All Walks of Life Devoted to the Recent Wildfire Fight
By Chu Maoming, China’s Consul General in Lagos
2022-09-14 04:23


Nigerian newspapers Vanguard, Guardian, the Sun, Lagos City Reporters, Africa China Economy published an article written by Consul General of China in Lagos H.E. Chu Maoming, with the theme of All Walks of Life Devoted to the Recent Wildfire Fight. The full text goes as follows:


As a Chinese saying goes, one side has difficulties and all sides provide support. Gradually accumulated and formed in the long-term common production and labor process, it has become a traditional virtue of the Chinese Nation. Because there are unforeseen circumstances and people have fortunes and misfortunes, people living in society will always encounter some unpredictable disasters and insurmountable difficulties, and need help from others.

On the night of August 21, 2022, a wildfire erupted in Jinyun Moutain,Chongqing, China, specifically at the section of Hutou Mountain near Beibei’s Xiema Township. To save the precious forest, people from all trades, far or near from the accident township, participated in the fight against the fire, including fire brigades, PLA soldiers, armed police, local residents, volunteers, and artists as well. Yes, the artists exerted and have been exerting themselves to help contain the fire and rebuild the forest after the disaster, in their own inspiring ways.

On August 24, the local poet and poetry critic, Professor Jiang Dengke of Southwest University(SWU), who is also a vice-chair of Chongqing Writers Association and a vice-chief of SWU Press, published his series of six prose poems in local media, praising in full earnest the fighters’ devotions, expressing on behalf of all locals the gratitude to all devoted to the fight, which inspired people all across the communities.

On August 25, eight performing artists from Chongqing Declaiming Artists Association worked together to have Professor Jiang’s prose poems recorded as reciting podcast, having it circulated to far, and having encouraged all trades of people to be devoted in the fire fighting and rebuilding after the disaster.

The fire not ended yet, a famous statue began to spread across the internet, which is named TheMotorcyclistKnight, depicting the valiant motorcyclists who upon the calling for motor couriers gathered immediately and began to rush and run with little rest for couple of days. The sculptor of this work Mr. Tang Zhongguo, who is a freelance artist at Beibei, said he was moved by the young motorcyclists and he wanted to keep their bravery for ever with his sculpture.

Now, Mr He Wu, a professor of English language and literature with Department of Foreign Languages, Southwest University, 50 years old, also a volunteer at the firefight, tried to co-translate Professor Jiang Dengke’s prose poems into English, with his American friend Edward Painter, former English teacher at SWU, hoping to share Chinese people’s bravery, unity and devotions with people from other countries.

The following is the prose poems they translated.

Author: [China] Jiang Dengke

Translators[China] He Wu; [U.S.A.] Edward Painter

Those Rushing Towards the Wildfire

Forewords: About 22:30, August 21, 2022, because of high temperatures a wildfire erupted in Hutou Moutain, a section of Jinyun Mountain, near the town of Xiema in Beibei district, Chongqing. The fire epicenter was located in the outer reaches of Jinyun National Nature Reserve, with steep slopes and thick vegetation, the firefight was hard and the situation urgent. All people participated in their own way in the fight against the fire; among them are fire brigades, PLA soldiers, armed police, volunteers and other locals.

The Fire Which Burns Us 

Here is Hutou Mountain, a section of Jinyun Mountain.

Here you can enjoy towering pines, singing birds, and fragrant flowers, here you can enjoy blinking stars, bright moons, and endless vistas.

Here you will see bucolic farms, quiet cottages, and babbling brooks, here you can meet cooing chickens, quacking ducks and barking dogs.

At the edge of the city, Hutou sends down cool breezes and satisfying green. 

Hutou is a vernal haven for the locals of Beibei, a place for hikers on the weekend. 

From an unknown source the sparks jumped, setting the parched forest on fire.

The flames reached so high, the smoke swirled so wide, the fire shocked the Beibei and Chongqing, and everyone there who loves the mountain.

The burbling flaming fire, like a knife, stabbed everyone’s heart. The people faced the mountain, the smokes, and the reports on it, sighing and praying.

The thick smokes floating in the sky choked everyone, as if the smoke had entered our chests, and darkened our hearts.

The deep blue sky was polluted by one large black piece, which was scorched by the fire, left our hearts atremble!

Those trees, having been there for decades or centuries, watching over generations of us Beibei people, embedded with our childhood happiness, sending us cool shade and fresh air! But now, they are being burnt after a long scorching drought.

In every WeChat group I heard calling, crying, recruiting. From midnight to noon, from day to night, this is the only voice: Guard our mountain! Guard our green! Guard our common home!

The Heroes Confronting the Fire

All around the fire burns, burning the withered twigs and leaves. Jumping from the ground to the tree tops, from tree to tree, and from one ridge to another ridge. It was a robber, a bandit, oh no, it was at last a ball of fire rolling in the woods, which must be contained, with extinguishers, spades, sickles, or even our bodies of flesh.

The fierce flames scorched the people who approached them, turning their complexions from yellow to red, then as black as coal, producing blisters on their hands and feet, chapping their lips, hoarsening their voices and smoking their throats.

The fire did not stop its rampage at night. The night wind strengthened its force. So we also had to fight with it through the night, with teams of fighter working in alternation.

At the rest spots I saw professional firemen, Armed Police officers, PLA soldiers, and uniformed volunteers, some are still young kids, their youth evident in their face. Their clothes were colorless, their faces full of smoke and dust. 

They laid flat down on the roadside, against the trees, or beside the trucks....

No one disturbed them. They were exhausted!

Lying strewn on the ground, the fighters formed a beautiful scene. Though horizontal on the ground, they were like columns holding up an arch. On their lips I could see smiles, perhaps a dream about their parents, wives or children, or maybe the good news of extinguishing the fire. 

Let them have a good nap within the cool breeze, after that they would go back to the fight!

The volunteers had prepared everything: Washing water, drinking water, instant noodles, Huoxiang Water, liquid disinfectant, and adhesive bandage.... When they woke up, vigorous fighters they would become once again! 

The Army of Motorcyclists

It was just with a message from a WeChat group: “Motorcycles wanted to carry firefighters and things.”

The motorcycles had assembled at the mountain foot, they came from all directions, five, ten, hundreds ....

I’ve never seen so big an army of motorcyclists, never seen so many brands of motorbikes, and never seen a text message with such an impact.

The road was 40 to 50 degrees, narrow, full of z-turns, and newly opened just for the fire fighting. The motorcycles rushed in a chain, up and down, to and fro, their roars echoing across the mountain, covering the sound of the fire. 

The thunderous noise from the motorcycles, was just like  majestic music, seizing attentions from all the people and reminded them: The motorcyclists are rushing to the battle field, not of swords, but of fire; they know the hazards they are facing, but they keep running towards them!

With bags on the back, or bamboo baskets, they carried chainsaws, extinguishers, drinking water, hatchets, or spades.... any thing needed for firefighting. Stumbling couldn’t stop them from going on, and tiredness could be driven off with splashing water on the head. The motorbikes to and fro, the dusty air along the trail, we couldn’t see a clear figure of the cyclists. But their eyes are so clear, ceaselessly searching for their next ride. 

 Dust over the body, dust in the air, usually they are to be cursed, but now on the trails in the mountain, they had become so attractive, forming a picturesque painting hanging along the forest.

I hate the noise in the city, but now I came to love the motor’s roaring!

Observing the Scarred Mountain from Afar

That is a deep scar in the beautiful Jinyun Mountain!

From the foot to the top of the mountain, and over the mountain’s big ridge, it extends to the end of the forest.

I saw the big trees fallen down, the younger ones broken, I saw the color of mud, and the color of the earth.

The people who cut the trees and the people who dug the road, they are also full of sadness, for they are turning big patches of green into a wasteland.

But they must do it, even with aching in the heart! They were fighting sadly against themselves!

The mountain and forest, never disturbed by humans, it is so beautiful a place! But now, they had to break the ground, to stop the fire from spreading. 

Shift by shift, day and night, they pushed through the forest, digging, cutting, with excavators and hatchets. Looking back from the mountain top, they felt both happy and hurt. It’s devastating, but they had to do it. 

They wouldn’t take a break until they were too exhausted; packed food and bottled water are their meals.

Along the over-50-degree slopes, in the thick forest, an opening 20 meters or more wide was formed after the rage and roar of excavators.

This is the fire control meridian, a great wall against the wildfire!

I will keep this photo, both saddening and exciting, and recall the fighters’ sweats and tears, their happiness and sadness, especially, when the green covers the mountain once again.

The WeChat Group of Our Neighborhood

This is the WeChat group of my neighborhood, with 500 members in its full size. Sometimes quiet, sometimes noisy, there used to be quarrels over small matters. 

The message on the Hutou fire, like a bomb, stirred the whole group. 

Trivial matters were forgotten, quarrels disappeared. The only concern was the fire and what we can do for it.

Messages from the front kept rushing in, what is in urgent need, where the fighting has advanced.... Here in the group I heard sorrow and even the sound of crying.

In this virtual world, I saw real praxis. The people who owned a motorbike joined the army of couriers , the people with strong limbs joined the force to extinguish the fire, and many more others were raising necessities: Chainsaws, bottled water, extinguishers, Ten Drops Medicine, fire masks, headlights.... in short timecarloads of supplies were sent to the front. And the fund-raisers, they received sums and sums of donations, from tens to hundreds, from thousands to tens of thousands, all becoming supplies to the fighters.

In WeChat Moments posts, I saw many of my friends, colleagues and students, many are from Southwest University. Some looked shabby, some were sweaty, some were panting, and some exhausted, but you can read the same words in their eyes: Perseverance, devotions, ardent loves.... you can come across a different profile of the teachers outside of the classroom.

What a WeChat group it is! With the name of Xuefuit is filled with knowledge, warmth, care, earnestness and devotions....

Watching the Helicopters from Outside the Field

From over the head came the helicopters’ howling, they were on their rounds, carrying water to douse the fire. With blue sky as background, the circling propellers gave dazzling brilliance.

They were so high, so far away, I could not greet the crew aboard the machines. I could only cast my stare to them, expressing my salutations in silence.

Our school published a message, informing of a requisition and asking for our support and understanding: The fire helicopters will park at our sport fields and get refueled on campus. They don’t need to be so polite, our answer is the unanimous “Yes, please!” We were all happy and excited, as we were encouraged and got confidence: With helicopters, we are certain to win the fight! 

In the dim dusk I walked in the campus, holding a similar sense as those of the dry foliage and grass, withering to death with parching heat. This is an unusual summer, no frog croaking in Chongde ponds, the lotus buds failing to bloom, shade not bringing relief from the heat, just a warm breeze coming up from your feet.

The floodlights on the sport field are not bright, but I walked around it for a while. I saw the helicopters at the field’s center, taking a short rest after the long days work. I couldn’t see the color of the machines, except for the half-visible propellers glittering in the far light.

I knew there were no people in the machines, but I still cast my eyes upon them, showing my gratitude to the machines and their heroic pilots! Tomorrow morning they would fly up again, splash water and salvage the mountain. That is the water that will extinguish the fire, the water of life! 

About the author:

Jiang Dengke: Poet, poetry critic, professor with Southwest University (SWU), Vice-Chair of Chongqing Writers’ Association, Vice-Chief of SWU Press.


About the translators:

He Wu: Professor of English language and literature, Southwest University, China.

Edward Painter: Doctorate candidate, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.