友人眼中的泉州系列均为转贴，文中观点不代表 HELLOQZ.COM 和 楼主本人的观点，请理性探讨翻译见7#楼Every other trip I’ve made to this part of China (well, to any part of China, really), nearly every male acquaintance, friend or relative has greeted me–even if we just saw each other a couple hours earlier–by offering me a cigarette. And whenever sitting down to a meal–whether an evening meal at someone’s home or a meal out at a restaurant–out came the bottles of “bai jiu,” white wine, or more succinctly, rice liquor. Potent stuff. ”It’s good for two things, degreasing engines and killing brain cells.”
But apparently things are changing here in Anhai and in this area in general now.
Only a few people have offered me cigarettes, and they’re mostly older men: late 50’s to 70’s. Far fewer young local men are smoking here now, I’ve learned, or quitting, and–this is a complete first in China for me–when I was visiting a thirty-something factory owner a couple days ago, he actually ASKED IF I MINDED IF HE SMOKED. (If you’ve spent any time in China in the past 20 years, you no doubt fell out of your seat after reading that.)(这段有点怀疑，哈)
And the bottles of bai jiu haven’t come out at a single meal. Instead, Chinese-made red wine is what the locals have developed a taste for now, and some brands are actually pretty decent. Others, well, they’ll do in a pinch if there’s nothing else sitting around but bai jiu.
All this, of course, might seem to create a bit of a social vacuum. If men aren’t offering each other cigarettes and drinking themselves into silly stupors with bai jiu when getting together at one another’s home or sitting down to talk business, then just what are they doing?
The answer contains a new twist on an old theme: around here, they’re now into seeing who makes the best pot of tea. And I don’t mean just putting the kettle on and pouring it out. There’s a skill to it, and a great deal of competitive pride, and all this seems to have revitalized the tea culture here in southeast Fujian province in a way that’s quite surprising to me. They’re even showing up at each other’s homes or businesses with their own tea, which formerly would have been unthinkably rude, with small portable tea sets.
When you want to travel more than a few blocks on a main street in Anhai, it’s common to do so in what I’ve dubbed “Anhai Taxis.” These are actually sort of modern rickshaws, I suppose, Frankensteined together in a way.(现在可没了~)
The driver sits on what was originally a plain old motorcycle, but the back wheel has been removed and a tiny cab with two wheels has been more or less welded onto the back–the inside seats four very uncomfortably-with all the moving parts revamped into this new design.
Some locals originally “invented” this vehicle hybrid, I was told, but now own “fleets” of them, with people from outside this area (Northerners, as described in an earlier post) hired as drivers.
A trip of half a mile or so costs just 5 RMB, or just over 60 U.S. cents.(1英里=1.6093公里)
If you want to risk your life enjoy a ride in one of these contraptions, you’d better hurry. We learned today that many surrounding communities who utilized this form of transportation have already outlawed them, and they become illegal in Anhai on July 1st of this year. Reason: Not safe (uh, it took them this long to figure that out?)(这句好玩) A few years back, my Wife’s Younger Sister was hurt pretty bad when one she was riding in tipped over, in fact, so overall this is good news. But now it means we’ll have to walk, or hire a more expensive car, to head to the other side of town.
If you Google “Anhai, China” not a great many hits relevant to this town show up (though–Ha!–perhaps this blog will change all that).
One that does appear from time to time, however, contains a snippet of information about the Anping Bridge.
I’d been there before, but went for another visit recently with my Wife’s Younger Brother, a visiting Cousin and her Husband, my Niece and Nephew, and my 2-year-old Daughter.
The bridge, at one time the longest stone bridge in the world, is maybe 2.5km long (1.5 miles, we’ll say), the locals tell me, with a temple at the city entrance side, a temple halfway across, and…I don’t know what at the far end; we didn’t make it that far before turning back, since it was getting late and the bridge is reputedly a favorite haunt for robbers and other desperados after dark.(汗，zing5府啊zing5府，外国人都知道了)
The water under the bridge is now low and filthy, looking almost chemically polluted, with lots of litter thrown onto the dry ground just below the bridge. Not the most scenic stroll in the world, we’ll say.
But the construction itself is what makes the bridge so interesting now (apart from being so old). I understand that it has been repaired over the years–maybe there are a few original stones left, maybe not–but the construction method is still the same as it was when the bridge was first built nearly 900 years ago.
And incidentally, the bridge is no longer a genuine means for getting into town, as there’s a newer “super bridge” not far away for all the motor vehicle traffic. Not many wayfaring strangers on foot, ox-drawn carts, and eunuch-borne sedans coming into Anhai anymore, I guess.
意外收获。。。。:D :D
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