When you let go, when you don't have troubles.

- Anonymous proverb

In Qinghai's Nian Bowei, Gong Huaizhou's descendant Gong Chengji inherited his father's business and continued to run his own family's social school, teaching literacy for children from rich and poor families.

After all, the number of children in Nian Bowei is limited, and the whole family cannot be supported by the school's expenses alone. Sometimes, Gong Chengji would go to the remote Beishan to write a Spring Festival couplet, family letter or something for the rich family, and earn a little money to subsidize the family.

Once, Gong Chengji met some mountain people in a village in Beishan who were dressed like the Tibetans and Mongolians.

The women of the mountain people wore their black hair in several thick braids that dragged long behind their backs to the calves. The braids are adorned with colorful flowers and shells and other ornaments, making them stand out.

At first, Gong Chengji thought they were a branch of the Tibetan people.

Li Mancang, the landlord who invited Gong Chengji to write Spring Festival couplets, told him: "They are not Tibetans, nor are they Mongols. We call them natives. They call themselves the Hol people. It is said to be a descendant of the ancient Tuyuhun people. During the Tang Dynasty, Tuyuhun was divided into three parts after being wiped out by Tubo. The Tuyuhun people, who migrated eastward, gradually merged into the Han Chinese. The Tuyuhun people, who had submitted to Tibet, melted into the Tibetans. The Tuyuhun people who remained in Liangzhou and Qilian Mountains in Gansu and the Haomen River valley and Hehuang region in Qinghai became natives. ”

Gong Chengji asked in surprise: "It turns out that there is such a story?" ”

Li Mancang said: "There are more than a dozen villages called Tuhun in the northern mountains of Nao (Qinghai dialect, we). The Han people followed the local people and called Tuguan and Tuohong, which were actually the transliterations of Tuhun and Tuhun . ”

Gong Chengji asked: "Tuhun is the meaning of Tuyuhun?" ”

Li Mancang replied with a smile: "Not necessarily. Some people say that the word Tuhun means human in Mongolian, so the Han people simply call them Turen. The trouble is that the natives don't have the history books handed down, and they don't know what is going on.

Some natives also call themselves Mongol or Chakhan Mongol, which means Mongol and White Mongol. Legend has it that their ancestors were Mongols. Genghis Khan's general, Geretai, led his subordinates to stay at Soputan (today's Qinghai Province Mutual Aid), and soon fell ill and died. His subordinates settled there and intermarried with the local herdsmen, the Hall, and gradually multiplied to form the present Turen. ”

Gong Chengji listened to Li Mancang's narration while observing the natives with interest. They have thick eyebrows and big eyes, their faces are full, their cheekbones are prominent, and the complexion on their faces is black and red due to the strong radiation of the plateau, like statues made of brass.

He saw a native child standing outside the gate of the courtyard and looking at him, so he beckoned to him.

The native child was not timid, and quickly ran to Gong Chengji's side. His face was red from the cold, and his eyes stared curiously at the brush and red paper in Gong Chengji's hand.

Gong Chengji asked kindly, "Gava, what's your name?" ”

The native boy didn't understand what he said, and opened his mouth to say a few words.

Gong Chengji didn't understand what he was saying.

The native languages belong to the Mongolian language family of the Altaic language family, and more than half of the words are very similar to the Karaqin dialect of Mongolian. Therefore, it is not very difficult for them to communicate with the Mongols, but there is no way to speak with the Han Chinese.

Gong Chengji picked up the brush and wrote the word "Fu" on the remaining small piece of red paper, and then handed it to the native child.

The native boy happily took the red paper and ran back to his yard.

After a while, the native child was holding an artichoke the size of a baby's head in his arms, and while running with his little feet, he shouted something at Gong Chengji.

Gong Chengji turned around when he heard the child's cry and stood in place waiting for him.

The native child ran in front of Gong Chengji and handed him the artichoke in his hand.

Gong Chengji took the artichoke and felt that the artichoke was hot, so he guessed that he must have just taken out the pot.

The native child grinned, turned around and ran back to the gate of his yard, waving goodbye to Gong Chengji with his parents who were standing there.

Gong Chengji's heart was warm: These natives who are called Fanren and savages are really kind! He smiled and took a bite of the artichoke, his mouth was full of rustling taro meat, and the simple fragrance came to his nose.

Wang Yongsheng, the descendant of Wang Chen and the son of Wang Shouye, runs a small restaurant in Xiguan, Nian Bowei, and lives an ordinary life.

One day after the beginning of spring, a Tibetan man dressed as a lama walked into Wang's restaurant and said in Chinese, not very fluent, that he was looking for the owner of the restaurant.

The diet of the Tibetan people has always been based on meat, tsamba and milk tea, and almost no Tubo people eat in restaurants opened by the Han people.

Wang Yongsheng hurriedly stepped forward, politely invited the lama to sit down, and then began to talk with him.

The lama said, "I am the managing lama of Qutan Monastery in Maquangou, Nanshan. Now, the temple wants to build a main hall, and a group of Han craftsmen from the interior are invited. They are not accustomed to eating the food of our Tibetan people, and they are tired and have no energy all day long. If you can go to Qutan Temple and cook for them for a summer, I will definitely not treat you badly. ”

Wang Yongsheng thought in his heart, this city is not big, the population is sparse, and the business of the restaurant has always been dead. Going to Qutan Temple to cook has a regular income every day, which is a good way to earn money. So, he went into the inner room, discussed with his wife for a while, and decided to leave his eldest son and wife to continue to open a restaurant in Nian Bowei, and he took his second son to Nanshan to cook for the craftsmen.

On the same day, Wang Yongsheng arranged the housework, and then followed the lama into Nanshan with his son.

Qutan Monastery is not an ordinary temple in Nanshan, but a famous monastery of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, after the rise of the Gelug sect, Qutan Temple changed its court and became the Gelug sect.

In 1392, Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, sent the Ming army to the northern part of Qinghai to pursue and suppress the remnants of the Yuan soldiers. The local Tibetans did not know the actual situation, and they also ran around the world after the Mongols, forming a great chaotic situation.

A lama named Sandan Luochai relied on his prestige among the Tubo people to write letters to the masses to help the Ming Dynasty appease the people, so that the Tubo tribes submitted to the imperial court, ending the complicated situation formed in Qinghai during the period of changing the dynasty, and also made Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, realize the political role and social status of the religious forces represented by the Sanluo Lama in Qinghai.

The Samra Lama built a small Buddha hall dedicated to Vajra in Guanlong Cave in Namsan, where he was stationed. In 1393, the Sanluo Lama sent people to the capital to pay tribute, asking the emperor to protect his monastery and give him a name.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, because of the meritorious service of the Sanluo Lama in supporting the Ming Dynasty, gave him a gold plaque entitled "Qu Tan". Since then, this temple has been named Qutan Temple.

Zhu Yuanzhang named the Sanluo Lama as a great teacher, awarded the Xining Monk Gang Si Dugang, divided the land, allocated forest land, and sent troops to protect the monastery.

The imperial court has been giving alms and rewarding treasures for many years, so that Qutan Temple has become a great temple in the integration of politics and religion in the Amdo Tibetan area of Qinghai, and it is the hub of the Ming Dynasty to contact the Tibetan area of Qinghai and implement the policy of pacifying the frontier.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Ming Chengzu Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi, Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji four generations of emperors successively issued 7 edicts, sent eunuchs to lead craftsmen to build the Qutan Temple in 36 years.

Now, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di ordered the expansion of Qutan Temple, ordered the expansion of the religious leadership status and economic privileges of the upper monks, and gave the nephew of the Sanluo Lama, Master Dingjingjue Hongji, the title of Master Dingjingjue, and designated him to preside over the temple, which further improved the status of Qutan Temple.

Wang Yongsheng and his son rode horses for nearly three hours before they came to Qutan Temple deep in the mountains.

Qutan Temple is located in the south of the Acropolis of Nian Bo more than 40 miles, built in the majestic and quiet feng shui shape of the place, back to the Luohan Mountain, in front of the Qutan River, north by the top of the pine flower, south against the stele mountain, facing the Phoenix Mountain, far away from the snow mountain, with the natural environment organic and harmonious integration, is a typical early Ming Dynasty official building complex, alias the small Forbidden City.

Qutan Temple is located in a slightly square castle, sitting northwest and facing southeast. The building basically adopts the shape of a Han-style temple, covering an area of 15,000 square meters, with a construction area of about 10,000 square meters. The whole temple is composed of three courtyards in the front, middle and back, and is on a central axis. On the central axis from the mountain gate, there are large palace-style buildings such as the mountain gate, the King Kong Palace, the Qutan Palace, the Baoguang Palace, and the Longguo Palace. On both sides, there are symmetrically built the imperial tablet pavilion, the small bell and drum tower, the cloister, the pagoda, the side hall, the scripture hall and the big bell and drum tower.

The King Kong Hall is the boundary and aisle of the front hall, the middle hall and the apse, with an area of about 110 square meters, using a beam and pillar structure, and does not use a bucket.

Qutan Hall is located in the front of the middle courtyard, with an area of 170 square meters and a floor plan. There are three deep semi-open hugging buildings in front, and the other three sides are closed corridors, which is a more typical pattern of lama monasteries.

Longguo Hall is commonly known as the main hall, and Qu Tan Palace, Baoguang Hall is located on the same central axis, is the highest building in the temple, the area is about 900 square meters, the top of the heavy eaves palace, there is a bright corridor on all sides, stand on the base of the Sumeru seat, there is a platform in front, the platform is set up on the left and right of the platform with nine levels of stepping on each side, surrounded by red sandstone railings on all sides. The two wings have the inclined corridor of the upward arch and the inclined corridor of the hand, and the left and right sides face the dignified big bell tower and the big drum tower, which is obviously to imitate the Fengtian Hall (Taihe Palace) of the Forbidden City in Beijing and the layout image of the two wings of the inclined corridor of copying hands, the Wenlou (Tiren Pavilion) and the Wulou (Hongyi Pavilion).

There are huge colorful murals in the wall gallery (72 water halls), covering an area of about 400 square meters, painted with the stories and legends of the Buddha, such as "Nali Heavenly Crowd Welcomes the Buddha and Ascension to the Heavenly Palace", "Shanming Bodhisattva Descends on the Worry-free Tree", "The Seven Treasures of the Pure Rice King New City Clothes and Shoes Prince's Body", "The Dragon King Welcomes the Buddha into the Dragon Palace", "The Six Palaces Entertain the Female Fog Prince Returns to the Palace", etc., with vivid images and bright colors.

There are also more than 300 Buddhist scriptures and works such as Kangyur, Tengyur, and Tsongkhapa's Collected Works, and nearly 100 relics invited from India are enshrined in the pagoda.

The most striking is the stone sculpture of an elephant carrying a cloud drum. A recumbent elephant with a carved wooden cloud on its back. Stacked clouds are holding a leather drum. The stone elephant looks back and looks back, with a long trunk rolled with a lotus flower, about 1 meter high and 5.3 meters in circumference.

Wang Yongsheng and his son live in a hut next to the lama's dormitory.

The son and a young lama went down the mountain every 10 days to buy vegetables and other supplies.

Wang Yongsheng took two men to cook for the craftsmen. He took out his housekeeping skills, and cooked in different ways every day, rolling noodles, steaming steamed buns, baking cakes, and stir-frying some seasonal vegetables.

The craftsmen finally ate a delicious meal, their mood suddenly improved a lot, their mouths spoke more, their bodies became stronger, and the construction progress of the project was greatly accelerated.

Wang Yongsheng is the first generation born after the Wang family immigrated to Qinghai, and since he was a child, he listened to his parents talk about the beautiful life in his hometown all day long, but he has never been to the mainland, let alone the current situation. In his spare time, he chatted with the artisans and listened to their stories about the mainland.

Wang Yongsheng's son was young, curious and inquisitive, and when he had nothing to do, he wandered around the temple, either to watch the craftsmen paint the pillars or to observe the statue of Shakyamuni enshrined in the main hall.

In the autumn, a strange thing happened in Qutan Temple.

The craftsmen finished the repair work, packed up their belongings and went down the mountain, ready to return to their hometown in the mainland.

Wang Yongsheng received his salary from the steward lama, and he and his son packed up the stove and furniture and prepared to go down the mountain. Unexpectedly, his son suddenly refused to go down the mountain with his father, and asked to stay in Qutan Monastery to become a lama.

When Wang Yongsheng heard his son's foolish and crazy words, he was so anxious that his heart burned with fire, and sparks almost came out of his throat and eyes.

He bitterly advised his son: "Son, wow, if you are dedicated to the Buddha, there are temples in our Nian Bowei, why do you need to stay in this deep mountain and old mountain?" Qutan Temple is a high mountain and a long road, and it is a temple of the Tubo people, and the language is not understood, how will you be good in the future? ”

Wang Yongsheng persuaded hard for several days. Helplessly, his son's mind has been decided, and no matter what Wang Yongsheng says, he just doesn't want to go back.

Wang Yongsheng saw that the snow was about to close the mountain, so he had to entrust his son to the lama in charge of Qutan Temple, hoping that one day his son would change his mind and go up the mountain to take him home.

In the snowflakes flying in the sky, Wang Yongsheng was dripping tears while hurriedly descending the mountain and returning to Nian Bowei.

Wang Yongsheng's wife listened to her husband's explanation, and as soon as her legs went limp, she immediately collapsed to the ground. She slapped her thighs with her hands and cried out in her mouth, "Oh, my God! My good son, I followed you to Nanshan in the spring, and I will become a lama in the autumn! Wang Yongsheng, give me back my son, give me back! ”

Wang Yongsheng said helplessly: "How do I know what demon he has fallen!" Besides, if you eat fasting and chant Buddha all day long, could it be that you are under your influence? ”

The wife continued to cry: "I eat fasting and recite Buddha, and my son is fine." You pay my son! ”

The eldest daughter-in-law was not very good at talking, and when she saw that her mother-in-law was in great pain, she stepped forward and persuaded her: "Mother-in-law, you can relax." People say that 'one son is a monk, and nine tribes are born'. ”

The wife scolded at the eldest daughter-in-law: "Bastard daughter-in-law! Tell your mother's son to leave the house, and your whole family will go up to heaven. ”

Wang Yongsheng's eldest son hurriedly ran over to help his mother up and persuaded him: "Mother, don't cry your old man." My younger brother just wants to be a lama for a while, isn't he a good person? When the Kaichun Mountain Road is opened next year, I will go up the mountain and he will take him home. ”

Wang Yongsheng's wife stopped crying, wiped her tears with her hands, and asked in disbelief: "You say...... Will he come home? ”

The eldest son confidently replied, "Ken." He's definitely coming back. You told him that the girl who was matched was still grinding Bowei. ”

When Wang Yongsheng heard his eldest son's words, he couldn't help but be stunned: Yes, if this evil son is too obsessed and doesn't come back, won't he delay the girl's house? How can I see people with this old face in Mill Bowei!