Poplars in Beijing

Over the years, few prose articles about aspen trees have appeared in the press, probably because the former literary master Mr. Mao Dun wrote the "Poplar Salute", which stands like a monument in the literary world.

The great writer's rafter-like brush wrote about the spirit and character of the northern poplar, and he praised the poplar trees in the northwest, but in fact the poplar trees in the northwest and north China do not look much different to the ordinary people. After I came to Beijing, I found that Beijing also has the kind of aspen trees depicted in Mao Dun's writing, not only there, but also more, and the number is completely comparable to Beijing's city tree, the acacia. This shows that Beijingers love black locust trees as much as they love aspen trees.

Beijing aspens are so tall that they are rarely seen on their own. Poplars like to live in groups, usually in a corner of a park, but some residential areas and street lawns have also become poplar colonies. They and the tall buildings around them form a complementary dependency effect, you are tall and I am tall, you are straight and I am straighter, standing shoulder to shoulder, competing with each other, chasing the white clouds in the blue sky and growing proudly.

Beijing now has an unprecedented variety of landscape trees, greatly enriching the greenery and scenery of the city. But I can't name most of these trees, after looking at them for a long time, I still feel more affectionate with the poplar tree that we grew up with.

The reason why people call it a poplar tree is because its skin is white, like a tall, white, handsome man, no matter where it grows, even if the place is very hidden and remote corner, it is difficult to hide its identity and beauty, its upright and upright, it always allows it to put its most glorious, the most dazzling side of the world, the sun, the moon and the stars, in the vast sky. In the vast sky, it stands up as a landscape on the earth.

The character of aspen is quite like that of Beijing people, no matter they are adults or children, they are full of confidence, they dare to beat their chests to the mountains at any time, they stick their thumbs high and proudly say to other trees: we are the aspen trees of Beijing, we are the authentic men.

I have a custom in my hometown in Henan, what trees are planted around the house is very careful, the general public are following an unwritten principle: not planted before the mulberry, not planted after the willow, not planted across the wall ghost clappers. Not planted mulberry and willow trees which are well understood, but for a long time, I do not know what the "ghost clapper" refers to the tree, and then the old people said, that is the aspen tree. The old people said that the poplar leaves are broad and dense, smooth, hard, the leaves are close together, in the wind, the leaves and leaves touching each other to make the sound, clattering and crunching, sounding like a group of people clapping their hands. And call it "ghost clapping", not the sound itself how scary, but some people say it is too noisy, especially late at night when the wind is blowing, the sound of leaves shaking and rain is particularly similar, often conveying the wrong message, easy to make people have the wrong impression, can not help but sound a little frightened.

I have not really quietly listened to the sound of poplar trees in the wind, after I came to live in Beijing, I saw that most of the poplar trees were planted in front of buildings in Beijing, I was more convinced that the saying "the ghosts are not planted on the other side of the wall to clap their hands" is limited to the opinions and environment of mountain villages. Because I have sat in the aspen forest on a windy day, listening to the clattering sound, in my ears that is not only not noise, but also like the performance of national instruments, very pleasant to the ear, cheerful, simple, crisp, pleasant, both straightforward, but also exciting.

When it comes to the "eyes" of aspen trees, I think everyone has seen it, the difference between it and people is that a person has only one pair of symmetrical eyes, while a poplar tree, depending on the height of the trunk thickness, there are several or dozens of "eyes". In fact, that is its trunk, every other section are growing a cool pattern of eyes. Some people say that it is a scar that falls during the growth of the tree, I absolutely do not believe it, because how can the tree scars grow so evenly? Each scar grows similarly? And how did the scars come about? Did God use his finger to point out the points?

In my opinion, it is clearly one "eye" after another. I think it is the poplar staring at the world with a unique perspective.

The "eyes" on the same aspen do not look exactly the same. If you look closely, you will find that some of them are joyful, some are kind, some are affectionate, some are fierce, and some are angry. The eyes of each eye, are expressing different feelings.

It is said that people who have done something wrong cannot hide under the aspen tree, let alone make a wish to the aspen tree, because the heart can be seen through it at a glance. Once you hide something, your wish will not come true.

The tall aspens are actually very kind, when they grow to a certain size, their branches will provide a nesting place for birds, although not comparable to the Olympic Village stadium called the bird's nest, but after the autumn, the leaves fall, it also looks so striking, perfect. Especially in the winter, the wind roars, the poplar will be cut off the momentum, from a distance to see the tree is shaking, but the tree branches outstretched arms, the embrace of the bird's nest to protect it tightly, so that it is safe and sound, stable as a rock.

There are many people and few birds in the downtown area, but if you walk outside the city, out of the Fourth Ring Road, aspen trees become more and more common, and bird nests become more and more common.

The aspen trees outside the Fourth Ring Road are different from those inside the Fourth Ring Road. One looks like a city dweller, bright and beautiful, with fine skin and tender flesh; the other looks like a country man, with a disheveled beard and a muddy face, even stooped and hunched over, aging before their time. However, this is exactly why I dare to write about the poplar trees in Beijing today, because the first ones that made me stand in awe were the poplars outside the city.

The poplars in the suburbs are not as tall as those in the city, but they are stronger because in the northern winter, the cold wind is so cold, so wild, and so long that people from the north cannot imagine it.

Only those who see those poplars can understand, outside the city poplar trees a little taller, are pinched off the head, destroyed the bent waist. Not pinched off the head, the upper part of the branches, after a winter of cold winds blowing hard, have also dried up. The next spring, the dry part will not be able to send new shoots, not blown dry, continue to live stubbornly. Because they know that their existence, the greatest value is to protect the capital from the wind and cold, improve the environment. "The poplars that died in the battlefield were particularly heroic and tragic, and those that survived will continue to fight the wind and sand next winter, never taking a step back.

I once stood in front of a row of crippled but still stubbornly growing aspen trees, and stood in contemplation, and raised my right arm to give them the highest military salute. At that moment, I read and understood the aspen, I am a soldier, my duty is to protect the motherland from the wind and rain, and to defend the enemy with loyalty. Like me, the aspen tree is also like a soldier, even if it pulverizes itself, it still wants to make the sand and wind stop.

Today I dare to praise the aspen in Beijing, not to be eastward-looking, but because the spirit of the aspen has deeply moved me, and the image of the aspen is just like my thousands of lovely comrades, all of which makes me unable not to lift my pen and sing that song of praise and clear tone inside.