喀什老城的守望 | 我们新疆好地方
人们说：不到喀什就不算到过新疆。
丝路明珠喀什——祖国最西部的边陲城市， 是塔克拉玛干沙漠和帕米尔高原之间的一片迷人的绿洲。
在喀什市中心，有一座2000多年历史的老城，占地面积4.25平方公里，居住着大约13万人，大多数以维吾尔族为主。漫步在五彩斑斓的喀什老城，狭窄的巷子交错纵横，相互连通，曲径通幽，从路边的商铺走入居民区就像进入迷宫似的建筑群。
在飞速的发展中，喀什老城是少数留有珍贵民居风貌和古老文化习俗的地方，维吾尔族土陶、纺织刺绣、弹弦乐器等技艺再现了丝路的繁华景象。不知不觉，我们仿佛乘坐着时光机在老城的过去和现代中来回穿梭。
Far into the westernmost land of China perches an intriguing mixture of heritage and modernity, passion and wilderness. That's where the city of Kashgar – the vibrant remnant of the ancient Silk Road – sits.
In the center of the tranquil oasis, which borders the Taklamakan desert to the east and the Pamir plateau to the west, is the renowned Old City – an ancient town built on rammed earth houses and interlaced narrow alleyways.
Home to a huge population of 130,000, comprising mostly Uygurs, the Old City, spanning 4.25 square kilometers, seems to have been preserved from modern desire. In the maze where hundreds of footpaths wind to residential houses, we felt we had traveled back in a time machine.
The Kashgar Old City is one of the few places that have remained immune from the passage of time, with cultural heritages surviving the rise and fall of a history encompassing more than 2,000 years.
Arrays of workshops for wooden vessels, pottery ware, copperware and embroideries are lined along the market streets.
2019年6月15日，生活在喀什老城的两个维吾尔族小朋友。/CGTN Photo
喀什老城土陶守望者 - 吐尔逊·肉斯塔木
我们来到一家简朴的土陶店，店内的主人叫吐尔逊·肉斯塔木。他告诉我们，自己今年68岁，是土陶烧制技艺的第7代传人，如今做陶已经有53年了。通过不断对土陶艺术的钻研和练习，无形的泥土在吐尔逊的手中似乎有了生命，短短几分钟不到就能孕育出新的造型和图案。
吐尔逊坦言，土陶工艺所用的粘土是烧陶技艺的核心， 53年来他亲自去当地的吐曼河采集粘土作为原料，放在辘轳上细细的转坯、成型，再刻以花纹装饰，揉搓成条，作为瓶耳，一只陶瓶的雏形就做好了，再经由1200度以下的高温烧制晾晒。土陶往往比陶瓷和石器等更加粗犷。
Within the humble façade of a small pottery shop, shapes and patterns are emerging from what was only a pile of mud just a couple of minutes ago. Its owner Tursun Rustam, a seventh-generation earthenware potter, is engaged in an art that has persisted for centuries.
Earthenware is a kind of pottery fired below 1,200 degrees Celsius. It can be either glazed or unglazed, and coarser and also rougher than porcelain and stoneware. The mud is very important to how a work takes shape.
For 68-year-old Tursun, he's been fetching the mud from the nearby Tuman riverside for the past 53 years. "The mud there is highly cohesive and slithery," Tursun told us while working on his wheel.
2019年6月15日, 吐尔逊·肉斯塔木在喀什老城区展示土陶制作工艺技术/CGTN Photo
在采访中，吐尔逊老人还给我们表演了一项家传绝活：闭眼制陶。只见老人闭上眼睛依然从容自若，手中张弛有度，一个小时不到，陶壶陶碗便展现在了我们眼前。
自从土陶被列为国家级非物质文化遗产项目之后，收藏一件出自喀什吐尔逊家中制作的土陶工艺品，也成了老城游客的首选。
吐尔逊表示自己的儿子正在跟他学习制陶，这门手艺会代代相传下去。
He then showed us a skill unique to his family: making clay products with his eyes closed. In less than an hour, a bowl, a kettle, and a whistle stood before us.
Then they would be carried to a high-temperature kiln in the Gaotai ancient homes, where Tursun's family has been living since the first generation. We were unable to visit as the houses are currently being renovated.
Tursun's reputation has solidified since Kashgar earthenware was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. Now his son is learning this handicraft and is set to carry it forward to the next generation.
When asking him to show us a piece of work that gives him great pride, he took out a kettle for lavabo. "This hole is punched from the front and back, but liquid won't spill out from it," Tursun explained.
2019年6月15日, 麦麦提依明·阿巴拜克热在自己在家商店中展示自己手制的维吾尔族传统拉弦乐器胡西塔尔。/CGTN Photo
传统制琴工艺的守望者 - 麦麦提依明·阿巴拜克热
此时在老城另一处的乐器店里，麦麦提依明·阿巴拜克热正在认真地制作热瓦普，一种维吾尔族民间古老的拉弦乐器。这种由桑木材质制成的乐器可以追述到14世纪，琴底部的碗状物表面材质是由动物的皮革（如蛇皮或羊皮）制成，该乐器已被列为新疆维吾尔自治区非物质文化遗产。
今年五十岁的店主麦麦提依明告诉我们，热瓦普的制作已被传承数代。“我们是全新疆最大的做乐器的家族，到我这里已经第五代了，我们从小就是做乐器、弹乐器长大的，我的爸爸爷爷都会做会弹。”
一把热瓦普可能几天就能做完，但也可能耗时数月。“技术当然是最重要的，不过也同时需要耐心和激情”，麦麦提依明告诉我们。除了热瓦普，他的店中还摆放着多种少数民族传统乐器，如都塔尔、弹拨尔和手鼓等。
On the other side of town, Memetemin Ababakri is carefully crafting a traditional Uygur string instrument known as the rawap.
The instrument, which dates back to the 14th century, is made from mulberry wood and has a bowl that is bound by animal skin, such as that from a snake or sheep.
The craft of making the rawap has been passed down generations. "I'm the fifth generation. My brothers and I have been making and playing them since we were kids; so did our father and grandfather before us," said Memetemin, who's now 50 years old. He adds that he has the largest family making musical instruments in Xinjiang.
The time needed to make a rawap can vary from several days to a couple of months. "Skill is crucial, but it also requires patience and passion," Memetemin told us.
Apart from this Uygur musical instrument, he also manufactures instruments originating from other ethnic groups like Tajik, Kazaks and Uzbek.
2019年6月15日，一名住在喀什老城的妇女在家门口缝制。/CGTN Photo
“由于我们制作的这些乐器被归为非物质文化遗产，政府每年会给我们提供七八千元作为弘扬文化遗产的补助金。现在喀什老城的商户也都免税了，这个店铺是我自己的，交点电费就可以了，所以没什么压力。” 麦麦提依明说道。
如今，有好几个徒弟在麦麦提依明家里学习制作和弹奏乐器，不仅有来自当地的，还有从东部省份慕名而来的，有的已经学成回到家乡将这一工艺传授给更多的人。
对于游客们来说，逛逛迷宫街区淘到一个别致的土陶烛台或是一把精致的热瓦普就满足了。但对于吐尔逊·肉斯塔木和麦麦提依明·阿巴拜克热来讲，这是他们对自己家乡文化的守望，是他们的人生。
Pressure from commerce has largely been alleviated by the local government, which provides subsidies to those engaged in culturally significant activities.
"As our craft is considered an intangible cultural heritage, the government gives us a subsidy of around 7,000-8,000 yuan annually. Now, shops in the Kashgar Old City are tax-exempted. I own this shop, and I'm stress-free knowing I only have to pay for the electricity," Memetemin said.
He has several apprentices from outside of the region. "They came here learning to make and play the rawap, and then go back to their hometown to pass on these skills to the next generation."
For tourists, it's fun to spot an earthenware candelabrum or an exquisite rawap in the crisscrossing maze. But for craftsmen like Tursun and Memetemin, they are simply going about their lives.