"A young man's thoughts should be taken up by the clouds, but who thinks of the cold and sits there moaning?" This is a poem from the Tang Dynasty poet Li He's "A Drinking Tour". It means that a young man should have the ambition to reach the clouds. Who will pity you for being trapped and alone, sighing? Deep in the mountains of Wushan County, Chongqing, there is a band named "Nayun Boy". Let's go deep into the mountains and listen to the story of "The Boy Who Naked Clouds".
The "Nayun Boys" band is composed of students from the Lithography Teaching Point of Tianjia Primary School, Sanxi Township, Wushan County, Chongqing City. The Shiyin teaching site used to be a rural primary school. Due to urban and rural development, there were fewer and fewer students. In 2023, it became a teaching site for Tianjia Primary School. Counting the three children in the kindergarten, there are currently only 24 students in the Shiyin teaching point. "I Remember" is the first song rehearsed by the Nayun Youth Band.
Zhuang Jiyu, 26, is the instructor of the Nayun Orchestra. He is responsible for music classes for grades one to six. There is one first-year student at the Lithography Teaching Point, three students in second grade, four students each in third, fourth and fifth grade, and five students in sixth grade. It is not easy to organize these children into a band. Students in higher grades have greater learning pressure and limited rehearsal time, while students in lower grades have less literacy and poor discipline, and it is always difficult to concentrate during rehearsals.
Zhuang Jiyu was assigned to the lithographic teaching point in 2021. He has seen the prosperity of big cities. In his opinion, Shiyin Village is far away in the mountains. Every winter, water and electricity are cut off due to snow and ice. The living conditions here are undoubtedly difficult. However, he feels that music can add a touch of brightness to the ordinary lives of children here.
Zhuang Jiyu, teacher of Tianjia Primary School Lithography Teaching Point: is like this "Sing a Song for You". I think there is a lyric in it, "Every angel loves beauty, so I understand that you are precious." I think our children here We, they are all angels, so I hope they all love such a beautiful world and their own beautiful lives. So I think they are very precious, and I just want to bring these optimistic things to them.
Accompanying growth with music, sprouting upward power
The reason why the "Nayun Boys" band is called an orchestra, not a choir, is because in addition to singing, there must be children who can play musical instruments. Therefore, it was not easy for the "Nayun Boys" band to be established at the beginning. First, there must be musical instruments, and then there must be children who are interested in musical instruments. For these children in the mountains, where do musical instruments come from? There are only 24 children in total. How do you choose the right one? In order to solve these problems, Zhuang Jiyu also spent a lot of thought.
html On May 14, a music teacher from Wushan Middle School came to the Shiyin Teaching Point to provide teaching. Such irregular teaching will begin in 2023. Fu Dan, the vice principal of Wushan Middle School, met Zhuang Jiyu by chance. After learning that Zhuang Jiyu started forming a band when he was in college, Fu Dan put forward his own idea.
Zhuang Jiyu, teacher at Tianjia Primary School’s lithographic teaching center: She said, how about we give children the enlightenment of such a musical dream in such a big mountain.
Vice Principal of Wushan Middle School in Chongqing Pay the bill: We just want to give this group of children and use music to ignite the expectations and hopes of rural children for the future. Then we must first solve a few problems: First, it is the problem of musical instruments. The second is the problem of teachers, and the third is to carry out a series of activities on a regular basis so that these children can "see" the problem on a larger stage.
The two hit it off immediately, and Wushan Middle School launched the "Youth·Children's Journey" project to raise funds among students and raised more than 30,000 yuan for the children at the Lishiyin Teaching Point. With this money, Zhuang Jiyu purchased necessary musical instruments such as guitar, bass, and drums. He put the instruments in a small rehearsal room where children could go in after school whenever they wanted to practice. And he also relies on his experience in forming a band in college to provide tutoring for children who are interested in learning musical instruments.
Ran Linghui, teacher at Tianjia Primary School Lithography Teaching Center: Children in our rural areas are actually more introverted. If they can use open music to open up their nature, that is actually a way.
Wang Zirui, a fourth-year student at Tianjia Primary School’s Lithography Teaching Center: Teacher Zhuang also told us that this opportunity is rare and we must seize it. And we all feel that we must seize this opportunity, so we are all practicing.
During the in-depth contact with the children, Zhuang Jiyu found a few children who had been persistent and quickly picked up the instruments. So with these children as the main body, the "Nayun Boys" band was officially established this semester. Sixth grader Yi Qi, fourth graders Wang Zuxian and Wang Zirui, and second grader Zhang Yaqi are all members of the band.
Wang Zirui, a fourth-year student at Tianjia Primary School’s Lithography Teaching Center: feels cool and handsome when playing drums. How do you say it's just a feeling? I feel like nothing can disturb me, it's quite peaceful. Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, and I can vent out by playing drums here.
Zhang Yaqi, a second-year student at Tianjia Primary School Lithography Teaching Center: I think music is something that makes me feel very happy. When I play the guitar, I feel a little happy and happy.
"Sunflower" is a song that the "Nayun Boy" band has been rehearsing recently. In every rehearsal, Zhuang Jiyu would point out their problems one by one after listening to the whole process.
Zhuang Jiyu, teacher at Tianjia Primary School Lithography Teaching Point: You stand upright like this anytime and anywhere. You see, when I pull the microphone, I can lunge, right? Pull back.
The villagers of Shiyin Village used to make a living mainly by mining coal and related industries. After the coal mines in the village were closed, most of the young and middle-aged people went out to work, leaving only the elderly and children who could not take care of themselves at home. Because they live in scattered places, children can only play with their peers in school and have little contact with the outside world. Most of them are introverted.
Zhuang Jiyu, teacher at Tianjia Primary School Lithography Teaching Point: One aspect of their character is shown through the performance, so what I also want to do is to change their character a little bit and let them express it. It can bring a kind of music and rock companionship to their childhood life. You can gain some power through music. I think if you look at the world through music, I think the world may actually be beautiful.
Ignite music dreams and become a "cloud-taking" boy
Most of the children here are left-behind children who don't like to talk and are shy. When Zhuang Jiyu entered their world with music, the children slowly changed. They had more smiles on their faces and had dreams. Zhuang Jiyu wanted music to accompany the children's childhood, and the children responded to Zhuang Jiyu's expectations with love. His guidance is like a spark that ignites the children’s musical dreams, allowing them to dare to pursue their dreams.
Because she was not yet proficient in switching the four chords of "Sing a Song for You", at 2:10 in the afternoon, Zhang Yaqi, who had finished her day's lessons, borrowed a guitar from Zhuang Jiyu and went home to practice.
Grandma Zhang Yaqi Feng Daoyuan: She would take back the school guitar from time to time and pick it up and take it off. I said don't take it. Not to mention the inconvenience of holding it. If you take the school guitar and break it, the teacher will make you pay for it. She said, I'll pay for it. Teacher Zhuang didn't seem to ask them to pay for the guitar they broke, so I was afraid that she would break the guitar.
After finishing her homework, Zhang Yaqi started practicing guitar. Her hands would hurt after playing the guitar for a long time, so she would rest for a while and continue playing. In fact, not only Zhang Yaqi, but other band members also take guitars home from time to time.
Wang Zuxian, a fourth-year student at Tianjia Primary School’s lithographic teaching center: I just felt like I wanted to play it, and then I started playing it, and I fell in love with it, and then I felt like watching them play there, and then I thought, I want to go too. Playing, playing with them, I feel very happy when playing with them.
The guitar is easy to carry, but the drum set is difficult to move. Wang Zirui, who likes drums, once practiced his arms until they were numb at school. In addition to practicing during his free time at school, Wang Zirui also had his own practice method when he returned home.
Tianjia Primary School Lithography Teaching Point Fourth grade student Wang Zirui: Just find two sticks that are handy, and then imagine a drum set to beat there. You can also imagine that you are practicing, so that you will not forget what you have done.
Guitarist Yi Qi will graduate soon, and Zhuang Jiyu has also thought of a graduation gift for her. There are a total of 20 acoustic guitars donated by Wushan Middle School, and 16 of them are still in the rehearsal room. In the past few years, he has given away four guitars to graduates and transfer students of Lishiyin Teaching Point, provided that the children can play a song completely.
Zhuang Jiyu, teacher at Tianjia Primary School’s Lithography Teaching Point: Since you know , you can take this guitar. At least you can have an instrument with you after you leave elementary school. You can play the piano when you are happy, and you can also play the piano when you are unhappy. For example, if you graduate after graduation and these guitars are still in this classroom, then they may no longer have any connection with the guitars after they leave our lithographic teaching point. But if I give you this guitar, even if you go to the back and hang the guitar on the wall and stop playing it, you will still recall this experience in elementary school.
For the band members who are still primary school students, they cannot have too clear plans for the future, but in their vague imagination, music has become an indispensable part.
Wang Zirui, a fourth-year student at Tianjia Primary School’s lithographic teaching center: The drum set is the instrument that I first came into contact with, and it is also the instrument that has stayed with me the longest, so I think I will keep playing it, keep playing, and keep playing the drum set. .
Wang Zuxian, a fourth-year student at Tianjia Primary School’s Lithography Teaching Center: Hearing the songs in the music, if I can write a song in the future, how wonderful it would be. What is the outside world like? Will it be more beautiful and bigger than our small village, and more lively than here?
Shaolin Nayunzhi is the best in the world
Playing in a band in the city is cool. What is cooler than playing in a band in the city is playing in a band in the mountains. What is cooler than playing in a band in the mountains is to teach children in the mountains. They play in a band. Living in the mountains, singing under the flying clouds, the singing echoes in the vast mountains, and happiness flows in the heart of the young man. The musical seed sown by Teacher Zhuang Jiyu is changing the ecology of the teaching point from the outside in, from near to far, and is also subtly affecting the children's perception of themselves and the world.
"It should be noted that after a few days, I took the clouds and promised to be the best in the world." For teenagers with unlimited possibilities, nothing is more precious than dreams. When the lead singer takes home his beloved instrument, when the guitarist gets the guitar as a graduation gift, when the drummer imagines playing the drum set with two sticks, and when the bassist starts thinking about writing a song in the future, we seem to hear it. The sound of willow branches sprouting and flowers blooming. "The kaleidoscope embellishes your dazzling pupils, and rainbows will appear in the blue sky because of you." I wish the "cloud-grabbing boys" in the mountains to bravely move forward on the road to the future!
(headquarters reporters Wu Liming, Liu Yu, Zhan Sheng, Wang Ruizhe, Sun Xiaolu)
