I went to Shanghai two days ago. The most regrettable thing is that I couldn't visit my aunt. My aunt is the youngest sister among my mother's six brothers and sisters. She must be in her eighties this year. I didn't dare to ask her on the phone yesterday, for fear of not understanding the etiquette and violating the taboo.
As we all know, we Han people have a traditional custom of calling people who are related to us by blood and marriage as relatives. For example, "imperial relatives and national relatives" refers to the emperor's family members as "imperial relatives" and the emperor's collateral members as "national relatives". By analogy, can I call my father's family members, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc., "relatives"? And the relatives of the mother's family, such as grandma, grandpa, uncles and aunts, are called "relatives"? In the old days, Shanghai was the place where my family had the most relatives. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, aunts, etc. all lived here. Now that they have all passed away, my aunt is the only one in Shanghai and even in the world who has the same mother as my mother. relatives.
I lived in Shanghai when I was a child, living with my aunt at my uncle's house on Shouning Road. My uncle's house used to be a single-family house, but it was later divided among ten families by the government. There is a small vegetable market downstairs at the junction of Liulin Road. It was just dawn, and the sounds of hawking and toilet cleaning were coming one after another, which gave me a strong sense of Shanghai style. Later, my aunt got her own home and moved to Gonghe New Road, where three families lived in a three-bedroom unit. I had already learned singing at that time, and went to Shanghai to learn "Yan Yin" from Dr. Lin Junqing. Then I lived with my aunt's family of four in the smallest "dwelling" with only about ten square meters. I remember that the family with the largest house in the back of the three-bedroom apartment had an upright piano "inside" the house. My aunt even helped me borrow it so that I could have a place to practice singing so that I could "return to lessons" with Dr. Lin. , and also let me experience the daily life of Shanghai.
My aunt studied geography in college and worked as a middle school teacher and university teacher after graduation. She asked me to guess riddles when I was in preschool, such as "Double Happiness", "Have a safe trip" and "Pregnant women and postpartum", etc., all named after the same city. Does anyone know where it is? Hehe, the former one is Chongqing, the latter one is Lushun in Liaoning, and the third one is Baotou in Inner Mongolia. In the old days in China, pregnant women often wore a headscarf on their heads after giving birth. It was said that this could keep out wind and cold and ward off evil spirits. This custom used to be especially prevalent in towns and rural areas, but of course it is no longer seen today. My uncle was a naval engineer, and his workplace was in a high-rise building on the Bund. As a young man, I stood there and looked up, longing for him as an ideal. The conversation between my aunt and uncle is always carried out in a medium-tempo and soft voice in four-quarter time, allowing me to understand the musical elegance that is so charming in the bones of Shanghainese people.
When I went to Shanghai these years, I always invited my aunt and uncle to have a meal, and I always greeted them when they came and went. Whenever I see their backs cuddling up and walking away on the boulevard covered with plane trees, I seem to be seeing an oil painting, and I enjoy the affectionate scenery on the beach in Shanghai. .
I only had one day in Shanghai this time. I was so busy with the familiar customs and customs that it was too late to be happy. While I was happy, I suddenly discovered that this beach in Shanghai, which was full of family affection, has now become my lonely island of affection, and I am more like a lone grass on this island. On the day of farewell, I stood in front of the falling rain, and suddenly felt a sense of loss... Alas! I really regret not going to see my aunt... (Yu Junjian)
