let's get lost

【幻燈片2011年二月雲南之一 Slideshow Feb 2011 Yunnan - 1】

【幻燈片2011年二月雲南之二 Slideshow Feb 2011 Yunnan - 2】

不虛此行，當是一種默契般的共識，對此刻眾多遠道而來，正從山上看台往下遠望著的各方訪客而言—即使大家都是冒著極大的危險，在日出前的黑暗中沿著路況堪憂的山路車行至此。

“It’s worth it” must be a tacit consensus—for visitors who have traveled from afar and are now gazing down from the viewing deck on the hilltop. There’s no understating how dangerous their trip might have been. Driving or taking a ride on a hilly road that might have or have not seen better days in the pre-dawn darkness, that is.

千百年來，對這片古老土地上的居民來說，梯田與油菜花都無非是維繫與促進生計不可或缺的依賴，可如今卻成了遠近馳名的觀光熱點，前人插柳豈有此意。

For generations, people residing on this ancient land have relied on terraced fields and the rape plant as no more than a means of livelihood. But now both have emerged tourist attractions luring visitors from many parts of the world. It’s hard to think that the earliest settlers might have thought of this day.

遠遠望去密密麻麻的線條圖案，隱約有一絲幾何之趣。可是這近似天成的地景豈是上蒼輕易所賜，多少世代的農人不顧地勢崎嶇，硬是把這片惡土化為良田，種上莊稼，為一口飯，人不容易呀！

Taken in from a distance it is an immense sprawl of densely crisscrossed linear patterns. A readily recognizable geometric beauty is for all to appreciate. But this seemingly natural wonder is not to be taken for granted as a gift from the heavens. Generation after generation farmers have toiled to smooth out all the ruggedness, turning badlands into arable fields. These farmers know better than anyone else that bringing a bowl of rice to the table is never easy.









旅程中，你永遠無法預測在下一個轉角會遇上甚麼，譬如牽著一頭牛的牧童。就是為了此等不經意的巧遇，我們愛上旅行。

On the journey there is no telling what one may run into at the next corner. A shepherd boy with his ox, for instance. It is precisely for the sake of such welcome surprises that we take to travel.

人云來到雲的南方，天空總會變得異常地藍，這類說法是否能找到科學上的佐證，我輩難以得知。不過眼見為憑，我願作證。

People say the sky appears exceptionally blue in Yunnan, which literally means south of the clouds. It may be impossible to verify this assertion scientifically. But to see is to believe. I for one am willing to testify.

陶淵明的桃花源極有可能並非虛構，因為我們這趟旅程就有一站彷彿其地。訪客必須登上小舟，穿越一大段絕不算短的水上隧道，重見天日時倏地豁然開朗，亮晃晃映入眼裡的是藍天下的油菜田，以及錯落有致的農舍。走在往村裡去的路上，兩旁據說也種滿了桃樹，只是我們來得不巧，還不到花開的時候。

The Utopian haven Tao Hua Yuan, or “Peach Blossom Spring,” depicted by the fourth-century A.D. Chinese poet Tao Yuanming may be an actual existence after all. A stop in our itinerary happens to fit his intriguing description perfectly. Visitors must first take a small boat to pass through a not too short stretch of tunnel on the river. The brilliant Yunnan sunlight showers down again only when one emerges at the other end. Vast arrays of rape blossoms, in their dazzling golden yellow, spread across the fields under an incredibly blue sky. The landscape is punctuated by farm buildings dotted here and there. We are told that flanking either side of the path leading to the village are peach trees. But we have come at the wrong time. It will be another while yet before they start to bloom.













走進這一大片櫻海，放眼望去盡是賞花人。可是花海中竟然有一場方城之戰正兀自開展，提醒眾人此乃中土而非東瀛。

Instantly coming into view is a sea of cherry blossoms and crowds of admirers. But soon a hardly congruous sight takes over—a mahjong game absorbing players and bystanders alike. An effective reminder that the place is China, not Japan.











成立於清朝的雲南陸軍講武堂，在民國初期與黃埔軍校、保定陸軍軍官學校足以等量齊觀。最為人熟知、同時也左右了中國命運的知名校友包括朱德、葉劍英。

The Yunnan Military Academy was established in the Qing Dynasty. In the immediate years following the 1911 founding of the Republic of China, it was an institution on a par with the Whampoa Military Academy and the Baoding Military Academy. Among its most prominent graduates who came to play a key role in charting China’s future course are Zhu De, founder of the Chinese Red Army, and Ye Jianying, a no less momentous leader during the Red Army’s Long March.