The Land of My Ancestors

The River mouth at dawn,
Behind a white haze of mist,
‘Tis southern climes,
Behold, the rain is coming.
I have seen the blue sea all along,
Little aware of this green River,
O the land of my ancestors!
--Sparkling Stars, 156
Fuzhou of Fujian Province will always be my old home. Though I was brought up
elsewhere, Fuzhou is nevertheless the land of my ancestors!
As yet, I have been back to Fuzhou no more than twice in my lifetime. I made the first
tripe in the winter of 1911. Returned from the bitter cold North with its drab and dried up
vegetation, I was amazed and delighted when greeted by the charming scenery of sapphire
mountains and emerald rivers as well as red flowers and green leaves. I felt the sailing boat
of my life steering its way into the green River after leaving the blue sea behind. At the
Minjiang River, we changed from the big ship to a small boat, which took us to Daqiaotou
(Big Bridge), where we were met by Uncle and cousins. They gathered round us and talked
warmly with my parents in the local dialect. Thereupon, my 5-year-old younger brother
whispered in my ear with a Shandong accent, “How come they can all speak the Fuzhou
dialect?” We had both thought that the Fuzhou dialect was indeed most difficult for anyone
to learn.
From then on, we lived an urban life for more than a year in Fuzhou. During such
festivals as Lunar New Year, Lantern, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn, we all celebrated the
festivities with plenty of food and fun. Particular mention, however, should be made of the
Lantern Festival when Nanhoujie, the street known for its lantern fair and also the street
where we lived, became as bright as broad daylight at night with myriads of lanterns and
streams of spectators. The splendor and magnificence of the scene is beyond all
description.
I made the second visit in 1956, also in winter. As the Yingtan_Xiamen Railway had
not yet been built, the NPC delegation, with myself as a member, had to go from Jiangxi Province by car. The highway from Jiangxi to Fuzhou, paved with red soil, was as smooth
as a mirror. It was the most level soil-paved highway I had ever seen. This time I visited
not only Fuzhou, but also Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Gulangyu—the southern
frontiers of our country. At the Xiamen seaside, I could see clearly through a telescope
pedestrians and cows on the Quemoy Islands.
My experiences of this trip, however, are too numerous to be recounted one by one
here. Anyway, I deeply love Fuzhou, my ancestral home. Over there we have the typical
southern scenery with blue mountains, green waters, limpid books…! There in the
courtyard we can always see some kind of flowers in full bloom throughout the year.
Fruits ranging from loquats, lichees, longans to tangerines are in plenty. Is there anything
more palatable to a little child than these fruits?
I did not visit all the local attractions in Fuzhou. Everywhere we could find historical
relics as well as villages and towns inhabited by relatives of overseas Chinese. Fujianese
expatriates are found all over the world. They have mostly started from scratch by the
sweat of their brow. When I met some of them on my visits to Asian, African European
and American countries, they all expressed warm feeling towards me while shaking my
hands. As I ate Fuzhou food and sipped jasmine tea in their homes or shops, I felt that
being a Fujianese, I could make myself at home wherever I travelled in the world.
My ancestral home is so endearing. Whenever I meet somebody hailing from Fuzhou
or a friend who has recently been there, I always inquire of them about the present
conditions of Fujian. They all tell me that compared with two decades ago, Fujian has
made so much progress that it is now almost beyond recognition. Recently I have learned
that people there have gone in for scientific farming and afforestation so that green and
luxuriant vegetation has appeared on all mountains and fields. People have been advising
me to pay another visit to my old home. Yes, I am more than eager to do so. And so are my
numerous fellow townsmen in all corners of the world. I hope that together with all the
people in my home town as well as all overseas Chinese from Fujian, I can do my bit to
make a still better place of my ancestral home, both materially and culturally.