People who choose to divorce after the Spring Festival: "No regrets, we will divorce after dinner."

  Get together for divorce after the year? Is there a long queue at the divorce office of the Civil Affairs Bureau? Recently, a number of videos circulated on the Internet showed that the divorce registration offices of civil affairs bureaus in some areas "exploded" after the Spring Festival, and there were even rumors that divorce teams in some areas lined up at the door of civil affairs bureaus.

  At present, some of the above videos have been officially rumored. The reporter also learned from the Marriage Registry of the Civil Affairs Bureau of many places that the number of divorcees in some areas did increase after the Chinese New Year because they did not handle business, but there was no long queue, and some areas replied that there was no increase, and even the number of married people was more than the number of divorced people … …

  It is nothing new that the divorce rate has gradually increased in the past 20 years. The reporter found out that from 2003 to 2019, China’s national crude divorce rate (the ratio of annual divorce to total population, usually expressed in thousandths) suddenly rose, and the number of divorce registrations nearly quadrupled during this period. Although it is not really a trend to choose divorce after the year, some people in the team that handles divorce after the year admit that the reason why they specially make an appointment for divorce after the year is to have a New Year’s Eve dinner with their children and bilateral parents without leaving any final regrets.

  one

  Is there a wave of divorce after the holiday?

  Multi-local Civil Affairs Bureau responded:

  The number of divorces has not increased sharply.

  On January 28th, a video released by a man in Fuyang, Anhui Province was circulated on the Internet, showing that only two couples got married in Yingshang County Civil Affairs Bureau of Fuyang, but the divorce team was outside the Civil Affairs Bureau. For a time, the topic of getting together for divorce after the year triggered a heated discussion on the Internet.

  But soon, Yingshang County Civil Affairs Bureau issued a rumor statement on January 30, calling the short video content a rumor. In the statement, it was explained that the contents of the video were all located at the marriage registration window on the first floor, and the people in the queue were all people who registered for marriage, while the divorce registration window was on the second floor. The information video was a diversion and confusing.

  Coincidentally, another netizen also recently released a video of a long queue at the entrance of the divorce room of Poyang County Civil Affairs Bureau in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province. Accordingly, a staff member of Shangrao Civil Affairs Bureau in Jiangxi told the reporter that the specific situation in the video is being verified, but from the marriage registration data of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the divorce business volume is not much different from that before.

  Is the peak of divorce after the year real? The reporter learned about the relevant situation from the Marriage Registry of the Civil Affairs Bureau of many places. On the whole, a number of civil affairs bureau staff said: "The number of people who handle marriage and divorce has indeed increased after the year, but the overall situation is still in a stable period."

  On January 31, a staff member of the marriage registration office of a district civil affairs bureau in Jinan told the reporter: "According to the working hours that morning, the number of people applying for divorce business is 5 pairs, and the number of people applying for marriage business is 3 pairs. In a normal state, there is no such thing as a peak period of marriage and divorce. "

  However, Ms. Wu, a citizen of Yangzhou, told the reporter: "I went through the divorce procedure on the third day after the year, and there was indeed a queue, but there was no big queue ‘ Changlong ’ 。” Ms. Wu said that she did not deliberately choose to divorce after the year, but the appointment date and number of people before the year were full, just making an appointment on the third day after the year.

  Ms. Wu told the reporter that she went to the local civil affairs bureau for divorce at about 10 am that day, and the queue time did not exceed one hour. "There may be a queue because the business is not handled during the Chinese New Year, so it will be handled later in the year, and the number of people will naturally increase."

  The operator of the marriage registration office of a district civil affairs bureau in Hangzhou also gave the same answer. "Although there are no recent detailed statistics, the number of divorces and marriages will generally increase after the year." The operator explained that this was because the Civil Affairs Bureau did not handle business during the Chinese New Year, which led to a backlog of applications for marriage and divorce. This is a normal phenomenon, there is no obvious sharp increase, and it is still in a stable period.

  In addition, the reporter also called several marriage registration offices in Haidian District, Beijing and Heping District, Tianjin. The staff in these areas all said that the number of people who handled divorce after the holiday did not increase significantly. Among them, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Zhengzhou, Henan Province proposed that the number of applications for divorce by the Civil Affairs Bureau did not increase sharply after the year, but the number of people who came to get married increased a lot.

  2

  Marriage service industry practitioners:

  Who to go back to for the New Year, how to share housework, etc.

  Divorce promoter in adulthood

  Although it is a coincidence that Ms. Wu divorced after the year. However, in order to eat the last reunion dinner, some people deliberately chose to go through the divorce formalities after the year.

  "We originally agreed to divorce at the end of December, 2022, but we wanted to take our children to have the last reunion dinner on both sides, so we decided the date of divorce after the year."

  Ms. Liang, 39, went through the divorce procedure in Wuxi on the afternoon of January 31. She told reporters that she finished the processing that morning, and there was no long queue. But when talking about her divorce, Ms. Liang still choked.

  Ms. Liang, who has been married for nearly 10 years, and her ex-husband have a daughter: "Although the child is only 6 years old, she already knows the meaning of divorce and is very sad." Although the child was eventually raised by Ms. Liang, her daughter’s disappointment with her father was also in her eyes. In order to make up for the lack of children and explain to bilateral parents face to face, Ms. Liang finally agreed with her ex-husband to choose the divorce date after the year.

  During the Chinese New Year, Ms. Liang and her ex-husband took their daughters to have a reunion dinner at her husband’s house and her mother’s house, respectively, and expressed their gratitude to their parents. In Ms. Liang’s view: "There is no deep hatred between our husband and wife when they go to divorce, but the concept is not harmonious." And this last reunion dinner is also Ms. Liang’s unwillingness to leave regrets for herself and her family.

  "In fact, the number of people who consult for divorce during the Chinese New Year and apply for divorce after the year will indeed increase." Mr. Huang, the person in charge of a marriage rescue and service center, said in an interview that from the nearly three years since the establishment of his company, he can clearly feel that the business volume of the company is relatively large at the end of each year and the beginning of each year.

  According to Mr. Huang, some of the businesses of the Marriage Rescue and Service Center he runs are to help couples rebuild their marriage and solve various problems encountered in marriage. "Judging from the cases we have encountered, problems during the Chinese New Year, especially those involving who is in the New Year, getting along with the elders during the New Year, sharing housework during the Spring Festival, etc., can all be the driving force for the breakdown of marriage."

  In Mr. Huang’s memory, a man once suggested that he wanted to take his wife back to her husband’s house in the village for the New Year, and during the New Year, his wife took on a lot of housework, and finally his wife had the idea of divorce. According to Mr. Huang, because of the custom of his hometown, the man has taken his wife back to his husband’s house for the New Year’s Eve many times, and he can’t return to his mother’s house until the second day of the New Year’s Eve. This has also caused his wife’s dissatisfaction for many years. In addition, during the Chinese New Year, the family banquets at home are also handled by the wife and mother-in-law. For a long time, the wife complained.

  Under the persuasion of Mr. Huang, the man’s marriage did not break down in the end. However, some couples failed to get together because of various complicated things during the Spring Festival. Even after the cooling-off period of divorce, they finally chose to divorce after the Spring Festival.

  three

  Sociologist:

  Avoid impulsive divorce

  Relevant social services need to be institutionalized.

  The rising divorce rate is no longer a new topic. Since 2003, China’s divorce rate has started to rise. The reporter combed the data of the crude divorce rate released by the National Bureau of Statistics in the past 10 years and found that from 2003 to 2019, the national divorce rate has increased significantly, but since 2020, the divorce rate has dropped significantly.

  Statistics over the years show that in 2003, the number of registered divorces reached 1.33 million, and the crude divorce rate was 1.05&permil. Since then, it has been on the rise; By 2016, the number of divorce registrations rose to 4,158,200 couples, and the national crude divorce rate reached 3.00&permil for the first time; Above; Until 2019, the number of registered divorces reached 4,700,600, and the national crude divorce rate rose to 3.36‰ It has become the peak of divorce in the past 10 years.

  From 2003 to 2019, why did China’s divorce rate rise continuously in these 16 years? Wen Jun, dean and professor of the School of Social Development of East China Normal University, told reporters that there are several reasons behind this.

  First, from a macro perspective, due to the accelerated pace of social changes and transformation, the traditional division of labor between husband and wife and family structure have been impacted, and more and more women have taken up jobs, their social status has been improved, and their economic subordination has been reduced, which has immediately broken the family stability and raised the possibility of divorce to a certain extent;

  Secondly, from the microscopic point of view, people’s ideological emancipation brought about by social progress has changed their understanding of traditional marriage, and they no longer think that divorce is a bad behavior, which also makes more people dare to pursue personal happiness and say no to low-quality marriage, thus increasing the possibility of divorce.

  In Wen Jun’s view, behind the high divorce rate, it also reflects the crux of China’s social organization, interpersonal network construction and insufficient level of community public services. "Especially for young people’s impulsive divorce, apart from administrative intervention, we still lack effective social services to resolve it, and the excellent solutions provided by social organizations and even emotional counseling and counseling are still insufficient.

  However, the reporter also noticed that after 2019, the divorce rate in China gradually went downhill. By 2020, the number of divorce registrations will drop from over 4.7 million couples to 4.339 million couples, and the crude divorce rate will drop to 3.09‰ ; In 2021, it dropped to 2,839,300 couples, and the crude divorce rate dropped to 2.01‰ .

  In this regard, in Wen Jun’s view, the decline of divorce data after 2019 conforms to the law of social development. "China’s divorce rate rose for 16 years and then fell back, indicating that it has reached its peak in the past year and began to transition to a stable state." In addition, Wen Jun said that the setting of the cooling-off period for divorce also provided "soil" for the decline of divorce rate in recent years to some extent.

  In Wen Jun’s view, in order to avoid the phenomenon of impulsive divorce after the year, social services in various places should keep up, and gradually incorporate community emotional mobilization, marriage counseling, community adjustment and psychological and emotional construction into the institutionalized construction.

  Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star Journalist Yang Yuqi Wuyang

Notice of the Office of the People’s Government of Fengtai District of Beijing Municipality on Printing and Distributing Several Measures of Fengtai District to Respond to the COVID-19 Epidemic and Su

Sub-district offices, township governments, district government committees, offices and bureaus, and district-owned institutions:

  With the consent of the district government, we hereby print and distribute "Several Measures of Fengtai District on Responding to the COVID-19 Epidemic and Supporting the Development of Enterprises (Provisional)" to you, please implement them carefully.

Beijing Fengtai District People’s Government Office

February 19, 2020

Measures of Fengtai District on Responding to COVID-19 Epidemic and Supporting Enterprise Development (Provisional)

  In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the important instructions of the Supreme Leader General Secretary on resolutely winning the prevention and control of epidemic situation, fully implement the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee the State Council and the municipal party committee and municipal government on doing a good job in the prevention and control of epidemic situation in COVID-19, help enterprises tide over the difficulties and support the stable development of enterprises, the following measures are formulated.

  First, strengthen support for key enterprises in epidemic prevention and control

  To support the prevention and control of epidemic situations such as medical protective clothing and masks, it is urgent for medical material production enterprises to resume production and expand production capacity, and to help enterprises solve the problems of ensuring raw materials, factories, personnel, transportation and other factors in the process of resuming production. Give appropriate subsidies to enterprises that urgently need medical materials production and enterprises that provide space, property and other support, with a maximum of 1.5 million yuan. (Responsible unit: District Development and Reform Commission)

  Second, open up a green channel for approval

  We will speed up the examination and approval of new projects that produce materials needed for epidemic prevention and control, adopt a special way, and provide all-round services such as priority acceptance, on-site guidance and one-stop handling of administrative examination and approval items such as business license issuance, medical device production and business record permission. (Responsible unit: District Market Supervision Bureau)

  Third, increase industrial financial support.

  For key enterprises that meet the policies of "Several Measures for Optimizing Business Environment in Fengtai District" and "Measures for Zhongguancun Fengtai Science Park to Support the Development of High-tech Industries and Technological Innovation", the online declaration of policy funds in 2019 will be carried out, simplifying the application procedures for policy awards, speeding up the disbursement of funds and alleviating the operational pressure of enterprises. (Responsible units: District Development and Reform Commission, Fengtai Park Management Committee and District Finance Office)

  Fourth, ease the credit pressure of enterprises

  Take the initiative to accurately connect financial institutions for key enterprises in epidemic prevention and control, coordinate special credit support, and do not lend, keep lending or suppress loans to enterprises that have temporary difficulties in operation but have development prospects due to the epidemic. For enterprises that failed to be included in the special refinancing support scope of the People’s Bank of China during the epidemic period and met the industrial development direction of Fengtai District and made outstanding regional comprehensive contributions, banks in the region are encouraged to provide financial support for them and give a discount of 1.5 percentage points of the loan amount, and the discount amount for a single enterprise does not exceed 1 million yuan. The local government guarantee institutions launched "anti-epidemic loans" products to help small and medium-sized enterprises that are greatly affected by the epidemic to renew their loans and reduce the comprehensive rate by 0.5 percentage points. (Responsible unit: District Finance Office)

  Five, reduce the cost of enterprise property

  Small and medium-sized enterprises that lease the real estate belonging to state-owned enterprises directly under public housing and state-owned enterprises in the area to engage in production and business activities, adhere to business according to government requirements or close down in accordance with epidemic prevention regulations without layoffs or fewer layoffs, will be exempted from February rent; Leased for office space, 50% of the rent in February will be reduced. For renting other business premises, the owner (landlord) is encouraged to reduce or exempt the rent for the tenant, which shall be settled by both parties through consultation. For commercial buildings with outstanding regional comprehensive contributions recognized by the competent department of industry, if rent is reduced or exempted for small and medium-sized enterprises in line with the industrial development direction of Fengtai District, subsidies will be given at 30% of the amount reduced or exempted in February and March, with a maximum of 1 million yuan; Large shopping malls and shopping centers with outstanding regional comprehensive contributions recognized by the commerce department will be subsidized by 30% of the amount of rent reduction and exemption in February and March, with a maximum of 1 million yuan. (Responsible units: District Housing Management Center, District State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Fengtai Park Management Committee, Lize Business District Management Committee, District Investment Promotion Service Center and District Commerce Bureau)

  Sixth, support innovation and entrepreneurship carrier platform

  Priority will be given to incubator funds for science and technology business incubators and creative spaces that reduce rents for small and medium-sized enterprises renting houses during the epidemic. (Responsible unit: District Science and Technology Information Bureau)

  Seven, support enterprises to carry out epidemic prevention and control technology and product innovation.

  Special funds for major scientific and technological projects in Fengtai District are given priority to enterprises involved in epidemic prevention and control. COVID-19’s scientific research projects in prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment, as well as projects that apply artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and other technical means to epidemic prevention and control, will be given priority subsidies for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements after review by the competent authorities of the industry, with a maximum of 3 million yuan. For loans to small and medium-sized scientific and technological enterprises, the guarantee and evaluation fees will be reduced by 1.1 percentage points. Give priority to providing application scenarios for new technologies and new products related to epidemic prevention in the region. (Responsible unit: District Science and Technology Information Bureau)

  Eight, support the stable operation of daily necessities supply and reserve enterprises.

  During the period of epidemic prevention and control, large-scale commercial business entities that have made outstanding contributions to stable price and supply as determined by the commercial department will be given a one-time reward of 501 million yuan depending on the degree of contribution. (Responsible unit: District Bureau of Commerce)

  Nine, increase the intensity of aiding enterprises to stabilize their posts

  Expand online recruitment channels, make full use of Fengtai District’s "Everyone Employment Network" to publish job information, build a platform for employment service exchange, and ensure the stability of enterprise employment. To implement the policy of helping enterprises to stabilize their posts during the epidemic in Beijing, the insured enterprises that are greatly affected by the epidemic, face temporary production and operation difficulties and are expected to recover, and insist on not laying off employees or laying off fewer employees, can return the unemployment insurance premium according to the monthly per capita unemployment insurance premium standard and the number of insured employees in the previous year for six months. According to the growth of the average number of employees in enterprises at the end of April and the average number of employees in the previous year, enterprises are given moderate financial subsidies. For enterprises that enjoy the above policies, employees (including those waiting for posts) are organized to participate in vocational skills training that meets the requirements according to the post requirements, and they can enjoy one-time skills upgrading training subsidies according to the standard of 1000 yuan per person. Eligible unemployed people in this area can enjoy free training in accordance with relevant regulations. (Responsible unit: District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau)

  X. Strengthening the guarantee of legal services

  Set up a legal service group for small and medium-sized enterprises, and provide consulting and agency services for enterprises affected by the epidemic by "zero meeting" such as online and appointment, so as to reduce the business risks of enterprises. Provide specialized notarization services for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the epidemic. (Responsible unit: District Judicial Bureau)

  The above measures shall be implemented as of the date of issuance, and shall be valid for the period of epidemic prevention and control in COVID-19 (unless there is a clear time limit in the specific measures), and shall be interpreted by the District Development and Reform Commission in conjunction with the responsible units. In addition to enterprises directly involved in epidemic prevention and control identified by relevant departments, enterprises enjoying the above measures should register and pay taxes in Fengtai District. Enterprises shall not repeatedly enjoy similar subsidies to support funds. Small and medium-sized enterprises should comply with the Standard Provisions on the Classification of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance (No.300 [2011] of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology).

Non-genetic inheritance | sunflower art, not just a sunflower fan!

In the long history,

People who have lived here for generations,

Left us with a wide variety,

Unique and precious intangible cultural heritage,

Now,

These traditional cultures and techniques

In the process of inheritance and innovation, new flowers are blooming.

today

Let’s learn together.

National intangible cultural heritage:

Xinhui kuiyi

Xinhui

Since ancient times, it has been rich in Pukui and is known as Kwai Township.

Xinhui people from the Eastern Jin Dynasty

I started planting sunflower as a fan.

palm-leaf fan

Is the representative of Xinhui Kuiyi.

Making a sunflower fan

More than twenty processes are needed.

Planting sunflower, picking sunflower, drying sunflower,

Baking fan, cutting fan, cutting fan, closing fan …

On the coast of the South China Sea, the west bank of the Pearl River and the bank of Yinzhou Lake, there is a famous cultural city with a long history-Xinhui. Xinhui is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese, and it is also known as "Kwai Township" because it is rich in Pukui. Xinhui sunflower art has a long history, and the planting and processing of sunflower trees began in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After more than a thousand years’ exploration, Xinhui people have integrated knitting, embroidery, painting and printing, making the processing of sunflower art products reach a superb position. In the most prosperous period of sunflower industry, Xinhui has more than 300 sunflower factories and more than 500 varieties of colors, and its products are exported to Europe, America and Southeast Asian countries.

At the beginning of Qing Dynasty, Qu Dajun wrote in "Guangdong Xinyu Pu Kui Fan": "The edge is made of the silk of wild silkworm, embedded with the piece of Bai Lin, the handle is made of the brand of Qinglang, wrapped with the thread of dragon beard and rattan, painted with copper nails, and the painting is gorgeous."

In 1958, Premier Zhou Enlai visited Xinhui and made a special trip to Kwai Art Factory, and spoke highly of Kwai craft products in Xinhui. When Guo Moruo visited Xinhui in 1959, he praised the sunflower fan technology: "The cool world comes from the hands, and it is more skillful than the ghost axe, flying all over the world and overwhelming the west wind." Guan Shanyue, a great master of Lingnan School of Painting, tried to "brand fire painting" for more than 60 times, but because he couldn’t grasp the strength of the soldering iron, he burned the fan every time. Finally, he had to throw a sigh of "branding": What a stunt!

▲ On July 6th, 1958, Premier Zhou Enlai inspected the sunflower industry in Xinhui. Photography: Cai Zhongzhi

The main products of Xinhui sunflower art include sunflower fan, sunflower basket, sunflower mat, cushion and sunflower coir. Besides, Xinhui sunflower art can also make a painting, a lantern and a screen, which has great plasticity.

▲ Tuyuan Xinhui released

Among them, the craft sunflower fan is the most famous one with pyrography and embroidery, which is one of the four traditional crafts in Guangdong. Fire painting fan is recorded in the records of Daoguang County in Qing Dynasty. Chen Wan, an old painter at the end of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty, pushed the skill of fire painting fan to the peak. In 1915, a sunflower fan in Xinhui won the gold medal in Panama International Expo. In 1952, it was listed as a special handicraft by the state, and also won the first "Hundred Flowers Award" of China Ministry of Light Industry and other national awards.Xinhui Kuiyi was selected into the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008.

▲ Screen pyrography sunflower art fan. Photography: Liao Huilin

Xinhui kuiyi

It has rich humanistic history and local characteristics.

Generations of new people and overseas Chinese

Have some feelings for sunflower fans.

It’s hard to find any industry.

Can be like kuiyi

Bring back memories of the older generation.

▲ Sticker birds of paradise Kwai Art Fan. Photography: Liao Huilin

Inheritance of sunflower art in Xinhui

In addition to innovation

We need more people who love Kwai Art.

Get involved.

Hope that our younger generation

Can experience and inherit the sunflower art culture.

More hope for high-level talents

Be able to use what you have learned.

Fusion innovation

Cultural and Creative Products of Jiangkui Culture

Bring it to our daily life.

Create a cultural card with the characteristics of overseas Chinese hometown

magpie

  Magpies can be said to be the most common birds in rural areas of Guanzhong, especially in the countryside near the northern foot of Qinling Mountains, on the big trees in front of and behind people’s houses, and among the branches on the banks of ditches in rural areas. Magpie looks very festive, with a round head, a pointed beak, a fat body, a long tail and feathers in black, white, blue and purple, which can be said to be loved by everyone. What the villagers like best is its chirping sound, which they think is an auspicious sound. "When the magpies chirp, the guests will come", which is a favorite saying in our village.

  I also like magpies for two reasons. First, I have lived in the countryside since I was a child. Magpies are more common and seen, just like my neighbors. When I am familiar with them, I am happy. Second, I think this kind of bird looks good and sounds good, unlike sparrows, which gather in groups in front of people’s eaves all day, chattering, making people upset, and sometimes harming crops and making people hate it. Nor is it like an owl, whose voice is sharp and harsh, such as a sharp instrument crossing a slate.

  In my memory, magpies are the most common in spring and winter, but they don’t seem to be seen much in summer. This may be the reason why the magpie’s whereabouts are not easy to be found in summer. In spring, magpies can often be seen in Yuan Ye, my hometown. They jump in the wheat field one by one, head by head, and look very fun; Or while chirping, slowly fly from tree to tree, and the tail feathers draw a beautiful arc. This season, magpies’ nests are also easier to find, mostly on tall poplars. Walking in the countryside, when I look up, you will see huge magpie nests, crouching peacefully among the treetops of Gao Yang willow trees, as if they were pieces of art.. The sky is pure and blue, not stained with a trace of dust. At this time, there may be wind, and the nest will gently shake with the wind.

  Although it shakes, there is no need to worry that the nest will be blown down by the wind, because magpies are masters of nesting. I have lived in the country for many years, and I have seen many bird nests, such as those of swallows, sparrows and turtledoves … I think they are not as beautiful and strong as those of magpies. Sparrows make a nest out of a mess of grass. Sometimes, they don’t even build such a simple nest, but live directly under the eaves of others or among the trees. Swallows’ nests are exquisite, but they are also built on the beams of other people’s houses, and they like to use old nests, which are neither as big as magpie’s nests nor as beautiful as magpie’s nests. As for the doves’ nests, they are mostly built in the oblique branches of the trunk of a big tree, which is not only sloppy, but also extremely unsafe. When I was a teenager, I saw more than once that the village children climbed the tree to dig out the nest of the turtledove, and the turtledove flew around the tree in shock. Magpies, on the other hand, have no such worries. Their nests are mostly at the top of big trees, and village children can’t climb them. Even if they climbed up, because the branches at the top of the tree were too thin, the children were afraid of breaking the branches and falling to the ground, and did not dare to climb to the top to dig out the magpie nest. What’s more, the villagers also forbid children to climb the tree and dig out the magpie nest. Therefore, it is very natural that magpies are more common in their hometown.

  In spring and summer, magpies are busy building nests, laying eggs and brooding, but in autumn, magpies seem to be more relaxed. This season, the young magpies have grown up, so they don’t need to be fed. There is plenty of food in the field, and they can eat without much effort. The full magpies are singing and playing in the fields, or in the big trees in front of and behind people’s houses. Only in winter, because of the lack of food and the cold weather, they seem sluggish and seem to be less active than in spring, summer and autumn. Magpies seen in winter are mostly foraging.

  I have long known that magpies like to live in exile. In the past, during those years in my hometown, I also often saw it. However, in the past twenty years, it seems that I have seen fewer magpies in the plains and Sichuan fields. Sometimes I see it occasionally, and it is often one or two, and there are no groups. And the magpie’s nest seems to be smaller than I remember. Looking at it, it is about the size of a basketball and stands alone among the treetops of a small tree. Last winter, I went to Fengyukou, Qinling Mountain to play. By the Hongcao River, I unexpectedly met a large group of magpies. They were screaming and laughing, jumping and pecking in a mountainous area. That carefree, makes me fascinated. I was excited for a long time, and I stopped in a hurry and watched it quietly for a while. At that moment, my heart seemed to have returned to my familiar hometown and my distant childhood. In a trance, I saw my kind grandmother take a big red window cut of a magpie and stick it on the pane. And outside the window, it is a place of snow, a tree of Qiongzhi.


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