保護中原窯洞文化

Protect Cave Dwelling Culture in the Central Plains

今年春末夏初，我到河南看了很多名勝古跡，但最吸引我的是鞏義這個地方特有的窯洞。河南是平原地區，能見到窯洞，很難得。

我去洛陽看龍門石窟，路過鞏義，沿途見到一些破損的窯洞，覺得很奇怪，想象這里曾經有人居住就好奇。中國朋友告訴我，在窯洞里居住，冬暖夏涼。這么神奇的建筑，我想多了解一些，于是在這個地方停留了兩天。

當地人告訴我，可以在康百萬莊園見到最奢華的窯洞，因為那里曾經是清朝一個有名商人的家。我沒有停下腳步，趕快來到這個地方。在這里見到了一個富商家的全貌，包括大門、石碑、牌坊等等。但是讓我最興奮的還是他們家的窯洞，我可以親身走進去參觀體驗。

厚厚的黃土下面用青石砌出一個窯洞，很厚實很結實的樣子。走進去，非常涼爽，炎炎夏日，應該是避暑的好地方，想起了火車上學會的那個詞語“冬暖夏涼”。在這里，我可以想象一百多年前的人怎樣生活，那么五百年前呢，或者更早一些呢？有沒有更早一些的窯洞建筑呢？當地人帶我來到了著名詩人杜甫的老家——杜甫故里。這里是杜甫出生的地方。在這個景區，有一個筆架山，遠遠看去很像一個筆架，就在山下面，有一個簡陋的窯洞，是杜甫曾經生活的地方。

這些都是景區留下來的窯洞建筑，那么當地普通人有沒有還生活在窯洞里呢？或者繼續建造窯洞呢？中國朋友介紹說，隨著生活水平的提高，越來越多的人離開窯洞，住上更舒適的樓房。也有一些老人，他們習慣了生活的老宅子，所以還有窯洞在繼續使用。我們很高興找到了這樣的窯洞。看上去有一些簡陋，但是老人把它打掃得很干凈、很舒服。

走在鞏義這個小城，窯洞淹沒在高樓大廈中。我感受著這里的繁華，內心也有一些遺憾，為這些慢慢消失的窯洞。這樣的建筑看起來沒有那么“高大上”，但是卻充滿著智慧，比如怎樣選址、怎樣挖掘、怎樣才能不讓上面的黃土掉下等等，這些問題，都使我對這里的人們很佩服。

怎樣才能保存窯洞這種建筑呢？古老和現代相結合，文化和發展相結合，或許可以挽救這里的窯洞。離開這里，我依依不舍，再次見到那些殘損的廢棄的窯洞，我在想，也許沒有必要遺憾，因為歷史在發展，社會在發展，中國在發展，而中國人的智慧長存。

In the late spring and early summerof this year， I visited many placesof interest in Henan Province. Butwhat attracted me most were the cavedwellings unique to Gongyi， a city inHenan Province， because it was rare tosee cave dwellings in such a plain arealike Henan.

I passed by Gongyi on my wayto Luoyang to see Longmen Grottoes.Along the way were some damagedcave dwellings. It somehow appearedstrange to me that some people hadever lived in such a place. My Chinesefriends told me that these dwellingswere warm in winter and cool insummer. What an amazing place！ Iwanted to know more about them， so Istayed there for two days.

The locals told me that the mostluxurious cave dwelling could be foundin Kangbaiwan Manor， where wasthe residence of a famous merchantin the Qing dynasty. Hence I camethere without further ado. This placegave me a full picture of a wealthymerchant's home， including gates，stone tablets， memorial archway，etc. But what excited me most wasthe cave dwelling at his home whereI could walk in and visit by myself.

Under the thick loess， a cavedwelling was built with bluestone，looking solid and secure. When Iwalked in， I felt so cool， remindingme of the phrase \"warm in winterand cool in summer\" that I learnedon the train. This must be a goodplace to escape the hot summer.Here， I could imagine how peoplelived over a hundred years ago，but what about five hundred yearsago， or earlier？ Are there any cavebuildings with a longer history？ Thelocals took me to the hometown ofDu Fu， a famous poet in the Tangdynasty. This scenic spot is hometo the Bijia Mountain that looks likea pen holder from afar. At the footof the mountain is a humble cavedwelling where Du Fu lived.

These are the cave dwellingskept by the scenic spot. So， dothe local people still live in cavedwellings？ Or do they still buildsuch dwellings？ My Chinese friendstold me that with the improvementof living standards， more andmore people have left their cavedwellings and lived in morecomfortable buildings. But some ofthe elderly still prefer to live in theirold houses， so some cave dwellingsare still in use. I was very glad thatwe had found such a cave dwelling.It seemed a bit crude， but theoccupants made it very clean andcomfortable.

Now the cave dwelling hasgiven its way to the high-rise.Walking in the small city of Gongyi，I could feel the prosperity here， butsome regrets lingered in my heartfor the gradual disappearanceof these cave dwellings. Such abuilding does not seem so \"grand\"，but from choosing a site to diggingand to preventing the loess fromfalling， all of these are full ofwisdom. At the thought of these， Ihave a high opinion of the peoplethere.

How can we save the cavebuildings？ Combining thetraditional style with the modernstyle， and the culture withdevelopment may be a way out. Iwas reluctant to leave here. WhenI saw the deserted cave dwellingsagain， I was thinking that maybethere is no need to regret， becausewith the development of history， ofsociety， and of China， the wisdom ofChinese people remains.