Simon Wakefield's Yunnan Diary

Simon Wakefield’s Yunnan Diary

Simon Wakefield traveled round Yunnan after leaving university. Below are extracts from the diary that he kept.

April 20th

1

I’ve been in Yunnan for two months now and I’m still astonished by how varied the landscape is . Down in the south , in Xishuangbanna, it’s very tropical , but here I am in Lijiang, in north-west Yunnan. Lijiang is half new town and half old town .

The old town is on the side of a mountain and opposite

it is the 5,500metre Yulong Xueshan Mountain, its peak covered with snow.

The sky is clear blue and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything else

so beautiful in my life .

2

Early this morning I walked up to a beautiful park on the slopes of

the mountain , and sat and watched as the town slowly woke up to the day .

Seen from above , the old town is a maze of canals ,little bridges and tiny cobbled streets that tourists get lost in .

Three rivers run through the city and wherever you go , you hear the sound of rushing water .

Cars are not allowed in the old town.

As you walk past the ancient wooden and stone houses , you feel

you are walking back into the past .

April 23rd

3

This region is where the Naxi ethnic group live and I’ve spent several afternoons sitting in a café in the old town square, just watching people .

Their culture is fascinating.

For example , it is the women who run Naxi society , and until recently ,

Naxi women inherited all property .

They sit in small circles in the square , with their babies on their backs , completely uninterested in the tourists!

They have the custom of playing cards on card tables in the middle of the street .

The Naxi still wear traditional costume----the women wear blue blouses

and trousers covered by a blue or black apron .

4

This afternoon I was lucky enough to meet a Naxi man from the old town .

He was between 80 and 90 years old , but was full of energy .

He spoke some English and showed me some translations of Naxi poems .

It was fascinating to read them !

The Naxi language is the only hieroglyphic language still in use and

is over 1,000years old .

The Naxi believe that they came from a creature called Tabu, who helped

them hatch from magic eggs.

This story is shown in pictures in books put together in the 10 th century ,

and there are still a few copies of these ancient books in Lijiang .

April 25 th

5

Lijiang is a city of painters and writers , but Naxi culture is particularly

famous for its music .

Passed from father to son , the music has not changed for eight centuries ,

and among the richer Naxi people, knowledge of this music showed that

you were a real gentleman .

I’ve just returned from a performance of the Naxi Orchestra .

It took place in an old wooden hall, and was played by Naxi men, some of whom looked as if they were well over 100years old !

They played ancient songs , songs with names such as The water Dragon Is singing , Wind from the River and The Sheep on the Hill .

Sometimes the instruments sounded like women crying , or trees bending under snow.

In the audience there were both tourists and local people.

Everyone listened as if someone had put a spell on them .

April 29 th

6

I have only one day left before traveling to Kunming and then

flying back home .

My stay here has been unforgettable and I really don’t want to leave. I’ve learnt so much about the Naxi culture , and I now understand that

although

people may seem very different from you , we all laugh , cry ,and need love and friendship .

However different we may appear to be at first , we are all the same , all

equal

.

西蒙韦克菲尔德的云南旅行日记

西蒙·韦克菲尔德大学毕业后去了云南旅游。下面摘录的是他的几则日记。

4月20日

我来云南已经两个月了，这里多姿多彩的风景仍然令我惊讶不已。

南部的西双版纳是典型的热带气候，但现在我却在西北部的丽江。

丽江一半是新城，一半是古城。

古城依山而建，对面是海拔5，500米的玉龙雪山，山顶覆盖白雪皑皑。

这里的天空碧蓝如洗，我一生从未见过如此美景。

今天清晨，我走进山坡上一个美丽的公园，坐看古城慢慢地从睡梦中醒来。

从上面俯看，古城就是一座由沟渠、小桥和鹅卵石铺成的街巷构成的迷宫，游人极易迷失其中。

三股溪流穿过古城，不管游人走到哪里都能听见潺潺的流水。

汽车禁止进入古城。

走过一座座木石结构的老屋，你会感觉自己恍如走进了历史。

4月23日

这里是纳西族聚居区。

一连几个下午，我坐在旧城广场的咖啡馆里，注视着来往的行人。

他们有着迷人的民族文化。

例如，管理纳西族社会的是妇女，而且近来还是由纳西族的妇女来继承全部财产。

她们围成小圈坐在广场上，身背孩子，对游客丝毫不感兴趣。

她们有在街中心围着桌子打扑克的习惯。

纳西人仍然穿着民族服装，妇女们穿着蓝色的衣裤，外面罩着蓝色或黑色的多褶围裙。

今天下午，我有幸遇到一位住在古城的纳西族老人。

他大约八九十岁了，依然精力充沛。

这位老人会说点英语，给我看了几首英译的纳西诗歌。

这些诗歌读起来真是美极了！

纳西语是唯一仍在使用的象形文字，已有一千多年的历史了。

纳西人所信奉的造物主叫塔布，塔布帮助他们的始祖从魔蛋中孵出来。

在10世纪编集的书里能找到关于这个传说的图画，今天的丽江仍然能见到这些书的抄本。

4月25日

丽江是一座画家和作家云集的古城，但是，纳西文化却尤以音乐闻名。

纳西音乐世代相传，虽历经八个世纪仍保持原来的音韵。

过去在纳西的富人当中，懂音乐才称得上真正的君子。

我刚刚欣赏了纳西古乐的演奏。

演出在木头搭建的大厅里举行，由纳西族男子表演，有些老人看起来有一百多岁了！

他们演奏的古曲有《水龙吟》，《一江风》，《山坡羊》等。

他们演奏的音乐听起来时而像怨妇幽泣，时而像雪压树枝。

听众既有外地游客也有当地百姓，一个个就像着了魔似的，听得如痴如醉。4月29日

再过一天我就要去昆明，然后从那里乘飞机回国了。

这些日子令人难忘，我真的不愿离去。

了解了这么多的纳西文化，现在我明白：人与人之间虽然有差异，但是，都会欢笑和哭泣，需要爱和友谊。

无论起初我们看上去有多少不同，然而我们本质上是一样的，每个人都是平等的。