Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
Heaven forbid the white yak. Photographed by Wang Shouhui
A herd of white yaks slowly moves their steps in the snowy field, occasionally making three or two grunts, like the sound of a conch, low and penetrating. They shake the snow and grass clippings on their bodies, startling the hare to gallop in arc. The mane picks up lightning and opens the Code of Tibet hidden in the depths of life.
The white yak is also not snow-white, its mouth, horns and hooves are yellowish in red, and its pink skin has many small black spots. The white yak's personality is docile and manic, calming down like a virgin, and it has the potential to avalanche when it is restless. The white yak that wanders in the landscape and the flying snow grows uninhibitedly, drinks the holy water of the snowy mountains, listens to the birds and insects crying, and talks to an ant, revealing loneliness and determination in the openness, like a snow peony on the plateau. Like the color of its coat, the depths of its soul are pure white, covered with dirt, empty and flexible.
The white yak of Tianzhu in Gansu originated from the wild yaks in the kunlun mountains to the Qilian mountains and were domesticated by the ancient Qiang people. Domesticated white yak, cold and hunger-resistant, even in the glacier snow field of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius, it can carry more than 200 pounds of heavy objects to walk on the ice and lie in the snow, calmly. The white yak has walked through the snowy mountain grasslands, waded through rivers and ravines, and measured the years, and has a history of more than 4,000 years along the way. Every hoof print it leaves in the vast earth seals the sun and moonlight, retaining the body temperature of the nomadic people trekking forward.
The Nayang Grassland stretches from the Qilian Mountains to the Area of Danma Township in Tianzhu County, and the dewdrops held up by each grass shine with a long-ago story. In the fifteenth year of Tang Zhenguan, Princess Wencheng, the daughter of Emperor Tangzong, married Songzan Gampo, the Tibetan king of Tibet. Princess Wencheng and her party set off from Chang'an, passing through the tent, leaving the local grain, fruit seeds and weaving skills, and the local people were grateful for their favor, and when Princess Wencheng set off, she specially sent a heavenly blessing to the white yak for her dowry. Princess Wencheng buried this feeling in her heart and marched all the way west to sow the seeds of Sino-Tibetan friendship. The white yak shoulders the mission of peace, and the vivid stories interpreted in the long years have been deeply planted in this land.
White yaks and shepherds spend a long time together and will develop feelings. I remember that during a transfer, a few calves could not keep up with the cattle, and we were very anxious. Father said that if you find a meadow near the water to rest, they will keep up with the cattle. My mother kept the calves behind, and within a few days they had actually found my nest. Later, I asked my father about it, and he said that the Tibetan yak recognized a tent. I knew from my father's words the thickness and loyalty of the white yak.
In Tianzhu, white yaks drink mineral water, eat cordyceps shellfish, breathe fresh air, and fill the vastness and loneliness of the grassland. The white yak grown in a special environment has clear, soft and warm fluff, and the wool made of white yak down and wool is beautiful and strong, luxurious and elegant. White yak beef is tender, low in fat and rich in protein, making it a well-deserved delicacy.
In Tianzhu, the practice of white yak beef and white yak milk is also very chic. The white yak beef is cut into ruler-length strips, which are dried and smoked as beef jerky, and can be made into beef jerky noodles. Place the beef jerky on a wooden pier or anvil, smash it with an axe, oil it with wild onions, add water, dried radish and ingredients, and boil the water for a few minutes before taking the slices. The noodles, mixed with the aromas of beef jerky, wild onion flowers and dried radish, permeate the alley and are the best memories of my childhood.
Ghee made from white yak can be used as a snack. "Xin Tai Ai" (Tibetan, meaning Tibetan dim sum) is made by sprinkling the noodles in boiling water, forming a paste, and then adding white yak ghee, qula (cheese) and sugar, and the whole process is done without interruption. Tibetans eat "Xin Tai Ai", usually to cool it, cut it into thin slices, put it in the boiling hot tea, drink the tea, and then eat it slowly and leisurely on the Sim Tai Ai.
White yak hair is easy to dye in various colors, and in the era of cold weapons, knives and guns, tassels on flags and red tassels on hats are mostly made of white yak hair. The coarse wool of the white yak can be made into a variety of carpets, felt mats, and tapestries. The tapestry patterns are mostly hidden treasures, myths and legends and folk tales. With the development of tourism and the excavation of the cultural connotation of white yak, various exquisite handicrafts such as white yak dust, horn comb, horn hidden knife, bull head totem and so on are popular in the tourism market, and their use value, ornamental value and economic value are also increasingly apparent.
If you want to learn about the history of the white yak, you can look for petroglyphs in the Nayang area. The petroglyphs here are mostly scenes of herders grazing, and the posture of white yaks lying down or running is vivid. Those rock paintings eroded by wind and rain have opened up endless space for later generations to reverie.