2007年2月24日中午，当著名相声艺术家姜昆和戴志诚出现在美国华盛顿中国知青协会春节聚会现场时，到会的数百名会员们都感到惊喜!
　　姜昆是随2007新春中国广播艺术团抵美巡演的。他们从洛杉矶到华盛顿的当天，就在马里兰州开始了首场演出，姜昆和搭档戴志诚的相声《精彩网络》是整台演出的压轴戏。演出中，当姜昆看到演出的舞台四周都设有包厢，并坐满了观众，于是当即不安地对舞台背面的观众表示道歉，并自我调侃地安慰观众说：“你们并不吃亏，因为我俩的背面比正面更好看。”这几句即兴而发的开场白，显示出艺术家深厚的语言功底，博得全场观众理解的笑声，接下来的相声段子和精彩“包袱”，更逗得全场观众捧腹。当演出结束深夜卸妆后，姜昆得知第二天中午华盛顿中国知青协会有一个春节聚会，知青朋友特别想见到姜昆，但主办方考虑到姜昆连日奔波劳顿，其后还有繁重的演出任务，便劝他不要前往，留在旅馆好好休息。然而难以割舍的知青情结驱使姜昆不顾疲劳当即出发，他要带着真情去看一看海外的知青战友！
　　众所周知，姜昆是个“铁杆知青”，他在黑龙江北大荒建设兵团曾经度过八个春秋。在那片黑土地上饱尝生活的酸甜苦辣，也收获了爱情。他常说，“有北大荒这碗酒垫底”，自己才能在艺术上而且在理念和为人上有今日的成就。不久前姜昆荣获“世界杰出华人奖”，同时被美国哈姆斯顿大学授予荣誉博士学位，但姜昆觉得这份荣誉属于中国，也属于中国知青!
　　当姜昆就像一个久违的战友，出现在华盛顿中国知青协会春节聚会时，他与大家促膝相坐，叙旧情、拉家常，同唱一首《军垦战歌》，还热情地询问当年兵团一个又一个战友：“你是几团的?”“你是几排的？”战友们说：国内来华府演出的明星大腕着实不少，但多半在官员的簇拥或随从的保护下与观众保持距离，像姜昆这样真正走到民间的艺术家真当为数不多，这份真情难能可贵！
　　姜昆动情地说，我小时候吃着母亲的奶、长大了得到黑土地的滋养，走到哪里都割舍不了这份知青情结，我不能忘记一起同甘共苦过的知青战友们啊！说着说着，他朗诵起他女儿曾经唱过的一首献给北大荒的歌：“说不清的黑土地，为什么这样有魅力?引得多少好儿女，千里万里来寻你，害得多少好儿女，天涯海角也想你……”是的，北京知青杨陆雅说，当年我们这些十多岁的青年，在当时那种形势下不论出于什么目的，一声令下就义无反顾地奔向祖国的四面八方，将自己的青春、热血和汗水抛洒在那里，这种经历和感受，并不是人人都有的。
　　
　　海外的中国知青不仅有“土插队”的经历，还有“洋插队”体验，如果说“土插队”是对人的生活和体力上的考验，而“洋插队”除了这些还有难以排解的孤独感、乡愁以及文化上的冲突，这些对人精神上的刺激更强烈。姜昆很能理解这份特殊的情感，他有个聪明的女儿，从小秉承父志能歌善唱，获得的掌声和叫好声不绝于耳。为了避免女儿娇气，使她早些独立，于是姜昆夫妇决定放飞女儿，让15岁的姜姗飞到遥远的澳洲留学，此时女儿的年龄正是姜昆到北大荒的年龄。初出国门的留学生那种孤雁离群、生活无助的飘零感比北大荒好不了多少，何况姜姗还是一个未成年的孩子，但姜昆认为给孩子最好的礼物是帮助她树立自立于社会的精神，在女儿回国时姜昆还特意带她回了一趟北大荒。北大荒之行对姜姗震动很大，姜姗看到那样恶劣的环境曾伴随了父母8年时光，那是多么不容易啊！回到美国，女儿将困扰了自己许久的失落感抛在脑后，更加勤奋地学习，也更懂得珍惜生活和机遇。
　　姜昆告诉战友们，曾有美国人发问：既然你这么喜欢黑土地，为什么还要把女儿送到西方来?他回答，时代环境不同了，女儿如果出生在我们那个时代，也许和我一样去了黑土地，但现在我们的国家需要知识型的人才。可对方似乎还不理解，姜昆便幽默地说，你们会慢慢理解的，这也许要8年的时间！一番话引得众人大笑。
　　知青李翔问姜昆，当年在去北大荒的火车上姜昆曾创作了一首《毛主席语录歌》，并邀请一位姑娘一同演唱，你还记得这段往事和那首歌吗?姜昆回答，这个姑娘就是一起到军垦农场的知青战友，也就是他现在的太太李静民。说着，当场演唱了两段歌词；知青协会蒋工伟会长向姜昆赠送了一件水晶工艺品，上面镌刻着“赠姜昆：知青笑相逢，异国叙乡情”几个字，笔者擅长剪纸，也受托现场表演剪纸送给姜昆。我剪了一对大红的双喜，表达大家喜庆佳节喜迎笑星的心情，还剪了一条缀满100朵花蝶的吉祥哈达挂在他的脖子上，希望他常来常往。姜昆打趣道：“戴上这个，我走路得加倍小心!”姜昆回赠知青协会十数本《姜昆外传》，打开扉页，他写上如下一段话与知青朋友共勉：“生活是天平，每个人都得选准自己的砝码，知道自己有多大分量。”
　　
　　尽管带着旅途的疲倦，其间还被凤凰卫视“打劫”，姜昆还是情绪饱满地与搭档戴志诚为大家表演了一段精彩的相声段子。事后一些知青才得知，就在姜昆出国几天前他83岁高龄的老母亲病重住院抢救，但为给海外同胞送欢笑，姜昆登机前在医院挥泪别老母，于是大家更为姜昆的艺德所感动。
　　（本文照片由华盛顿中国知青协会提供）
　　
　　Crosstalk Artist Meets ZhiqingFellows in USA
　　By He Hongyi
　　
　　Jiang Kun, now a celebrated cross-talk artist, used to be a Zhiqing* in the northeast China.
　　There are millions of Zhiqing like Jiang Kun in China. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), millions of middle school graduates in cities packed up and went to countryside to live and work with farmers. The government of that time probably took this measure to solve employment problems for the jobless young people. But for these urban teenagers, the life in rural areas, army farms or border regions, forever changed them. For different Zhiqing people, the term can reminds them of a full gamut of positive and negative things in their life of that period, including their youthful passion and devotion, their loss and some bad consequences. Today, some people with a Zhiqing background are prominent figures in various fields. Some Zhiqing would jokingly describe their stay in a foreign country as another experience of going to the countryside to live and work in a production team.
　　
　　After the Spring Festival in 2007, the China Broadcast Arts Troupe visited the United States to stage shows for both Chinese living there and Americans with Chinese roots. Jiang Kun came with the troupe. After shows in Los Angeles, the troupe flew to Washington and started a performance in Maryland immediately. After the show that night, Jiang learned that several hundreds of Zhiqing in Washington DC would meet the next day to celebrate the Chinese New Year and the leaders of the Washington Zhiqing Association asked if Jiang would attend. Despite a very tight schedule, Jiang decided to meet his comrades in USA with his cross-talk partner Dai Zhicheng.
　　When Jiang Kun and his partner appeared at the reunion on February 24, 2007, it was a delightful surprise to all the Zhiqing present.The eight years he had spent in northeast China qualified him as a true-blue Zhiqing. At the get-together, he chatted nostalgically with those Zhiqing in USA about their shared past. They sang their regimental battle song of that time, talked about units each belonged there, and swapped Zhiqing anecdotes and their life stories.
　　The overseas Zhiqing experienced in foreign countries more than what they experienced decades ago in rural areas. The Zhiqing experience always motivates them to work hard for life achievements and many attribute their success to their Zhiqing past. Jiang Kun knows that all too well. His daughter went overseas for education at the age of 15, exactly the same age when Jiang himself went to the Great Northern Wilderness. Jiang Kun and his wife decided to let her go in order to avoid spoiling her with too many material comforts at home. The daughter experienced loneliness. When she came back home for a visit, the father took the daughter to the northeast China to see what he had experienced for eight years in the Great Northern Wilderness. This short simulated Zhiqing experience provided the daughter with an insight into the meaning of life. Compared with what her parents had during that time, she began to treasure the opportunities she had at this age.
　　At the Zhiqing get-together, Jiang Kun and Zhiqing representatives exchanged gifts. Jiang’s gifts were a dozen copies of his own biography. He received a crystal handicraft article and paper-cut works. Of course, Jiang and his partner performed funny cross talks to entertain Zhiqing in Washington.
　　* Educated youth, referring in particular to middle-school graduates who went to farm work in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
　　(Translated by David)