親愛的中華文化:
你好!別來無恙。輾轉(zhuǎn)難眠、思念難挨,特寫此信,愿君見字如晤,展信舒顏。
“我在感情上的愚鈍,就像是門窗緊閉的屋子。雖然愛情的腳步在屋前走過去又走過來,我也聽到了,可是我覺得那是路過的腳步,那是走向別人的腳步。直到有一天,這個腳步停留在這里,然后,門鈴響了?!?/p>
我被這段話驚艷了很久。是因為余華先生的頂級文筆嗎?我想,也是。是因為這段話充滿了你我的影子嗎?我想,更是。這段話,有我往年的膽小與懦弱;這段話,有你往年的堅定與寬容。我曾不相信自己值得被愛,直到你出現(xiàn)在我的生命里。“愛,原就是自卑棄暗投明的時刻?!迸c你在一起的每時每刻,我都動了“永恒”的念頭。縱使知道用時間去丈量愛情是自大妄為,我仍然想對你說:“如果非要把這份愛加上一個期限,我希望是一萬年?!?/p>
大抵是在你眼里,我看到了“地久天長”。是你讓我見證愛情最美好的樣子,愛情,是“金風(fēng)玉露一相逢,便勝卻人間無數(shù)”的青澀懵懂,是“曉看天色暮看云,行也思君坐也思君”的洶涌澎湃,是“誰教歲歲紅蓮夜,兩處沉吟各自知”的山海相隔,是“長相思兮長相憶,短相思兮無窮極”的朝暮相念,是“海棠影下" 子規(guī)聲里" 立盡黃昏”的望穿秋水,是“正是江南好風(fēng)景,落花時節(jié)又逢君”的欣喜若狂,是“在天愿作比翼鳥,在地愿為連理枝”的不朽諾言。因為你,我體會到了愛情應(yīng)當(dāng)是何模樣。人與人之間,不過一瞬間,而愛情卻是永遠(yuǎn)。
大抵是在你眼里,我看到了“詩與遠(yuǎn)方”。是你陪我踏遍萬水千山,我們一起走過“晴川歷歷漢陽樹,芳草萋萋鸚鵡洲”的湖北、“醉后不知天在水,滿船清夢壓星河”的湖南、“落霞與孤鶩齊飛,秋水共長天一色”的江西,也一起走過“君不見,黃河之水天上來,奔流到海不復(fù)回”的山西、“誰家玉笛暗飛聲,散入春風(fēng)滿洛城”的河南。因為你,我感受到了旅途應(yīng)當(dāng)是何模樣。每一次的行走,都是對這片土地的真摯頌揚。
大抵是在你眼里,我看到了“星河璀璨”。是你教會我,做人要有“窮且益堅,不墜青云之志”的節(jié)操,有“俱懷逸興壯思飛,欲上青天攬明月”的志向,有“卒然臨之而不驚,無故加之而不怒”的勇氣,有“大鵬一日同風(fēng)起,扶搖直上九萬里”的瀟灑,有“風(fēng)力掀天浪打頭,只須一笑不須愁”的樂觀,有“海壓竹枝低復(fù)舉,風(fēng)吹山角晦還明”的希望。因為你,我意識到了人生應(yīng)當(dāng)是何模樣。光陰者,百代之過客也,唯奮力奔跑,方能生風(fēng)。
因你,我理解愛與被愛。因你,我成為更好的自己。因你,我渴望追尋“大海汪洋”。因你,這片土地的江河山川、日升日落皆與我有了羈絆。因此,倘若“永恒”有同義詞,我希望會是“你我”。
“青青河畔草,綿綿思遠(yuǎn)道?!薄澳吧匣ㄩ_,可緩緩歸矣?!?/p>
敬頌
時祺!
愛你的,玄英
(本文選自人民日報出版社《我與中國的美麗邂逅:2024年來華留學(xué)生征文大賽優(yōu)秀作品集》)
Dear Chinese Culture,
Hello! I hope all is well with you. Restless and overwhelmed with thoughts of you at night, I write this letter hoping that reading my words will feel like seeing me in person, and may it bring a smile to your face.
“I am so obtuse in relationships, like stuck in a room with the doors and windows firmly shut. Although I could hear the footsteps of love pacing back and forth outside, I thought they were just passing by, heading towards someone else. Until one day, those footsteps paused here, and then, the doorbell rang.”
I was mesmerized by these words for a long time. Was it because of Mr. Yu Hua’s superb writing? I think that’s part of it. Or is it because these words reflect experiences that you and I share? I believe that even more. In this passage, there’s my past cowardice and timidity; in this passage, there’s your past steadfastness and tolerance. I didn’t believe I deserved to be loved until you appeared in my life. “Love is indeed the moment when one turns from self-doubt to enlightenment.” Every moment with you, I entertain the thought of “forever”. Even though I know measuring love with time is presumptuous, I still want to tell you that “If I must set a duration on this love, I hope it is ten thousand years”.
Perhaps in your eyes, I saw “everlasting”. You showed me the most beautiful form of love. Love is the naive excitement in Qin Guan’s poem: “A brief meeting at the Qixi Festival surpasses countless moments of being together”; the overwhelming passion in Tang Yin’s poem: “Watching the sky at dawn and the clouds at dusk, thinking of you whether I’m walking or sitting”; the long separation in Jiang Kui’s poem: “Only you and I share this deep missing for each other on the night of the Lantern Festival”; the constant yearning in Li Bai’s poem “eternal longing forever lasts, and ephemeral longing is the affection that never ends”; the anticipation in Hong Zikui’s poem “beneath the shadow of begonias, amidst the cuckoo’s call, I stand till dusk falls”; the ecstatic reunion in Du Fu’s poem that “Just as the South boasts lovely scenery, I meet you again when the flowers fall”; and the unbroken promise in Bai Juyi’s poem: “In the heavens, I wish to be birds flying wing to wing; on Earth, trees intertwined”. Because of you, I have come to understand what love should be like. The interactions between people are but a moment, yet love is forever.
Perhaps in your eyes, I saw “poetry and distant places”. You have accompanied me across rivers and mountains, to places like Hubei where “the trees of Hanyang shine under the sun, and grass on Yingwu Islet is lush” as described in Cui Hao’s poem, to Hunan where “I’m too drunken to realize the starry sky is reflected in the water and can’t tell if this is real or a dream” as described by Tang Gong, to Jiangxi where “the sunset and solitary ducks fly together, the autumn waters merge with the sky” as described in Wang Bo’s poem, to Shanxi where “the Yellow River comes from the heavens, rushing to the sea never to return” as described in Li Bai’s poem, and to Henan where “Jade flute secretly plays, filling Luoyang city through the spring breeze”, also in Li Bai’s poem. Because of you, I have felt what journeys should be like, and every journey becomes a sincere tribute to this land.
Perhaps in your eyes, I saw “a brilliant galaxy”. You taught me to live with the integrity of “being poor yet ever more resolute, never losing the will to climb higher”, to have the ambition—“with all spirits high and thoughts soaring, desiring to ascend to the heavens and embrace the bright moon”—as described in Li Bai’s poem; the courage of “facing sudden events without shock, receiving unwarranted attack without anger”, as described in Su Shi’s poem; the flair of “l(fā)ike the Dapeng bird rising with the wind in one day, soaring directly up 90,000 miles”, as described in Li Bai’s poem; the optimism of “with the strong wind lifting the heavens and waves striking my head, I only need to smile without worry”, as described in Yang Wanli’s poem, and the hope of “the sea wind presses down the bamboo but it rises again, the wind may obscure the mountain’s corner but it clears again”, as described in Chen Yuyi’s poem. Because of you, I realize what life should be like. Time is merely a traveler through the ages, and only by running with all our might can we create a breeze.
Because of you, I understand love and being loved. Because of you, I have become a better version of myself. Because of you, I yearn to explore the vast ocean. Because of you, the rivers, mountains, sunrises, and sunsets of this land have become connected to me. Therefore, if “forever” has a synonym, I hope it would be “the relationship between you and me”.
“Green grass by the river, thinking endlessly of the distant road” (a quote from a Song Dynasty poem). “Flowers bloom on the path, may you return slowly” (a quote from King of Wuyue to his wife).
Loving you,
Nguyen Huyen Anh