作 者：龔如仲（美國）
海外頭條總編審 王 在 軍 （中國）
海外頭條副編審 Wendyh溫迪（英國）
海 外 頭 條總 編 火 鳳 凰 （海外）
圖片選自百度
第二章：大學年代
第一部分：北京，一個讓我傾心的城市
文/龔如仲（美國）
在一個炎熱的夏日午后，我坐上開往北京的列車，準備離開上海，離開與我共同生活了十八年的父母。就在汽笛鳴響、火車徐徐開動的那一刻，專程到車站為我送行的父親突然間痛哭失聲。透過車窗，我看見父親急切地揮動著的雙手，他一邊哭，一邊拼命追趕著越開越快的列車。在那一瞬間，我的眼淚抑制不住地涌出眼眶，心也被深深地震撼了。因為在我的記憶里，硬漢的父親是從不掉淚的?？粗嚧巴飧赣H越來越小的身影，我的心一陣陣地揪痛。
于此同時，我猛然想起了家中的母親，此時此刻她該是多么傷心和難過啊！十八年了，和她朝夕相處了十八年、被她像寶貝一樣疼惜了十八年的兒子，如今真的離開她，到很遠的地方去了。想到這里，我的心情久久難以平靜。也就是那個時候，我在心里暗暗地告訴自己：一定要好好讀書，將來“掙大錢孝敬父母”！ 就這樣，我告別父母，坐了幾十個小時的火車，來到了北京，從此開始了我不同尋常的大學生活。
在那個年代，大多數(shù)的上海人都有一種“上海情結”，就是那種與生俱來的優(yōu)越感。在他們的心目中，“精明”的上海人總是要比外地人更勝一籌，而上海這個他們所居住的城市又是任何其它中國大城市無法比擬的。這一點，就連那些常年棲身于夏天如蒸籠、冬天似冰庫的“棚戶區(qū)”、早餐只能享用“泡飯加蘿卜干”的貧民們也不例外。在有些上海人看來，身為上海人就是一種榮耀。為此，無論面臨多么優(yōu)厚的條件誘惑，他們都會毫不猶豫地選擇一生廝守上海、永不離開。
在去北京求學之前，這種井底之蛙式的上海情結也一直存在于我的心間。然而隨著時間的推移，隨著我對北京這個城市的日漸了解，我心中的這種﹁上海情結﹂被徹底地動搖了。北京在我眼前展示的是一個全新的世界，北京是一個讓我傾心的城市。
如果沒有走進北京，我體會不到何謂中華文明的恢弘和博大。無論是那金碧輝煌、氣象萬千的故宮，還是雄奇磅礡、巍峨屹立的長城，都讓我驚嘆不已。 而“天下第一廣場”的天安門和“世界最大園林”的頤和園也讓我由衷地折服。再想想被上海人引以為傲的人民廣場和豫園，它們在北京的天安門廣場和頤和園面前顯得是何等的微不足道。到了北京，我終于領略到“人外有人、天外有天”的真正含義?？傊?，我深深體會到了北京的大氣和厚重。
不光是北京的建筑，甚至就連生活在這個城市的北京人也讓我有一種別樣的感覺?；蛟S是長年生活在﹁皇城之內，天子腳下﹂的緣故吧，那時候的北京人觀察世界也有他們獨特的視角。無論是為國為民、日理萬機的達官要人，或者只是些“憑力氣干活、掙工資吃飯”的升斗小民，都無一例外地對國內外的政治大事抱有特別的關心和熱情。北京人所特有的“國家興亡，匹夫有責”的胸懷確實讓我感動。
而我生活在上海時，我感到絕大多數(shù)上海老百姓們最關心的無非是“怎么過好小日子”，琢磨著“那一天有錢了給老婆孩子添置幾件新衣”。身在北京、耳濡目染，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己了解社會和世界的視角也在漸漸被改變，人也變得成熟了許多。
要說我最喜歡的，還是北京這個城市的人文環(huán)境。有了空閑時，不妨去轉一轉專賣字畫古玩的琉璃廠，逛一逛游人如織的天橋、大柵欄，看一看老北京人的民風民俗，聽一聽當?shù)厝说木┣痪╉崱＿@一切都讓我從心里頭透出一股子新鮮感，我真切地感受到京城文化的深厚底蘊。
說到這里，我忽然想起了兩件關于北京方言和習慣的小趣事。
有一回我上街辦事，口渴了，正好看見路邊有個賣冰棍兒的。我正想上前買根冰棍兒解渴，不承想那賣冰棍的老太太突然吆喝了一聲“冰棍兒，一毛倆”。我一聽，急忙止步了。同時在心里暗想：“這北京的冰棍兒怎么這么貴？一根冰棍兒得讓我掏一毛倆分錢？在我們上海，一根奶油棒冰才五分錢”。要知道我當時可是個窮學生，兜里沒有什么錢，想到買瓶北冰洋牌的汽水恐怕價錢更貴，于是就只好忍著口渴、回到了學校。
后來我特意問一位北京籍同學：“為何北京的冰棍兒這么貴”？他一聽就樂了，說我是外地人聽不懂北京話，“一毛倆”的意思就是一毛錢可買倆根冰棍。他這么一解釋，我才知道自己鬧了個大笑話。
還有一回，我應邀到一個北京籍的同學家做客，同學的父母熱情地招待了我。吃完午飯后，大家就坐下來喝茶、聊天、話家常。在談話間我不經意地問了一句：“阿姨，你今年幾歲了”？沒想到同學的媽媽聽了這話后當時就一愣，接著臉上顯出了很不高興的樣子。我正納悶，不知道自己哪兒出錯了，只見我同學急忙向他媽媽解釋道：“上海人就這習慣，問人家年齡時不分老少都說你幾歲了”。然后他又告訴我，北京人問年齡得分長幼。問小孩子你幾歲了當然可以。但問大人，尤其是問長輩，一定得說“您多大年紀了？或者是“您老今年高壽”？我這才明白，同學的媽媽當時一定在想：“這小子怎么這等沒禮貌”？自打那一回出洋相，我再與北京人打交道時就學乖了：弄不明白的先別亂開口，實在想弄明白的就勤著點兒向人多請教。
在北京讀書期間，我就是這樣，漸漸地喜歡上了北京，也喜歡上了北京人。我喜歡他們的包容、大氣和厚道，喜歡他們的實在、直爽和幽默。
Chapter 4: University Life
Part 1: Beijing, the City I Liked Very Much
Posted by Ralph Gong
When I was eighteen years old, I passed the entrance exam and became a university student.
On the eve of leaving from Shanghai for Beijing to start my university life, a certain Mr. Chen Chuande suddenly came to see me. Claiming to be my natural elder brother, he told me that I was his natural younger brother and my real biological sir name should be Chen, not Gong. He repeatedly said to me that my natural father, Mr. A-Jin Chen, passed away a few years ago while my natural mother had always loved me and kept me in her heart.
As a matter of fact, I began to doubt about my birth truth when I became a senior high school student. At that time, I had a feeling that I might not be a natural son of the Gong Family because the age difference between my parents and me seemed to be too big (when I was born, my foster mother was already 44 years old). But even so, I was still caught off guard and totally shocked at the words of my natural brother. After my elder brother bid good-bye to me, I could not calm down for a very long time. Yet, my mind was clear: I had to accept the reality!
Telling myself that I ought to follow the Chinese saying that “the favor of a drop of water should be repaid with the gratitude of a fountain of water”, I decided to continue my relationship with my foster parents and treat them nicely. I must admit that it was my foster parents who had been providing me with the best food and clothes they could find, and it was they who were raising me up. Deep in my heart, Mr. and Mrs. Gong were my real parents. I was very thankful to them because they changed my fate completely. If I were still living in the Chen Family, I imagined, I would probably have become an ordinary worker, just like my two natural brothers.
Coming to this conclusion, I was determined to do my best in the future to pay my foster parents back. I told myself that after my graduation from the university, I would try to get a decent job and give my foster parents the best possible life. In addition, I would also like to take care of my natural mother and two brothers within my capability.
I had never told my foster parents about the fact that I had doubt about my identity or later the realization of the fact. I did not want to hurt their feelings. After all, my foster parents were the dearest ones to me in this world.
One hot and humid summer afternoon, I, a newly recruited university student, was sitting in a train ready to leave Shanghai for Beijing soon. I was trying to continue a conversation through coach windows with my father who came to the railroad station to see me off. The reality told me that I would definitely part with my foster parents, who had been living with me for eighteen years.
A few minutes later, a whistle blew and the train began to move. I tried to lean out the coach window to signal to my father for a safe trip back home. I was still waving to him when I saw him suddenly began to run desperately to catch up with the fast-moving train, no, to catch up with the fast-moving me… He was waving his two hands in the air and crying out loud. At that very moment, tears welled up in my eyes. In my memory, my father was a tough guy who never shed tears.
As soon as the train left the railroad station, I suddenly thought that my mother, who chose to stay at home in order not to lose her control when bidding farewell to me at the railroad station, must be feeling very sad and even weeping painfully. She could not accept the fact that her son, who had been under her care and love for so many years, had really left home for a place far away. With complicated feelings beyond the words, I sat in silence in the train for hours. When calming down, I began to tell myself again that I must study hard in the university and try to be an outstanding and promising student. Only by so doing could I get a better job after my graduation, making enough money to support my family.
After a long train ride of over 30 hours, I finally got to my destination: Beijing, the capital city of China. There, an unusual age started.
It might sound strange to you but in the 1960s, Shanghai was already considered a well-developed and industrialized municipal city in China. Shanghainese had then already a sense of pride. In their eyes, they as “smart” Shanghainese were superior to the “ordinary” people living in other parts of China. They also assumed that Shanghai where they lived in was the best in the nation. Those residents who were very poor and had to shelter in the shanty town also showed tremendous respect towards Shanghai. Shanghainese typically would not leave Shanghai even if they were offered a good opportunity of going somewhere else for a much better life. They were willing to “enjoy” very simple meals every day as long as they could stay in Shanghai.
Those who were considered poor in Shanghai would be offered “Paofan” for breakfast (Paofan is kind of very simple, but broadly loved food in Shanghai, the recipe being as follows: pour enough boiling water into the steamed rice already left cold to warm it up. Leaving the water in it, one consumes it as rice soup. When I was living in Shanghai, Paofan was also my favorite food to enjoy at breakfast). The side dishes they could afford to get were only some pickled radish. The houses they lived in were shabby and old. And the temperature inside was extreme, cold in winter and hot in summer. So long as they could continue to live in their “dream city” of Shanghai, they had no complains.
Before I left Shanghai and started my new life in Beijing, I was also a typical Shanghai resident who regarded the city as China’s best. But with time passing by, I began to know the city of Beijing better and better. After living in Beijing for a fairly long period, I realized that my “Shanghai Fever” cooled down gradually until gone completely. Beijing, the capital city of China, was displaying a brand new world to me. Even today, after so many decades, Beijing is still a city that I love so much!
If I did not have the opportunity to come to and live in Beijing, it would be impossible for me to know how great and magnificent this ancient city was! Just by looking at the resplendent Forbidden City and the majestic Great Wall, you would get an incredible sense of pride. I was also utterly astonished by the world’s largest square, Tiananmen Square and the biggest park, Summer Palace. Recalling the time when I was in Shanghai, I was so proud of the People’s Square and the Yuyuan Garden. To compare those two “fabulous” Shanghai scenic spots to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and Summer Palace, you would easily find out that the former was ridiculously tiny. It was only after I settled down in Beijing that I realized how vivid a Chinese Proverb is: a frog underneath the well. When I was in Shanghai, I could be called such a frog, knowing nothing about the outside world.
As time went on, I came to know the local people in Beijing better and better. People who lived respectively in Beijing and Shanghai were like from two different worlds.
I found that Beijingers viewed the world from a new and unique perspective. In Beijing, no matter who they were, whether they were prominent officials, eminent personalities or the peck and hamper people who earned their living with a poor monthly income, almost everyone showed enthusiasm on current issues, both domestic and international. I was deeply impressed by their philosophy of “the rise or fall of the nation is the concern of every citizen”.
I still remember that when I lived in Shanghai, the local people only concerned about their daily life matters, such as “buying some new clothes and shoes for my wife and kids after getting the monthly pay”, or “how to arrange a better and cozier life after a remarkable money saving”.
After a few months’ stay in Beijing, I discovered that my perspective of looking at the world and the nation had been changed and broadened, getting me more and more matured.
Beijing’s humanistic and cultural environment delighted me a lot. At leisure time, I loved to visit the place called “Liulichang”, where numerous antiques and paintings could be found or purchased. I also loved to make casual tours to such places as “Wangfujing” and “Tianqiao”. There I could enjoy looking at all kinds of commercial products, always surrounded by big crowds of visitors.
But one thing is for sure: the biggest attraction of Beijing for me was the local people’s living traditions as well as their music-like dialect. How deep Beijing’s cultural heritage was!
(END)
About the Author:
Ruzhong Gong (Ralph Gong), born in Shanghai, China, now living in the USA.
Graduated From the English Department of University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China
Before retirement, President of an USA overseas company under China National Light Industrial Products Imp. & Exp. Corp.; President of a joint-venture company in USA, jointly owned by Australia’s Lief Group Company and China National Chemical Products Imp. & Exp. Corp.; President of an American Brach Corp. under China National Foreign Trade Bases Corp.; Chief Representative in Beijing Office under Trade Am, an American Carpets Wholesale Company.
Author of 6 books, including “My Life—Family, Career & VIPs”, “How to Do Business in Mainland of China”, “My Leisure Time”, “My Leisure Time—Poems & Articles” , “Poems and Essays from Leisure Chamber” and “Flowers By My Side”.
Member of the Chinese Poetry Society (CPS), Free Lance Writer for Austrian Sinopress, and Senior Consultant for Taiwan Caiwei Publishing House.
【作者簡介】
龔如仲（英文名ralph），生于中國上海。中國對外經濟貿易大學英語一系畢業(yè)，畢業(yè)后在鐵道部援建坦贊鐵路工作組任英語翻譯（曾在非洲工作四年）。中國國際廣播電臺英語部英語播音員、記者，外貿部中國輕工業(yè)品進出口總公司出口二處業(yè)務員、副處長，外貿部輕工業(yè)品進出口總公司駐美國公司總裁（處長）。2012年至2016年，臺灣采薇出版社出版自傳《歲月如重》《東西南北中國人---細談如何在大陸做生意》《悠然時光》和《悠然時光---如仲詩語》。2018年4月，中國國際廣播出版社出版《悠然齋詩文選》，2018年9月，中國國際廣播出版社出版《花兒在身邊開放》?，F(xiàn)為中華詩詞學會會員、中國經典文學網(wǎng)特約作家、臺灣采薇出版社顧問。世界詩會聯(lián)合總會【北歐總社】、【好萊塢總社】常務總社長。
