百年归故里

百年以前，我的曾祖辈从这里漂洋过海到了南洋——我的故乡，为了生活。百年以后，我从南洋沿着他们走过的路回到了这里——他们的故乡，为了梦想。

我是马来西亚第四代华裔，中文说得这么好，令中国友人诧异。通过他们惊讶的目光，我恍惚看到了那个流血的年代，那些独在异乡为异客的先辈，那些因反抗而得以保留的文化，那些兜兜转转从南洋回到唐山的汇款。背井离乡、漂泊海外，他们所求不就是家国振兴、家繁国盛吗？也是在那一刻，我发觉这趟旅程的意义——为我的先辈，体验他们不曾见过的盛世烟火。

来到中国的一年间，我走过上海的繁华，踏过长白山的雪山，跪过鲤城的寺庙，望过帝都的巍峨。

万国之风，领路世界。黄浦江水孕育着上海、划分着魔都，一面现代一面古典。从浦西遥望陆家嘴，如同穿梭未来，摩天大楼林立，金碧辉煌，声色动人；从浦东眺望外滩，好似回到过去，万国建筑矗立，十里洋场，风云际会。这是一座包容性极强的城市，形形色色的人群，各有所异的语言，或西装笔挺，或休闲自在，或怪异可爱。早晨的外滩，来自世界各地的人们汇聚于此，彼此尊重，如同被晨光沐浴的这座城市一般，在这里你可以完全做你自己，它总会毫无保留地接纳你。这里是上海。

山河之大，波涛壮丽。“大荒之中，有山名不咸”，海拔2620米，零下20摄氏度，冷风呼啸，仿佛下一秒就要将人卷入谷底。一片白茫茫，看不清前方，忍不住质疑，千里迢迢奔赴于此，究竟为何？而即将离开之际，云雾突然散去，孤悬天际，群峰环抱，天池与它的16座守护者，毫无预兆地闯入视野、直捣心底。天空湛蓝，湖面白皑，山下见山，山上见更远的山。山川湖海，一切奔赴，皆有回应，人间值得。这里是长白山。

晨钟暮鼓，香火鼎盛。传说中众神的人间办事处，是世界级宗教博物馆，也是海上丝绸之路的起点，更是马可·波罗笔下的东方第一大港。人与神为邻，古厝与洋楼共生，仰望神明，俯身打拼，是这座城市的特色。拼搏、拼搏、再拼搏，这样的精神深深地刻画在每个泉州人的血脉当中，他们的字典里没有放弃，只有不停地重来，直到成功。这里是泉州。

长城雄师，护佑一方。早晨6点，墨绿色的军服，咚咚的鼓声，整齐划一的踏步。国歌奏起，伴随着五星红旗冉冉升起，群众的声音响彻整个天安门广场。80岁的老妇人在唱，坐轮椅的老爷爷在唱，孩子在唱，父母在唱，余光瞥见有人已热泪盈眶。这是一场中国式的浪漫，我一个外国人也深受震撼。所有人都在等待它的升起，并愿意为它付出全部的努力，而它从来不负众望，任重而道远，带着它的子民们在世界的舞台上越走越远、越爬越高。这里是北京。

我时常会思乡情切，漂浮如萍的感觉使我紧张，然而在这里，我也时常被治愈。或是人潮熙攘中一张递上的纸巾，或是兜兜转转时一个亲切的引路，或是浮浮沉沉里一句“小刘医师，你做得很好了”。这里的人们似乎总是充满了爱，更从不吝于表达、分享，无论你持的是哪一国的护照，说的是哪一国的语言。从大家到小家，一脉相承，照拂着每一个异乡客躁动的心。原来这就是我的祖辈魂牵梦萦的故里。

我曾在碑上看过，他们来自永春，泉州下辖的一个县城，据说是一个“万紫千红花不谢，冬暖夏凉四序春”的桃源。虽行脚匆匆，我未能踏足永春，但泉州让我真切感受到了何谓“乡音无改”。熟悉的方言，相似的信仰，亲切的问候，若是他们有机会回来，是否也会成为“鬓毛衰”的模样呢？

朦胧间，我似乎回到了曾祖母的弥留之际。儿孙环绕，五代同堂，何其幸也。然而她最后的目光并没有停留在我们身上，她目光迢迢，是在等待曾祖父与她的久别重逢？抑或在眺望那个养她、育她，她却再也没能踏足的故乡呢？没关系的，阿祖，我替你回来了，这里很好，也许已不似你记忆中那般，但这里，很好。

祝每个游子皆有归途。祝如愿。

（本文选自人民日报出版社《我与中国的美丽邂逅：2023年来华留学生征文大赛优秀作品集》）

A hundred years ago， my great-grandfathers crossed the oceans from here in China to South Oceans or Nanyang which is my hometown， in order to make a living. A century later， I followed the path they took from Nanyang to return here – their hometown， for my dreams.

I am a fourth-generation Chinese in Malaysia. I speak Chinese so well that my Chinese friends are surprised. Through their curious eyes， I vaguely saw that bloody era in which my ancestors， who were strangers in a foreign land， fought to preserve their culture and overcame all the obstacles to send back money to Tangshan in North China from Nanyang. After leaving their hometown and wandering overseas， don’t they want the revitalization of their country and the prosperity of their hometown？ It was also at that moment that I realized the meaning of this journey – to experience something that my ancestors had never seen before and to see the glorious prosperity that they only dreamed for.

During the year I came to China， I walked through the bustling Shanghai， stepped on the snow-capped mountains of Changbai Mountain， knelt down in the temples of Licheng （Quanzhou）， and appreciated the majestic imperial capital of Beijing.

Lead the world with the support of all nations. The Huangpu River nurtures Shanghai and divides the city into modern and classical parts. Looking at Lujiazui from Puxi is like traveling into the future， with skyscrapers standing tall and magnificent， and the sounds and lights breathtaking. Looking at the Bund from Pudong is like going back in time， with buildings from all over the world standing tall， a 10-mile foreign market stretching wide with the wind and cloud meeting. This is a very inclusive city， with all kinds of people speaking different languages， some wearing neat suits， some being casual， and some being weird and cute. Every morning on the Bund， people from all over the world gather there and respect each other， just like the city is bathed in the morning light. Here you can be completely yourself and will be always accepted without reservation. This is Shanghai.

The mountains and rivers are huge and the waves are magnificent. “Among the wilderness， there is a mountain with the name of Buxian.” With the altitude of 2，620 meters， the temperature is minus 20 C there， and the cold wind howls， as if people will be swept to the bottom of the valley in the next second. In the vast expanse of white， I can’t see clearly ahead. I can’t help but question， why have I traveled thousands of miles to get here？ When I was about to leave， the clouds and fog suddenly dispersed， and the Tianchi Lake and its 16 surrounding peak guardians hanging alone in the sky， breaking into my field of vision without warning， and penetrating into my heart. The sky is blue， the lake is white， you can see the mountains below， and the mountains upon mountains. Mountains， rivers， lakes and seas， every effort I made now has a reward， the world is worth it. This is Changbai Mountain.

With the bells in the morning and the drums in the evening， here is full of incense. The legendary earthly office of the gods is a world-class religious museum. It is also the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road and the largest port in the East described by Marco Polo. Human beings and gods are neighbors， ancient houses and Western-style buildings coexist. Looking up to the gods and working hard are the characteristics of this city. The spirit of diligence is deeply engraved in the blood of every Quanzhou person. The phrase “Giving up” cannot be found in their dictionary， as they only try again until succeed. This is Quanzhou.