Text: Wu Chengxue.
In early winter, the yellow leaves begin to fall, and the grass is still verdant. The countdown ceremony for the centennial celebration of Sun Yat-sen University has been held, and the timer set up in front of the Waishi Hall reminds people every day that the centennial moment is approaching.
At this time, an old man who was also a teacher and friend came from far away, and I suddenly found that in this ancient campus, some inconspicuous people and some inadvertent things have been polished by time and have also glowed with a different brilliance.
Looking back, I have known this friend for forty years. His name is Qiu Jiang, and in 1984, when I graduated with a master's degree and was assigned to the Institute of Ancient Literature of Sun Yat-sen University, Qiu Jiang was also admitted to the Institute of Ancient Literature from a photo studio in Guangzhou as a data clerk, so we became colleagues.
At that time, the Institute of Ancient Literature was located on the left side of the first floor of Martin Hall, the earliest ancient building in Kangyuan, and at the initiative of Mr. Wang Qi, the director, the Institute of Ancient Literature began to sort out the "Chewangfu Quben", Qiu Jiang and I both participated, and also published several volumes.
In 1987, I was admitted to Fudan University to study for a PhD, and after graduating from my PhD, I returned to the Department of Chinese at CUHK to become a teacher. Although we were both in Kang Yuen, the two of us rarely saw each other, except that Qiu Jiang worked as a data clerk at the Institute of Ancient Documents until his retirement in 2006.
After retiring, Qiu Jiang soon became a legend of Kang Yuan - he had more and more followers with Tai Chi skills. I also want to take the time to learn boxing, but I always feel busy and procrastinating.
Until May 2012, I heard that Qiu Jiang was going to settle in Canada at the end of the year, I hurriedly looked for him to apprentice, he said that before going abroad, he would open a special Tai Chi class, so I became a student of this class, and Qiu Jiang and Qiu Jiang have formed a teacher-student friendship since then.
I respect Qiu Jiang as my teacher, not only because he taught me to play Taijiquan, but also because I understood the breadth and profundity of the Taiji world, and at the same time, I saw from him a kind of incarnation of character and boxing.
Qiu Jiang has been Xi boxing since childhood, and has not stopped for more than 60 years, and his boxing skills can be described as pure and young. Boxing products out of character, his style of boxing is like his personality, not gorgeous, not dangerous, natural and easy, such as flowing water, reflecting a vigorous and elegant realm.
His fist style may be imitated, but the purity he has achieved is beyond the reach of ordinary people. This requires not only time to cultivate, but also an understanding based on culture and learning, character and faith.
Qiu Jiang's Taijiquan was passed on from Wang Naijian, Wang Naijian was passed on from Chen Weiming, and Chen Weiming was passed on from Yang Chengfu, all of which have clear origins and inheritance. Qiu Jiang has preserved the master's inheritance from generation to generation as much as possible, and has not changed it.
In this era of "innovation", this attitude inevitably seems "conservative". The grim truth is that many of the current transformations of tradition are called innovation, but in fact, they often bring destruction, and the so-called "conservative" is sometimes just persistence.
Qiu Jiang not only preserved and inherited the Yang's old boxing routines, but also coined the term "forgetting" to summarize the spirit of Tai Chi. Taoists call the spiritual realm of forgetting things and self and being one with the Tao as "sitting and forgetting".
Qiu Jiang found another method of meditation from Tai Chi, which is "moving and forgetting". He explained that "moving forgetfulness" is "entering the realm of static nothingness in the practice of Tai Chi".
Kang Yuan has many scenic spots. In my eyes, the Kangyuan Park is especially won by Magangding. Xiao Xiao green bamboo, the ancient camphor, the old banyan tree that covers the sky and the sun, and the clusters of red walls and green tiles. And what makes these landscapes timeless are the people who have lived here. Walking past Magangding, I will think of the past of Xi boxing.
At that time, we went to Magangding at 5:10 p.m. every day to practice boxing with Qiu Jiang. One day I went early and saw Qiu Jiang sweeping the floor, so I realized that Qiu Jiang and several coaches went earlier than the students every day and cleaned the venue in advance. This was a bit of a surprise to me.
Later, I read from Master Hongyi's book: When ordinary people think about it, when the Buddha was alive, they always thought that like the current abbot and monk, there was a mantle master and a waiter teacher, and he was always waiting, and the Buddha himself did not have to do anything. But otherwise, one day, Shakyamuni saw that the ground was not very clean, so he picked up a broom to sweep the floor.
When the Buddha saw this, he was overjoyed, and then went to the lecture hall to say the Dharma, saying, "If a person sweeps the floor, he can gain five kinds of merits.......""This story reminds me of Qiu Jiang very naturally, and I realized in my heart: the great and the ordinary are not far away.
Qiu Jiang was born in the old family of Shi Eun, graduated from high school in 1965, worked as an educated youth for ten years, worked in a photo studio for nine years, and was admitted to the Institute of Ancient Literature of Sun Yat-sen University at the age of 38. But I often feel sorry for him: with his skills, there is no doubt that he will be on the list when he takes the college entrance examination, but because of the lack of high education, the title stops at the intermediate level.
Later, I gradually discovered that some famous people may not live up to their names;Some seemingly ordinary people are actually quite extraordinary. Qiu Jiang is such an otherworldly person, who does not like things, does not take compassion for himself, and is compassionate and does things wholeheartedly. For example, in Tai Chi, his heart and mind are to pass it on and spread it.
He taught boxing for 60 years. In China, he has taught countless **, and after settling in Canada, he volunteered to teach Tai Chi in the community, and he has enjoyed it for many years.
When I met Qiu Jiang again this time, I got to know him again - he never showed off how much Tai Chi he taught**, but they rushed to thank him from home and abroad. He seldom mentions what literature research he has done, but the collection and publication of Lingnan Buddhist historical materials fully demonstrates his profound academic skills.
As the editor-in-chief and chief author, Qiu Jiang led a group of colleagues to complete the collation and publication of Lingnan Buddhist literature series, such as "Lingnan Famous Temples and Ancient Chronicles Series", "Lingnan Buddhism Historical Materials Series in the Early Qing Dynasty", and "Huayan Series", which were also supported by Elder Benhuan. When he did this, Qiu Jiang was already a retired old man.
He also edited the book "Danxia Mountain Ancient Mo Cliff Inscription Collection".
The geology of Danxia Mountain is special, mostly red sandstone, the inscription cliff is more prone to weathering and erosion, Qiujiang organized a group of professionals and young students to carry out "rescue" copying and extension of these inscriptions. They don't have enough money, they have poor tools, and they have to climb rocks to do difficult copying, which is a very risky job.
The work began at the end of 2005 and was completed in 2012. Over the years, they have traveled back and forth between Guangzhou and Shaoguan many times, rain or shine, and persevered. After the compilation of this inscription, some of the original inscriptions have been blurred or even completely weathered. This makes people rejoice that the rescue of the inscription is too timely.
Qiu Jiang once wrote a poem for Xi Quan **: "Heng is the first righteousness." This is not only a way to learn Xi Tai Chi, but also Qiu Jiang's self-taught way of dealing with the world. In Qiu Jiang, I see a kind of "constant goodness" power.
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of Sun Yat-sen University, I edited the book "Sun Yat-sen University and Modern Chinese Scholarship", in which I mentioned many shining names in the history of Sun Yat-sen University, and Sun Yat-sen University has survived for 100 years because of them.
Therefore, when people today approach Magangding, they will always involuntarily pay attention to Chen Yinke's former residence. However, the greatness of Sun Yat-sen University, in addition to the shining famous figures, there are also many ordinary alumni who silently adhere to "Hengshan".
Walking around the campus, the shade of the trees, the breeze, the birds' chirping, and the fallen leaves on the top of Magang are the same as in the past, and I will think of Qiu Jiang, an old CUHK who was also my teacher and friend.
* |Yangcheng Evening News, Yangcheng faction editor-in-charge|Edited by Wu Xiaopan |Proofread by Liang Shanyan |Li Songqing.