The great "soul ferryman"

    2023-04-19 by Sichuan International Communication Center

    4月17日,下午6时许,从台湾桃源机场起飞的BR765航班缓缓降落在成都天府国际机场。

    At around 6 p.m., April 17, flight BR765 from Taiwan Taoyuan Airport landed at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.

    56岁的刘德文从航站出口走来,他背着一个看上去有些年代感的红色背包,里面装着亡故川籍老兵唐毅奇的骨灰盒。在不远处,迎接他的是唐毅奇的两个孙子唐清宁和唐清泽。

    Liu Dewen, 56, came from the terminal exit, carrying a red backpack that looked somewhat dated which contained the cinerary casket of a late Sichuan veteran, Tang Yiqi. Not far away, he was greeted by Tang Yiqi's two grandsons, Tang Qingning and Tang Qingze.

    刘德文是台湾高雄左营区祥和里里长。20年来他一直做着一件不平凡的事:帮助众多大陆去台老兵完成“落叶归根”的愿望。这些年,他跨越两岸海峡数百次,足迹踏遍大陆20余个省份,背着200多位已故老兵的骨灰回到故乡安葬,被人们称为“灵魂摆渡人”。

    Liu Dewen is the director of Xiangheli in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He has been doing an extraordinary thing for 20 years: helping many Chinese mainland veterans in Taiwan to complete their "return to their roots" wish. Over the years, he has crossed the Strait hundreds of times, covering more than 20 provinces on the Chinese mainland, carrying the ashes of more than 200 deceased veterans back to their hometowns for burial, known as the "soul ferryman".

    时隔三年 把唐爷爷送“回家”

    刘德文刚走到出口处,76岁的唐清宁和73岁的唐清泽就激动地迎了上去。“唐爷爷,回家了!”,刘德文取下肩上的背包,双膝跪地,小心翼翼地取出了唐毅奇的骨灰盒。

    When Liu Dewen had just walked to the exit, Tang Qingning, 76, and Tang Qingze, 73, greeted him excitedly. "Grandpa Tang, welcome home!" , Liu Dewen took off the backpack on his shoulder, knelt down to carefully took out the cinerary casket of Tang Yiqi.

    唐爷爷1948年从南京只身去往台湾,已经75年了。刘德文透露,2017年他与唐清泽兄弟取得联系,帮助他们在台湾寻找爷爷的骨灰。2019年冬,他在台湾一个寺庙里找到唐爷爷的骨灰盒,但因特殊原因,延误了三年才将唐爷爷“送回家”。

    It has been 75 years since Grandpa Tang went to Taiwan alone from Nanjing in 1948. Liu Dewen said that in 2017 he got in touch with brothers Tang to help them find their grandfather's ashes in Taiwan. In the winter of 2019, he found his cinerary casket in a temple in Taiwan. But due to special reasons, there was a three-year delay before Grandpa Tang was "sent home".

    “这个过程简直就是大海捞针,我们没有爷爷的照片,只有几个模糊的线索。这几年德文去了台湾各地的乱葬岗帮我们寻找爷爷,有几次我们几乎打算放弃了,但他一直在坚持。”

    "It was like looking for a needle in a haystack; we had no photos of grandpa and only a few vague clues. Over the past few years, Liu has gone to unmarked common graves all over Taiwan to look for grandpa. For several times, we almost gave up, but he was always persistent."

    “我们计划明天早上驱车前往安岳县,举行安葬仪式。”刘德文表示,这是他第三次来成都了,此前,他还护送过一位川籍老兵的骨灰盒回到故乡绵阳。“我会在安岳待一天,看看唐爷爷的故乡,顺道去绵阳祭拜另一位老兵。”

    "We plan to drive to Anyue County tomorrow morning and hold the burial ceremony." Liu Dewen said this is his third visit to Chengdu, escorting the cinerary casket of a Sichuan veteran back to Mianyang before. "I will stay in Anyue for a day to visit Tang's hometown and stop by Mianyang to pay my respects to another veteran."

    会一直坚持下去 护送更多老兵“回家”

    唐毅奇只是刘德文护送回乡的200多位已故老兵中的其中一位。这段奇妙又神圣的使命始于2003年。

    Tang Yiqi is just one of the more than 200 deceased veterans whom Liu Dewen has escorted back to their hometown. This wonderful and sacred mission began in 2003.

    2003年,他搬到了高雄左营某社区居住,这里是一个眷村——是上世纪40年代从大陆迁徙到台湾的老兵们的聚居地。从小就是热心肠的刘德文参与了社区义工组织,为行为不便的老兵提供帮助。

    In 2003, Liu moved to a community in Zuoying, Kaohsiung, where many veteransfrom Chinese mainland lived. Liu, who has always been so warm-hearted, joined a community volunteer organization to assist veterans with behavioral difficulties.

    2003年春天,一位老兵走进刘德文办公室,恳请刘德文在自己去世后将骨灰带回家乡大陆。

    In the spring of 2003, a veteran walked into Liu Dewen's office and asked if him could bring his ashes back home to the Chinese mainland after his death.

    2004年,这位老人去世了。一句承诺,刘德文自费前往湖南,将老人骨灰送回故乡。也正是那一次难忘的经历,让刘德文走上了“灵魂摆渡”之路。

    In 2004, this old man passed away. Liu kept his promise and traveled to Hunan province at his own expense to sent the old man's ashes back to his hometown. It was that unforgettable experience that led him to embark on the road of "soul ferrying".

    这些年来,途中所有费用都由刘德文自己承担,住宿只能选择最便宜的旅店,但每一次出行,他都会为护送的老兵多预留一个座位和一张床铺。

    Over the years, all expenses on the way were borne by Liu himself, and he could only choose the cheapest hotel for accommodation, but he never forgot to reserve an extra seat and a bed for the veteran he escorted.

    刘德文做了一个数据库,目前已整理出6000多位老兵的资料。“还有几年我就60岁了,我会坚持下去,护送更多的老兵’回家’。”他表示,如果有一天自己走不动,他会请儿子替他完成“灵魂摆渡人”的使命。

    Liu Dewen has made a database and has now compiled information on more than 6,000 veterans. "I'll become 60 in a few years, and I'll keep escorting more veterans home." He said that if one day he can't walk anymore, he will ask his son to complete the mission of "soul ferryman" for him.