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Taiwanese Guests in the Quiet Don Country

On May Day holidays, spring-blooming Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya received lots of tourists from Russia and abroad, who wanted to visit the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov. We understand their desire to get to know about the life and work of the world famous and recognized Russian writer, about the unique and enormously attractive memorial sights, nature, history and culture of the Don Cossacks glorified in the immortal works of our countryman, Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov.

Nowadays, the home country of the writer is of great interest. Among the visitors of the Museum-Reserve there were guests from faraway Taiwan. In the Literary Museum they learned about the rich and tragic history of the Don people with the unique fates of the Cossacks, many of whom became the prototypes of the works by M.A.Sholokhov.

The guests showed a keen interest in the writer’s Memorial House-Museum preserving the true atmosphere of the everyday life of the Sholokhovs family, where every thing keeps the warmth of the hand of the writer and his family. The book collection of the writer was impressive showing the focus of his interests and taste for the best real literature both Russian and foreign. The working study of the writer characterizes him best: it is a small, cosy and light room, very modest, where he worked over his manuscripts from early morning and sometimes sat up late at night.

The visitors were attracted by the weapons, attributes of hunting and fishing, automobiles, all things related to rest and leisure of the writer. The guests had a boating trip on the River Don, visited Lebyazhy Yar, the favourite vacation spot of Mikhail Alexandrovich, where the beauty of the Don nature inspired him and promoted his fruitful reflection.

Real exotics for the Taiwanese guests, representatives of another national culture, was a visit to the parental house of the Sholokhovs and a Cossack homestead of the XIX – XX centuries in Kruzhilin Village. The interior of the house, authentic household items, utensils and agricultural implements aroused a genuine interest of the visitors. Don Cossack women wearing beautiful stylized dresses treated to a real Cossack dinner prepared entirely from the products grown in the homestead. The visitors noted the taste similarity of Russian and Taiwanese cuisine unlike the Chinese one, which is spicier and specific.

Getting to know the exotics of the Don country was continued in visiting the Karghin parish school, where once young Misha Sholokhov studied. The organization, atmosphere and attributes of school life of the past unwittingly made the visitors recall their childhood and school years.

Visiting the Museum Stables was a special delight. The guests turned out to view live horses only in a zoo. Now they could see horses of different breeds and learn about their peculiarities, nature and habits, about the maintenance conditions and care of horses. The guests had a fun, though apprehensively, treating the horses to sugar and, of course, took pictures for memory. In the carriage drawn by two horses they visited the Giant Oak, a natural monument and unique sight of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya.

The Taiwanese guests got unforgettable impressions, left enthusiastic records in the Guest Book about their visiting the Don country and expressed their wish to come here again.

Galina Zhidkoblinova