| 江门侨乡行古镇上的图书馆
今天我们还将继续侨乡江门的古镇之旅。这座350年历史的古镇最早的居民是姓关和姓司徒的两大家族。两大家族在繁衍发展的过程中互相竞争，形成了各自很强的家族意识。这种强劲的家族意识成了赤坎古镇民风民情的重要组成部分。
(出镜)记者：赤坎镇分为上埠和下埠两部分，上埠人姓关，下埠人姓司徒，上、下埠暗中较劲，两族人暗中攀比，你建什么，我也建什么，你怎么建我也怎么建，且尽量超越对方。
1922年，司徒氏家族筹得银圆四万多元，历时两年，这座三层高、典雅端庄的西式造型图书馆便矗立在潭江畔。1926年，增建了一座西式造型的大钟楼，大钟产自美国波士顿，整点地的时候便会响起，为全镇和附过村落的村民报时。
(采访)司徒健彬司徒姓氏
高耸的司徒氏图书馆和定时响起的钟声对关氏家族形成很大压力，翌年关氏族人就成立了关氏图书馆筹建委员会，不到5年时间，关氏图书馆就矗立在赤坎上埠堤西河畔，与堤东的司徒氏图书馆遥首相望。关族人还别出心裁地安装了一个德国大钟与司徒氏图书馆的美国波士顿机械钟相抗衡。
有趣的是，两座大钟之间的较量，同时也是对两间图书馆调钟师傅手艺的考验，一旦两个大钟的钟声没有同时响起，便必定有一个钟的报时有误差。当年的这种竞争，给当地人们带来了不少好处。如今，这两个图书馆对任何人都免费开放。
(采访)旅美华侨关光宗：这个地方时我小的时候经常到这里来玩，所以现在我一回到关族图书馆就觉得很怀念。
每一年，关光宗总会从美国回到家乡赤坎镇住上几天。而关族图书馆总会是他第一个要去的地方。这位旅美华侨，他18岁之前的记忆几乎都是关于赤坎古镇的。热爱黑白摄影事业的关光宗，在美国已是一位颇有名气的摄影家。如今，74岁高龄的他仍然眷恋着古镇的气息,回到古镇，用相机记录下古镇每一个生动的瞬间。
(采访)旅美华侨关光宗：我拍这些照片是想带回美国给很多开平的同乡看，因为他们没什么机会回来，就不知道开平的变化，我就想通过这些照片让他们知道，希望有更多的华侨回到故乡来。
也许发达的网络和学校里更为完善的图书室已经让这两座图书馆失去了初建时的功能，但如今它们已俨然成为了赤坎华侨与家乡之间的桥梁。关族图书馆和司徒氏图书馆都会定期出版刊物寄给海外的赤坎华侨，让他们可以及时地了解到家乡的近况。
Libraries of the Ancient Town
Today we will continue our Jiangmen trip. The earliest residents of this 350 years-old town are the Guan family and Situ Family. The two families competed with each other and their strong family values gradually formed the town’s culture. Chikan Town is separated into two parts; the Guan family lived in one part of town and the Situ family in the other. The two families competed with each other in every field. In 1922, the Situ family raised 40,000 silver coins and built a western styled library along Tanjiang. In 1926, they built a clock tower.
The high library building and the clock tower gave the Guan family a lot of pressure, so the Guans launched a library association. In five years, the Guan family built a library along the west river of Chikan town facing the Situ’s library. Besides, the Guans also equipped their library with a Germany made clock to compete directly with the US made clock of the Situ family.
The competition between the two clocks eventually became a competition between two clock repairmen. If the two clocks didn’t ring together, it means one of them was off. The competition brought many benefits to the local residents. Now, the two libraries are both free for all.
Guan Guangzong is a descendent of the Guan family. He would always return to the town from the U.S. every year. The Guan’s Library is a must-visit destination for him. All of Guan Guangzong’s memories before turning 18 are related to the town. He is now 74 years old, and a famous photographer in the US. However, he is still very much attached to the town. He hopes to capture all of the town’s the impressive images on camera.
He wants to show the Chinese in the US the changes of their hometown.
Nowadays, the outstanding internet network and enhanced school libraries have made the two libraries less important. But they have already become a connection between overseas Chikan people and their hometown. The two libraries will regularly ship magazines to Chikan people overseas to let them know what’s going on in their hometown. |
