Chi Zijian: the crown of Alcala

The non-closely related college entrance examination has passed again! My son suddenly told me this unforgettable article, which was the only perfect reading question in his senior three N-mode exam. There is a score of "practice is the only criterion for testing truth" in the standard answer, and he actually wrote it. How did he write it? I admit I can't answer it!

Chi Zijian:? The crown of Alcala

"Before Setis was born, Alcala was Alcala. There are schools, churches, monasteries, shops, restaurants, flower shops, post offices, bullrings and prisons. On the gravel road in the town, there are carriages carrying rich people passing by with their heads held high, and beggars with bowed backs stare at the cracks in the gravel road, expecting to find out who left a shiny coin. The chanting of the church, the fragrance floating from the coffee shop, the running water outside the city and the afterglow of summer complement each other, showing people a picture of medieval life.

After Cervantes was born, Alcala, a small Spanish town, became the artistic cradle of a great writer. I also began to plan my own literary journey for Cervantes intentionally or unintentionally. Cervantes, who came from a civilian family, has been shrouded in poverty like a cloud. He has been a quartermaster, a tax collector and so on, and has seen all kinds of injustice in this society. He also went through the war, was injured in a naval battle, and was kidnapped to Algeria by Turkish pirates dramatically, and was imprisoned for five years.

Of course, Alcatraz also gave Cervantes all the beautiful things in the world, that is, the sunshine, the cool breeze, the bright moon and the valleys enjoyed by the poor and the rich. Especially the simple folk customs and quiet living atmosphere of the town, without them, there would be no future travel and adventure of Cervantes' characters.

Cervantes started in Alcatraz, so when he later brought glory to Spain with a giant pen like Rafter, Alcatraz became the Alcatraz of Cervantes more than 400 years later. Of course, it can also be said that it is Alcala of Don Quixote.

Sunshine Square is Cervantes Square. Statues of Cervantes and his characters made of different materials can be seen everywhere in shops in the streets. Along the gravel road in the town to the museum of Cervantes' former residence, there are two most common landscapes. One is an ancient stone pillar standing on both sides of the street. They are pale and vague, like a group of veterans coming from the Middle Ages, looking at people coming from Al Callanan to the north; There is also a landscape like a stone pillar, but they are not standing on the ground, but on the roof, that is, storks.

The China history teacher who showed us around Alcala pointed to the huge nests at the top of some buildings and said that they were made of storks. The stork is a migratory bird, with huge body and lonely feet, and likes to eat fish and shrimp. This is the breeding season for them to return to the north in summer, and the stork next to the bird's nest looks like a sculpture from a distance, motionless. Storks are usually monogamous, so it is usually a couple bathing in the sunshine by the nest. It is said that the government is also worried about these white storks, because their nests are made of mud and grass, thick and heavy, which poses a threat to those ancient buildings. And they like to choose to nest next to the chimney of the monastery, on the zenith of the university and on the dome of the church, as if they know that scholars and people who believe in God will not hurt them, and they can get a permanent living harbor under the blue sky. In order to protect ancient buildings and those storks, the government has to repair and strengthen their habitats. Just as I kept looking up at them, a white stork would probably go out for food, leave its heavily guarded home, fly through the town. Its white body and black wings make it look like a preacher.

Finally arrived at the memorial hall of Cervantes' former residence, but it was closed. It is said that sometimes it opens in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon, and the time is uncertain, which is a bit like the ranger style of Cervantes' characters.

On Qingshi Road in front of the memorial hall, there is a unique bench. One end of the bench is a bronze statue of Don Quixote, and the other end is Sancho's. Many tourists sat between the bronze statues and took photos with these two great figures in literary history. Strangely, when I was sitting on a bench and leaning towards Sancho, an adult with a complicated expression walked behind me, and when I approached Don Quixote with a spear, a fairy-tale Spanish princess walked by me, which was like a portrayal of their spiritual world. In front of Cervantes Memorial Hall, they stood firm in the wind and rain, not because of bronze carvings, but because of Cervantes' immortal pen, which shaped a permanent patron saint for his birthplace.

? At the beginning of the publication of Don Quixote, according to the Spanish custom at that time, the published books were dedicated to a powerful person for asylum. Cervantes failed to avoid custom and dedicated this book to a duke named Behar. Of course, the duke turned a deaf ear to dedication, and Cervantes did not improve his situation until the end. In fact, Cervantes has always been in his own constellation, but what really shines is behind him. Many great writers in the world spoke highly of Don Quixote, such as Hugo, Goethe, Byron, Heine and Turgenev. Just as China's Dream of Red Mansions is derived from A Dream of Red Mansions, the interpretation of Don Quixote and even these famous people in history have their own interpretations and different experiences. Don Quixote is a candle. Everyone lives in darkness and has different tolerance for darkness, so the light that receives it is also different, but this is also the embodiment of the richness of Don Quixote.

Walking in Alcala, I always feel that there is an invisible crown over the city. The base of the crown is the spire of the church, the old chimney and the nest of the stork, and the top of the crown is the floating white clouds. Deep in the white clouds, Cervantes traveled through time and space and became the brightest jewel in this crown. Such a crown does not need to be crowned. It belongs to Alcatraz, Cervantes, and of course to April 23rd, the anniversary of the death of Cervantes and Shakespeare. It is now called World Reading Day.

Don Quixote has never been defeated, just as no one can defeat time. "