A New Story of the Border City

Gong Jingran

Sichuan Literature amp; Art Publishing House

January 2023

54.00 （CNY）

This book is a non-fiction documentary literature work that reflects the social development of Mabian. The author obtained rich materials by consulting documents and files， on-the-spot investigation， oral records， interviews with people， etc. It tells the story of Mabian over 70 years， vividly and profoundly reflecting the achievements of the Xiaoliangshan area once in a thousand years.

Nobody else is more familiar with the old Mabian county than the old man Pan Derong. In those years， he rode a green bicycle every day to send letters and newspapers to every household. He could clearly remember every lane， every household， every tree near their houses， and every house number under the trees.

“I went a long way every day， and I could find them even if I had closed my eyes. I knew them very well！” said Uncle Pan.

At that time， there were only two postmen in Mabian county， and he was one of them. One sent letters inside the county and the other outside the county. Uncle Pan sent letters inside the county， and he worked until he retired in 1997.

“People in the county were familiar. We said hello though we didn’t know each other’s names.”

Uncle Pan was proud of his work. Every day， when he delivered letters in the green uniform， people loved his green bag， expecting it to surprise them. Uncle Pan had a round face and curved eye corners， giving others a sense of peace and harmony.

“I mainly sent newspapers and letters， and also money orders -- people liked them most.”

Uncle Pan came from the countryside. When he was young， he used to be an engineer and constructed the Chengdu-Kunming Railway. After he was transferred to civilian work， he went to the post office at the end of 1970. “In the beginning， they wanted someone talented in singing and dancing. I couldn’t do it. They found that I used to be an engineer. I worked hard and could climb poles. Then I was employed，” he said.

At first， Uncle Pan was assigned to work in the courtyard area， and he sent letters to the village. He went around with a postal parcel every day. When there were too many letters， he had to carry a burden. In Uncle Pan’s memory， Mabian was officially open to postal trains in 1982. Before that， all the letters were carried from Muchuan by “postal carriers.” They had to walk dozens of miles to pick letters. After years of work， their feet became very large. In 1976， Uncle Pan returned to the county. He began to ride a postal bicycle around the county. He didn’t have to walk a long way like a monk.

At that time， Uncle Pan sent People’s Daily， Sichuan Daily as well as party newspapers and periodicals. Every organization subscribed to these newspapers. Uncle Pan was most impressed by Red Flag magazine. Once they came， they would be tied to the back seat of his bicycle， becoming a high heavy pile. After the 1980s， there were more and more private newspapers in Mabian County， most of which were Reference News， Digest Weekly， and Sichuan Radio and Television News. Afterward， some people subscribed Shenzhen Youth Daily， Southern Weekend， and China Business Times. People’s reading interest was changing slowly， and the outside world seemed to be in the newspapers.

“In those days， there were few post express mails， only twenty or thirty every day. Now it is different. There are so many kinds， two or three thousand just for the postal office， not to mention those taken by private express companies.”

Uncle Pan had a lot to talk about when it came to sending letters in those years. There were many people who liked writing letters in this county， but some girls liked it most. They never stopped writing letters. There were also literary youths who liked to contribute. A group of people dreamed of literature in the county. They always contributed to newspaper offices and were mad with joy when they received payment bills. Uncle Pan remembered the “spectacles，” who was a gentleman. He stood on the roadside waiting for Uncle Pan every day. He would feel very lost if Uncle Pan didn’t stop his bicycle. In fact， Uncle Pan also felt lost， “as if I had owed him something.”

There were many stories about writing letters. In the 1980s， a policeman put a marriage personal in the newspaper. Every day， hundreds of letters came like snowflakes， and this continued for months. Pan wondered： Why are there so many marriage proposal letters？ Why do they propose before making it clear？ The key is whether this policeman has finished reading so many letters. Once， Uncle Pan really asked the policeman， he just giggled. Two years later， Pan heard that this young man had gotten married. Pan wondered which beauty he married. Then he heard that this young man had married a local girl.

It was thirty or forty years ago.

Uncle Pan and I walked together in the old town of Mabian. He was no longer a postman， as he had been retired for nearly 30 years. However， what I wanted to hear most was his old stories of Mabian. It seemed as if I had read the old stamp albums. That day， we started from the North Gate Bridge， from which we used to enter Mabian.

“In the past， if we went to Mabian， we should wait for the boat here. It was a long wait across a river.” Uncle Pan pointed to the other bank of the river.

As we talked， we were standing on one end of the North Gate Bridge. It took us only a minute to cross the bridge. Several old Yi people were chatting on the bridge. In those years， this was a pass called North Gate Pass. It was the only access to Mabian. If you bid someone farewell， you should accompany him until you arrive here and see him off to the bank until he arrives at the other bank. As a poet said， it was perhaps the distance of nostalgia.

After crossing the North Gate Bridge， we entered the old county in Uncle Pan’s memory. As far as I could see， the street was narrow， and there were not many pedestrians but some low-rise houses. The first one along the left side was the Zhu’s Hotel， and the next was a snack bar that sold deep-fried dough sticks， dumplings， and steamed buns. There were shops selling cotton wool and quilts in the middle， all in low-rise houses.

“In those days， Mabian County was filled with old wooden houses with blue tiles. The prefabricated houses were built afterward.”

Gong Jingran

Gong Jingran， an author， has published more than ten literature collections.