White Emperor City

Author: Wang Yipeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: I call all the towns submerged beneath the river "White Emperor City"—where willows sway gently, blending with the sky and water; where the fish (a unique river feature) opens, and wild geese carry messages, telling you—what’s submerged hasn’t vanished, the White Emperor in the heart has been reborn.
Author’s Note (June 2004)
This book describes the folk customs, historical legends, landscapes, and the realities of resettlement along the Three Gorges. With a melancholic and nostalgic tone, it pays homage to White Emperor City, seeking roots, home, and dreams, and rediscovering the lost history of the nation. It also recounts the poverty and hardships faced by the migrants, their grievances and cries. The author delves into the grassroots, visiting directly, making it an extremely precious book.
The author of White Emperor City, Wang Yipeng, is a foreign literature teacher who often shared his travels along the Yangtze River with his students. Once, while teaching the Bible and Greek mythology, he spoke of "primitive language." From a bag resembling a travel kit, he pulled out two smooth stones, held them in his hands, and struck them together, producing a crisp sound that echoed in the classroom. With admiration, he said, "This is what I brought back from the Yangtze River. This is the 'primitive sound.'" It was the style of a poet—only someone with a poet’s romanticism could speak and act in such a way. This is also the impression the words of White Emperor City give.
On the book’s cover, between the mountains, water, and sky of the Three Gorges, a small line of text reads: "A Poet’s Pilgrimage." The sacred place in the poet’s heart is White Emperor City. However, this "White Emperor City" is not the one mentioned in the poem "Farewell to White Emperor, with colorful clouds between," but rather a collective term for all towns that have sunk or are about to sink into the river. Fish, Shantuo, Fuling, Zhenxi, Fengjie, Wushan, Gaoyang, Wanzhou, Guling, and Lidu. The author visited many small towns along the Yangtze River, both in summer and winter, and presented their appearances to us. He traveled to these towns, rich in Yangtze and Bashu culture but about to vanish, as a poet and an archaeologist. Thus, his writing is delicate, lively, and compassionate, filled with emotion yet also documentary interest. He regarded these towns as sacred, and therefore conducted many humanistic studies of their history and culture. Some local literary forms passed down from ancient times were faithfully recorded:
"Pounding Li, Li sinks, Li sinks into carp; wind blows bee, bee lands, wind rises, bee flies."
This was what he heard a young man say in a small shop, recounting ancient Sichuan stories. Such authentic text appears throughout the book. In his view, "These are the treasures of our nation, and it is my greatest honor in life to record them—it has enriched my soul and life, and also enriched and replenished the increasingly pale modern Chinese language."
We can follow the author’s journey and meet a variety of local residents: primary school teachers, blind artisans, old silversmiths, innkeepers, "bangbang" laborers from the mountains, residents of dilapidated houses, Tujia women, and children—each becomes a piece of cultural heritage, a continuation of the ancient Yangtze culture, and thus the author’s reverent and humble attitude toward each person is deeply moving. He writes, "Their speech is so vivid, their character so noble, their experiences and fates weave a historical tapestry along the Yangtze."
Interestingly, while describing his travels along the Yangtze, the author often touches on traces of Western literature. In my view, these occasional Western literary elements are genuine expressions of his insights, appearing fresh, natural, and uniquely charming. He also records his observations through travel photos, and though the scenes and people are simple, they add to the readability of the text.