Three Village Circular 三村通

所谓的“三村”是由拉市海附近三个村庄的研究人员、艺术家和策展人松散地组合成的。虽然这三个村庄都是纳西村，但它们的发展却受到不同因素的制约；比方说，是否靠近丽江镇（茨满村），是否作为拉市海旅游胜地（正盛村），是否受保护（吉祥村）。

茨满村今年的研究重点是梨与其生长环境的选择， 正盛村则将中国古代的农业传统与西方发展出的农业方法进行对比，利用当地知识丰富两者。在身兼保护区和农作区的吉祥村，我们努力向社区学习，寻找艺术与农业的交汇点；通过多种策略，例如，邀请当地人到露天影院为电影配音，观察当地民情，进行深入访谈（见吉祥村制作），还接待不同领域的专家来实地考察并向他们学习。

自 2019 年 4 月以来，我们开始定期开会。

Three Village Circular 三村通 (2)

Participants: Yang Qing; Lara/Chen Wanrong; Zhuming; Jay Brown; Li Chunping, Village Head of Ciman Village; Selena Kimball; Kitamari; He Jixing; Petra Johnson; Bob.

On Saturday, 8th June 2019, we met to discuss three questions in the order set out below. Before summarising my overall impressions of the discussions, I will quickly retrace the origin of these questions. 

My first question emerged from a talk, I gave at China Academy of Fine Art at a Practitioners Forum organised by He Wenzhao and Professor Cheng in December 2018. The brief had been to reflect on my experience of being at Lijiang Studio. The process of writing and researching images revealed to me not so much the extent of the impact Lijiang Studio had on my work, but the detail. In the disguise of intuition, traces of an experience made in 2006[1]had by 2012[2]quietly shaped a practice – or rather a composition of rhythmic movement (pedestrian walking) – with affects (an intensity like wonder or serenity evoked by the everyday) for an urban context. This example of processing and translating an event rooted in local culture led to Question 1, and my current preoccupation: ’Can one make this process more conscious? Can it be taught?’ This is not about instrumentalising local knowledge, but finding ways to enable another relationship to our environment, a relationship that the anthropologist Eric Mueggler calls ‚auscultation’, in contrast with the notion of ‚surveying’.[3]

三村通 （二）

参与者：杨青；Lara/陈婉容；朱明；Jay Brown；李春平，茨满村村长；Selena Kimball；Kitamari；和吉星；Petra Johnson；Bob。

 2019年6月8日（星期六），我们开会讨论以下三个问题。在总结我对此讨论的总体印象之前，请允许我快速讲解这些问题的起源。

 我的第一个问题来自我对一场演讲的思考。2018年12月，和文朝和陈（子劲）教授在中国美术学院（China Academy of Fine Arts，CAA）举办了一场实践者论坛，我就是在此论坛上提出了第一个问题。论坛要我反思在丽江工作室的经历。我在丽江搜集图像和写作的过程向我揭示的，与其说是整体上的冲击，不如说是细节上的影响。这种影响伪装成直觉，在 2006年 [1] 到2012年 [2] 之间悄悄成型，成为一种艺术实践手法。更确切地说，这实践手法是一种节奏（如行人的步调），对城市环境有所影响（生活中引发的奇想或安宁）。对当地文化的这种处理或阐释手法引发了我目前很关切关的第一个问题：这样的实践手法能够更自觉地被掌握吗？甚至可以传授吗？这不是为了利用当地知识，而是寻找和环境接触的另一套方法。人类学家Eric Mueggler称之为“听诊”（Auscultation），与“勘测”（Surveying）的概念形成鲜明对比。[3]

Question 1:

如何创造一个能够很好地识别和传播当地知识的环境？

How to create an environment that fine-tunes the ability to note and disseminate local knowledge?

Following the Practitioners Forum at CAA, we were invited to a field trip to Pingnan, a region in Fujian County that dates back 3000 years and currently has 22 protected villages. We visited five: Qianyang Village, (Ming/Yuan Dynasty, very few occupants, all old). After trying various approaches, including artist residencies, the village will now be turned into a Natural History Museum; Shuangxi Village has been turned into an art village for locals by Li Zhenglu [4]. It is now also attracting visitors from further afield for free one week courses in oil painting, with materials supplied. There is also a building providing intimate spaces for reading. Next to these well-equipped libraries there is a facility for showing films. Longtan Village follows the same pattern on a smaller scale, with emphasis on writing studios. Xiadi Village: of the orginal 500 inhabitants, only 10 old people are left. The renovation for a form of gentle tourism is led by Mr. Cheng, an art critic. Xianfenxi Village has 1.000 registered inhabitants and 300 occupants. The old road to Fuzhou passes right through it. CAA is building a small outpost here, and in 2018 a group of students came three times to work with villagers on various projects, including sound recordings, and mapping and learning local crafts. The village has a twin, Lifenxi Village, which is deserted.

继论坛之后，我们应邀到福建屏南实地考察；平南的历史可追溯到3000年前，目前有22个受保护村庄。我们参观了5个：

·      Qianyang Village前洋村。明/元朝时期建成，当地居民很少，都是老年人。经过各种实验，包括艺术家居住项目，该村现在将变身自然历史博物馆;

·      Shuangxi Village双溪村。Lin Zhenglu林正碌[4]把此村改成了艺术村，现在吸引来自远方的参观者，慕名参加为期一周的免费油画课程，连材料都是免费提供。这里还设有一栋提供阅读空间的建筑，附近也有放映电影的设施。

 ·      Longtan Village龙潭村。在较小的规模上遵循与双溪村同样的模式，重点放在写作工作室。

·      Xiadi Village夏地村。原本的500名居民中，只剩下10位老人。艺术评论家Mr Cheng程先生（程美信）带领大家，通过旅游业进行一种温和的翻新。

·       Qianfenxi Village前汾溪村。此村有1000名注册居民，但只有300名居民。通往福州的老路正好穿过它。CAA 正在这里建造一个小型前哨站。2018 年，一群学生拜访了三次，前来与村民合作开展各种项目，通过录音、制图和学习当地工艺品。前汾溪村还有个荒芜的双胞胎，名叫Lifenxi Village里汾溪村。

A half day heated debate with all the above-mentioned activists as well as the Party Secretary/Chairman Ms. Zhou Fenfang, who is facilitating these diverse approaches, led to the following question:

会议进行了半天的激烈辩论，里头包括推动这些不同项目的党委书记/主席Ms Zhou Fenfang周芬芳女士，从而提出了以下问题：

Question 2:

在将一个村庄当成某个项目保护起来，或者提供继续其特定文化自然发展的支持手段之间，存在一个时间上的选择点。

我们能做出哪些选择？

Between preserving a village and providing means for continuing its life, there is a moment in time.

What choices are available?

Question 2 is entirely informed by the dilemmas posed by villages that have been deserted. The very well-meaning and thoughtful attempts to resurrect/protect these villages are inevitably informed by urban thinking. The moment in time I am referring to is that moment where villagers are still in a position to influence the future of their village. Ciman, Zheng Sheng and Jixiang Village are in that moment of time. All three villages are subject to very different forces, and the choices available may well vary.

第二个问题来自对废弃村庄的考虑。恢复或保护这些村庄的善意或深思熟虑的尝试不可避免地被城市思维所影响。在我所指的抉择时刻，村民仍然能够影响他们村庄的未来；茨满村、正盛村和吉祥村正都面临着样的一刻。这三个村庄都受到非常不同的因素所制约，可做的选择亦可能大相径庭。

Question 3: 

如何使知识从农村流向城市，从而改变城市？

How to maximise traffic from the rural to the urban, so it changes the city?

Question 3 came out of a reflection on the first two questions. Deserted villages are a consequence of traffic from the rural to the urban. And some research (for example, Jeremy Cheval: Shanghai Shikumen Lilong, socio-spatial transformations of human settlement: appropriations in shared spaces beyond destruction)highlights the skills of improvisation and communal living brought by villagers to the city.

On a different scale, by unravelling the origin of my walking practice, I can demonstrate that it is possible to translate practices originating in rural contexts into an urban environment. However, the visit to Pingnan County alerted me to the prevalence of urban thinking in seeking solutions and the dilemmas posed when addressing critical conditions once the village no longer presents a ‚voice‘. 

第三个问题是从前两个问题的考量中延伸出来的。村庄被遗弃是因为人群从农村流向城市。一些研究[5]强调村民带来的即兴创作和共同生活的技能。

从不同的尺度上，通过我的“步行实践”，我可以证明我们是有可能将源自农村的实践融入到城市里。然而，平南县的考察经历提醒了我，城市思维普遍存在于所有解决方案，村庄一旦不再“发声”，我们处理问题的方案就会显现出不足。

’A place is a cycle of places’[5]

“所有的地方都是其它地方的循环”[5]

The discussions during our second meeting on Saturday, 8th June, were intense. Villages have gone through many changes already (Lara/Chen Wanrong/Agee), they have survived possibly greater challenges than the ones posed now. Many regions in many countries grapple with the preferred solution from governments and business, which is tourism. Meanwhile government decisions based on safety or environmental protection affect villagers‘ livelihood, like a prohibition – in the name of fire control – to take animals to graze outside the village in Guangxi Province. Closer to home, in Jixiang Village, locals gathering for Qingming by their family graveside, were asked to leave for the same reasons. As one of the participants put it: ‚People don’t know what to do’. Local governments often have to face seemingly conflicting objectives: to increase the standard of living; to protect the environment; to stabilize society. For a local village chief that means constantly trying to find ways of translating and appropriating new policies for the benefit of the village. We all bring different perspectives, different skills and different personalities. What is constructive about our coming together is sharing those multiple viewpoints and allowing visions to emerge that are outside the reach of any one of us.

在6月8日（星期六）的第二次会议上，讨论非常激烈。各个村庄已经经历了许多变化（Lara/Chen Wanrong陈婉容），可能已经承受了比现在更大的挑战。不同国家里的许多地方都努力处理从政府和企业那里找到的首选方案——即旅游业——所带来的问题。与此同时，基于安全或环境保护的政府决定影响着村民的生计；比如以防范火患为名禁止将动物带到广西的村外放牧。在吉祥村，当地人在清明扫墓时被驱散也是因为同样的理由。正如一位参与者所说：“人们不知道该做什么。”地方政府往往不得不面对看似相互矛盾的目标：提高生活水平，保护环境，维稳。对当地村长来说，这意味着要不断想方设法灵活地利用新政策来为村庄的争取利益。我们各自都提供不同的观点，不同的技能，也有不同的个性。我们走在一起最有建设性的是分享这些不同的观点，发现未知的可能性。

In Ciman Village, the Media Service Center has recently put emphasis on the pear, a fruit for which the village used to be famous. This has brought people in the village together and created a focussed community with a clear objective. There is a drive to plant new pear orchards with support from NGOs. There are also plans to work in partnership with an urban community.

In Zheng Sheng Village, Zhuming and Wangmei have started to learn from a deserted house once inhabited by a local, now deceased, who was very knowledgable about medicine and the needs of plants. They do so by taking note of the plants, their orientation, their spatial relations to other plants, their relations to the buildings and the mountain, they find testimony to a life that would otherwise fade into oblivion.

In Jixiang Village, He Jixing has started weekly open-air film showings in the old primary school, once the site of the village temple. By sharing at a public site, we bring together the studio and its residents with locals from different generations. We learn about people‘s interests, and get an inkling of the aspirations of the children.

茨满村的媒体服务中心最近把重点放在梨子上；梨子是曾经让茨满村举世闻名的水果。媒体服务中心通过项目把村里的人都团结了起来，为社区创造了一个明确的共同目标。在非政府组织的支持下，人们开始种植新的梨园，还计划与城市社区合作。

在正盛村，朱明和王梅开始从一所废弃的房屋学起。这所房子曾经住着一位对医学和植物非常了解的当地人，但他现在已故。朱明和王梅做了植物的记录，注意它们生长的方向，它们与其他植物空间上的关系，还有它们与建筑物和山脉的关系。从中，他们为这已故的当地人记录了人生轨迹，否则他生活的所有印记会随着他生命的终结而消失。

在吉祥村，和吉星开始每周在一间小学举办露天电影放映，这所小学曾经是吉祥村庙宇的所在地。在公共场所做分享不仅将工作室的成员和当地居民聚集在一起，也提供不同世代的人相处的机会，让我们从中了解人们的兴趣，了解孩子们的憧憬。

We learn. 

Most of all we learn about local technological practice, a practice that is ’specifically oriented to the growth and continuum of the natural world and humanity’s place in it, direct contact with ancestors, and the creative and moral shaping of future reality.’[6]

我们学习着。最重要的是，我们继续学习当地的技术实践，这种实践“特别着眼于自然世界的持续和人类在其中的成长，与祖先的直接接触，以及对未来的创造和道德塑造"。[6]

[1]A 24 hour Ritual of Cleansing a Farmstead with He Xiudong in Tacheng.

[2]See http://www.walk-with-me.org.uk

[3]Mueggler, E. 2011 The Paper Road University of California Press

 ’Their (Dongba) mode of investigation did not survey the landscape. It auscultated its depth, threw out lines of communication to its hidden presences, and divined traces of a past that had vanished from its surfaces.’p.45

[4]Li Zhenglu has been in the area for three years. In 2001 a National Policy of regenerating rural areas was introduced and Li Zhenglu argued with government officials against the policy of implementing creative industry parks. A humanist vision, he argues, can only be created by art. 

[5]Downey J., 331 quoted in ‚Caring, Curiosity and Curating, Beyond the End’by Carla Macchiavelo (2015)

[6]Peter Sellars 2009, quoted in Salter, C. Entangled  MIT Press    p.IX

[1]与何秀东在塔城清洁农场的24小时仪式。

[2]请参阅http://www.walk-with-me.org.uk

[3] Mueggler, E. 2011 The Paper Road University of California Press

 “他们（东巴）的调查模式不包括风景，利用停诊窥探深处，向隐藏着的神秘存在抛出通讯的线路，并推测从表面消失了的历史的痕迹。”

[4]林正碌已经在该地区工作了三年。2001年，国家出台了农村重建政策，林正碌与政府官员反对实施创意产业的政策。他认为，人文主义只能由艺术创造。

[5] Jeremy Cheval, 2018, Shanghai Shikumen Lilong, Socio-Spatial Transformations of Human Settlement: Appropriations in Shared Spaces Beyond Destruction, Tongji University Shanghai

[6] Downey J.‚ Caring, Curiosity and Curating, Beyond the End by Carla Macchiavelo (2015), p. 331

[7] Peter Sellars, 2009, quoted in Salter, C. Entangled  MIT Press, p. IX

Three Village Circular 三村通 (3)

The reflections on the meeting held on the 6th July were written by Zhuming from Zhengsheng Village. Please scroll down for English.

三村·通 （三）——来自 正盛村 的反馈

这次三村通活动是2019年07月06日举办的，分享的主题是三个机构的愿景和当下在做的一些事情，也想请云之南中心的朋友分享一下他们关于纳西农事日历的调查和研究。

吉祥村·丽江工作室

来自丽江工作室的关于愿景的分享里，我记下来这些，感觉这些是“先有行动，而后从行动里感受和总结出来的东西，挺鲜活的，也有生长力。”用中文表达不清楚的，我直接记了英文：

l  给艺术家一个可以工作和避难的地方，以及他们可以在这里询问关于社区和环境的问题；

l  一个可以相互学习的地方，也给自己一个向喜欢的艺术家学习的机会；

l  艺术是可以负责的，建设性的和一般的治疗，只需要最少的意识形态；

l  在拉市海的见证了各种社会历史转型，例如中国的城市化，美国重新思考农业和社会，纳西族文化的丧失等等

l  Make a small paradise/oasis(这里面可以探讨很多东西)

l  Make some Nonsense (我的理解是“跟着直觉走，而这样的直觉在行动、感受和思考的循环里不断成熟起来。”)

l  不要成为NGO（这句话我理解是从一种“古老”的NGO形态里面摆脱出来，也不是要搞一个模式或标准出来，不是自上而下的，从外面来要求社区的，而是活在一个与社区一起的，有活力的，创造性的发展过程里来。）；

与此相关的，落实在社区和生活里的：

l  吉星关注关于“老一代”和“小一代”的融合，他觉得在“社区放映影像”这样的一个公共活动，创造了一个空间，让他最关注的两个群体“老人”和“比他年龄小的孩子”可以在一起去看。（其实吉星在做的，或者说是丽江工作室在做的，好像一个桥梁。这样的一个角度上，扩大一点看，两个群体需要“在一起共同经历事情的空间”，共同的经历，会创造两个群体可以交流的语言，可以“对话、连结、传承和一起创造新事物”的语言。不仅仅是可以一起看，或还可以一起做？ 在两个群体中间的年轻人，若是行动起来，就像创造放映空间一样，若是创造一些行动空间，也会是两者之间的桥梁。比如一个年轻人创造的，尝试新生活方式的营地？比如在这样一个营地，可以在“生态农业”方面做些尝试？这其中即需要老一辈的传统农耕经验，也需要来年轻人带来的，外面的生态/有机耕作方法的参与，还有带着艺术感/美感/自然玩耍、教育功能的空间？这样大/小孩子也愿意和能参与进来，外面的孩子也可以来，这样创造的一起做的空间，一个在社区/村落层面上的“小天堂”。这里是延伸了吉星的想法。）

茨满村·云之南影像服务中心

云之南以纳西本土文化的研究为根，“影像记录”是一个主要在探讨的艺术形式。

这次活动，大家都想多探讨一下纳西族地区的农事历，中心分享了他们在丽江石头城地区的，关于农事、节气、民间习俗、祭祀仪式等多方面的调查和研究，信息很丰富，有很多细节。内容比较多，详细可以看《流动的山地智慧：金沙江纳西社区的气候变化适应之道》和《三村故事》等书。

我记录下来，有一点回应的：

l  纳西族的水管理：他们对水的尊重和使用方法；明渠和暗渠等（注：我在正盛这里生活，也经历了类似的水系统，在两个地方的研究，这样的对比帮助人建立了整体感和细节感）

l  关于“大春”和“小春”，是在这儿一年里划分的两个主要耕作季节：而这里的“春”，觉得不是季节的概念，而是“萌发”的意思。之前谈到“小春”，吉星有个生动的比喻“秋天里的小春天”，表达了“萌发”的感觉，是种植越冬作物发芽的好时机，而且因为涉及主粮生产，比如在中国一些地方，是大春种稻，小春种麦，粮食的生产是农民心里看重的。

l  稻田里面，三种三耙，以栎树和青蒿做肥料。山上的栎树品种里，以黄背栎的肥力最好，施在田里被水沤烂最肥、最黑，但也最费工（因为叶子有刺，比较扎手）；（注：在正盛村这儿，也有农家在用这个方法，是用在经济价值比较高的葡萄大棚里面，栎木、堆过的青蒿、马粪、松针等，挖沟填埋）

l  纳西族四个大姓“束、和、尤、梅”以“松、栎、柏、杉”为“祭树”；远古祭祀，“夏后以松、殷人以柏、周人以栎”（注：我随山里的纳西人采药下山的时候，见过他以柏、粑粑和水祭山神。）

l  农历五月祭天、祭“署”，自然神，求雨（感觉应是端午前后，对吗？）

l  在东巴画里的“神树”形象，叶子有些好像栎树；（感觉整个画面：大鹏鸟、地上的龙或是蛇、神树，这些都是有真实喻意或宗教里讲的“密义”的。但现在失去了对所描述的事物的认识，所以从外面是看不懂的。因此也丢失了这个文化的内涵，人们也无从传承。但也许我们可以从在不同文明之间研究里，在其中的联系和比较里面，去重新认识祂。）

二哥（二由）讲的

下面记录的，是在和二哥、杨青聊天时记下来的，主要是二哥讲的。

l  他感觉是有越来越多的年轻人愿意返回乡村生活；

l  如何种东西是老辈人传下来的，一块地与一块地不同。海南、海北的地不同，海南、海东的地也不同。（杨青：南荛村的地土质也是好，因为是冲积出来的。注：我在那里住过，那边产出的水果也是特别好吃。）

l  “初三下雨九不停”，如果是月初三下雨，九天雨都不会停；（“九”可能是个实际数字，也可能是个虚数，是形容会下长一段时间的雨；）

注：也许下一次，是听二哥讲讲在他们在吉祥村的耕种日历？

正盛村·生命空间工作室

l  关于生命空间工作室，佩雀博士给了一个比较有意思的描述“正盛村的研究人员，将中国汉民族的传统农耕文化与西方语境中发展起来的整体科学和方法进行对比，并通过研究这里的当地知识丰富了两者。”我自己也补充了一点点就是“这样的研究，是从我们在这里的生活，以及与当地老人群体的交流互动里产生的，我们也把这样的产出，回馈给这些老人的生活中去，和他们一起去看一些实际生活要面对的。比如身体的一些病痛怎样面对？在他们的生命观、知识体系和当前的社会环境下，他们怎样生活和发展？另外一点是，我们也试着把在这里探索的，与城市人群有一点结合，现在主要在是在‘特殊需要孩子的教育方面’”。

l  而这些的背后，我们想探讨真诚的，和真实生活结合在一起的“对生命本身的认知”。我们想去认识生命的本质——人的生命、动物的生命、植物的生命、甚至还有“地球的生命？”（ Duskin去年分享里，印象很深的，创世传说、神话里的，一个地方的生命起源）这些生命之间的关系？这些关系载负着我们的生命，而我们从对这些关系的理解中，去发展出我们在生活里的做法？怎么看待现在社会的发展？怎么看待我们在生活里经历和遭遇的？我们怎样去回应这些？

l  很多古老的文明给我们很多启发，前期对我们影响比较大的，比如中国的古老文明、佛法、还有一些起源于欧洲和美洲的文明等等，都给我们很多启发，现在我们也希望能深入到这里的文明里，有些研究和认识。

l  我们想研究“还活在人的生命和生活里的文明”；

l  我们也喜欢在不同文明里的艺术，这些艺术在过去，又是怎样与人的生活结合在一起；

l  做为个人，我也喜欢研究在不同地方居住的人的生命状态；

落地/呼应的部分

l  我们想在生活中认识。在尝试小面积的耕种方式；结合了本地传统的食物采集和加工；一点点本地的，草药使用的学习；

l  我们也做很多 Make some Nonsense的事情，也想找的一个生活观和生活方式，在这样一个高速发展的社会环境里，人是不是可以活的对此少一点依赖，多一点“从内而外”的快乐（天堂在人心里？）

等等

结语

愿在人心里的小天堂，扎进这片土地里，慢慢长大。有了这一次的交流，或下次，请参加过的村民讲一些，比如二哥，还有这从茨满来的大军？

生命空间工作室 朱明 2019年07月07日  己亥年六月初五

In response to the point

What is constructive about our coming together is sharing those multiple viewpoints and allowing visions to emerge that are outside the reach of any one of us.

Jay Brown shared his vision for Lijiang Studio:

我对丽江工作室的愿景：

make a place where artists can work and take refuge, but also where they need to ask questions about the community and context here.

创造一个艺术家可以工作和避难的地方，以及他们需要在这里询问有关社区和环境的问题。

make some nonsense

玩袋鼠

【show that art can be responsible, constructive, and healing generally, with a minimum of ideology

表明艺术可以是负责任的，建设性的和一般的治疗，只需要最少的意识形态】

give myself an opportunity to learn from/with artists I like

给自己一个向我喜欢的艺术家学习的机会

witness the various social and historical transitions from Lashihai, eg., China urbanizing, the US rethinking farming and society, the loss of Naxi culture, etc.

见证了拉市海的各种社会历史转型，例如中国城市化，美国重新思考农业和社会，纳西族文化的丧失等。

make a paradise within _____

做一个小天堂/绿洲

we reflect on and work with any assumptions about development standards

Below you find Zhuming’s reflections and response to Jay’s contribution:

Three Villages Circular 3 - Reflections from Zheng Sheng Village (正盛村)

 Based on the activities of the Three Village Circular meeting held on July 6, 2019, we offer some thoughts on our aspirations and recent experiences, and especially look forward to hearing more about the Nakhi agricultural calendar from our friends at the Yun Zhi Nan Centre (云之南中心). Ji Xiang Village, Lijiang Studio (吉祥村·丽江工作室)

 I penned down the following based on aspirations arising from Lijiang Studio. The overarching theme is that of choosing an action-based, authentically lived philosophy. (Where I grasp for vocabulary I would resort to my native English.)

-       It is crucial to provide artists with a conducive space for work and reflection, one from which they can venture out to interrogate the ecology more meaningfully.

-       Mutual learning spaces are just as important. These also enable us to freely choose and learn from our exemplars.

-       Art, by striving from a place of dedication, can be responsible, constructive, and health-giving.

-       The Lashi sea offers a vivid picture of social change, including elements of China’s urbanization, Americanized agricultural philosophy and society, and the erosion of Nakhi culture.

-       In making our very own small paradise or oasis, a lot can be dreamt of and achieved.

-       We can “make some nonsense” too – through following our noses and let our thoughts, actions, and feelings slowly mature.

-       Avoid becoming a “typical” NGO. This is based on my understanding of what an outdated NGO looks like. I’m not suggesting a particular organizational format. I only wish that our community continues to grow organically.

Related to these points, here’s a separate reflection on life and community:

-       As an advocator for the assimilation of old and young, Ji Xing (吉星) found film-screening events a promising platform for intergenerational experiences.  Ji Xing and the work of Lijiang Studio are a social bridge and can further facilitate organic conversations, connections, and inter-generational creations. Wouldn’t this allow a young person to try out something new? We might call this a new agriculture of lifestyles. It would involve the wisdom of elders, plus the new energy of others, especially those who practice fun, artful living and are keen to learn. Think of it as involving older and younger kids who form a little heaven – a little like what Ji Xing has in mind.

Ciman Village – Yun Zhi Nan Centre (茨满村·云之南影像服务中心)

The Yun Zhi Nan Centre project focuses on Nakhi culture as a basis for its documentary work.

Here, it is noteworthy that we were given the opportunity to explore Nakhi agricultural history, especially the Nakhi people’s adaptions to climate and seasonality, and related rituals and customs. These revealed much details that are now described within book titles such as 《流动的山地智慧：金沙江纳西社区的气候变化适应之道》and《三村故事》.

Here are a few tidbits that made an impression.

-       The Nakhi water philosophy involves treating water with dignity and concepts like using open and hidden water channels. There are some similar concepts used at Zheng Sheng, and the comparison helps us formulate a better sense of what’s going on.

-       They subscribe to “Big Spring” (大春) and “Little Spring” (小春) as two important farming dates. These connote the stages of first leaves rather than strict astrological markers. In Ji Xing, it is even said that autumn contains a “little spring” when it is ideal to begin the winter crop cycle. Meanwhile, as staples are a major Chinese priority, it is understood that Big Spring is ideal for planting rice, and Little Spring for wheat.

-       In the rice fields, oak and Artemisinin serve as fertilizers. One of the white oaks provides the best nutrition and greatly darkens the soil, but its sharp leaves make matters tricky for farm hands. (In Zheng Sheng village, some grapes growers also use oak and Artemisinin, plus manure and pine seeds.)

-       The Nakhi recognize pine, oak, cypress, and cedar as celebrated trees. Each of four major families (Shu, He, You, Mei) (束、和、尤、梅) take after one tree. As the saying goes, those from Xia (夏) take after pine trees, those from Yin (殷) take after cypresses, those from Zhou (周) take after oaks. When I went with the Nakhi on a mountain walk, I saw some of their rituals with nature.

-       In the fifth Lunar month, prayers are offered to the god of nature for good rain (I believe this happens after the Dragon Boast festival.)

-       In the paintings of Dongba, the leaves of spiritual trees look like that of oak. (The typical imagery contains a roc, a dragon or snake, and the spiritual trees, all of which are full of religious meaning. From a foreign perspective these are not easily understood. The traditions have been somewhat lost and meanings have become opaque. Yet it seems possible to study this and rediscover the right connections.)

 From Erge Eryu (二哥（二由）):

The following are thoughts from conversations with Erge (and also with Yang Qing (杨青)).

-       He thinks more and more young people wish to return to the rural life.

-       Agriculture comes from generations of experience. Every plot of land is unique. (Yang Qing says the soil in Nan Rao village is excellent because of years of cultivation. We’ve indeed tasted outstanding fruits from there.)

-       An old saying reminds us – rain from the 3rd day of the year lasts nine days! It would be such a long, uninterrupted downpour.

-       Next time we might hear Erge talk about farming in Ji Xiang village.

 From Zheng Sheng Village, Living Spaces Studio (正盛村·生命空间工作室)

-       Dr. Pei Que (Petra Johnson) has an interesting way to describe the work at Living Spaces Studio - “Researchers here at Zheng Sheng are using local knowledge to enrich both traditional Han agricultural customs and Western scientific methods.” I would extend this with the following thoughts – since this sort of research is borne out of exchanges with the senior residents of Zheng Sheng, we should gift it back to them and see how much it can help in their work. Perhaps it might inform how they deal with bodily sores and aches? Or blend in with their lifestyle values and knowledge environment? Our research can eventually hook up with the concerns of city folk, particularly in terms of education for differently-abled kids.

-       Beyond all these, we’re definitely still figuring out what constitutes an authentically lived “philosophy of life itself”. In part this involves thinking about the connections between human lives, animal lives, plant lives, and even Earth’s life (which, as Duskin shared, is the mythological genesis of all of life). Can these musings influence our lives and how we feel about modernity’s losses and gains? And how should we respond?

-       Various forms of ancient wisdom have influenced our present ways, like those from classical Chinese philosophy, Buddhism, and Euro-American traditions. So we also hope to discover the same from this civilization before us.

-       We want to study more about the civilized and dignified human life.

-       We also want to study more about different kinds of art and their roles in lives in the past.

-       I also like to hear more about the attitudes that people have about life.

On landing the ideas/ coherence:

-       We’d like to learn more about small-scale agriculture, and especially the local techniques for food collection and processing, and traditional herbal use.

-       Perhaps we can do more in ‘making some nonsense’ in order to figure out lifestyle values. In this bustling day and age, what if we could rely less on the external and find more of our little inner heaven?

-       And so on!

Conclusion

I wish that the little heavens in our hearts will grow and prosper in these lands. When the opportunity comes around it would be nice to hear from some of the villagers like Erge and Da Jun (大军) from Ciman.

Zhu Ming, the Living Space Studio, July 7th 2019.

—————————————————————————————-

Below are further reflections by YangQing from Ciman Village:

如何创造一个能够很好地识别和传播当地知识的环境？

How to create an environment that fine-tunes the ability to note and disseminate local knowledge?

在将一个村庄当成某个项目保护起来，或者提供继续其特定文化自然发展的支持手段之间，存在一个时间上的选择点。

我们能做出哪些选择？

Between preserving a village and providing means for continuing its life, there is a moment in time.

 What choices are available?

如何使知识从农村流向城市，从而改变城市？

How to maximise traffic from the rural to the urban,

so it changes the city?

YangQing

问题逻辑：

问题2—问题1—问题3

问题理解：

问题2: 1. 内生动力，自我分析、表达；2. 他者的观察、阐述；3. 共同的行动，新社会运动。

问题1: 1. 地方知识作为基础，国际知识的介入，两种知识系统的相互验证与渗透；2.艺术/文化的独立视角和在地实践。

问题3: 1. 文化建设，生活/生计的改善；2.异质文化的发展；3.乡村联合，而非单个乡村社区独自面对世界。

Problem logic:

Question 2 - Question 1 - Question 3

Problem understanding:

Question 2:

1. Endogenous (coming from within, self-generated) motivation, self-analysis, expression;

2. Observations and statements of 3rd parties;

3. Joint action, New Social Movement.

Question 1:

1. Local knowledge as the basis, international knowledge involvement, mutual verification and penetration of the two knowledge systems;

2. art/culture offer an independant perspective which can be put into practice with reference to the local.

Question 3:

1. Cultural construction, improvement of livelihood;

2. the development of heterogeneous cultures;

3. Village alliances, rather than individual village communities facing the world alone. 

补充一些认识：

1. 民族国家与地方文化

民族国家的成功正在于对“自决性共同体”的压制。它会竭尽全力反对地方主义、地方文化和地方方言，以牺牲部族传统为代价来促进形成一个统一的语言和共同的历史。

2. 极权主义和霸权主义有着它结构性的且无可改变的嗜好，即重型的投入和生产。而这一过程总是残酷和血迹斑斑的。

3. 一个地方、一个族群，如果不具备现代的经济功能和价值，不可生产，不可消费，那么它势必消亡。

Add some awareness:

1. Nation-State and local culture

The success of the Nation State is threatened by "self-determinated communities". The Nation State will spare no effort to oppose localism, local culture and local dialects, promoting the formation of a unified language and a common history at the expense of tribal traditions.

2. Totalitarianism and hegemonism have their structural and immutable preferences/habits, i.e. top heavy and production. And the process is always brutal and bloodstained.

3. A place, an ethnic group is bound to die out if it does not have modern economic functions and values, is not productive and is not consumable.

.————————————————————

In conclusion and at the close of 2019, I add two texts by Zhuming and WangMei (from The Living Space Studio, Zhengsheng Village) that were written at the beginning of the year.

The text by Zhuming was in part a response to a workshop given by Duskin Drum in early January 2019.

Please scroll down for English

二十四节气 纪事 大寒 丽江工作室/生命空间工作室

如何在生活里发展对自然的感受

文/朱明

最近几次去“丽江工作室”听大家的分享。听Petra分享时，在艺术家工作室里，在一张大白纸上，写着一个好问题 “有什么问题，是特定要在这个地方研究的？（不知道这样一个好问题是谁提出的）”

后来又去听Duskin†的讲座，在朋友的帮忙下，听明白了一部分。有一个内容是“起源故事（COSMOLOGY/ORIGIN STORIES）”。他举了一个例子，他在美国北部生活，那个地方，有一些小岛，在传说中，出现这些小岛，是因为有一个神，把一些人变成石头丢进了海里，后来这些石头变成了小岛。这些人变的小岛，养育着在岛上生活的人，而人也要好好的照顾这些小岛和小岛上的万事万物。我们怎样看待这个古老的传说和故事？我们会不会意识到，过去的人，在对自然的认识上更有智慧？在现代通常情况下，成年人已经失去对自然的直觉力，但我们可以重新发展对

自然的感受和思考能力。

这样的感觉我们并不陌生，在我们的创世传说中，我们现在所依存的山河大地是盘古大神所化。在我们接触到的一些不同文明里的起源故事里，自然是活的。最近有一个问题跳进我脑子里：若载负着我们的这个地方是活的，我们当如何去过每日的生活？我想这就是“特定要在这个地方研究的一个问题”——我在中国生活过的地方，没有比这里的自然更有活力的了。

树上拉柴

最近我们这儿连续修了三条路：一条是环拉市海的路；一条修在半山腰，是丽江到香格里拉的铁路；还有一条是拓宽村公路。另外，家旁边的乡村小学修了足球场。这样，周围很多树都被砍伐了。我们一直是烧柴的，之前，也和父亲、王梅去拖过一些被伐下来的树枝，但心里面总是有些迟疑——树是有生命的，这样做是不是合适？以前读《草原狼导师》那本书的时候，有印第安人照顾的树林和没有他们照顾的树林完全不一样，他们很谨慎每一棵树的生命，如果真是为了生活需要取用，要请求、忏悔和感恩。

去年，我们常常去山上背“山粪”（山基土，林间树枝、落叶、杂草经年腐化而成）改造院子里的土壤。这是本地的传统做法，要在密密的林间找，现在村子里很少人这样做了。也有更好的做法，比如活力耕作，但我的心力不够，只是做了准备，还没有正式的展开。

有一次上去的时候，听到林间很大的树枝断裂的声响。我就去了那个方向看看是什么事情。一个老人，带着一根长长的杆子，在枥木林里，从树上把枯枝折下来。这样的枯枝容易折，背着很轻，重要的是不伤树，这好像是大自然的一份馈赠。

他喜欢这样的树枝烧水喝。在他的感觉里，这样的水，比电水壶烧的，味道好，喝在肚子里更温暖，放置着也不容易凉。这是一个老人在感受里的事情。

这些日气候干燥，只要身体状况允许，我几乎每天早晨我都带着狗，去山上，在树林里站桩、打拳、和那位老人一样的方式去找柴。他用一根绑了铁钩的杆子，我试了家里的几段不同长短粗细的绳子，看那一种适合丢上去，挂在枯枝上，把它拉下来。那些在树上的，中等大小的枯枝比较合适，地上的枯枝经过了雨季，大部分已经腐朽了。枥木枯枝木质坚硬，王梅觉得比较耐烧。用绳子拽的时候，因为力道是向着人的，有时候躲闪不及，会重重的打到身上，老人用杆子钩就不会，但要带着一根杆子去山上，总不是那么方便，而开山刀和绳子，上山的时候总是要带的。还要再尝试，看有没有合适的办法。我们也会捡一些松果回来烧，就是烟比较大。

栎木青枝

前些日子，常见邻居上山背栎木青枝下来，起心要做记录的时候，他的活计已经做到了尾声。那天早晨，遇到就和王梅进去找他聊天。听他讲，这园葡萄，他是下了功夫的，这栎木青枝，他从山上背下来二十七八捆，一捆要一百四五十斤重的样子。另外还铺了青蒿、松毛、和马粪，最后再用土盖上。大概挖沟铺了四十厘米，已经发酵一段时间的青蒿放在下面，靠近根系生长的地方，做速效肥。栎木青枝是长效肥，铺这一次，两年都不用再做。这样做是为了松土、透气、保水。再一日遇见他，正见他背了一捆青枝回来。问说，只需要最后一捆了，要下午再去背。我就约了他一起去。我想看看他具体是怎么做的，他就答应了。他带了一把手剪，我们去了村后的山坡上。每棵树他主要是取了向阳面的一些嫩枝，没有伤到主枝。我们在山上聊天的时候，他有些不好意思的问“你不会觉得我是在破坏生态吧？”我讲“不会，你剪的时候我注意到了，你没有伤主枝。”他回答说：“是的，我们是希望山里的树长高的，不伤主枝，它就会长高。果园里的树，我们不希望它长高，所以修剪的时候，去了主枝。”

另外，他还给我看了，过去生活里用的几种植物。这次上山，我看到这片山上主要长了三种栎木，叶子的形状不一样。

Relating to and living in nature

By Zhu Ming

Recently (January 2019) I visited Lijiang Studio to hear what others had to share. It was at Petra’s session in the art studio that I beheld an excellent question posed on the large canvas – ‘What is that inquiry that we should conduct here of all places, and now of all time?’ I wondered who came up with it.

 After that I was at Duskin’s lecture. With a friend’s help I could understand it in part. Duskin spoke on Cosmology and Origin Stories. An ancient legend had it that some islands in northern America were born when a god turned men into stone and cast them into the seas. As an island gave its dwellers life, so too would they sustain its trove of natural beauty. How wisely these old stories captivated us on mother nature! Modern men might have lost their primeval bond with the lands and seas beneath them, yet perhaps it’s not too late to rediscover that love and thoughtfulness we once had.

For me all this is not unfamiliar – it evokes the Chinese mythology of Pangu (盘古), progenitor and first being. Yet strikingly, in Duskin’s heritage it is Nature herself that is and has always been alive. How would men view their lives alongside that equal, yet greater and more evergreen life? All around me, nature was the most alive I have known in China. I figured this must be that inquiry that I had to entertain here and now.

Living with firewood

Three new roads recently opened around here. The first encircled Lashi Lake, the second a railway on the mountains linking Lijiang and Shangri La, and the third a new main road for the village. Next to home, a football pitch has opened at the village school. As one might expect, plenty of trees had to give way. Our fires, too, had always consumed their timbre, but now I can’t help but wonder if their deaths should be ours to scavenge from. I am reminded of the Native Americans in Tom Brown Jr’s book, Grandfather, who toiled to sustain the vigor of their woods, only depleting what was absolutely necessary, and even then with much deference and regret.

Last year I regularly gathered forest litter for my yard. It is a traditional practice, though gradually overtaken by newer gardening technology. On one of these gathering trips I encountered the loud snap of branches above. Using a long pole with a hook, an old man had broken off a tree’s weakened section for some lightweight firewood. He was receiving a gift and conserving the gifter. With his gift he boils his water, a superior, tastier, firewood-cooked pot of water, he says.

Whenever I felt up for it during these dry months, I would trek up the hills with my dog for some morning qigong before plagiarizing that old man’s firewood technique. I tried this with what ropes I had. In my view the medium sized branches were the best to collect, and better than the decaying ones on the ground. Eucalyptus was the firmest, so Wang Mei thought they burned longer. The task involves pulling down sharply on my ropes, which was tricky – sometimes both gift and tool fell towards me too quickly! The old man’s long hooked pole would’ve been simpler to control but a pain to drag uphill.

Often there were pinecones to be collected as bonuses too. Roasting them comes with the further bonus of a rather smoky yard.

Tender oak

 I have been spotting the neighbor descend the hills with bundles of tender oak branches. I hadn’t realized his was a painstaking project that had been long in the works: a grapeyard that required some thirty such oak bundles, each the mass of an adult person, plus plenty of sweet wormwood, sylvestris, and other fertilizers. The tender oak is used biannually as a slow supplement, and it especially helps to aerate the soil.

 When I saw him again on another descent, he revealed that he only needed to make one more, final trip that afternoon. I could not pass up on inviting myself along to witness it. His craft was in carefully snipping off only the young branches that had received recent sun. “You wouldn’t berate me for hurting the ecosystem?” He asked sheepishly. No, my friend, since you left your gifter, the great oak, quite intact. “We leave the mountain trees that way. They get to grow as tall as they like. Just for the ones in our own yards, we do as we please.” As we walked on, he pointed out the varieties among useful plants. I hadn’t realized there were three oak breeds, each with its own distinctly shaped leaves.

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On January 30th, 2019 Wang Mei wrote (please scroll down for English)

几年前开始听说“冬至一阳生”，只觉得是一种玄秘的说法。这两年开始做分类别的生活观 察和记录，照顾园子和厨房是其中很重要的部分。特别是今年冬天，从冬至到现在大寒即将 走到尾声，我眼里的自然界，基本上就一个趋势:萌发生长。原来小寒也叫“二阳”，大寒 为“三阳”，现在虽还没有深入理解，却不再觉得玄秘陌生，就是摆在眼前的亲切的事实。 现在紫色的迎春小花和白玉兰正盛放。梅花从冬至含苞，至小寒结束时开始凋谢。长成的甜 菜根正在顶端分出好多小棵，准备后面抽出长茎结种子。嫩紫红色的月季芽苞越来越有饱满 的生命力。十字花科的青菜，经过之前的寒霜变得甜丝丝的，现在又把酝积的生命力都用来 抽苔准备开花，正是肥美甘甜好吃的时候，我常常在院子里随手摘一棵，就那么生吃也好吃。

在这个时间段里，我做的和园子相关的工作，一是浇水保湿，二是备肥施肥。看过一些经多 年照顾打理的园子，每一块畦之间有镶着草边的湿润平坦的小路，小路边上总有一条差不多 宽的小水沟，长年累月从无干涸。这便是岁月养润出来的美，怎么看怎么赏心悦目，给园子 增添许多拙朴的灵秀之气。我的园子初成，还没有小水沟，每隔一周要用水管浇一次水。有 一片地用踩碎的树叶盖了约三厘米厚，保湿效果超出我的预料，即便半月没浇水，土面也还 是略带湿气。而没有覆盖的地方，在丽江这种强烈的阳光照射下，一周之后就显得干焦没了 生机。水能带来土的生机。关于施肥，我现在准备三种来源的肥。因为不吃肉不养动物，就 没有大多农家都会用的粪肥。朱明建议我不要用人的粪肥，从活力农耕的观点看。后院树下 有一个堆肥，平常院子里的树叶、厨余、菜地的茎杆枯叶等都堆在那里发酵。附近路上马帮 常走的地方过几个月就会积累不少马粪在路边，我有时早起，趁着马路上还没有人走动的时 候，推独轮车去铲两车回来，也是带着小狗晨间活动气血的时候。当地人是不屑于独轮车和 我这种过家家一样的做法的，我却怡然自得，我喜欢这样朴素的却能将人的身、心、灵都养 到的生活方式。关于施肥的时间，之前我没有观察别的农夫的做法，也没有查阅资料，只是 观察到我夏季施的肥在频繁的雨水作用下很快就变少了。雨水太多对土的肥力损伤不难观察 得到，经过雨季的土常有板结之态。我就猜想，大概是冬天施肥最合适。至今还没来得及查 阅资料，也需要积累进一步的观察。这之后就要立春。记得去年立春之时我们在院子里修剪 月季，真是感觉到春风拂面、寒意不再的。接下来需要准备种子、工具和园子规划。不然到 三四月份，若是这些都没准备好，那时候可就真是手忙脚乱了。那时候旺盛的生长之气，让 人生怕慢了一点有些对不起种子和那天地之间的气氛。现在的豆子浸泡好常温放一周都没什 么动静。去年三四月份我做了好几次豆芽，泡好两三天就露芽出来了。前年和去年刚开始照 顾这个荒废许久的园子，冬天不懂得做准备，春天时就忙乱得有点辜负大好春光，今年冬天 才有意识地开始做准备。从现在起早晨再上山散步时，就要收集一些山土背下来，后面育苗 的时候用。最近还发现了一个给盆栽浇水的办法，解决了我想起盆栽就有点头疼的问题。在 丽江这样一旱半年且阳光强烈的气候里，盆里的土干得很快。若直接对干的盆土浇水，水不 是浸到盆土里而是直接从盆底的洞直接流出来。可能我是个敏感的人，总不愿看到这景象， 一来不好管理，水流得到处都是;而来也担心盆里少得可怜的土和营养是不是又被带得更少 了?那天整理院子的时候，灵感一现，准备一大盆水，加上淘米水、酵素水等，把一盆栽整 个坐在水盆放置半个小时，依次轮流，全部浇透且很好管理，营养液一点都不会浪费。喜滋 滋的试了几盆，和朱明分享我的发现。朱明说他在爱默生帮园丁干活时，园丁也是这么做的。 原来还有印证啊，好开心!在这里能在这样的冬天种的大概有两样，土豆和山药。去年四月

份在市场见到新鲜土豆，当时就纳闷这么早收获的土豆得什么时候种下呢?今年小寒时发现 当地人开始种土豆，用地膜覆盖。我查看厨房里阴暗的角落里贴着地面堆放的土豆，最底下 略沾潮气的土豆果然开始皮变绿色且要长芽了。去年我是春节之后注意到土豆芽，到那个时 候的势头要比现在强很多。我注意到土豆是分头和尾的。我把长芽的那头且块晾两天，待断 面基本干了之后埋在一个装了土和肥的破旧木箱里，放在半阳的地方，后来长得不错，收获 的土豆切的时候比市场买来的脆一些。多年前在 《新世纪农耕》里就看到这样的细节，说 有机农场的土豆脆很多，掉到地上会裂开。现在亲身经验到确实如此。前年我也留意到当地 人的苹果园里种土豆，当时就有一个疑问，这样半阴的地方也可以长土豆吗?去年经自己尝 试，果然可以的，土豆对土层的疏松厚实的需求比对阳光的需求更大。莴笋恰好相反。现在 后院半阴处的莴笋，即便有山土培着，也长得细长瘦弱;而中院的水泥缝里自己长出来的那 一棵，光线相对充足，几乎没有土壤，却长得粗壮茂盛。这个时候也见本地人在田里挖条沟 准备种山药，村里的小市集上也开始有山药种子在卖。山药种子分两种，一种是收获山药时 取下的顶端带芽的部分，另一种是山药豆。用山药豆种的需要的时间多一些，至少两年才能 收获小个头的山药。我还尝试过第三种，即任意一截山药，把断面晾到干透以保入土后不腐 烂，那么长须毛的地方就会慢慢长根出来。来丽江前我从没见过山药种植，经过两三年观察 尝试，发现昔日里我觉得陌生神秘的山药其实很好长。不过这些都不着急，即便再晚一两个 月种也可以，不超过四月份就好。待四月一过，一个大的春播时段就过去了。

在厨房里，最近的有意识的调整是由水炒菜过渡到每天在柴灶上用黑陶锅做一锅炖菜，以大 白菜为主，辅以山药、胡萝卜、红薯粉条、豆皮、当归等，调入酥油或椰子粉，增添汤的浓 郁和微微奶香。这个炖菜清而不寡，浓而不烈。第一次做的那顿，慢慢吃饭，有一种安静的 幸福感。虽然我并不爱美食，也不爱花样，这两三年却一直想探索一种厨房氛围，为此看了 不少书，倒腾了很多尝试，也有困惑气馁的时候。喝汤的时候就感觉到，我想做的，是朴素、 接地而让人吃了有幸福感的食物。这样的食物只能在内心安静的状态下做出来。我时常忙碌 各种事情时就做不出这种感觉。饭店的厨师们可以熟练得做得美味，却也鲜少有这内在的品 质。有一次姜和辣椒放得多一点，喝过并不润，倒是口干舌燥得不舒服，这才意识到中医养 生里讲的“冬不宜姜”是真的。这个时节也不吃烙饼，不烤面包，改蒸馒头。这个时节烙饼 吃过之后，若是没有粥喝，干燥的感觉是很明显会出来的。我是白羊座，向来觉得自己对饮 食文化里渲染的那些情调不感兴趣。连菜谱看着都觉束缚。好在还有自己去尝试和感知的空 间，感谢生活让我有机会经验到的点滴。

冬至和小寒时节，各有一两次，早晨起来到厨房看到盆里的水结着薄冰，那两天就有些能觉 到手伸到哪里做事都冰冰凉，但还不是北方同时节里的天寒地冻。那时候晚上睡觉两小时前 开着电热毯，上床时就关掉，眷恋一到被窝里就暖乎乎的感觉。到大寒中后期，有几次竟然 觉得热燥得不容易入睡。今天有意识的决定，可能够暖了，不再需要电热毯帮忙了，只需两 个热水袋分别焐着肚子和脚就好。这两年都观察到这个时节里自己爱睡觉，要早早入睡第二 天才精神好，不然稍一操劳过度、休息不够，就会感觉精力不济，果然是“睡不醒的冬三月”。 以前看中医里讲天地不交，对此我是一脸懵相。到现在我也没有系统学习中医理论，但开始 能在生活经验里稍有认知。最近一周我还感觉到牙痛，在吃了小米糖、水炒菜(还不是油爆

炒)、加了当归的菜根汤之后，平息的牙痛就会再度起来，含椰子油或芦荟胶在嘴里都会缓 解。这之前，牙痛于我是一件遥远的事。没经历过这种痛，都不懂得同理别人的痛。今天起 只喝白米粥，看看会怎么样。大寒初，院子里的小母狗开始流经血。最近一周可能是进了发 情期，前门后门从早到晚的都守着好几条狗。期间一次带它上山散步、打柴，它竟然趁我们 不注意偷偷溜走了，到晚上我们入睡前都没回来。之前它跟我们上山，一走到开阔美好的林 间空地就像小鹿一样跃起奔跑，若我们摸摸它肚子它就开心得立刻转身围着我们跑上好几 圈。那时候我还感叹它越养越灵气懂事，发心要护它周全。现在又一次进入发情期，让我看 到它在本能的力量集中凸显时完全是另一个样子，它在院子里垂头丧气的趴着，有点魂不守 舍的;若带它上山，它也不再安心跟着我们，常想溜走。印象里小时候在家，老母鸡想要孵 小鸡，并不是在春暖花开的时候，是在那之前还觉得冷的时候。会不会是现在这时节?如果 妈妈不想让老母鸡抱窝，就会好几次把它的头在凉水里闷一下，如此反复一段时间，执着的 老母鸡才作罢。

Wang Mei

There’s a saying that the sun always returns after the winter solstice. For the longest time I’ve brushed it aside as just mystical optimism. Yet, how my views have been thoroughly reshaped by the past two years of conscientious living, where so much have gone into cultivating my backyard gardens and kitchen. Since the turn of this year’s solstice I’ve intimately witnessed the relentless rebirth of nature and learnt to shrug off the cynic in me. As of this moment winter jasmines and Yulan magnolia are in full bloom. Plum flowers have come and gone, and beetroot and China rose shoots are yawning themselves gradually awake. And the mustard family, oh, how surely they’ve rediscovered their vigor in spite of, or perhaps somehow because of, the bitter cold! No doubt it is now that they taste just the sweetest - I haven’t stopped myself from nibbling away!

My main gardening tasks during this season are anti-freeze irrigation and re-fertilization. I’ve long admired those gardens that are equipped with those thin irrigation tracks woven within and between plots of soil. Not long do they make the garden quite freeze-proof, it also adds a rather pretty kinetic flow all year round. My young garden is not yet so well-equipped, so I do the weekly watering myself. After the watering a layer of old foliage (roughly 3 cm) really helps to preserve the ground moisture from the blazing Lijiang sun.

Fertilizers, for me, come from several sources. The things is, I haven’t got the usual livestock to collect waste from, and Zhu Ming has also dissuaded me from using human waste from the perspective of biodynamic agriculture. So instead I collect vegetation and plant waste and let it ferment for use. It also helps to follow the trails of horse manure sometimes left on our roads around here. I would happily bring the dog out and gather home some barrels full of it before the morning crowd has a chance to cast their aspersions at me! My body and soul feel quite springy and rewarded when I get all these done. Not that I’m expert at actually using all these fertilizers, though I suspect fertilization in winter is superior to during those rainy summers that wash out soil nutrition. I suppose this claim would be open to further verification.

Spring is an opportunity that must be prepared for. Last spring too was marked by the welcoming sight of China roses, signaling that time is ripe for sowing the seeds and tilling the land. The seeds, the tools, and the whole shape of the yard all have to be readied beforehand. If you’d waiting around till March or April, you’d be sorry! One must honor the generosity of spring. In the coldest weather beans just wouldn’t sprout, but come March or April they will, gladly, sprout within a couple of days. So in anticipation of that, I’ve even been gathering some of the right soil from the hilly walks well ahead of time. Potting could be tricky too under a drying sun, and watering a pot, like flowing rain, can easily steal the soil of nutrients without even retaining moisture. That would sadden me. So I schemed to place my pots within larger pots of enzyme-enriched water, allowing a natural, lasting seeping through. When Zhu Ming witnessed my strategy, he revealed that this was the very same method that gardeners in 爱默生 have long relied on. What joy!

Potatoes and Chinese yam are the two safe options to fully grow during the winter. Around here even in the early month of April I would already see fresh potato harvests. That’s thanks to local farmers beginning their work in the deep of winter, making sure to insulate their grounds well. In my own yard I’m just starting to see their first leaves too, much earlier than what I achieved with a late start last year. I’ve made sure to take a good closer look at the potato plant, offered sunlight to the budding shoots and also partial shelter with extra fertilizers. I once read that such organically grown potatoes as so much crispier they would crack if you dropped them. Indeed the very evidence has formed before my very eyes. Actually, I was surprised that potatoes grew so well in the shady apple orchards nearby, until it became clear that a supple, loose soil matters so much more than sunlight. Lettuces, it turns out, is quite the opposite. While a firmly planted one would thin out in the shady yard, one directly offered a strong light can thrive even from the cracks between concrete floors. This is also the season to see channels carved within the fields to grow Chinese yam, which are quickly grown and sold in the markets. There are of course two parts in a Chinese yam that one might usually start with – the tender stems picked together with the leaves, and the Chinese yam seeds themselves. The seeds take more two whole years to bear any fruit. A third option is the dried-out cross section of a whole Chinese yam, which avoids the rot and slowly sprouts too. I’d say that Chinese yam is that other thing that doesn’t mystify me anymore. Some things like Chinese yam can even be delayed a month or two, as long as we get our acts together before the passing of April.

My kitchen experiences have been evolving too. Recently vegetable preparation have gone from stir-frying to claypot stewing. My version of this features a cabbage base and other mains like Chinese yam, carrot, sweet potato, beancurd skin, and angelica. The seasoning involves soy sauce and coconut powder, which also produces a milky and savoury feel. I like to think that I’ve figured out a version of this that’s absolutely Goldilocks-proof in intensity and texture! Eating it certainly gave me the peace of feeling that everything was in its right place in the world. What a process of learning it has been - I’m not the bravest connoisseur around but can lay claim to many a misstep and thoughtful revision within these kitchen adventures. I think good soup especially gets me, as it reminds me on simple pleasures and inner peace. Quite unlike the frenzy of restaurant food – tasty but often hollow! Once I chopped into too much ginger and chilli, failing to heed obvious traditional warnings against the wrong winter spices. But that’s yet another good lesson. Though I’m a typical Capricorn with no patience for pretentious culinary subtleties or restrictive recipes, I’m grateful for partaking in my own trials, errors, and little victories.

On several mornings during the coldest season ice would form inside the kitchen, yet for some perspective, this is still mild compared with conditions in the distant north. On those nights my electric blanket comes in handy to prepare the bed for a couple of hours before I tuck myself in. On other nights it was even too warm to use it, and in any case it is already enough to just have hot water bottles for my tummy and feet. I’ve also come to terms with my loving to sleep during winter. Give me an early night, or I’d be grumpy or lethargic. Obviously these physical patterns are themselves founded in medical knowledge, though I’d had been pretty oblivious until now. The traditional wisdom is plenty –for sweet or stir-fried foods combined with angelica soup would be sure to inspire a toothache, while coconut oil or aloe vera relieves it. Never have I ever had toothaches before or knew to empathize with others who do. Today, for some timely recovery: plain porridge

It was on the deepest winter day that the poor dog’s menstrual cycle began. She was in heat, too, and pined for her canine companions nearby. She even sneaked off on her own once during a regular walk, wandering on deep into the night. Another time she galloped around a forest clearing much like a deer, expressing delight at belly-rubs with plenty of zoomies. It was all not quite what I expected of a maturing, mellowing dog. Currently she is in heat again, and visibly quite enslaved by her condition. She is either a morose fur ball at home, or restless to escape from her walks. I recall, as a kid, watching a mother hen beginning to incubate her eggs in the pre-spring. Was it not during a time just like this current decline of the long cold? My mum would delay the hen’s rhythm by dousing its head in cold water repeatedly until it thought better of its hatching project.

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The Three Village Circular 2020

After a hiatus, due to the high number of resident artists at Lijiang Studio and the Coronavirus Crisis, we are slowly beginning to re-activate our links with both Zhuming and WangMei in Zhengsheng Village and the “Beyond the Clouds’ Studio in Ciman Village.

He Jixing and Petra Johnson are collaborating on sound walks in each of the villages this year.

Please find below an invitation to Lijiang Studio for the next initiative at Ciman Village:

Petra、吉星，二位春天好！

“茨满梨花会”是茨满村有着28年传统的地方节日。每到梨花盛放的三月底，这里的村民（特别是老人）都会自发组织聚会，载歌载舞，以庆祝春天的到来。从去年开始，我们“云之南”（LMC）以机构身份参与和介入了这一节日建设，在保持传统的基础上，在节日期间增加了“社区影像展”、“村民摄影比赛”等艺术活动环节，受到社区居民的广泛欢迎。
今年因为受疫情影响，继续以往方式的活动明显已不太可能，但作为一个建设中的社区节日，轻易中止又殊为可惜，故而我们希望以线上和网络方式继续节日工作，利用云之南公众号和其它友好平台，举办“2020茨满梨花会”。
本次梨花会除了继续以线上方式延续“村民摄影比赛”、“村民书法展”等社区性艺术活动，也计划邀请个人艺术家与创作者，以各种方式进行相关主题的艺术创作，并在梨花会系列活动的名义下陆续进行网络推送和展览。
目前，除了二位，我们也邀请了艾几和他的团队，请他们用他们自己的方式在茨满的田间地头和庭院当中进行拍摄，制作一组有趣的视频作品；另外，木琛东巴（同时也是丽江市博物院院长）答应以自己的方式在茨满的梨树下录制一期关于“春天”的节目，结合仪式与表演，讲述东巴教与地方知识体系里的“春天”……
在此，我代表云之南与茨满村，郑重邀请二位，希望你们能以自己的方式加入我们的节日活动，为“梨花会”进行自己的创作。
之所以冒昧的提及“植物主题的即兴艺术”，是受petra启发，我记得去年petra与思培从吉祥村走到茨满村时，曾经一路数路边的梨树并记录方位，这让我非常感动，但也非常遗憾当时并没有深入展开其中的可能性；另一方面，我们曾经数次深入（同时也俏皮的）谈论过“梨宇宙”的种种可能，而这一议题的基础视角也同样与“植物”有关；最后，也是因为所谓“梨花会”本身这一节日主题，显然也和“春天”、“植物”等元素紧密相关。
至于具体的创作方式、主题，以及二位是各自还是一起工作，完全以二位自己的意愿为主，我和杨青将负责全程纪录二位的创作进程，协助二位完成作品，并在最后阶段协同整理，用云之南公众号将二位的创作进行一次尽可能完美的在线展览。
梨花会系列活动将从3月26开始，持续两周，至4月10号，如果两位愿意，请在此期间安排时间，我非常期待二位能前来云之南工作室进行一个短期但卓有成效的（闪光和愉快的）即兴驻留！
非常感谢二位！
期待回音！

文朝
2020年3月21日

Petra, Ji Xing, good spring! "Pear Blossom Festival" is a 28-year-old local festival in Ciman Village. At the end of March, when the pear blossoms are in full bloom, the villagers (especially the elderly) here will spontaneously organize gatherings, singing and dancing to celebrate the arrival of spring. Since last year, our "Beyond the Clouds" (LMC) has participated in and participated in the construction of this festival as an institution. On the basis of maintaining tradition, we have added art such as "community image exhibition" and "village photography contest" during the festival The activity link was widely welcomed by community residents. Due to the impact of the epidemic this year, it is obviously impossible to continue the activities in the previous way. However, as a community festival under construction, it is a pity to suspend it. Therefore, we hope to continue the festival work online and use Yunnan Public Platform and other friendly platforms, held "2020 Ciman pear blossom party". In addition to continuing on-line community art activities such as the "Village Photography Competition" and "Village Calligraphy Exhibition", the Pear Blossom Society plans to invite individual artists and creators to carry out artistic creation on related topics in various ways. Under the name of the Pear Blossom Society series of activities, network pushes and exhibitions have been successively carried out.

At present, in addition to the two, we have also invited Ai Ji (Lara) and her team to ask them to shoot in their own way in the fields and courtyards of Ciman to make a group of interesting video works. In addition, Muchen Dongba (director of the Lijiang Museum) promised to record a program about "Spring" under Ciman's pear tree in his own way, combining rituals and performances, to tell the "Spring" in Dongba religion and local knowledge system ... ... Here, on behalf of ’Beyond the Clouds’ and Ciman Village, I solemnly invite both of them. I hope that you can join our festival in your own way and create your own creations for the "Pear Blossom Society". The reason to take the liberty to mention "improvised art on the theme of plants" was inspired by Petra. I remember that when Petra and Si Pei walked from Jixiang Village to Ciman Village last year, they once counted the pear trees on the roadside and recorded the orientation. I was very moved, but I also regret that the possibility was not deeply explored at the time; on the other hand, we have talked about (possibly) several times the possibilities of the "Pear Universe", and the basic perspective of this issue It is also related to "plants"; in the end, it is also because the so-called "Pear Blossom Society" itself is a holiday theme that is obviously closely related to "spring" and "plants" and other elements.

 As for the specific creative methods, themes, and whether the two work together or not, they are completely based on their own wishes. Yang Qing and I will be responsible for documenting the creative process of the two and assisting them to complete the work. The stages are coordinated, and the two people's creations are displayed in the online exhibition as perfect as possible using the ’Beyond the Clouds’ platform. The "Pear Blossom Society" series of activities will start on March 26 and last for two weeks, until April 10. If two people are willing, please arrange time during this period. I am very looking forward to two people coming to ’Beyond the Clouds’ Studio for a short but fruitful (flashy and enjoyable) improvisational stay! Thank you very much! Looking forward to hearing back!  Wen Chao March 21, 2020

Cui Yue has joined the Three Village Circular as facilitator.

五月初是樱桃成熟的季节。在丽江的蓝天白云下，一颗颗小樱桃在绿叶中逐渐转红、发紫，甚是喜人。然而，受去年增种和今年新冠的影响，茨满村众多农户家里樱桃滞销。眼看着精心呵护的果子一天天成熟，却卖不出去，樱桃只能烂在田里或者被鸟叼走，十分可惜。因此，云之南工作室的伙伴们邀请吉祥村丽江工作室的我们（和吉星、Petra、崔玥）、正盛村生命空间工作室的朱明、茨满村村民代表及其他对樱桃的加工和销售有兴趣的朋友们，在和文昭

家的院子里，召开了又一次三村通会议。

May is Cherry Season in Lijiang. Growing under the clear sky and hidden between leaves are baby cherries, ripening and turning crimson by the minute. However, the picturesque scene brings little comfort- due to an increase in the planning of cherry trees and the influence of the coronavirus, many farmers in Ciman Village are finding it hard to sell their cherries. It is such a shame to see the fruit go to waste or become bird food. Viewing this, friends in LMC invited us from Lijiang Studio (HE Jixing, Petra Johnson, CUI Yue), ZHU Ming from Living Spaces Studio, farmers from Ciman Village, and others with interests in the processing and selling of cherry products for another Three Village Circular meeting.

下午两点半左右，村民们带着自家新鲜采摘的樱桃陆续到来。大人们忙着交流新鲜事，小孩子们则对桌上的一台显微镜更感兴趣，争先恐后地用它观察樱桃（整个的和切开的）。在品尝完各家的樱桃后，主持人请大家聊一聊樱桃种植的主要优势和弊端。

 In the early afternoon, people from Ciman village started arriving with freshly picked cherries. While the adults were busy swapping news, the children were more interested in observing cherries (the whole fruit and the pulp) with a microscope sitting on the table. After everyone had had a tasting of cherries from different houses, the host initiated a talk on the pros and cons of growing cherries.

主持人又请探讨樱桃除了直接销售果子外，还有什么其他玩法。大家集思广益，不久就想出了包括果酱、果脯蜜饯、果干（烘干或晒干），果脆（冻干），樱桃泡酒，和樱桃啤酒的多种产品。这之中，大家对樱桃泡酒和樱桃啤酒最感兴趣。有的村民提议把樱桃用白酒泡起，再拿小瓶分装，每瓶中放几颗红彤彤的樱桃来增加卖相。而关于樱桃啤酒，在丽江城内做精酿的朱老板最有发言权。

 The discussion then moved on to processed cherry products. Ideas including cherry jam, cherry preserves, sun-dried cherries, freeze-dried cherries, cherry liquor and cherry wine were raised. Among them all, cherry liquor and cherry wine held most attention. One villager suggested soaking cherries in baijiu and sell the liquor in small bottles with a couple of red cherries for visual effect. One participant of the meeting, Mr. Zhu who brews craft beer in town, had something to say about making cherry beer.

丽江的樱桃分为两种——个头大外观美的酸樱桃，与个头小的味道佳的甜樱桃。朱老板说，相比于泡酒，樱桃这种水果做发酵酒（比如啤酒）会更合适。酿啤酒对果子的品质要求不高，酸果，过熟的果子，或者掉在地上的果子，只要清洗干净，都可以拿来酿酒。美国酸啤就常用大樱桃（车厘子）和覆盆子来增加风味，业界对用莓果酿酒有成熟经验可供参考。

The local cherry can be categorized into two kinds- the big and pretty sour cherry, and the small and tasty sweet cherry. Mr. Zhu thought cherry is a fruit more fitting for making brewed wine (such as beer) compared to soaking in liquor. Beer brewing does not have a high demand over the quality of the fruit. Be it overripe cherries or fruits fallen on the ground, as long as they were properly washed, they can be used to brew beer. Additionally, there is a tradition of using cherry or raspberry to add flavor in American Sour Beer. So there is mature procedure to refer to when it comes to beer brewing using berries.

 针对鲜啤保质期相对短的特点，有电商经验的村民提议可以用预售的方法，在做出产品之前就先把货卖出去。对此，村民表示希望不管大家最后决定做什么樱桃产品，都应成立合作社，建立微信群，统一管理淘宝店铺或微店。

 Considering the relatively short shelf life of fresh beer, a villager with E-commerce experience suggested the method of pre-sale to ensure the products would be sold before the expiration date. Another villager mentioned he hoped they could sell whatever cherry product they decided upon through a unified coop/ Taobao store/ Wechat store.

来自正盛村的朱明表示有两条路可走，一是树立本地品牌，二是探索品种改良。他说到，一方面，可以深度挖掘本地老品种，像“茨满梨”一样，树立“茨满樱桃”的口碑；另一方面，可以考虑引入山东大樱桃（樱珠/车厘子）的新品种。但后者时间和资金成本投入高，且本地的水土不一定适合大樱桃的生长，因此需慎重考虑。

 ZHU Ming from Zhengsheng Village suggested two options for the future of the cherries in Ciman Village. The first one is to excavate the potential of the local variety and establish the brand of Ciman Cherries, similar to that of Ciman Pear. The other option is to introduce new varieties such as the big cherries from Shandong Province. Comparing these options, the second one requires carefully evaluation for it is more time and money consuming, not to mention that the local environment might not be ideal for new varieties to grow.

 关于做果酱的想法，和文昭事先联系了身在北京的果酱高手Rainia，她提前在市场买了一公斤樱桃，制成樱桃果酱并拍了一个简单的视频介绍制作流程。在会议视频连线环节，Rainia又解答了村民关于瓶子罐装、消毒、熬煮过程中是否加水等细节问题。

Before the meeting, HE Wenzhao from LMC contacted the jam enthusiast Rainia, who is currently living in Beijing, to shoot a short clip about making cherry jam at home. After seeing the video together, HE Wenzhao video chatted with Rainia, who answered the villagers’ questions about the details such as bottling, sterilizing, and the adding of water.

我也受邀在网上找寻樱桃多种玩法，给大家播放了网红视频主李子柒制作的一期关于当季水果樱桃的视频。我们又连线了远在长春（正在小区楼下锄地的）丽江工作室的老朋友——李丽莎，她提议，可以从艺术的角度思考，把樱桃和其他花果一起做成可食用花束。经她这么一提醒，我觉得樱桃和圣诞节常见的榭寄生有点像，可食用花束新奇、有意思，若设计得当也有美感，不失为一个尝试的方向。

 I was also invited to search cherry products online and played a clip about cherries made by the cyberstar LI Ziqi. We also video chatted with an old friend of Lijiang Studio, LI Lisa, who happened to be preparing the earth for plantation under her residential quarter in Changchun. Lisa proposed thinking from the artistic perspective and make cherries and other fruits or flowers into an edible bouquet. Personally, I think the local mini cherry looks quite alike mistletoe. The innovative nature and the alluring look of cherry bouquet, if well-designed, could attract popularity.

和文昭在会议的最后表示他认为樱桃啤酒是一个最可行的方向。虽然小批量精酿所需的樱桃不多，但相比于让村民在短时间内自行用樱桃制成副产品，帮助村民找到樱桃的收购商可以不给他们增加劳动负担，且更能保证品质安全。

At the end of the meeting, HE Wenzhao said he thought cherry beer was the most viable option. Although small-batch craft beer brewing would not consume a large quantity of cherries, helping the villagers find a buyer of the fruit compared to expecting the villagers to process the fruit themselves would ensure the quality of the product and not add to the farmers’ workload.

Cui Yue, 崔玥. 12th May 2020

Zhengsheng Village

In this one hour audio, Zhuming takes He Jixing to a derelict farm halfway up the mountain behind Zhengsheng Village. When he and his partner WangMei discovered this farm some years ago they decided to retrace the way of life of the last inhabitants. He and his wife were clearly very knowledgeable about herbs in particular as well as traditional farming methods. Zhuming and Wangmei took on the garden or koe in Naxi language ( mixed use, in this case medicinal herbs, vegetable, fruit trees and bamboo). Starting in 2019 with a keen eye on the traces left in the garden they embarked upon recovering the overgrown plot and grow sufficient food to feed themselves through an annual cycle. Please find below a transcript of the recording in English.

Zhuming is a scholar and writer with a PhD in Chemistry, who moved to the area seven years ago and has been studying traditional Naxi agricultural practices and local medicinal knowledge ever since.

Xiao Yuanzi   The Small Yard

Wednesday, 13th May 2020

 ’Alloi, Pengyou Lai, Kankan - We are going to the small yard  (Xiao Yuanzi)’

 ’They cut the tree because it’s branches are obstructing the road.

In the past people used to live in higher locations. Where we live now is closer to the lake and at a lower altitude. Because of the humidity, people down here are more likely to get athritis.

It is drier higher up, which is why people preferred living there.

We are passing by cherry orchards and apple orchards as well as a vinery. Nowadays people grow different food. They used to grow for their own needs, now they are more market-orientated, they grow apples, maize and grass, the latter two to sell for animal feed, specifically horses. Most families keep at least four horses to take tourists along trails.’

 ’Apples are for sale, grass is for horses and the horses carry the tourists. People think about their income coming from outside. Some interesting things happened after tourism was banned in response to the virus. Tourism might not return for a long time and pork is expensive now. People are keeping more animals, chicken and pigs. My neighbours started to keep goats and might sell one or two of their horses. Some people keep calves. Piglets are very expensive and riskier to keep. People liked keeping horses, they used to keep 5-6.’

We are just below Xiao Yuanzi.

 ’Xiao Yuanzi  shows us how people used to think of a home. They clearly were independent and able to feed themselves. Their land is close to their home which makes it convenient to take care of crops and animals. In this instance, both the cornfield and the vegetable garden are close to the living quarters. ’

 We pass three walnut trees. Jixing comments that Naxi people like to grow nut and fruit trees close to their houses. These trees were planted many years ago for the enjoyment of future generations.

Zhuming agrees, Walnut trees can survive for hundreds of years. In Winter people made yakbutter tee with grounded walnuts. The harvest of a walnut tree provides enough protein for an entire family during the winter season.

There are also Sichuan Pepper trees and apple trees along the path leading up to Xiao Yuanzi.

Jixing: People didn’t use to have orchards, they grew fruit trees dotted around the farm.

Zhuming: Yes, a family cannot eat the entire crop of an orchard.

Jixing: Once orchards were introduced, people started to think differently about the use of the land.

Zhuming: Xiao Yuanzi reveals how people tused to provide for themselves:

This yard and the the garden feed according to the Chinese saying: Chi Eat  Zhu Live   Yong Use

Zhuming: Bamboo is used to make implements like baskets (there are two groves of bamboo, one along the path leading to the yard and one at the top end of the garden).

Quimu Trees (catalpa), which are in flower right now, are grown behind the house to help shield it from the wind. The land below the house is open to the sun, it was first used for maize, then potatoes and yam. Fruit trees are dotted across. Peaches and plums are near the walnut trees. They all need lots of sunshine.

The water system is quite an amazing design.

It was when I (Zhuming) discovered the plant Xiemangcao  (sambucus adnata wall) that it occurred to me the last owner must have been a herbalist. Usually Xiemangcao grows higher up in the mountains. The owner occupier of the house must have brought it down to grow near his house. Amongst other it helps with athritis.

There are several species of bamboo here, different types are used for different purposes, I don’t yet know the difference.[1]

Jixing finds another herb Cheqiancao  (Plantain), which is good for stomach and kidneys. This is particularly effectivefor people suffering from rheumatism.

Zhuming points to a type of nettle stinging nettle, he rubs the stems together to make rope.

 When I (Zhuming) moved to the village (two years ago) the widow of the owner occupier was still alive and took care of the garden facing the entrance to the compound. At that time she no longer lived in the house but down in the village. She mostly grew beans and Yuezanhua flowers. Yuezanhua  (Hosta) is also a herb. Around the edge of the garden she grew other herbs. She and many other elderly people passed away during the last 2 to 3 years. With their passing, you no longer see the practise of many traditional working methodsnor can anyone teach them.

In the garden is a pond with reeds, it’s a passage way for water coming down from the mountain that can be blocked off. To the left on entering the garden are an apple and a peach tree. The water system looks at first glance very simple, but it’s very usefulness suggests it has been done with great care. Such a system has been developed over time through close observation and in response to the needs of the household and the land around it. Streams are not built, they find their own way. They also do not just show up. The people who built this compound made a choice. If you look downwards you see the lake and if you look in the opposite direction you see the mountain. It is a safe place and has good FengShui: the lake ahead as you come out of the entrance of the compound, the mountain behind the sleeping quarters.

Around the house palm trees were planted, as is tradition in Naxi culture. Trees have specific purposes.

The palm tree provides clothes and material for buildings, the walnut tree provides food and the bamboo the material to make implements.  EAT    LIVE    USE  Chi Zhu Yong

 There is an opening in the wall surrounding the compound in which there used to be a beehive. Zhuming still encounters bees in the courtyard but does not know where they live nowadays.  Maybe the old man left the hive.

 The Sichuan pepper trees are very old. If the garden istaken care of, the trees can survive for a long time. In an orchard a tree’s life is limited to 15 to 20 years.

These trees herewere taken care of in a different way. For example, if you do not prune a tree every year, it will live longer. It may bear less fruit each season but it continues to give fruit after a 100 years.

 Zhuming and WangMei started cultivating the garden last year. Before that they had watched the widow and liked how she worked the garden. After her passing, no-one took care of the garden and the trees suffered from lack of water. The garden wasted away and lots of weeds took over. Plants need people to take care of them, when the carer dies the plants and trees suffer. Plants also have emotions. We follow the traditional approach in taking care of the garden. We grow to meet our daily needs over the course of the year.

 Jixing The old couple passed away and you continue their work. You did not grow an orchard.

 Zhuming tells a story he heard from another villager in Lashihai. It is about the first person there who set out growing an orchard of apple trees in the 1980s. His father got angry and said, You grow so many, neither people nor animals can eat all of them. The storyteller is proud of this story because it illustrates a breakthrough, growing for money rather than needs.

 The reason this compound and the garden disclose so much information, is because they were so well cared for.

We enter the garden to the right of the path, the metal clank of a door laid horizontally in lieu of a gate to the garden.

 Jixing  Where is this door from?

 Zhuming: From down the village, we could make a small wooden door.

 We  pass an apple tree called Yellow Banana  Huang Xiangjiao

 This peach tree was almost dead. We put compost underneath and it recovered. Last year it grew just one peach which never ripened. This year there are many peaches. It looks strong now, don’t you think?

Yes it does, old but not sick.

This plum tree here bears fruit that is sour but makes good jam.

 Jixing Some trees grow stronger before they die.

Zhuming In this case it is compost around the trunk of the tree and because we water it twice a month. The water comes from the mountain, we open the stone gates (water is blocked by laying rocks like a dry stone wall at a juncture). The peas are going well, we are still learning.

 Jixing: Do you eat peas everyday? Fried?

 Sometimes, sometimes in noodle soup.

 Let’s walk around. I am growing a new kind of potatoe this year. It is purple coloured. Then there are beans and radish which is flowering right now. We are going to collect the seeds. And here hemp. Locals like to put hemp seeds into yak butter tea or they chew them. You can also make rope from the plant. Here is taro root.

 Jixing: Peas steamed with rice, pork and salt make a delicious meal.

 Zhuming Peas rather than broad beans are better cooked with rice.

 We pass a St Johns Wort bush, the oil made from it helps with depression.

 Zhuming points to a type of wild pea We eat this too.(In Lashihai this plant is grown to feed nitrogen to the soil as well as for animal feed).

 The Coriander is flowering and we are collecting the seeds.

There are also Huercao (saxifrag), Broad Bean Plants and lots of Shuilianguo (yacon), Mint.

 Jixing: Flash fried Mint with tomatoes and some water added is delicious.

 Zhuming, There are carrrots from last winter and Shanjiucai (white root - allaum wallichii). Once you are familiar with the local lunar calendar, you can grow a lot of things. Last winter we grew Niubang (Burdock) and Wosun (asparagus lettuce-green white) . If you have a garden like this and work hard, you harvest a great variety of produce and taste many different flavours. We don’t as yet have enough experience. The old couple knew how to grow this patch in order to feed a whole family.

 Jixing  You are studying and practising at the same time. The widow took a different approach.

 Zhuming  Yes, she continues a tradition. She works intuitively and responsively whilst we rationalise a lot about what we do.

 Jixing  If you were to meet, what do you expect would happen.

 Zhuming  During our first year of working here, passersby laughed at us, because the plants were small. This year is better. Also, sometimes a small fruit has more flavour.

 Jixing  You are growing things that are not usually grown here.

 Zhuming You can try new things but you have to know how local people do it. Planting is a skill. There is a lot of knowledge here, a lot tolearn. Personally I prefer to learn growing local produce rather than try new things.

He finds a small walnut tree. Did the root travel or did a squirrel drop a walnut here?

 The gate to the garden is directly opposite the door to the living compound. In between is the path that led us up here. Behind the kitchen is more land.

Zhuming You wake up in the compound, open the door and look for friends passing. This compound is now dying.

 Jixing Last time I was here I noticed newspaper on the wall dated from 1998. 1990s Lijiang was so different.

Shall we go inside?

Zhuming This building looks like the sleeping quarter, the upstairs is used for storing maize. On the ground floor in the centre is a stove. In the yard are two tall trunks with holes for horizontal bars used to dry maize cobs. The trees visible from the compound are Baiyangshu (white poplar).

Jixing There is  large plastic sheet in the rooms on the ground floor of the building to protect them from rain.

 Outside the kitchen.

 Zhuming  To have a field immediately outside the kitchen at the back of the building is very smart.

 Jixing Nowadays people use their compounds differently. They like it paved and the walls are much smoother. They also would not want to walk halfway up a mountain to get to their house.

 Zhuming The first priority for the people living here was to survive and to provide for future generations. They were very selective in choosing a location. Already at an early age, there is a sense of direction and clarity about the purpose of life. When they arrived they would have thought is it suitable, is it valuable to settle here. They would have set up a tent, a simple stove to cook, then look where to grow food. You chose the location and took it from there. A small house, a small bed, a small stove. You circle the area, you try seeds for the vegetable garden and maize for the field behind the kitchen. You settle and you become more knowledgeable you begin to grow trees, first the trees to protect you from the wind.

 Jixing   They never anticipated modernisation and the idea of one world, one dream. This peaceful life and sense of continuity lasted for not that long.

 Zhuming   People’s lives are being transformed, that previous way of life was a very intelligent form of living.

 Jixing  What did you feel when you first discoveredXiao Yuanzi?

 Zhuming  We came without expectations, but as soon as we entered I felt a special energy. There are  a lot of details, your imagination is activated. Even though everything is broken and dusty you still feel the energy and the care that went into this Xiao  Yuanzi (small yard), as we all call it.

Now people have dreams that are mostly suggested from without. The people who lived in this yard did not rely on the outside world for either sustenance nor dreams. This way of life is a lot stronger but it is also limited. There is medicinal knowledge but not enough communication with the outside world and hence no exchange of knowledge. I bought a book about plants for the herbalist from TaChen who lives nearby. He recognised many of the plants and said there are no comparable recordings of local knowledge. And that to have such knowledge gathered in a book helps share and exchange knowledge.

 Zhuming and Jixing go upstairs

 Jixing Maybe they dried the maize up here and other plants. And maybe you are the first one this year who has been on this floor.

 Zhuming Animals still use the compound. Last time we found a cat with kitten. Also lots of squirrels like it here, they brign walnuts into the Xiao Yuanzi.

 Steps going downstairs

Sound of creaking door

 END

[1] In Jixiang Village we discovered through local and artist’s projects that for weaving a small round building you need mountain ash and for making the skeletons of the Qilin props you need local bamboo grown in the valley.

Ciman Village

For a comprehensive audio on Ciman Village, please go to https://lijiangstudio.org/physical-archives-2020 , where you will find six audio recordings with villagers. Ciman Village is famous for and proud of its pear and we framed our sound recorded walk with the question ‚Why did the Pear choose to flourish here?’.