Don't forget the business of your ancestors, don't throw away the old leather pits.

- Kazakh proverb

In the autumn of 1972, Gong Lamei saw that many employees of the company had taken family leave and returned to their hometown to visit their parents. She counted that she had not been back for 14 years since she returned to Qinghai in 1958 to visit her parents. She discussed with Niu Wanshan, asked the company commander for a month's family leave, entrusted Jianjiang and Jianmeng to Li Qifu and Wei Yuzhen, and took Niu Jianxin back to his hometown in Qinghai to visit relatives.

At that time, the transportation conditions were very backward. There are only long-distance buses between the two counties. In the rest of the world, people travel either on foot or by bike, or by horse-drawn carriage, and the lucky ones can hitchhike along the way.

Gong Lamei and Niu Jianxin first had to go to Urumqi. There are two routes from the Gulf of Mongolia to Urumqi:

One is to first take a hitchhiker, go east to the regimental headquarters of the 181st Regiment, Bali Bagai, and then continue to Altay or the division headquarters Beitun Town, where it takes a long-distance shuttle bus to the southwest through Fuhai, Hebuxel, Karamay, Kuitun, Shihezi and Changji, and finally to Urumqi.

The other route is to first take a hitchhike north to the commune of Yanchi (later changed to Allahak in Kazakh) in Altay County on the side of National Road 217, then take a hitchhike west to the county town of Burjin, where you will take a long-distance bus south through Hebuxel, Karamay, Kuitun, Shihezi and Changji, and finally to Urumqi.

Niu Wanshan decided to let Gong Lamei's mother and son take the route of Burjin County. He asked the leader for leave, put on a horse-drawn car, and carried Gong Lamei's mother and son and Wang Minghua, a female intellectual, who went back to Shanghai to visit relatives together.

They walked for more than two hours on a country road overgrown with reeds and came to Yanchi commune, 10 kilometers away.

Yanchi Commune is a place where Kazakhs are the main people, and agriculture and animal husbandry are at the same time. Niu Wanshan is engaged in herding work, and usually has a lot of dealings with Kazakhs, and has made a lot of Kazakh friends, and can speak Kazakh fluently.

It was close to noon. Niu Wanshan planned to take Gong Lamei and others to his friend Awuerhard's house.

Wang Minghua had never dealt with the Kazakhs, and he was a little afraid of the ethnic minorities in his heart, and said hesitantly: "Old Niu, don't go, right?" Let's just have some baked cakes. ”

Niu Wanshan knew the concerns in Wang Minghua's heart, and said with a smile: "Awuerhad is my good friend. If he had heard that I had gone to Yanchi Commune and not gone to their house, he would have had a bloated stomach. You can rest assured, ethnic Kazakhs are very hospitable and kind. ”

Aurhard, of medium height, wears a small fuchsia velvet round hat on top of his head, a ruddy face, high cheekbones, broad shoulders, and his legs have changed from riding a horse from a small to a loop.

He enthusiastically let Niu Wanshan and other guests into his family's yurt and arranged for his wife Gulganette to prepare lunch.

While inviting the guests to drink strong milk tea, Aurhad talked about the situation of the Kazakh nation:

"We Kazakhs are a cross-border people, mainly in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Turkey, Mongolia and other countries in the Soviet Union. The Kazakhs in China are mainly distributed in the three regions of Ili, Tacheng and Altay under the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, and in the Mulei Kazakh Autonomous County of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, in the Balikun Kazakh Autonomous County of Hami Prefecture, in the Tianshan grasslands of Urumqi and other places, and a small number are distributed in Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County of Gansu Province and Haixi Region of Qinghai Province.

The ethnic origin of our Kazakh people is relatively complex, and the main components are the ancient Wusun, Kangju, and Alan (Xiancai) people. They were formed by merging with the Cypriots of the Central Asian steppes, the Dayue clan, and the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, Turkic, Tiele, Khitan, Mongol and other ethnic groups that later entered this area.

As early as the 5th and 6th centuries AD, some Gaoche tribes on the Mongolian plateau crossed the Altai Mountains and the Irtysh River, migrated westward, and reached the steppe nomadic herding north of the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea. 曷 is also translated as Hosa, Gesa, and Keza. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Tiele tribes formed a tribal alliance with the Khazar tribe as the core, conquered and integrated some local indigenous peoples, and established their own political power. Because their language is the same as that of the Turkic peoples who were formed not long ago, they are called the Khazar Turkic State. In the 6th century, the country's power reached its peak. The territory stretched from the north of the Aral Sea in the east to the northeast of the Black Sea in the west, and the capital was near Astrakhan on the lower Volga River.

At the beginning of the 13th century, due to the westward expedition of the Mongol Genghis Khan, the Wusun, Kereh, Naiman and other tribes were forced to move westward. The Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, and Ögedai Khanate under the Mongol Empire each had parts of Kazakh pastureland.

In 1456, the sons of Barak, the last khan of the White Horde, and Janibek Khan, led the Kazakh tribes to leave the Uzbek Khanate founded by the Shaban family and moved east to the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, also known as Mughulstan. They established an independent Kazakh Khanate in the Chu River valley and the Talas River basin in Central Asia, headed by Kereh Khan, and lived an independent, peaceful and stable life, attracting a large number of nomadic tribes to join them.

From the 15th century to the 16th century, the Kazakh Khanate owned the Kipchak steppe and the former territory of the Khorezm Empire, such as Rontara, Turkestan and Urgench, including the Syr Darya River in the south, the Seven Rivers region in the southeast, the eastern and southern regions of Lake Balkhash in the northeast, and the Yuxek River basin in the west.

We Kazakhs have many tribes, which are divided into 3 yuz (Turkic 100) according to the tribal genealogy. The Great Yuz is called the Right and Ulayuz, and is mainly distributed in the Chu River, the Talas River, and the vast area from the Ili River to the Syr Darya River south of Lake Balkhash; The middle Yuz is called the left part and the Orta Yuz, which are mainly distributed in the north of the Great Yuz, the summer pastures are in the middle reaches of the Syr Darya River and the Kara Mountains, and the winter pastures are in the Tobol River, Ismu River, Nula River and Saresu River basins; The small Yuz is called the West, Chichikyuz, and the territory is the western region of present-day Kazakhstan.

The Kazakhs in China mainly belong to the tribes of the Great Yuz and the Middle Yuz.

At the end of the 17th century, the ambitious Oirat Mongol Dzungar chieftain Galdan expanded southward, reaching the western part of Qinghai and Xinjiang, causing the Kazakh Khanate to decline for a time.

In the middle of the 18th century, the Qing Dynasty put down the rebellion of the Dzungar nobility and unified the Western Regions. The Kazakhs began to move back to their ancestral hometowns of Ili, Tacheng and Altay as nomadic herders.

In 1864, Tsarist Russia invaded a large part of the Qing Dynasty's northwestern frontier. Some Kazakh tribes expressed their firm stance that 'all the people will be placed under the jurisdiction of Russia, although they will not obey to death', and they have returned to the Qing Dynasty one after another.

Since then, the Kazakhs have been divided into two countries.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Kazakh nationality became an equal member of the big socialist family. On November 27, 1954, the state established the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in areas inhabited by ethnic Kazakhs, under the jurisdiction of Ili, Tacheng and Altay regions.

We Kazakhs are mainly nomadic. The place of residence is divided into winter, spring, summer and autumn according to the four seasons of the year. Several families are called an awul. Awul is made up of families who are related by blood. ”

Wang Minghua interjected: "I saw the word Awul in the Altay newspaper two days ago, and I didn't understand what it meant at that time. It turned out to be a relative. ”

Aurhad explains: "Relatives are the earliest meanings. Now it can also be interpreted as a village. ”

Niu Jianxin looked at the top of the yurt curiously. The dragon frame is staggered and weaved, forming a lot of diamond shapes. He pointed to the dragon frame and said to his father, "Dad, look at how beautiful the roof is." ”

Awuerhad followed Niu Jianxin's words and said: "The yurt is a simple mobile house that can be moved from one place to another in the three seasons of spring, summer and autumn. Some wealthy families are very particular about the yurt, and the felts inside are decorated with various patterns cut out of different fabrics. The wooden lattice is surrounded by wall felts and felts of various colors. The floor was covered with felt and carpets. Some people painted the felt lattice rails and spoke pillars, and inlaid them with carved bone ornaments and silver ornaments. ”

Gong Lamei said: "I think your clothes are the most beautiful. ”

Aurhard says:

"We have a lot of attention to our clothes.

In winter, men wore pointed hats with two ear fans and a long tail fan at the back, tanned leather jackets or leather trousers with wool facing inward, and fur coats sewn from wolf and fox skins. Most of the belts are made of cowhide, and they are inlaid with gold, silver, coral, pearls, precious stones, and other ornaments.

In summer, elderly Kazakhs wear boots made of soft leather. Young people like to wear long leather boots.

Women's clothing is more complex than men's, with a wide variety of styles and exquisite workmanship, and the dress varies with age.

There are two main types of headdresses for women: hats and headscarves. The little girl wears a Takya hat from an early age, with an owl feather on top for auspiciousness, and a dazzling jewel. Shawukelie is a pointed hat worn by girls when they get married, and the brim of the hat is embroidered with various deformed patterns of flowers and animal horns, and inlaid with colorful gold and silver jewelry. Girls usually wear dresses with cross-stitch lace on the cuffs and pleated hems, and half-tight black, red, and green shoulders on the upper body, and the sides of the shoulders are decorated with shiny silver ornaments. The unmarried girl wore a white undergarment with geometric patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs, a lace-trimmed shoulder, a double-lace one-piece pleated skirt at the hem, and a dazzling array of silver dollars, buttons, and pearls on both sides of the chest.

Middle-aged women wear half-sleeved long plackets and shoulders with colored velvet embroidered edges on the chest and hem and two pockets on both sides in summer; In winter, he wears clothes made of fox leg skin and lambskin.

The life rituals of the Kazakh people include birth ceremony, cradle ceremony, 40-day ceremony, learning to speak ceremony, initiation ceremony, circumcision ceremony, wedding and funeral ceremony.

We Kazakhs have been using the calendar of the 12 zodiac signs for a long time. The starting point of the zodiac year is March 22, when the day and night are equal, which is the Norouzi Festival, where every family makes Nuorouzi porridge, everyone drinks porridge from door to door, recites Norouzi poems, and wishes the livestock to be prosperous and the crops to be abundant in the new year.

The etiquette of sprinkling (Kazakh, celebration) can be said to have lasted throughout our lives. As long as there is something worth celebrating, there will be women holding a plate of delicious dry food such as candy, milk gnocchi, and Baoershak, and throwing them to the happy crowd, indicating that there are joys, blessings and joys.

Kazakh folk songs come from a rich source and have a wide range of contents. Akon playing and singing is a genre of folk literature with strong vitality. Music and dance have distinct national characteristics. Dongbula and Hubuzi and Sibuzi are our main national musical instruments. Traditional dance likes to imitate the movements of birds and animals, exaggerated and humorous, vivid, vivid and expressive, with strong expressiveness and appeal. The traditional dance is "Hala Zolha", also known as "Black Walking Horse". ”

Aurhard's wife brought Naren like a dough sheet, beckoned everyone to eat, and said, "Hurry up and eat." Aghard, don't brag. They have to make their way to Burzin. ”

Aurhad smiled and said:

There's no need to rush. Didn't hitchhike today, stayed at our house tonight and left tomorrow.

Speaking of eating, I would also like to tell you a little more about the diet of our Kazakh people.

Our Kazakh diet is closely related to nomadic life, mainly tea, meat, milk and pasta. We can go a day without food, but we must not go without tea.

When the heavy snow is about to close the mountains in winter, the Kazakhs have to slaughter some horses, cattle and sheep, and process part of the meat into horse intestines, beef sausages, bacon, fried meat slices, etc., as winter storage meat, which can be eaten until the spring of the second year.

Our dairy products are mainly made from goat's milk, cow's milk, mare's milk and camel's milk. The main types are fresh milk, yogurt, milk skin, milk tofu, milk lumps, ghee, milk cake, mare's milk wine, etc.

Traditional pasta dishes include scones, pancakes, fried wheat, naren, and balshak, which is fried dough in mutton fat.

Come, wash your hands and eat. ”

Niu Wanshan and the others finished lunch, said goodbye to Aurhad and Gulganat, and came to the edge of National Highway 217, waiting and intercepting passing cars.

A short distance to the north of the road is a tall and majestic mountain range. This is the famous Altai Mountains. It has a distinctive pale blue color throughout, which is both majestic and calm, which is pleasing to the eye.

Niu Jianxin is full of curiosity and interest in this mountain range.

It was the first time in his life that he had approached the mountains. The 3rd Battalion is an endless stretch of flat farmland, swamps and barren beaches. Previously, he could only see from afar a pale blue mountain range in the north that ran from west to east. Adults say that it is the Altai Mountains, and on the other side of the mountain is Outer Mongolia, the little brother of the Soviet Union.

They waved to the passing cars, but none of them stopped.

Niu Jianxin glared at the car that was driving away, as if someone owed him an account.

After about half an hour, a Jiefang truck driver was finally willing to pick them up on Burqin.

Gong Lamei, Wang Minghua and Niu Jianxin climbed into the bed of the truck, put the luggage on the board, and then sat on the luggage and embarked on the journey.

They bumped the road for more than three hours before reaching the county town of Burjin, which was hidden among the golden trees.

The county seat of Burzin is located on the northern bank of the Irtysh River. A street paved with fine gravel, lined with neat rows of bungalows, is less like a county town and more like a military camp. The majority of the inhabitants are ethnic Kazakhs. There are few pedestrians on the street, and it is deserted, like a distant heavenly street.

Arriving in Burzin does not mean that everything is fine. Only when the shuttle bus from Urumqi arrives in Burjin, they have a car to go to Urumqi.

After all, there is only one month of vacation, what a pity to waste in vain. Gong Lamei and Wang Minghua were very anxious, and they had to run to the bus station several times a day to see if the shuttle bus was coming, for fear that the tickets would be sold out.

One day, they went to the bus station and didn't come back for a long time.

Niu Jianxin stood at the door of the small hotel and waited anxiously for his mother.

A middle-aged Kazakh man walked past him with a child about the same age as Niu Jianxin.

Niu Jianxin saw this Kazakh father and son, touched the scene and began to cry.

The little Kazakh boy saw Niu Jianxin crying and carrying his father behind his back, gloating and secretly grimacing at him.

Niu Jianxin really wanted to rush up and fight with him.

Looking forward to the stars, looking forward to the moon, and finally looking forward to the shuttle bus from Urumqi. They hurriedly got on the shuttle bus and drove away from the county seat of Burjin, where they had been stranded for three days, and headed for Urumqi in the south.

To leave the county seat of Burzin, it is necessary to cross the wide Irtysh River. At that time, there was not even a single bridge over the Irtysh. Small wooden boats were tied side by side with ropes thick with bowl mouths, connected to the north and south banks of the river, and then a layer of wooden planks was laid on top of the boats to make a simple bridge.

When the shuttle bus crosses the bridge, in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle and ensure the safety of the vehicle and passengers, adults must get out of the bus and walk across the bridge. Small children can stay on the shuttle.

Niu Jianxin sat on the swaying shuttle bus, looking at the surging river outside the car window, his heart was full of fear and uneasiness.

Burzin, Bulzin, you are in danger here, and you are indifferent and unforgiving; You are waiting helplessly here, a strange land. The childhood Niu Jianxin was full of disgust for Burzin......