Leaving the county town and heading northwest, all you can see is the Gobi desert. After about 12 kilometers, you arrive at the Kezergah Cave Temples, a national key cultural relic protection unit. A researcher from the Xinjiang Qiuci Research Institute told reporters that the caves have a history of over 1600 years and are an important Buddhist cultural heritage site along the Silk Road.
In September 1993, the Qiuci Research Institute found Rehman, who was seen as honest and reliable by the villagers. He had just graduated from high school. His father, who had been a farmer for generations, was happy for his son: "That's work for the country!" Although his monthly salary was only 220 yuan, and he had to be on duty 24 hours a day without holidays, the young man believed that effort would change everything.
One night in 2007, a strong wind blew. Rehman faintly heard the sound of the cave lock. He quickly went up the cliff to check, but accidentally stepped into thin air and fell heavily, breaking his leg. He spent three whole months in the hospital. His nearly seventy-year-old father took his place and guarded the caves for three months.
Rooting down
Chasing greenery
Rehman shed tears for the first time. In the desert, there was only Rehman and two trees left.
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"Kezergah" means "the girl stays" in Uyghur. However, Kezergah without water is a place where no girl wants to stay. Rehman married in 1997, but four years later, the woman left him with their child. The villagers often mocked him: "A lump of earth in the Gobi Desert, without water or electricity, guarding it is really foolish!"
There was no water or electricity in Kezergah. At the entrance of the caves were two elm trees, the only green within several kilometers. His brother Reshid sent water once a week with a donkey cart. Rehman tried to use as little water as possible himself, reserving the rest for watering the elms.
However, when summer came, the temperature reached 46 degrees Celsius, and the ground seemed to be on fire. Cart after cart of water was poured into the tree pits and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Soon, all the saplings gradually dried up. The 30 chicks Rehman raised also died one after another. To prevent his brother from being too lonely, his younger brother brought a dog from the village. But the dog couldn't stand it either and escaped one night, breaking free from its chain.
When I met Rehman Amuti (pictured above. Photo by Han Liqun), I couldn't associate him with the image of a cave guardian. Standing 1.75 meters tall, of medium build, he looked quite spirited. His hair was black, slightly messy. When asked, he was born in 1972. For 18 years, he has been guarding the Kezergah Caves alone in Kuche County, Xinjiang.
People in southern Xinjiang have always lived near green land. "I want to grow an orchard here!" One day, he seriously suggested to his father and younger brother.
Rehman once thought about leaving. "I don't understand Buddhism, but when I see the marks left by thieves more than 100 years ago on the caves, and today, batches of scholars from home and abroad come here to investigate and copy, I understand that they are treasures of the country. My responsibility is to take good care of them," he said.
"In my eyes, the caves are alive, and so are the flying apsaras, with souls, talking to me, so I don't feel lonely. Every corner, every small piece of mural or text here, is part of the culture, valuable, even if a bit is lost, it's incomplete. Without protection, how can we pass it down to future generations? This is my first job and will be my last!" Rehman said, looking far away.
Rehman's living room was very simple. Two rooms, with a wooden bed inside the door, a radio, and a few newspapers on the bed. There was a stove and a water storage bucket in the inner room. A cement pool was built in the corner of the wall to store water. An old kerosene lamp sat on the windowsill. Life alone was too lonely, sometimes he danced alone in the dark accompanied by music from the radio.
True love
In 2008, the China Cultural Heritage Foundation awarded Rehman the "Passing Down the Torch - Outstanding Person of the Year in Chinese Cultural Heritage Protection." Another joyous event occurred. A primary school female teacher named Aibaiemu became his bride; they met during Rehman's leg injury hospitalization period. Finally, a girl stayed in Kezergah. In 2012, the caves will be connected to electricity and surveillance equipment installed. The kerosene lamp that accompanied Rehman for 18 years will retire from history, and his workload will decrease.
Kuche was the center of the ancient Qiuci Kingdom. Master scholar Ji Xianlin once said that Qiuci was the only place in the world where the ancient civilizations of India, Greece-Rome, Persia, and the Han-Tang Dynasties intersected. Rehman slowly fell in love with this place. He liked the flying apsaras in the cave murals and could describe the characteristics of each apsara figure. His favorite was the flower-holding musical apsara in Cave No. 30, which had extremely high artistic and research value. Whenever someone came to visit, he would follow behind and listen and watch. "The lump of earth" in Rehman's heart became increasingly precious. He understood terms like flaking, blistering, and efflorescence, and could judge whether murals were damaged by the different sounds produced when tapping the cave walls. He learned Mandarin and even understood a few Japanese phrases.
The caves were built on a wind-eroded landscape. A valley branched out into several forks, with hills of varying heights, barren everywhere. When a gust of wind blew, yellow sand swept across the face. Fifty-four caves were staggered and embedded on the cliffs. Rehman held a string of keys and led us to see the caves. He spoke little, walking smoothly on uneven paths. For 18 years, Rehman checked every lock daily, looked for unfamiliar footprints, swept the sand in front of the doors, and kept a lookout for any signs of people or vehicles. Each round took two to three hours.
Rehman was the fourth guardian. One of his predecessors only lasted three months before quitting.
For 18 years, to protect and inherit culture, in the vast Gobi Desert, at this former intersection of four great civilizations, he fearlessly endured harsh conditions and silently bore solitude, guarding the caves with a history of over 1600 years alone. He is Rehman Amuti, the caretaker of the Kezergah Caves under the Xinjiang Qiuci Research Institute.
Thus, the father and two sons began digging a well with shovels and pickaxes. In weather below minus 20 degrees Celsius, they wore only cotton shirts and still sweated profusely. The deeper they dug, the harder the sandy soil mixed with gravel became to penetrate. The pickaxe and shovel had to be replaced every few days. Nearly half a year passed, and the well grew deeper, reaching 31 meters, requiring three long wooden ladders tied together to reach the bottom. Yet, there was no sign of water. The attempt to dig a well was abandoned, but they used the sand and stones from the well-digging to pave a gravel road. A flat area appeared in front of the house, and much less dust was stirred up when vehicles arrived.
Was the dream of "chasing greenery" thus shattered? Rehman began digging holes to plant trees and planned irrigation channels. His father and younger brother transported hundreds of mulberry, peach, and elm trees with a donkey cart, planting them carefully and then hauling water from several kilometers away to water the trees. Hard work paid off. The branches slowly sprouted green buds. One morning, a group of yellow goats came, eagerly eating these rare delicacies. Rehman happily laughed. These were "rare guests"; apart from a few eagles and snakes, it was hard to see other animals.