Locust trees in the North,as a decorative embellishment of nature,also associate us with autumn.On getting up early in the morning,you will find the ground strewn all over with flower-like pistils fallen from locust trees.Quiet and smellless,they feel tiny and soft underfoot.After a street cleaner has done the sweeping under the shade of the trees,you will discover countless lines left by his broom in the dust,which look so fine and quiet that somehow a feeling of forlornness will begin to creep up on you.The same depth of implication is found in the ancient saying that a single fallen leaf from the wutong tree is more than enough to inform the world of autumn’s presence.
The sporadic feeble chirping of cicadas is especially characteristic of autumn in the North.Due to the abundance of trees and the low altitude of dwellings in Peiping,cicadas are audible in every nook and cranny of the city.In the South,however,one cannot hear them unless in suburbs or hills.Because of their ubiquitous shrill noise,these insects in Peiping seem to be living off every household like crickets or mice.