The Earthquake in Tangshan唐山大地震

沙博理

As if these events weren’t momentous enough， nature joined in with an earthquake in July of 1976 which killed hundreds of thousands.2 Its epicenter was the industrial city of Tangshan， only about 100 miles from Beijing.

I was awakened before four in the morning by the violent shaking of our bed and Phoenix yelling： “Earthquake！ Earthquake！” Still half asleep， I clumsily dressed and staggered into the front garden. Everyone was present and accounted for—our bao mu， our next-door neighbors and their kids. Yamei was honeymooning in Shanghai with husband Taiping. The house seemed intact. Later we found a big crack， right through the foot-thick wall， running from ceiling to floor.

Others didn’t get off so lightly.3 Many of Beijing’s picturesque buildings have plastered-over walls of rubble and mud.4 Quite a number collapsed under the initial tremor—nearly eight on the Richter scale at Tangshan， six or seven around Beijing. Casualties were higher in Tianjin and towns in the earthquake zone， where people rushed out into the narrow crowded streets and were killed by flying bricks and tiles. In traditional single storey homes， where pillars and beams support the roof， it was relatively safe indoors. The walls were only to ward off the weather， and tend to fall outward during quakes.5 Prefabricated tall modern dwellings were the most dangerous.6 The huge cement slabs which formed the floors and ceilings came down flat， directly， crushing all beneath.

We learned these things， and other quake lore， in the next few days.7 The unthinkable had happened. Centuries before， Beijing had been chosen as the capital partly because it had been free of the serious quakes which periodically rocked other parts of north China. We should have been warned， according to the stories going round. The seismographic instruments had recorded suspicious signs. Moreover， snakes and burrowing animals had come out of their holes， horses had refused to enter their stalls， domestic fowl had roosted high in trees. Certain officials had been lulled by a false sense of security—or had been criminally negligent.

Recriminations were no use. The situation had to be met. Immediately， the Chinese genius for organization and self-discipline swung into action. Food and medical care were rushed to Tangshan and other badly stricken areas. Teams began clearing away the rubble and erecting shelters.

In Beijing， the parks and playgrounds were filled with makeshift shacks of every description.8 They lined the sides of broad avenues， and mushroomed in gardens and on campuses.9 It was feared there might be another quake. Indeed， the ground never stopped trembling， and there were minor shocks every few days. Many homes were destroyed. Of those still standing， several needed only one more good shake to bring them down as well. For about a week everyone was urged to stay out of all buildings， regardless of condition， except where absolutely necessary.10

Fortunately， the water supply in Beijing was not disrupted. Electricity， which had been cut， was restored for certain hours of the day. Trams and buses ran. Most work resumed. But vigilance was constant. Yamei， who had hurried back with Taiping from Shanghai， was among the doctors on duty in the hundreds of first-aid stations set up all over the city.

With our next-door neighbors， we erected a temporary shelter in our common front garden. We built it of poles—supplied by our respective offices—plus tarpaper， matting， and plastic sheets.11 Our beds were planks laid on benches and chairs. We all slept there at night.12 There had been a little looting—which was severely punished.13 The main danger was a new tremor. Someone had to remain awake at night to hear any shouted warnings， and listen for a possible ringing of the phone， which was in the house.

I rather enjoyed my shifts. Beijing was very beautiful in the summer moonlight. The stillness was almost absolute broken only by the occasional wail of a far off train.14 You could feel beneath your feet the solidity of a city which for 1，000 years had been a major center of civilization. It would take more than an earthquake to destroy Beijing.15

Gradually， as the weeks went by， those who could began moving back into their homes. Outdoor living was inconvenient， and the nights were turning cold. Remembering my army training， I dug a drainage ditch around the shelter， but when it rained the inside of our flimsy structure was damp from leaks and drips.

For a time after returning to the house， we continued to be cautious. Chinese beds are simply a mattress on a board platform. We， being more effete， had managed to buy a box-spring affair， but still retained the board platform of our old bed.16 We suspended it above us by tying it to the bedposts in the pious hope that this would protect us should the ceiling fall in the night. Similar contraptions were erected for the rest of the household. We kept banging our heads every time we sat up， and finally decided repeated concussions might prove more injurious than what， by then， seemed a highly unlikely collapse.17 We dismantled the thing and resumed more or less normal living.18

仿佛發(fā)生的這些事還不夠重大，大自然也來添亂，1976年7月28日來了一場(chǎng)致死幾十萬人的大地震，震中位于工業(yè)城市唐山，離北京僅約170公里。

我是凌晨不到4點(diǎn)被床鋪劇烈的震顫驚醒的，鳳子大喊：“地震了！地震了！”半睡半醒之中，我笨手笨腳地把衣服穿上，一搖一晃地來到前院。大家都在這兒了，人齊了：我家保姆，隔壁鄰居兩口和他們的孩子。亞美和丈夫太平此時(shí)正在上海度蜜月。房子好像毫無損傷。后來才發(fā)現(xiàn)30厘米厚的墻壁有一道不小的裂縫，從天花板裂到地板。

其他房舍的損傷可沒有這樣輕。北京不少漂亮的老房子是碎石土砌墻，外涂一層泥，初震就倒塌的老房子不在少數(shù)。唐山初震接近里氏八級(jí)，北京周邊六七級(jí)。天津和地震帶的城鎮(zhèn)傷亡比率高，人們沖出屋子跑到狹窄擁擠的街上，被亂飛的磚瓦砸死。傳統(tǒng)的平房有立柱和橫梁支撐房頂，屋內(nèi)相對(duì)安全些，墻壁主要是遮風(fēng)擋雨，地震的時(shí)候一般朝外倒，而現(xiàn)代用預(yù)制構(gòu)件蓋的高層住宅最危險(xiǎn)，大片水泥板做成的天花板和地板，掉下來就直接砸在下面所有的東西上。

這些事以及其他地震知識(shí)，我們是在隨后幾天里學(xué)到的。無法想象的事情還是發(fā)生了。幾個(gè)世紀(jì)前，北京之所以被選為首都，差不多就是因?yàn)檫@里未曾有過嚴(yán)重的地震，而華北其他地區(qū)發(fā)生過周期性的地震。聽人們說，我們本該得到預(yù)警的，因?yàn)榈卣鸨O(jiān)測(cè)儀器已捕捉到可疑的跡象。還有，蛇和穴居動(dòng)物鉆出洞，馬不肯進(jìn)馬廄，家禽上樹棲息。然而某些官員被虛幻的安全感所麻痹，也可以說簡(jiǎn)直就是玩忽職守。

責(zé)怪誰也沒用，災(zāi)情必須應(yīng)對(duì)。中國人特有的組織紀(jì)律性立刻變?yōu)閷?shí)際行動(dòng)。食物和藥品迅速送抵唐山和其他重災(zāi)區(qū)，救援隊(duì)開始清除瓦礫，搭起救護(hù)站。

在北京，公園和操場(chǎng)到處都是臨時(shí)搭起的小屋，各式各樣;有的搭建在大街兩旁，有的簇立在花園和校園。人們都害怕再有地震。也確實(shí)是，大地就沒有停止過震顫，而且隔幾天就有一次余震。許多家舍被毀，那些依然屹立不倒的，有那么幾幢只要再來一次震搖就會(huì)倒掉。約有一個(gè)星期，要求所有的人除了實(shí)在必須，都要離開一切建筑物，無論結(jié)實(shí)不結(jié)實(shí)。

幸好，北京的供水沒有受到影響。電倒是停過，恢復(fù)到每天能供電幾小時(shí)。電車公交照常開通，上班工作大都恢復(fù)，但警戒照舊不變。亞美和丈夫太平從上海匆匆返回，到全城設(shè)立的好幾百家急救站值班。

我們和隔壁鄰居一起在共用的前院搭了一間臨時(shí)防震棚，用的是各自單位給的竹竿，再鋪上油氈、席子和塑料布，把木板架在長凳和椅子上就是床，我們都在里面過夜。還發(fā)生過一件小小的搶劫呢，也受到了嚴(yán)懲。主要危險(xiǎn)是還會(huì)再有地震，所以夜里需要有人不睡覺，聽高聲報(bào)警聲，聽屋里可能會(huì)響的電話聲。

輪到我值班我挺高興，北京城沐浴在夏夜的月光下，非常美，靜極了，偶爾有遠(yuǎn)處火車的汽笛聲打破這寧靜。你都能感覺到腳下這座城市的堅(jiān)實(shí)，一千年來它一直是主要的文明中心，就憑一次地震豈能把北京摧毀！

就這樣過了好幾周，漸漸地，能搬回家里住的開始往回搬。住在外面實(shí)在是不方便，晚上開始變涼。想起來我當(dāng)兵受的訓(xùn)練，我便在防震棚四圍挖了一道排水溝，但是一逢下雨，簡(jiǎn)陋的棚子里還是因?yàn)槁┯甑嗡睗瘛?/p>

搬回屋后一段時(shí)間里，我們?nèi)匀恢?jǐn)慎有加。中國的床只是在木板床架上鋪一層墊子，我們因?yàn)樯狭它c(diǎn)年紀(jì)，就買了一張彈簧床墊，舊床木板還留著用，把它綁在床柱上，空懸在我們的床榻上面，誠心希望要是夜里天花板掉下來的話它能保護(hù)我們，類似的新招兒也用在家里其他地方。由于每次從床上坐起來都會(huì)撞頭，最后我們盤算明白了，老這么碰頭對(duì)腦子的震蕩可能比天花板砸下來傷害更大，何況此時(shí)看樣子房子不大可能倒塌。于是我們把這玩意兒拆掉，總算恢復(fù)了正常生活。