Eldar Akhadov [Russia]
Zhen Flower
The Chinese Liao dreamed of the Zhen flower all his life. When he was still little, Liao’s mother often told him a fairy tale about a beautiful flower that is incredibly beautiful, gentle and fragrant so that people are no longer able to quarrel with each other. They become polite to their elders, take an interest in the health of their loved ones and try to help everyone on their way. Mom used to say about such good people: “They know the scent of the Zhen flower.” Liao’s father went to the distant mountains before his son was born and never returned. Adults occasionally said that he was trying to find something that does not exist in ordinary life...
And one day a large white bird carried Liao’s mother to the heavenly lands, from where no one returns, because everyone is happy there. So his good neighbors told him... Liao had no sisters, no brothers, no uncles, no aunts - he was left all alone. He had to endure a lot of suffering in life, he met a lot of happiness and love on earth. His children and grandchildren grew up. And the grandchildren had great-grandchildren... And everyone respected him for his wisdom, kindness and piety. And the hour came when a large white bird flew in for him.
- Liao, your mother is waiting for you, - she said.
- Good, - Liao smiled. - And my father? Will he be there with us?
- No, Liao, - the bird answered.
- He doesn’t remember us?
- He remembers, Liao. But he is not there. - Now that I am flying away with you, tell me what happened to father? Why didn’t he come home?
- Liao, your father is a great man. He not only knew that you were to be born. He foresaw your dream of the Zhen flower and wanted to get it for you and your mother.
- He loved us, - Liao sighed.
- Far, far away from here, beyond the dead mountains of Tian Fei, on the shore of the quiet, bottomless lake Shin Tsu, at the foot of the magical Min Dao rock, similar to a fallen dragon’s tooth, there - near the very entrance to a deep, gloomy cave where the demons of darkness live, your father saw and plucked the wonderful Zhen flower. At that very moment, the earth groaned and stirred beneath him, and a fiery wind blazed in his face. And the dead mountains of Tian Fei trembled, and Lake Shin Tsu collapsed onto its shores, and the demons of darkness, who guarded the peace of the sacred Zhen flower, awoke and emerged from the ancient darkness.
- They killed my father?
- No, Liao, no. No one can kill the one who owns the sacred Zhen flower.
- They took the flower from him?
- Neither threats, nor force, nor witchcraft, nor cunning - nothing can deprive the Zhen flower of the one who possesses it. Only he himself, of his own free will, can pass it on to another. And no one - neither on earth, nor underground, nor in heaven - can change this. The demons knew about it and did everything in their power: they imprisoned your father in the darkest and most gloomy underground dungeon, and blocked the entrance to it with the magical Min Dao rock.
- Why did the demons of darkness do this to my father?
- As long as people do evil on earth, quarrel and destroy each other, the demons are immortal, because they come from the darkness of man: from black envy, fierce anger, bitter grievances and hopeless despair. But the demons have no power over the Zhen flower... Your mother was right, Liao: if people have this flower, they will stop quarreling among themselves, and then the demons of darkness will disappear forever. Neither gigantic forces nor witchcraft can help a person looking for the cherished flower, but a sincere kind soul itself feels the way to it, and a selfless heart and unbending spirit overcome any obstacles...
The Zhen flower is not simple, and not everyone who finds it will allow it to be picked! But only to those who want to do this out of love for other people and for all living things on earth... That is your father, Liao. He has done everything that one person is capable of.
- Can I help him?
- No, Liao. Neither you nor any other person can lift the Min Dao rock, cursed by the demons of darkness.
- So there is no hope?
- There is, wise Liao. The Zhen flower is born of love and will not perish as long as it exists: the love of a mother for her child, the love of a young man for his beloved, the love of children for their parents, the love of every living thing on earth for all that exists and for all who need love. And everyone needs it, Liao. And it will always be there. When all living things understand this, the demons of darkness will disappear on their own. And the Min Dao rock will disappear. And the dead mountains of Tian Fei will turn green and bloom, and Lake Shin Tsu will become gentle and warm...
- Can you wait for me a little, white bird?
- Yes, Liao. I will wait.
And then Liao called all his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And when they were all gathered, he told them what the white bird had told them.
- I called you to say goodbye to everyone, - said Liao. - Live on the earth, take care of it and love everyone who lives on it. If you have enemies, forgive them and offer help. Open your hearts to the world and make sure that only love is everywhere in it. And one day a smiling young man will knock on your door, and in his hands he will have an incredibly beautiful, delicate, fragrant Zhen flower. Tell him that your grandfather Liao always remembered him and loved him. Tell him this when he comes.
埃尔达尔·阿哈多夫[俄罗斯］
珍花
中国人廖一生都梦想着“珍花”。小时候，廖的母亲经常给他讲一个童话故事：有一种美丽的花朵，它无比美丽、温柔、芬芳，可以让人们不再互相争吵。他们对长辈彬彬有礼，关心亲人的健康，在路上尽力帮助每一个人。妈妈常说，这样的好人“他们知道珍花的香味”。廖的父亲在儿子出生前就去了远山，再也没有回来。大人们偶尔会说，他是想探寻一些平凡生活中不存在的东西……
有一天，一只白色的大鸟带着廖的母亲去了天堂，没有人从那里回来，因为那里的人都很快乐。所以他的好邻居告诉他……廖没有姐妹、没有兄弟、没有叔叔、没有婶婶——他孤苦伶仃。他一生经历了许多苦难，却在人间赢得了许多幸福和爱。他的儿孙们长大成人。孙子们有了曾孙……每个人都因他的智慧、善良和虔诚而尊敬他。而这时，一只白色的大鸟飞来找他。
“廖，你的母亲在等你，”她说。
“很好，”廖笑着说。“我父亲呢？他会和我们一起去吗？”
“不，廖，”鸟儿回答。
“他不记得我们了吗？”
“他记得，廖。但他不在那儿”。 “现在我要和你一起飞走了，告诉我，爸爸发生了什么事？他为什么不回家？”
“廖，你父亲是个伟大的人。他不仅知道你会出生。他还知道你梦见了珍花，他想为你和你母亲得到珍花。”
“他爱我们。”廖叹了口气。
“在离这里很远很远的地方，在死寂的天飞山之外，在宁静无底的神津湖畔，在神奇的明道岩脚下，仿佛一颗掉落的龙牙，在一个黑暗恶魔居住的幽深洞穴的入口附近，你的父亲看到并摘下了那朵奇妙的珍花。就在那一刻，他脚下的大地呻吟着、骚动着，一股炽热的风迎面扑来。死寂的天飞山在颤抖，神津湖坍塌在岸边，守护着神圣的珍花宁静的黑暗恶魔苏醒了，从远古的黑暗中走了出来。”
“他们杀了我父亲？”
“不，廖，不。没有人能杀死拥有圣洁之花的人。”
“他们从他身上夺走了珍花？”
“无论是威胁、武力、巫术，还是诡计，都无法从珍花的主人手中夺走。只有他自己，按照自己的意愿，才能把它传给别人。无论是地上、地下还是天上，没有人能够改变这一点。恶魔们知道了这一点，并竭尽所能：他们把你的父亲关进了最黑暗、最阴森的地牢，并用神奇的明道石堵住了地牢的入口。”
“黑暗恶魔为什么要这样对待我的父亲？”
“只要人们在世间作恶、互相争吵和互相毁灭，恶魔就会不死不休，因为它们来自人类的黑暗：来自黑色的嫉妒、强烈的愤怒、痛苦的怨恨和无望的绝望。但恶魔们对珍花没有任何力量……你妈妈说得对，廖：如果人们拥有了这朵花，他们就不会再相互争吵，黑暗的恶魔就会永远消失。无论是庞大的力量，还是巫术，都无法帮助一个人找到这朵珍花，但一颗真诚善良的灵魂自己就能找到它，一颗无私的心和不屈的精神可以战胜任何障碍……”
“珍花并不简单，不是每一个发现它的人，都会被允许采摘它！只有那些热爱他人、热爱世间万物并这样做的人……这就是你的父亲，廖。他做了一个人所能做的一切。”
“我能帮他吗？“
“不行，廖。不管是你还是其他人，都无法解除被黑暗恶魔诅咒的明道石。”
“那就没有希望了？”
“有，聪明的廖。珍花由爱而生，只要存在就不会凋谢：母亲对孩子的爱，年轻人对爱人的爱，孩子对父母的爱，地球上每一个生物对所有存在和需要爱的人的爱。每个人都需要爱，廖。它将永远存在。当所有生物都明白了这一点时，黑暗的恶魔就会自行消失。明道岩也会消失，死寂的天飞山也会变绿并开花，神津湖也会变得温柔温暖……”
“白鸟，你能等我一下吗？”
“好的，廖。我会等你。”
然后，廖叫来了他所有的儿孙和曾孙。当他们都聚集在一起时，他把白鸟说的话告诉了他们。
“我叫你们来，是想向大家道别。”廖说：“在地球上生活，照顾好地球，爱地球上的每一个人。如果你们有敌人，请宽恕他们并给予帮助。向世界敞开心扉，让爱无处不在。有一天，一个面带微笑的年轻人，会敲开你的家门，他的手里会拿着一朵美丽无比、娇艳欲滴、芳香四溢的珍花。告诉他，你的爷爷廖一直记得他，爱着他。当他来的时候，请告诉他这些。”
（张智博士 译：Tr. Dr. Zhang Zhi）
Biography
Eldar Akhadov, famous poet and writer, born on July 19, 1960 in the city of Baku (Azerbaijan), Azerbaijani, writes in Russian. He began writing poetry on May 2, 1968, with first publication in 1976. He is an author of 75 books of poetry and prose in 6 languages - Russian, Azerbaijani, English, Italian, Spanish and Serbian. He has won numerous awards: “Silver Pen of Russia” 2007, “For the Good of the World”, 2012 and 2013, publishing house “ZA-ZA Verlag” Germany, 2018, Silver Medal of Eurasia, 2019, Vincenzo Padula competition, Italy, 2022 and dozens of other awards. He serves as the honorary member of the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union, member of the Russian Writers’ Union, member of the Russian National Geographical Society, Co-Chairman of the Literary Council of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly, member of the International Advisory Council of the Reader’s Choice magazine, Mumbai (India), coordinator of the VII World Literary Competition WOW-LIFFT-2024 as well as member of the Board of the World Writers Organization (WOW).
作者简介
埃尔达尔·阿哈多夫，著名诗人、作家，1960年7月19日出生于阿塞拜疆巴库市，俄语写作。1968年5月2日开始写诗，1976年首次发表作品，著有75本诗歌和散文作品，包括俄语、阿塞拜疆语、英语、意大利语、西班牙语和塞尔维亚语等6种语言版本。所获奖项包括：2007年“俄罗斯银笔”奖，2012年及2013年“为了世界的美好”竞赛奖；2018年德国ZA-ZA出版社出版奖；2019年“欧亚大陆银奖”；2022年意大利“温琴佐·帕杜拉”竞赛奖等数十种。现为阿塞拜疆作家联盟名誉成员、俄罗斯作家联盟成员、俄罗斯国家地理学会成员、欧亚人民大会文学委员会联合主席、孟买（印度）《读者选择》杂志国际咨询委员会成员、第七届世界文学比赛WOW-LIFF-2024协调员及世界作家组织理事会成员。
