Chapter 41: Chapter 607: The Soul-Stirring Song
This verse is from Li Daoyuan's "Three Gorges," a text covered in the first semester of the second year of middle school!
Tang Xiaoxin had never heard what "the cry of the gibbons" sounded like. When she memorized this poem, she could only use the noisy "squeaks and squawks" of the macaques in the zoo as a reference, which left her puzzled.
Such noisy and chaotic calls should be irritating and bothersome, so why did the ancient people feel sadness and tears upon hearing them?
After thinking about it, she concluded that the cries must have reminded them of the monkeys on their hometown mountains, thus evoking homesickness and sorrow.
Now, listening to the melodious and penetrating song of the gibbons, she could finally somewhat understand the feelings of the ancients.
It's hard to describe their song in words!
Standing across from the gibbon island, separated by only a 10-meter-wide river, listening to their singing from such a close distance felt like being in Vienna's Golden Hall, with a powerful singer on stage. Their song transformed into a clear river, with beautiful notes dancing in the waves.
Hearing the strange, melodious song for the first time, she felt a shiver down her spine and goosebumps all over her arms.
As she continued listening, she gradually became entranced, her body relaxing and feeling lighter.
Beautiful scenes appeared before her eyes, as if sunlight was filtering through leaves, dew moistening the tree trunks, and droplets splashing onto the grass, bringing nourishment and vitality to the earth.
Her soul seemed to be purified by the song, becoming purer!
In the clear early frost, the forest and streams were solemn, often with the long cries of high gibbons, sad and strange, echoing through the empty valleys, mournful and lingering.
Tang Xiaoxin came back to her senses and realized that the gibbons' song was not mournful but resonated deeply with the soul.
The listener's feelings must be related to the environment and mood!
The autumn in the Three Gorges was desolate and bleak, the journey long and everything silent, naturally making one feel sad upon hearing the gibbons' cries.
But on a sunny day like this, and with the long-awaited summer vacation finally here, allowing her to visit the zoo, she was already very happy.
Hearing the gibbons' wonderful song, her mood was uplifted and joyous.
She turned to Qian Keke and exclaimed, "Wow, it really is beautiful! What do you think?"
Qian Keke smiled, "Listening to their song, it feels like they are carefree and happy!"
Tang Xiaoxin nodded in agreement, "Yes, it does!"
The surrounding visitors had varied reactions to the gibbons' song!
Some adults closed their eyes, hands clasped in front of their chests, swaying gently, looking utterly enchanted.
Children tugged at their parents' sleeves, exclaiming in wonder, "Mom! Mom! They're singing!"
Some kids, excited by the gibbons' calls, ran back and forth along the riverbank, mimicking the gibbons' movements with their hands in the air.
The ring-tailed lemurs on the nearby island sat meditating, their black claws pointed skyward, basking in the warm sun while intently watching the gibbons across the river, ears perked up, listening with great focus.
Some visitors chuckled at this amusing sight.
Just as some people like to play natural, soothing music during yoga to relax and meditate, the gibbons' song might have a similar effect on the lemurs?
Besides the two gibbons, there were other animals on the island!
A few black monkeys were also sitting in the treetops, listening to their neighbors' singing.
These were black langurs, with black fur and white stripes running from their cheeks to the base of their ears, forming a "V" shape, resembling whiskers from a distance.
One black langur squatted on a tree branch, one paw on its leg, looking very boss-like. After scratching its crotch and listening for a while, it stood up, jumped to a nearby branch, and began leaping and playing on the vine perches.
Another black langur sat nearby, munching on a leaf non-stop.
There were also two tapirs on the island, curiously exploring the exhibit, sniffing around the grass.
Such prolonged singing was physically demanding for the gibbons!
After singing for over ten minutes, they moved to the central rock mountain to rest.
Sitting on the tree trunks, they groomed each other's fur, looking very cozy.
Gibbons need to be kept in social groups; solitary gibbons become depressed, lose their appetite, and become lethargic, let alone interested in singing.
However, not all gibbons can get along.
Unrelated adult gibbons of the same sex are likely to fight upon meeting.
So they are either a male-female pair, siblings raised together, or a parent with offspring.
As gibbons mature, their parents will drive them away to find their own mates.
The gibbon brothers Sunshine and Clear Sky were already six years old, so they weren't as harmonious as when they were younger, often fighting over food or territory.
They had to be separated into different enclosures after a particularly fierce fight, but they would still cling to the wire mesh and look at each other longingly.
Now, with a larger outdoor space, they were behaving more harmoniously.
Grooming each other while watching the children run around outside, occasionally plucking fresh leaves to chew on.
For them, watching the bustling visitors might also be a simple pleasure in their lives.
After resting for a while, the two gibbons started chasing and playing again.
Clear Sky jumped onto a lower tree, grabbed a trunk with its long arms, and swung halfway around.
Just as Tang Xiaoxin thought it would swing forward, Clear Sky swung back up like a pendulum, landing on the tree trunk and walking along it as if on flat ground.
Looking across the stone pillar at Sunshine, the two gibbons made eye contact for a moment. Clear Sky then leaped onto a nearby bamboo pole, which bent like a spring under its weight.
Using the momentum, Clear Sky bounced back onto the perch, the bamboo pole snapping back and swaying, the leaves rustling.
Sunshine agilely descended a few layers, grabbed a perch, and pretended to chase, swinging diagonally up to circle around.
Their agile movements resembled a graceful bird in flight!
Even a gymnastics champion couldn't perform such high-difficulty moves, the tree trunks seeming like extensions of their arms.
But Clear Sky saw through this move and immediately stopped when Sunshine swung back.
Tang Xiaoxin watched in awe, "Wow, amazing, amazing!"
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