Chapter 19 The Resurrection of Meng Changjun

That day was January 17, 1995 (Heisei 7). For the Japanese, this day will be unforgettable for the rest of their lives. It was the day when the Great Hanshin Earthquake broke out. Six days before the Great Hanshin Earthquake, on January 11th, I left my home in Nagoya for Kurashiki. Through the window of the Shinkansen train, I could see villas everywhere in and around Kobe, especially near the foot of the mountain. Many small western-style buildings were newly built.Everyone knows that Kobe belongs to a hilly area. To develop a residential base here, one has to find a way to level the hills. However, in order to protect the natural environment, the country explicitly prohibits the destruction of hills and vegetation. This may be why these houses built on the hills are becoming more and more popular. More reasons, right?Just as I was thinking wildly, the train had left the Kobe area.Our family's old house (the old home in Gamagori) was built on a small hill. Years of living experience told me how inconvenient it is to live in such a place.Because sitting at the door of the house, you can overlook the blue sea, and you can enjoy the cherry blossoms all over the mountains and plains every spring without leaving home. People who come here are full of envy in their eyes:

Being able to live here is like living in a fairyland! But for the locals who really live here for a long time, they have no leisure to enjoy the scenery that the city people think is very beautiful all year round, because they are already troubled enough by the inconveniences in life.It is also for this reason that shortly after I became sensible, I secretly swore that I would move to the flat land if I had the opportunity. With such a belief, I left my hometown and came to the bustling city. Every time I passed by When Kobe saw those high-end villas built on the top of the mountain, he would always involuntarily have a complicated feeling in his heart, and he couldn't tell whether it was envy or sympathy.

Since I had already agreed with my wife to meet in Kyoto on January 12, I only stayed in Kurashiki for one day, and arrived in Okayama the next day, took the Shinkansen again, and went to Kyoto via Kobe again. On January 15th, a reporter from "Mainichi Shimbun" came to interview. On our way to Nagoya Station by taxi, a full moon rose slowly in the east, and the silver-white moonlight shone through the car window as if it were daytime. . There is a possibility of earthquakes around the full moon! Somehow, I suddenly remembered the road news I had heard.There have been terrible disasters such as the Great Tokai Earthquake in Japan before. Since many Japanese people have lingering fears about earthquakes, in my spare time I have also read some so-called readings on earthquakes circulated among the people, and some knowledge about earthquakes such as earthquake clouds. It was at that time that I learned that the theory that earthquakes are more likely to occur around the full moon and the new moon also came from these street stalls. We don’t care whether this theory has been recognized by the seismology community, but what I didn’t expect was that this time I would give it to you. I guessed it, maybe it would be more accurate to say that this is the sixth sense!

Early the next morning, I was resting at home in Nagoya when I suddenly felt the whole house shake. I have lived in Tokyo for ten years, and I am used to seeing some small earthquakes, but this time my sixth sense told me something was wrong. I quickly opened my eyes and sat up from the bed. Sure enough, as expected, the tragic situation after the earthquake near Kobe was transmitted through the TV. In the next few days, my eyes did not leave the TV. I don't know what happened to the "Kobe Shimbun"? You should know that my serialized novel "Meng Changjun" is not only being published in "Tokyo Shimbun" and "Chonichi Shimbun", but also in "Kobe Shimbun".Later, a reporter friend of the "China Japan News" told me:

The "Kobe Shimbun" newspaper office was greatly damaged, but with the help of the "Kyoto Shimbun" newspaper office, the newspaper was still published every day, but it was a pity that "Mengchang Jun" could not continue to be serialized due to layout issues. The man also said a lot about the newspaper, but I can't remember what he said.In my impression, "Kobe Shimbun" is an old-fashioned newspaper. Even in the war-torn World War II, when the Japanese mainland was bombed, it did not stop publishing.Soon, an evening paper of "Kobe Shimbun" was delivered to me. It seemed that the printing quality of the newspaper had deteriorated a lot. Maybe it was because of the ups and downs. Publishing newspapers with substantial content in a timely manner is no easy feat.I have searched every page, and there is indeed no sign of "Meng Chang Jun", but the unyielding spirit of "Kobe Shimbun" makes me firmly believe that "Meng Chang Jun" will be revived in the near future.

A month later, the journalist friend from China Japan News came to visit: Let me tell you a piece of good news, people who have taken refuge here in the Kobe area are scrambling to circulate our newspapers, because they can also see "Meng Changjun" published in the "Kobe Shimbun" on the "Chingichi Shimbun"! After listening to his narrative, tears welled up in my eyes.After the earthquake, because the "Kobe Shimbun" evening paper did not continue to publish "Meng Chang Jun", many readers in the Kobe area wrote to me, asking if I had stopped writing.All kinds of facts tell me that Kobe people have a lot of affection for "Meng Chang Jun".

"Kobe Shimbun" re-published the serialization of "Meng Changjun" on March 27th, but the serialized novel originally published in the evening paper was reprinted in the morning paper, and ten chapters were published at a time, which is unprecedented in the history of newspaper serialized novels thing.Of course, this also has a lot to do with the two-month suspension of "Mengchang Jun". In short, during the period of resumption of publication, the morning paper of "Kobe Shimbun" became a newspaper that people rushed to read. Not long after, I received a letter from the editor in charge of the serial novel section of "Kobe Shimbun". In the letter, he explained in detail the reasons for the interruption of the serialization and some situations before and after the resumption of publication. situation, and I admire their work enthusiasm very much. I think those readers who wrote to the newspaper asking to reopen the serial page should also be moved by their work attitude.Due to the suspension of publication, "Meng Changjun" on "Kobe Shimbun" is nine chapters later than "China Shimbun", so "Kobe Shimbun" will not be able to serialize until September 11 (with two Sundays in between). After the publication, about half a month later, the book "Meng Changjun" will be published as a collection. What kind of emotions will readers in Kobe look at this book?I think no matter whether this emotion is sad or happy, it will fill the lines of "Mengchang Jun", because this book was published under special circumstances.