图片来源：《琰棱》新浪博客

    

众所周知，法国人崇尚艺术。然而，鲜为人知的是，法国人最爱的中国大地艺术却是云南的老虎嘴梯田。

“法国人类学家欧也纳博士曾来到元阳观览老虎嘴梯田。面对梯田胜景，博士激动不已，称赞道：‘哈尼族的梯田是真正的大地艺术，是真正的大地雕塑，而哈尼族就是真正的大地艺术家！’”

Laohuzui is Frenchmen's Cup of Tea 

原作：琰棱   翻译：毛里林

It was in the 1960s to the 1970s that the United States of America witnessed the rise of an art movement called Land Art.

Artists create with natural amenities and materials, integrating art with nature.  Of course, they decorate it with its original face in order to call on people to take notice of, be close to and talk about nature again, instead of deliberately renovating natural landscape.  

Artists have created amazing works with naturally simple materials, like rocks, land, deserts, etc. However, every time land art is spoken of, I’m always thinking of terraces first, which are the crystallization of forefathers’ wisdom and one of the most amazing ways man transforms the earth shape.

As early as the prehistoric times, people initially wanted to grow crops, but there was not enough land for them to do so. Hence, they had to cut into the mountainside to alter flat ground hidden therein.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, rice was planted on a large scale in China, calling for a large area of ponds.

However, there were more hilly regions and fewer plains in the densely-populated southeast provinces. Farmers had to construct terraces to solve the grain shortage. Water conservation in dykes and dams made it possible to widely plant rice in hilly areas, improving the local grain situation.

Terraced fields today are more like a unique natural landscape, owing to their being passed on to the next generation. Tens of thousands of mu of spectacular terraces are distributed in hilly ridges and creeks, of which the whole can exhibit bright colors in graceful disorder and with elegant lines..., depending on different plants, with sights varying in different seasons.

More accurately, it is so nearly a kind of “carving drawing”, laid down on the earth.

The most famous of all the terraces in China, however, is probably Hani Terrace in Yunnan, situated right in the southern region of colorful clouds and on the south bank of the Honghe River, whose 10,000 mu of terrace is known as a “Chinese demeanor, global miracle and fairyland on earth”.

Hani Terrace was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee, in June 2013.

With a total area of about 1 million mu, Hani’s terraced fields are distributed in Yuanyang, Honghe, Jinping and Lvchun counties. In Yuanyang County alone, there is 170,000 mu of terrace, which is the core area of Hani terrace.

Someone once said, “if you were a traveler and shouldn’t reach Yuanyang, Yuanyang would feel sorry for you; if the same should happen to a photographer, God would feel sorry for him!” The landscape of Yuanyang, extremely says its beauty.

Yuanyang Terrace can date far back to the Tang Dynasty, or more than 1,300 years ago, when, with diligence and wisdom, our old ancestors excavated terraces, large or small, along the mountain ridges, ploughing and weeding with spring water through the ages.

Some of these terraced fields are the size of several mu while others as small as less than one square meter. As often as not, the size of a hillside terrace can add up to that of 1,000 thousand mu. Season due to natural changes functions as an invisible huge hand, drawing one painting after another of the land art, which never fails to impress.

Yuanyang terrace possesses three core attraction zones: Duoyishu, Bada and Laohuzui, the last of which is the most representative and spectacular.

At first glance, you can only think of such a word as “infinity”. Against the backdrop of the sleepy hills in the distance, so continuous the terrace at arm’s length is that it looks like an endless ocean. You can hardly believe that the fairyland which exists only in the dream appears right before your eyes at the moment.

You may wonder why the beautiful terraced field is called such a strange name: Laohuzui?

That’s because a rock stands out on a shelf of the cliff near the terraced field, in the shape of a fierce tiger’s mouth, this large sheet of terrace below is called Laohuzui (Mandarin Chinese).

In valleys so deep, with slopes relatively steep, spread its surrounding terraces. More than 3,000 mu of terraces have different shapes, far beyond imagination.

Stand on high elevation and you will observe a charming picture: the colors, figures, shadows of the terrace is in a state of flux and reflux. Fragments of curves are deeply depicted on the hillside, forming a messy but unique sense of beauty.

Against a brightly lit sky, the fields have a sharp halo round them, looking as if they were broken mirrors and it were the same with the entire sky. Seen from another angle, it looks like a sea of nothingness, with layers of waves rolling.

A further detailed look and the stereo effects of the fields will be extremely strong. Plots of slender terraces are scattered, an excellent likeness of the steps for a giant’s flying to the moon.

A couple of green trees tower loftily, just like heroic bodyguards warding farmers’ painstaking efforts.

The hilly wind brushes your cheeks, allowing you slowly to lose track of time, and just feeling as if you yourself were in the long scroll of ink-water drawing, elegantly gentle and frail-looking, of the south of the Yangtze River, contributing partially to the scenery, leaving you  a kind of a little bit subtly-moved, and obsessed with the great world, where there is such a beautiful place, luckily met by you.

The sun is bending in the west as it grows late, when the beauty of Laohuzui Terrace is fully displayed.

Most of the sun is covered by impatient clouds, and the remaining still breaks anyway through the clouds and mists and throws itself into far below, with residual lights all like sharp swords and Buddha’s lights giving out against the sky.

The golden lights, cast into the water of the fields, radiate myriads of golden, as if they were also tinged with a bit of holiness.

Fields, cliffs, villages, trees, and everything is bathed in the golden lights.

One terraced field after another is as charming as gold, overspreading all over the hill, which is indeed an invitation to tourists to explore.

Glittering brilliance stretches out everywhere as far as tourists can see, by which they are temporarily blinded, unable to tell whether it is reality or dream at the moment.

The color of the terraces keeps changing, as the sunset gradually dissipates. In the last second, it is still the gold that is unable to be melted. In the next moment, it fades for a few seconds, just like the light melting in the water.

The gold turns lighter and softer step by step, but remains extremely stunning. After all, night is drawing near.

When the sun sets completely, Laohuzui terrace hides its beauty. Still, some of the rest water’s surface repeatedly urges the last ray of light to stay.

The French press defined it as one of the seven newly-discovered cultural wonders under the sun in 1993.

In 1995, Dr. Ouyena, French anthropologist, came to Yuanyang, where, drinking in the beauty of the terrace, he was thrilled, highly praising, “What a real land art Hani Terrace is! So real an earth sculpture! And it is the Hani people that are true artists for the earth art!”

Not only is the splendid picture of Laohuzui terrace the gift of the earth and the farmers’ masterpiece, but also it is a humanity genuine earth art. If you haven’t seen it, you really ought to, otherwise you will regret this life.

 

附：琰棱原作

二十世纪六七十年代，美国兴起了一种艺术运动，叫做大地艺术。

艺术家们以自然景观及天然素材进行创作，将艺术与大自然相结合。当然，他们并非是将自然景观刻意翻改，而是以其原有的面貌进行装饰，目的是呼吁人们重新注意、接近和讨论大自然。

岩石、土地、沙漠……艺术家们用朴素的材料创作出了惊人的作品。然而每次提到大地

艺术，我总是会第一反应想到梯田。梯田是前人的智慧结晶，也是我们人类改造地表形态最令人惊叹的方式之一。

最早在史前时期，人们要种植庄稼，却发现土地不够，只能切入山坡发掘隐藏其中的平地。

我国在秦汉时期，大范围种植水稻，因而需要大面积的水塘。

而人口密集的东南省份却多丘陵而少平原，为了解决粮食问题，农民们构筑了梯田。用一道道堤坝涵养水源，使得在丘陵地带大面积种植水稻成为可能，解决了当地的粮食问题。  

一代代传承下来，如今的梯田更像是一种独特的自然风景。数万亩的壮观梯田分布在山脊、山涧中，因着种植植物的不同，整片梯田呈现出错落有致、线条优雅的明亮颜色……从春天到冬天，一季一景。

更准确来说，它近乎一种规划于大地之上的“雕刻画”。

我国最有名的梯田，要数云南哈尼梯田了。就在彩云之南、红河南岸，哈尼万亩梯田被世人誉为“中华风度、世界奇迹、人间仙境”。

2013年6月的第37届世界遗产大会上，哈尼梯田更是被列入了联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录之中。

哈尼梯田遍布于元阳、红河、金平、绿春四县，总面积约100万亩。仅元阳县境内就有17万亩梯田，是哈尼梯田的核心区。

曾有人说：“如果你是一个旅友，你不到元阳，元阳会替你感到难过；如果你是一个拍友，你不到元阳，上帝也会替你感到难过！” 极言元阳之美。

元阳梯田的历史足足可以追溯到1300多年前的唐朝，那时的先祖们用勤劳和智慧沿着山势开挖出大大小小的梯田，灌溉山泉水，世世代代耕耘其中。

这些梯田大的有几亩之大、小的不过一米见方，往往一个山坡的梯田面积累计起来就能有上千亩之多。随着时节变换，就像是有一只无形的大手，在挥就一幅又一幅关于大地的艺术画，让人叹为观止。

元阳梯田有三大核心景区：多依树、坝达、老虎嘴。最具有代表性，也是最为壮观的就是老虎嘴梯田。

乍一眼看上去，你只能联想到无边无垠这样的词汇。在沉寂的远山衬托之下，近处的梯田连绵不绝、如潮似海。你几乎不敢相信，只有梦中才会出现的仙境，此刻就在你的眼前。这么美的梯田，为什么会叫老虎嘴这样一个有点怪的名字呢？

那是因为这片梯田附近的悬崖上突出了一堵石头，石头的形状可不正像是一只猛虎的嘴巴，所以这块岩石以及岩石下方的一大片梯田，便都叫做了老虎嘴。  

老虎嘴周围的梯田分布在深谷之间，坡度相对较陡。3000多亩梯田形状各异，足以让人发挥无穷的想象力。

站在高处远远看上去，梯田的色彩、线条、光影变幻极为丰富。一条条支离破碎的曲线深深刻画在山坡之上，构成了一幅凌乱却独具美感的景象。

梯田反射着璀璨的天光，散发出锋利的光晕，就像是一面镜子被打碎了，整个天空也就碎了。换个角度，又像是一片虚无的海洋，正泛起层层波涛。

选一处细节来看，梯田的立体感很强。细长细长的一块块梯田，错落分布，像极了巨人登天而上的台阶。

三两棵绿色的树木，傲然矗立其间，就像是英勇的卫士守护着农人们的心血。

山间的风温柔轻抚脸颊，慢慢地你忘记了时间，只觉自己仿佛身处淡雅文弱的江南水墨长卷里，成为了风景的一部分。心下隐隐有些感动，醉心于大千世界，竟真有如斯美丽的地方，还幸而被你所遇见。

等到天色渐晚，夕阳西下。老虎嘴梯田的美丽，被激发到了极致。

着急的云朵已经把太阳遮住了大半，仅剩的部分却仍然不管不顾地冲破云层、冲破雾霭，投向下界。每一道残留的光线都宛如一把利剑，就像一道道佛光从天际宣泄而下。

这金光投射在梯田的水中，折射出万道光芒，仿佛梯田也染上了几分圣洁的意味。

田野、悬崖、村庄、树木，所有的一切都笼罩在这金光之下。

一块连一块、一片接一片的梯田，就像是藏着金子一般迷人，铺满了山谷，吸引着人们前去探秘。

放眼望去，到处闪着金灿灿的光华，晃得人简直睁不开眼睛，也分不清此刻到底是不是现实了。

随着夕阳余晖逐渐散去，梯田的色彩不停变化。上一秒还是浓郁到化不开的金色，下一瞬便淡了几分，就像是光线融化在了水里。

慢慢地，金色更淡了，也更温柔了，不过还是一样的。夜，终究是要来了。

等到夕阳完全落下，老虎嘴梯田把自己的美也藏了起来。还剩一些水面，固执地挽留着最后一丝光芒。

1993年，法国报刊曾定义老虎嘴梯田为新发现的世界七大人文景观之一。1995年，法国人类学家欧也纳博士曾来到元阳观览老虎嘴梯田。面对梯田

胜景，博士激动不已，称赞道：“哈尼族的梯田是真正的大地艺术，是真正的大地雕塑，而哈尼族就是真正的大地艺术家！”

老虎嘴梯田这幅锦绣画卷，不仅是大地的礼物、是人们的劳作，更是人类之于大地之上的，真正的大地艺术。如果没有看过，此生定是遗憾的。

    浏阳绿色 —— 希望之色  摄影：毛子泰(photo by Mao Zitai)