百年歸故里

百年以前，我的曾祖輩從這里漂洋過(guò)海到了南洋——我的故鄉(xiāng)，為了生活。百年以后，我從南洋沿著他們走過(guò)的路回到了這里——他們的故鄉(xiāng)，為了夢(mèng)想。

我是馬來(lái)西亞第四代華裔，中文說(shuō)得這么好，令中國(guó)友人詫異。通過(guò)他們驚訝的目光，我恍惚看到了那個(gè)流血的年代，那些獨(dú)在異鄉(xiāng)為異客的先輩，那些因反抗而得以保留的文化，那些兜兜轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)從南洋回到唐山的匯款。背井離鄉(xiāng)、漂泊海外，他們所求不就是家國(guó)振興、家繁國(guó)盛嗎？也是在那一刻，我發(fā)覺(jué)這趟旅程的意義——為我的先輩，體驗(yàn)他們不曾見(jiàn)過(guò)的盛世煙火。

來(lái)到中國(guó)的一年間，我走過(guò)上海的繁華，踏過(guò)長(zhǎng)白山的雪山，跪過(guò)鯉城的寺廟，望過(guò)帝都的巍峨。

萬(wàn)國(guó)之風(fēng)，領(lǐng)路世界。黃浦江水孕育著上海、劃分著魔都，一面現(xiàn)代一面古典。從浦西遙望陸家嘴，如同穿梭未來(lái)，摩天大樓林立，金碧輝煌，聲色動(dòng)人；從浦東眺望外灘，好似回到過(guò)去，萬(wàn)國(guó)建筑矗立，十里洋場(chǎng)，風(fēng)云際會(huì)。這是一座包容性極強(qiáng)的城市，形形色色的人群，各有所異的語(yǔ)言，或西裝筆挺，或休閑自在，或怪異可愛(ài)。早晨的外灘，來(lái)自世界各地的人們匯聚于此，彼此尊重，如同被晨光沐浴的這座城市一般，在這里你可以完全做你自己，它總會(huì)毫無(wú)保留地接納你。這里是上海。

山河之大，波濤壯麗。“大荒之中，有山名不咸”，海拔2620米，零下20攝氏度，冷風(fēng)呼嘯，仿佛下一秒就要將人卷入谷底。一片白茫茫，看不清前方，忍不住質(zhì)疑，千里迢迢奔赴于此，究竟為何？而即將離開(kāi)之際，云霧突然散去，孤懸天際，群峰環(huán)抱，天池與它的16座守護(hù)者，毫無(wú)預(yù)兆地闖入視野、直搗心底。天空湛藍(lán)，湖面白皚，山下見(jiàn)山，山上見(jiàn)更遠(yuǎn)的山。山川湖海，一切奔赴，皆有回應(yīng)，人間值得。這里是長(zhǎng)白山。

晨鐘暮鼓，香火鼎盛。傳說(shuō)中眾神的人間辦事處，是世界級(jí)宗教博物館，也是海上絲綢之路的起點(diǎn)，更是馬可·波羅筆下的東方第一大港。人與神為鄰，古厝與洋樓共生，仰望神明，俯身打拼，是這座城市的特色。拼搏、拼搏、再拼搏，這樣的精神深深地刻畫在每個(gè)泉州人的血脈當(dāng)中，他們的字典里沒(méi)有放棄，只有不停地重來(lái)，直到成功。這里是泉州。

長(zhǎng)城雄師，護(hù)佑一方。早晨6點(diǎn)，墨綠色的軍服，咚咚的鼓聲，整齊劃一的踏步。國(guó)歌奏起，伴隨著五星紅旗冉冉升起，群眾的聲音響徹整個(gè)天安門廣場(chǎng)。80歲的老婦人在唱，坐輪椅的老爺爺在唱，孩子在唱，父母在唱，余光瞥見(jiàn)有人已熱淚盈眶。這是一場(chǎng)中國(guó)式的浪漫，我一個(gè)外國(guó)人也深受震撼。所有人都在等待它的升起，并愿意為它付出全部的努力，而它從來(lái)不負(fù)眾望，任重而道遠(yuǎn)，帶著它的子民們?cè)谑澜绲奈枧_(tái)上越走越遠(yuǎn)、越爬越高。這里是北京。

我時(shí)常會(huì)思鄉(xiāng)情切，漂浮如萍的感覺(jué)使我緊張，然而在這里，我也時(shí)常被治愈。或是人潮熙攘中一張遞上的紙巾，或是兜兜轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)時(shí)一個(gè)親切的引路，或是浮浮沉沉里一句“小劉醫(yī)師，你做得很好了”。這里的人們似乎總是充滿了愛(ài)，更從不吝于表達(dá)、分享，無(wú)論你持的是哪一國(guó)的護(hù)照，說(shuō)的是哪一國(guó)的語(yǔ)言。從大家到小家，一脈相承，照拂著每一個(gè)異鄉(xiāng)客躁動(dòng)的心。原來(lái)這就是我的祖輩魂?duì)繅?mèng)縈的故里。

我曾在碑上看過(guò)，他們來(lái)自永春，泉州下轄的一個(gè)縣城，據(jù)說(shuō)是一個(gè)“萬(wàn)紫千紅花不謝，冬暖夏涼四序春”的桃源。雖行腳匆匆，我未能踏足永春，但泉州讓我真切感受到了何謂“鄉(xiāng)音無(wú)改”。熟悉的方言，相似的信仰，親切的問(wèn)候，若是他們有機(jī)會(huì)回來(lái)，是否也會(huì)成為“鬢毛衰”的模樣呢？

朦朧間，我似乎回到了曾祖母的彌留之際。兒孫環(huán)繞，五代同堂，何其幸也。然而她最后的目光并沒(méi)有停留在我們身上，她目光迢迢，是在等待曾祖父與她的久別重逢？抑或在眺望那個(gè)養(yǎng)她、育她，她卻再也沒(méi)能踏足的故鄉(xiāng)呢？沒(méi)關(guān)系的，阿祖，我替你回來(lái)了，這里很好，也許已不似你記憶中那般，但這里，很好。

祝每個(gè)游子皆有歸途。祝如愿。

（本文選自人民日?qǐng)?bào)出版社《我與中國(guó)的美麗邂逅：2023年來(lái)華留學(xué)生征文大賽優(yōu)秀作品集》）

A hundred years ago， my great-grandfathers crossed the oceans from here in China to South Oceans or Nanyang which is my hometown， in order to make a living. A century later， I followed the path they took from Nanyang to return here – their hometown， for my dreams.

I am a fourth-generation Chinese in Malaysia. I speak Chinese so well that my Chinese friends are surprised. Through their curious eyes， I vaguely saw that bloody era in which my ancestors， who were strangers in a foreign land， fought to preserve their culture and overcame all the obstacles to send back money to Tangshan in North China from Nanyang. After leaving their hometown and wandering overseas， don’t they want the revitalization of their country and the prosperity of their hometown？ It was also at that moment that I realized the meaning of this journey – to experience something that my ancestors had never seen before and to see the glorious prosperity that they only dreamed for.

During the year I came to China， I walked through the bustling Shanghai， stepped on the snow-capped mountains of Changbai Mountain， knelt down in the temples of Licheng （Quanzhou）， and appreciated the majestic imperial capital of Beijing.

Lead the world with the support of all nations. The Huangpu River nurtures Shanghai and divides the city into modern and classical parts. Looking at Lujiazui from Puxi is like traveling into the future， with skyscrapers standing tall and magnificent， and the sounds and lights breathtaking. Looking at the Bund from Pudong is like going back in time， with buildings from all over the world standing tall， a 10-mile foreign market stretching wide with the wind and cloud meeting. This is a very inclusive city， with all kinds of people speaking different languages， some wearing neat suits， some being casual， and some being weird and cute. Every morning on the Bund， people from all over the world gather there and respect each other， just like the city is bathed in the morning light. Here you can be completely yourself and will be always accepted without reservation. This is Shanghai.

The mountains and rivers are huge and the waves are magnificent. “Among the wilderness， there is a mountain with the name of Buxian.” With the altitude of 2，620 meters， the temperature is minus 20 C there， and the cold wind howls， as if people will be swept to the bottom of the valley in the next second. In the vast expanse of white， I can’t see clearly ahead. I can’t help but question， why have I traveled thousands of miles to get here？ When I was about to leave， the clouds and fog suddenly dispersed， and the Tianchi Lake and its 16 surrounding peak guardians hanging alone in the sky， breaking into my field of vision without warning， and penetrating into my heart. The sky is blue， the lake is white， you can see the mountains below， and the mountains upon mountains. Mountains， rivers， lakes and seas， every effort I made now has a reward， the world is worth it. This is Changbai Mountain.

With the bells in the morning and the drums in the evening， here is full of incense. The legendary earthly office of the gods is a world-class religious museum. It is also the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road and the largest port in the East described by Marco Polo. Human beings and gods are neighbors， ancient houses and Western-style buildings coexist. Looking up to the gods and working hard are the characteristics of this city. The spirit of diligence is deeply engraved in the blood of every Quanzhou person. The phrase “Giving up” cannot be found in their dictionary， as they only try again until succeed. This is Quanzhou.

The Great Wall is like an army protecting the people. At 6 o’clock in the morning， I saw PLA soldiers with dark green military uniforms， thumping drums and uniform steps. The Chinese national anthem was played， accompanied by the five-star red flag rising， and the voices of the masses resounded throughout the Tiananmen Square. An 80-year-old woman was singing， the grandfather in a wheelchair was singing， the children were singing， the parents were singing， and from the corner of my eyes I saw someone with tears in their eyes. This is a Chinese romance that deeply shocked me as a foreigner. Everyone is waiting for the national flag to rise and is willing to make all efforts for it. The flag has never failed to live up to expectations， through a long way， and has leading its people on the world stage higher and higher. This is Beijing.

I often feel homesick and feel depressed by the floating feeling， but here， I am often healed. I often feel deeply touched when a paper towel handed to me in the bustling crowd， or a friendly guide given to me when I get lost， or a casual “Dr. Liu， you did a good job”. People here seem to always be full of love， and they are never shy about expressing and sharing， no matter which country’s passport you hold or which country’s language you speak. From the big family to the small family， the warm welcome continues spreading， taking care of the restlessness of every foreigner.This is the hometown of my ancestors in dreams.

I once read on the monument that they came from Yongchun， a county under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou. It is said to be a Shangri-la where “everything is colorful and the red flowers never fade， where the winter is warm， the summer is cool， and the four seasons are spring-like”. Although I was in a hurry and could not set foot in Yongchun， Quanzhou makes me truly feel what “the local accent remains unchanged”. Familiar dialect， similar beliefs and cordial greetings. If my ancestors have the chance to come back， will they also look like the elderly locals？

Dimly， I seemed to return to my great-grandmother’s dying days. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by children and grandchildren and have five generations living under one roof. However， her last gaze did not stay on us. Her gaze was far away. Was she waiting for her great-grandfather to reunite after a long separation？ Or was she looking at the hometown where she was born and raised up but has never been able to set foot again？ It’s OK， granny， I’m back for you. It’s very nice here， maybe it’s not the same as you remember， but it is fine here.

May everyone who wanders have a way home. All the best.