The Wei River Flows Eastward

Chen Gui was born at Jingxi Ferry in 560. His grandfather Chen Du was a ferryman, and his great-grandfather Chen Zhe'an was a signer. With half a jade pendant, a volume of poems, and scars all over his body, he walked from Jingxi to Chang'an, from the Southern Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty, and from "a man of the ferry" to a "man of the world." This is not a "success" story. Chen Gui did serve as the Minister of Tiancao in the Sui Dynasty and compiled the "North and South Tianmu Hezhi", but he eventually resigned and returned to Jingxi - because "unification" was not what he wanted, "unification" was. "Unification" is the merging of territories, and "unification" is the suturing of people's hearts. Chen Gui used the land inventory of three generations to stitch together the land memory of the north and the south; used a volume of poetry manuscripts to stitch together the cultural memory of the north and the south; and used half a jade pendant to stitch together the blood memory of the north and the south. This is a story about "return": the return of space (from Jingxi to the Weishui River), the return of identity (from southerners to Beichen to Dukou people), the return of culture (from poetry manuscripts to secret mansions to fire sites), and the ultimate return (becoming water itself in the flow). This article is the last part of the trilogy series "The Past of the Southern Dynasties", namely "Jingxi Ferry", "The Remaining Photos of Jiankang", and "The Wei River Flows East". The three generations correspond to the rise of poor families during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.