My classmates and I walked on the land of the Red River, and we didn't know anything about what was going on in Beijing, and we didn't know anything about what happened to my father. Aside from music, I naturally don't care about my father, who I don't see a few times a year.

In the world we live in, we can't imagine fighting for just a little bit of water, we can't imagine it, and no one will imagine it. There is nothing surprising about this, everyone has their own life, and everyone cares about their own life. For example, when we drink wine, we don't think about how the wine is made, and when we eat rice, we don't think about how the rice is grown. Since I walked into Yunnan, on the small train in Yunnan, I heard Asuo's impromptu singing, and then Nima's question, I couldn't help but think about a question, what is music? What is the essence of music? Where does the power of music come from? What ethnic music and what Western music? No matter how many forms of music there are, if this form is not accepted by the human heart, then such music is a failure. For Ye Hena, who worships the West, their trip to Yunnan is just a trip to see the flowers, and for me, it is a journey of searching.

A long-awaited rain seemed to activate all the thirsty fish, people's withered bodies came to life at once, and the parched earth seemed to have a heart and a soul at this time.

The rain comes as it comes, and it leaves as it says. It's like an army of thousands of troops, coming like a sea of mountains and going quietly.

Geng Jun looked at the sky and said gratefully: "The ditches and reservoirs on the mountain must be full, and there is hope for this autumn."

There seemed to be the flow of raindrops in the air, and the wind in the fields had a moist scent.

Night covered the village, and the village was full of loud noises, people singing, people pulling headlights into the fields, and screaming for some reason, as if a grand celebration was about to begin.

Asso said to me, "In gratitude for the rain, tonight the whole village will give back a promise to the sky."

I asked Aso, "Why is there still the howling of pigs?" ”

Asso said, "Not only the howling of pigs, but also the slaughtering of sheep and catfish, in celebration." There will be a long dragon feast in the village tonight. Originally, this event was to be held in October after the fall. Happy, Nima said to the sky, as long as it rains, we will put on a long dragon banquet to thank the sky, Nima promised, of course to fulfill. ”

Our sheltered family was preparing to kill chickens.

I said to Asso, "I want to go around the village."

Yehena and the others also said, "We want to go too."

"Of course you can," said Aso.

Ah Suo turned his head and said a few words to Ah Yue, and then said to us, "Let Ah Yue take you there."

Walking through the village, we saw that the houses and households were moving tables to the gate. It's like the Chinese New Year of the Han people.

In order to show off her English in front of Ah Yue, Ye Hena said, "I smell the fragrance of rice. The air is filled with the smell of food, including peppers, coriander, spinach, mint, cabbage, radish, konjac, pumpkin, ginger, artichoke, peanuts, eggplant, and amaranth. ”

I said to Yehna, "If there is anything wrong, it is because this place is wrong. If you want to say yes, this place is right, the distance between the riverside valley and the terraced fields is 2,000 meters, that is, the riverside belongs to the tropical valley, and more than 1,500 meters belongs to the mountainous area. What ingredients should not be had? However, there was no water in the field, and the seedlings could not be planted. As for the fruits and vegetables in the vegetable garden, they picked the water from the Red River for watering. ”

Ah Yue said in English: "Incense is incense, but it is not easy to eat sweat and hard work."

Ah Yue's dress is still exposed arms and thighs, in China in the eighties, even a girl like Ye Hena, who thinks she is avant-garde, would not dare to wear it like this, but Ah Yue wears it like this, you don't feel the slightest awkwardness, all the Yiche women in Honghe, Yunnan are dressed like this, and their ancestors have been wearing it like this for generations.

Ye Hena said to Ah Yue: "Have you ever been in England?"

Ah Yue said: "I've stayed." Two years in England and two years in France. But I don't like that kind of life, I don't like the air, I don't like the people there, because they don't have anything to do with me, I don't have anything to do with them, no one knows me, and I don't want to try to get to know anyone. Neither in England nor in France, I could not find anyone to talk to. So, I'm back, and here, they can understand me, and I can understand them. ”

Ah Yue spoke to Yehena in English, but her eyes were clear and she looked at me, not dodging, not dodging. There is no so-called reserve and shyness of Han girls. It was as if he was asking me, "Why don't you dare look at me head-on?"

Ah Yue said to Yehena: "But I will still go to France." I want to organize a girl band to go to France. Let many people in the world know that our Yiche girl is the most beautiful woman in the world, and let the world know that our Yiche ballad is the most beautiful song in the world. It's just that the idea is not yet mature. I sang at the Moulin Rouge in France, and it was very popular. ”

I didn't believe it when I heard Ah Yue say that she sang at the Moulin Rouge, but such a girl would not lie.

There is an altar in the village, and the altar is set up on the terraces, behind the altar is the terraces, and in front of the altar is the village, on which are placed the heads of pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, peanuts, melons and fruits, red candles, and pine branches. The long dragon feast stretches from the village to the terraced fields. There is no excessive embellishment, and there is no need to embellish, heaven and earth themselves are the best stage, and heaven, earth, and man are originally one of nature. Without a director, you are an actor yourself, and all of this is your own life.

The table like a dragon and snake was already full of dishes, and the whole village turned into a large canteen under the night sky in the blink of an eye. The Yiche people, Hani people, and Yi people who come and go are dressed in their costumes, the Hani people are mainly colored, the Yiche people are mainly indigo, and the Yi people are mainly black. The village is transformed into a bazaar, more like a stage with the sky, the earth, and the village as the background.

We were arranged as guests to sit at a table on the faucet, close to the altar.

The festival was presided over by Nima.

There is no lay-up, and there are no superfluous opening lines. The event begins with the chanting of Nima and the dancing of the dancers.

Against the backdrop of the sky, terraces, and the vast earth, Nima's chanting resounded through the sky for no reason. Nima's chanting is free of anger and questioning under the scorching sun, and there is no crying and complaining.

The chanting is full of gratitude, full of warmth, and even like the whispers of a lover.

Ah Yue translated Nima's chanting and said:

Rain God?

Please be seated

Tonight we give everything we have

If there is still the most precious food in the world

That's what we really do

You've seen it all

Millet from the field and fruit from the trees

It's all you give us

Spring flowers and autumn harvests

It's all you give us

So

So we can give

Our everything

The best wine is nothing

The best fruit is nothing

What we offer is piety

What we offer is trust

What we offer is kindness

And our courage and hard work

Oh God

You work as hard as we do

Sit down tonight

With us

Drinking, singing, dancing

……

Nima's tone goes from treble to bass, from bass to treble, and from bass to treble, repeatedly, with the dancers singing and chorus. In this way, there seems to be an orchestra on the altar. Nima's voice is like a trickle, and when the accompaniment is raised, the trickle merges into a rushing and roaring river, and when the chorus begins, the rushing and roaring river becomes a boiling sea. The chanting of one or twenty people can achieve the effect of an orchestra, which is a miracle in the field of music.

Nima is a communicator with God, he has no professional acting training, looking at his focused expression, if someone really has reached his level, it must be a genius of acting. But he's not, he's Nima. He's not performing, he's helping people fulfill a wish.

When the ceremony is complete, the whole village revels. Drinking, dancing, singing, playing the harp, playing the shamisen, playing the guitar, playing the harmonica, playing the huqin, playing the moon harp, playing the wooden leaves, whistling, guessing the boxing order, men and women drinking, young girls and boys talking and whispering and disappearing behind the village, drunk and mad ------ laughter, scolding, singing, dancing, strings, guitars, harmonica, huqin, yueqin, leaves, whistles, this is just the beginning of a night of revelry.

It seems that tonight's revelry is just for a long-awaited rain, but it's not that simple. Such a carnival is a release that people are waiting for, and more importantly, there is a possible hope. If it weren't for this rain, there would be no hope. If the night is really just a show, then except for a few outsiders, there is probably not a single hypocritical actor present, they do not need to be hypocritical, or they simply do not know or even know what hypocrisy is and how hypocrisy, because this is their daily life. Heaven and earth, gods and men, symbiosis and coexistence.

The moon rose and people lit bonfires on the ground, around which men and women sang and danced.

Geng Jun toasted us and said, "Meeting is fate, it is not easy for you to come from Beijing." The country is too big, and the place where we run a lot is to go to the state capital for meetings, and then in the mountains. There are many people in our place who go to Southeast Asia, and we went to England and France at a young age. I've had a lot of wine, and I've talked a lot, so come, a toast to our encounter. ”

Geng Jun continued: "This second cup of wine is still for the sake of meeting, if you don't come to Honghe County, will you meet our family Ah Yue?" The most beautiful girl in the world, I heard that Xiao Huang still pulled out a knife for Ah Yue, what is this fate? My experience is that many people see it once and never see it again. I don't know how many times I've been to these villages, and many people call me Geng Jun, but I can't really name them. Do you dare to say that you will still come to this place? ”

I said to Geng Jun: "I really don't dare to say this: if Ye Hena, a classmate like ours, goes to study, then Beijing may come back a few times, okay, let's have a toast to the encounter."

Geng Jun said: "The reason for this third wine is to miss." I hope that no matter where you are, you can think of the small places of Honghe, Huisa, and Bingcun. When I retired, I went back to Baohua Township or Azha River Township, looking at the terraced fields here, the sea of clouds, listening to them singing, and drinking tea by myself, then I was very content and satisfied. I've been to a lot of places and say it's paradise, but I still like this little village, maybe I like it. If you guys will miss this place, this place is heaven for you. The people in our small place, who are not knowledgeable, talk nonsense, come, take this drink. ”

Geng Jun is really a good amount of wine, next to each other with three glasses, and before we could toast him, he was dragged to dance by a woman in a car. Watching Geng Jun stride drunk in the dancing crowd, like a big bird flying, more like an undulating cloud. Drunk eyes saw Geng Jun dancing among the women in the car, everything was so harmonious.

At this moment, we are the ethnic minorities, before us, maybe they really haven't seen people from such a far away place in Beijing, we have become distinguished guests from afar, Xiao Liu and Xiao Gu of the Poverty Alleviation Office toasted with us, then Asuo toasted with us, and then the men and women in the village came to toast with us, they didn't speak Chinese, and we didn't know what they said, Aso was the translator, but the translation was the same sentence, "Distinguished guests from afar, please get drunk." This is the wine made by our Yiche woman, Yiche wine. ”

I don't know why, but I felt that the wine in my hand was particularly warm, so I didn't shirk it at all, and poured the wine into my mouth one after another. At this time, I realized that the people around me were gone, I looked into the crowd with drunken eyes, and saw Ye Hena, Song Zhiqiu, Xia Tingquan, Du Runjian, and my classmates were all like Geng Jun, turning into big birds flying and undulating, and turning into light clouds. Life always turns us into a compartment, locked to death, once the lock is opened, the heart of longing jumps out, this moment is so.

An old man stood in front of me, I saw the corners of his mouth moving, but I didn't understand what he was expressing, this person looked very familiar, Ah Yue translated to me: "Grandpa said that he wants to toast you with a glass of wine." I remember, isn't he the Nima who sings heartbreakingly?

Nima said to me, "You will come again."

I said to the old man, "I think it will."

Nima said, "It will."

I stepped forward and hugged Nima, I didn't know why, I wanted to hug him. The old man also hugged me tightly, as if we had known each other for a long time, and this hug was just a reunion after a long absence.

Nima left me and disappeared from the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Ah Yue asked me in English, "Do you have any agreements?"

I said to Ah Yue, "No, there is no agreement."

Ah Yue asked me, "Can you still drink?"

I said to Ah Yue: "Of course you can, there is no problem at all." I was your savior, but you didn't toast me. ”

Ah Yue said to me, "Do you really want to drink?"

I said to Ah Yue, "Of course."

I saw Ah Yue pour two bowls of wine, handed one to me, and said, "Come, my life-saving benefactor, I will give you a glass." After saying that, he drank it all. "It's your turn this time."

Of course, I drank it all.

Ah Yue took my hand, and I felt that my body was as light as smoke and wind, as if I had completely turned into nothingness. Ah Yue's hand was warm and refreshing. Ah Yue led me through the dancing crowd, and in the crowd of supporters, my body actually followed Ah Yue like a fish, the things in the world are really unimaginable, even if I repeat it immediately, I don't think it can be done at all. But on this night it did. Life is like this, too many things, in fact, have been experienced, but they cannot be copied at all, such as this night, after it, it becomes a memory. Jumping and jumping, I felt like I had melted, disappeared, didn't exist, couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, the sounds, the fire, the lights, the crowd, the singing, all were completely gone, except for Ah Yue's warm hands, everything was gone, I didn't know anything.

When I woke up, Ah Yue was sitting on the edge of my bed, and my hand was still holding Ah Yue's hand, I quickly let go and said, "Ah Yue, I'm sorry."

Ah Yue said: "If you drink like this, you will get drunk to death."

I asked Ah Yue, "What about my classmates?"

Ah Yue said: "None of them are drunk, my brother took them to Sama Dam to see the sea of clouds."

Ah Yue helped me up and sat down, handed me a glass of water, and said, "This is wild honey water, sobering up, I see that you are drunk like this, you really don't look like a Han person."

I said to Ah Yue, "I didn't say I was Han."

Ah Yue said, "Then what kind of clan are you?"

I said to Ah Yue, "I am a Manchu. Huang is just a Han surname. I was born in Shenyang and later came to Beijing. ”

First, this is a major discovery in the history of world music, the original international view is that there is no multi-part music in China, in fact, there is a large number of material examples in China, and I believe that with the continuous extension of music investigation, there will be more and more discoveries. Second, about multi-voices. Third, the form of expression.

Recorded in the spring of 1983

Ah Yue asked me and said, "What do you write, so focused."

I replied to Ah Yue, "A major discovery, there is an international academic view that there is no multi-part music in China, but I found it in you."

Ah Yue tilted her head and asked me, "Is this important?"

I said to Ah Yue: "Of course it is important, this is a historic discovery."

Ah Yue said, "I don't understand."

I said to Ah Yue, "Well, this is an academic question. However, I can give you an analogy, some people say that there are no people in the world who are not you, but you stand up and say, why not? Aren't we? And then the world stood up and said, oh, it really exists. ”

Ah Yue shook his head and said, "I still don't understand." When Ah Yue talked to me, she always looked directly at me.

I don't understand that a person who doesn't speak a word of Chinese is so fluent in English, and I, a person who can speak Chinese, stammers in English. I didn't dare to make eye contact with Ah Yue's eyes. Her eyes are as clear as the ocean, and as clear as the sky. Although she changed her clothes, it was the first time she had met that look.

Ah Yue said to me: "Songs are sung with heart, and beautiful things are for appreciation." Am I not good-looking? You don't want to look at me. I watch you because I like you, why don't I watch more of what I like? ”

I want to say to Ah Yue, "This and this?"

Ah Yue said to me: "You don't need a reason to like it. What is held in the palm of your hand is real, and if you leave tomorrow, what's the use of saying I like it? ”

I couldn't talk to Ah Yue like this, so I avoided Ah Yue's words and said, "Let's go to the village."

I felt that it was all too sudden, and I felt terrified of the fact that I didn't have any foreshadowing.

Ah Yue reached out and grabbed my arm, and I said to her, "It's not good for my classmates to see it. Actually, I really like Ah Yue to do this. ”

Ah Yue said: "People are a couple, I don't believe you don't see it."

I said to Ah Yue: "I'm afraid that the villagers will see it and say that it's not good for you to gossip."

Ah Yue said: "What do others say about me?"