引 言

祖籍墓地前面那条河流，永远涨漾着诱惑。无堤无坝开阔的河床上沟汊纵横，茂盛的河苇和蒲草中，千万生灵在噪闹着，像一道道绿色迷帐……河畔黄泥岗上，蓬蓬勃勃生长着一株粗大的杜梨树，树干要几个人牵了手才可围抱过来。据说，这棵撑开尹家老祖爷爷坟头的祖宗树，树干每生出一个斑结，就是尹家一代人的纪录。历经数百载的风雨沧桑，那粗大的躯干上已是斑结累累，像旧城门上馒头大的铜钉……
The river in front of the ancestral cemetery is always full of temptation. On the open riverbed without embankments or dams, there are crisscrossing gullies and streams. Amidst the lush river reeds and cattails, millions of creatures are noisy, resembling a series of green, swirling curtains……On the yellow clay hill by the riverbank stands a thriving, massive wild pear tree. Its trunk is so wide that it would take several people hand in hand to encircle it. According to legend, this ancestral tree, spreading its shade over the grave of the founding forebear of the Yin family, records the family’s generations—every time a knot grows on its trunk, is a record of the Yin family for a generation. After centuries of storms and upheavals, the immense trunk is now riddled with countless knots, resembling the massive brass nails on an ancient city gate……

作 者 简 介

尹世林——（1950－2022），出身山东临邑农家，国家一级作家，中国作家协会会员，中国报告文学学会会员，山东省作家协会文学创作室副主任，1978年开始文学创作，代表作有短篇小说集《野水》，中篇小说集《长夜洞箫》，长篇纪实《铁血之旅》、《幸福的荒漠》、《太阳灼伤的土地》、《闯荡南非》、《天上狼烟》等 。曾获中华铁人文学奖，山东精品工程、泰山文学奖等。
Yin Shilin (1950–2022) was born into a farming family in Linyi County, Shandong Province. He was a National First-Class Writer, a member of the China Writers Association, and a member of the China Reportage Association. He also served as the Deputy Director of the Literary Creation Office of the Shandong Writers Association. Yin began his literary career in 1978 and is known for works such as the short story collection Wild Water, the novella collection The Long Night and the Dong Xiao Flute, and full-length nonfiction works including The Journey of Iron and Blood, The Desert of Happiness, The Land Scorched by the Sun, Venturing into South Africa, and Wolf Smoke in the Sky. His works earned him honors such as the China Iron Man Literature Award, the Shandong Excellence Project Award, and the Taishan Literature Award.