知道一些的。

As a rule, to write a biography of a person, it must at least trace his or her eight generations of ancestors to him or her. If his or her ancestor had been an official in the imperial court or a famous person or a distinguished person, it could prove that he or she came from a famous family. But whether Zhou Xinghe and his ancestors belonged to an official family or a small family, a rich family or a poor family, the history of his family could not be traced because of his father's loss at a young age - his father only knew something about Xinghe’s grandfather.

興和幼年時(shí)，曾聽父親說過，祖父是個(gè)鄉(xiāng)村醫(yī)生，由于醫(yī)術(shù)還算高明，在當(dāng)?shù)剡€有一些名氣，辛勞一輩子，也有了一些積蓄。他父親13歲那年，與外出行醫(yī)的祖父準(zhǔn)備回家過年，不料禍從天降，在川北大山里遭遇了土匪。土匪不但搶了祖父的錢財(cái)，還殺死了他祖父和挑夫。年幼的父親見事不妙，滾下山坡，躲藏在茂密的灌木叢中才逃過一劫。

When Xinghe was a child, he had heard from his father that his grandfather was a country doctor, who, because of his excellent medical skills and having some local fame, had worked hard all his life and had some savings. When his father was 13 years old, he and his father, who went out to practice medicine, were about to return home for the Chinese New Year, but the misfortune came upon them unexpectedly and they encountered bandits in the mountains of northern Sichuan. The bandits not only took his father's money, but also killed him and his porter. Xinghe’s young father saw the accident, rolled down the hillside, and hid in the thick bushes to keep his life.

祖父死后，父親無依無靠，成了一個(gè)無家可歸的孤兒。為了活命，無論寒冬酷暑，早晨黃昏，年幼的父親端著一只破碗，手拿一根打狗棍，四處流浪以乞討為生。餓了，就求人家施舍一個(gè)紅苕或半碗米湯；困了，就蜷縮在破廟或鉆進(jìn)草堆。父親一輩子饑寒交迫顛沛流離，受盡世人白眼和富人欺凌——這一點(diǎn)，無疑會(huì)在年幼的興和心中刻下深深的傷痕。

When Xinghe’s grandfather died, his father was left helpless and a homeless orphan. In order to survive, regardless of the cold and heat, morning and evening, Xinghe’s father carried a broken bowl, holding a stick, wandering around and begging for a living. When he was hungry, he asked others to give him a sweet potato or half a bowl of rice soup; when he got sleepy, he curled up in a ruined temple or got into a haystack. He had been homeless, hungry and cold all his life, bullied by the rich and despised by others - something that would undoubtedly scar in young Xinghe’s heart.

興和父親稍大，一個(gè)農(nóng)村草藥醫(yī)生見他實(shí)在可憐，這才收留了他，讓他結(jié)束了討口要飯的日子。此后，父親在為這個(gè)草藥醫(yī)生挑擔(dān)打雜之余，偷著學(xué)了一點(diǎn)草藥知識(shí)和醫(yī)藥常識(shí)。在后來的日子里，父親就靠偷學(xué)的這點(diǎn)本事維持自己的生計(jì)。

When Xinghe’s father were a little older, a rural herbalist saw how pathetic he was and took him in, putting an end to his begging days. After that, his father secretly learned a little knowledge of herbal medicine and general medical knowledge while carrying all the errands for the herbalist. In the later days, his father lived on this skill he had learned.

1950年川北解放后，父親才回農(nóng)村分得一份土地。第二年，他的生計(jì)好了一些，經(jīng)人說合，與興和的母親在這個(gè)破窖里組成了一個(gè)家庭。這一年，他的父親已經(jīng)51歲，到生下興和這一年，已經(jīng)是52歲了。

In 1950, after the liberation of northern Sichuan, Xinghe’s father returned to the countryside and got a piece of land. By the next year, he had made a better living, and after the arrangement of matchmaker, he and Xinghe's mother formed a family in the ruined cellar. In that year, Xinghe's father was 51 years old, and in the year that they gave birth to Xinghe, he was already 52 years old.

興和的母親叫侯樹清，出生在一個(gè)貧家小戶里。她的前夫姓王，是個(gè)老實(shí)本分的農(nóng)民，解放前被國(guó)民黨抓了壯丁，死在了炮火中。但，卻為苦苦等待丈夫歸來的妻子留下一雙兒女。

Xinghe's mother, Hou Shuqing, was born in a small and poor family. Her ex-husband, surnamed Wang, was an honest farmer whose was conscripted forcely by the Kuomintang before liberation and killed by gunfire, and left a pair of children for the bitter wife waiting for the return of her husband.

父親沒有文化，兒子生下后，按鄉(xiāng)間規(guī)矩，他請(qǐng)場(chǎng)上的八字先生給兒子算過命。不知是那算命先生信口雌黃，還是故弄玄虛，他排完興和八字，捻了捻下巴上幾根稀疏的胡須，掐指細(xì)細(xì)一算，高深莫測(cè)地告訴他的父親：這孩子出生的年辰屬水，為“長(zhǎng)流水”；出生的日子屬木，為“石榴木”；出生的時(shí)辰是甲子時(shí)，相書上稱為“海中金”。由此推斷，此人既為長(zhǎng)流水中之石榴木，一生命運(yùn)波折起落沉浮，只不過木漂水中，倒還有驚無險(xiǎn)；命相既為“海中金”，就不怕火燒雷劈水淹土埋。此人長(zhǎng)大之后，為人誠(chéng)信耿直義氣仁慈，但膽大倔犟愛認(rèn)死理。一番推論下來：此人此生雖有大災(zāi)大難，但也會(huì)有大福大貴。

Xinghe’s father was uneducated, and when his son was born, he asked the fortune-teller in the village to tell his son’s fortune, as was the custom in the country. Nobody knows whether the fortune-teller was making a fool of him, or was just being mysterious; after the fortune-teller read the character of Xinghe, he twirled the sparse whiskers on his chin, counted them carefully, and inexplicable tell the father: the year in which the child was born was the water year, i.e. the "long running water"; the day of birth belonged to the wood, i.e. the pomegranate wood; the born time was the midnight, called the "gold in the sea". Thus, it could be inferred that this person was the pomegranate wood in the long water, with the ups and downs in the whole life, but the wood was floating in the water, so there was more scared than hurt; the destiny was the "gold in the sea", which was not afraid of fire, thunder, water flooded or soil buried. When he grew up, he was honest and kind, but stout and obstinate. A corollary was that: although this person may have some great disasters in this life, but also will have great fortune.

父親聞言，又驚又喜，他既為兒子的未來擔(dān)心，又為兒子的未來歡喜。

When the father heard this, he was both surprised and delighted. He was worried about his son's future and happy for his son's future.

兒子稍大，父親請(qǐng)人給他取名“興和”。至于他為何認(rèn)可兒子這個(gè)名字，或許連他自己也說不清楚。大概，既然兒子一輩子多災(zāi)多難命運(yùn)坎坷，他祈求兒子再不要像自己這樣受窮受苦，能夠衣食無憂興旺和平吧！

When the son was older, the father asked someone to name him Xinghe. As for why he agreed this name, perhaps he ddidn't even know. Probably, since his son's life would be full of hardships and difficulties, he prayed that his son would not suffer the poverty and hardship like himself, and that he would be able to have prosperity and peace without any worries.

興和的降生，雖說給這個(gè)家庭帶來喜悅和生氣，但讓大人焦心的是，又多了一張吃飯的嘴。

The birth of Xinghe brought joy and vitality to the family, but what worried the adult was that they had another mouth to eat with.

“母親生下我后，后來又給我添了個(gè)兄弟。當(dāng)時(shí)我父親已經(jīng)50多歲了，母親常年有病，在那種艱難的境況中，單是要喂飽一家人的肚皮，就夠父母操碎心的了?！敝芘d和回憶道，“我那時(shí)人小，除了饑餓和寒冷，經(jīng)常仰頭呆呆望著我家住的那個(gè)黢黑破爛的茅草棚。寒風(fēng)吹來，屋檐下幾綹茅草在風(fēng)里飄飛，棚頂上千瘡百孔，整個(gè)草棚都在風(fēng)里搖晃。小孩子膽小，我經(jīng)常都怕那草棚被風(fēng)刮走或垮了下來……每當(dāng)那個(gè)時(shí)候，我就幼稚地想，等我將來長(zhǎng)大了，一定給家里修一間像模像樣的房子，也給世界上所有的窮人，都修一間不怕風(fēng)吹雨打的房子！……”

"After my mother gave birth to me, she later gave birth to a yonger brother. My father was in his fifties at the time, and my mother had been ill for years. In that difficult situation, just feeding the family was hard enough for my parents to worry about." Zhou Xinghe recalled, "I was small, hungry and cold, and I used to stare up at the dingy thatched shack where we lived. A cold wind blew in, and several thatches flew under the eaves fluttered in the wind; the roof of the hut was full of holes, and the whole hut shook in the wind. Children were timid, and I were often afraid that the hut would be blown away or fallen down by the wind... At that time, I were naive to think that when I grow up in the future, I shall build a good house for the family, and also build houses not afraid of wind and rain to all the poor in the world!"

當(dāng)然，這只是一個(gè)兒童天真的幻想罷了。

Of course, this was just a naive child's fantasy.

農(nóng)村窮苦人家的孩子命賤，除了生活上得不到溫飽；生了病，也無錢吃藥打針。說句刻薄點(diǎn)的話，基本上是聽天由命自生自滅，只要生下來的孩子不被餓死凍死病死，能夠長(zhǎng)大成人，就算得上是蒼天格外憐憫的了。

The life of the rural poor children was cheap; in addition to unable to get enough food and clothing, they also had no money to take medicine or injection if getting sick. In an impolite manner, it was basically resigned to fate, as long as the born child did not die of starvation, cold and disease, and could grow up to be a man, it was considered as heaven's extra pity.

但，在興和出生后的那幾年，盡管他們的日子過得艱難，好歹家里還有點(diǎn)田土，還能種些粗糧蔬菜填喂一家人的肚皮，父親還能挖些草藥趕場(chǎng)掙點(diǎn)小錢過日子，可到了他五六歲后，就接連遭遇大辦鋼鐵、大辦人民公社、三年自然災(zāi)害，以致持續(xù)十年的文化大革命，他們家里的生存境況就更加艱難，甚至慘不忍睹了。

But, in the period after the birth of Xinghe, although they had a difficult life, somehow there were few land in the home, which still could grow some roughage and vegetables to cram the belly of the whole family, and the father could dig some herbs to sell in the fair and earn a little money; however, after his five or six years old, there was the large-scale steel-making, the wide establishment of the people's commune, and the three-year natural disasters, and even the great cultural revolution lasting for a decade, so the survival situation of their faimily was even more difficult, or even disastrous.

冥冥之中似乎已經(jīng)注定，降生在破窖這特殊之處的小興和，隨著他的第一聲啼哭，就預(yù)示將要和貧窮與苦難為伴，就要和饑餓與寒冷相依，就要飽受未來生活的煎熬和磋磨。

It seemed destined that the little Xinghe born in that cellar, with his first cry, foretold the poverty and misery, hunger and cold, and agony and hardship in his future life.

“福兮禍所伏，禍兮福所倚?！被蛟S，三元場(chǎng)上那八字先生為他算出的宿命，還是有幾分道理吧！

As a Chinese saying goes, " Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise." Perhaps, there is some truth in the fate told by the fortune-teller in Sanyuan fair.

不過，縱觀周興和一生的際遇，卻應(yīng)了我們老祖宗孟子的那句話：“故天將降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動(dòng)心忍性，曾益其所不能?！?/p>

However, throughout Zhou Xinghe's life experiences, he echoed the words of our ancestor Mencius: " So if God would give an important task to a certain person, the first things he does is to temper his will power, fatigue his muscles and bones, starve his stomach and destitute his body. God would not make any kind of his action satisfactory as he wishes in order to motivate his mind, make his temperament persistant and dauntless, and increase his ability."

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2021年9月5日，《廉政內(nèi)參》第4期的第38頁“人民心聲”欄目刊登標(biāo)題“我國(guó)建筑和建材領(lǐng)域一場(chǎng)顛覆性的革命”，其中第三節(jié)（第42頁）小標(biāo)題“愿星河新型材料的偉大發(fā)明得到國(guó)家大力推廣，造福人類”的第七行摘要：“在當(dāng)今中國(guó)，利用自己研發(fā)的高新科技成果走向世界的有兩個(gè)人和兩個(gè)項(xiàng)目：一個(gè)是袁隆平先生和他的雜交水稻，正在解決人們的吃飯問題；一個(gè)是周興和先生和他的秸稈建材，正在解決人們的住房問題”。合乎科技興國(guó)的偉大戰(zhàn)略。