秘境中的堅守：中國最后的“穴居人”

GEBENG, China — When armed bandits prowled this remote, mountainous stretch of the southwestern province of Guizhou in the chaotic years before the founding of modern China, the ethnic Miao villagers hid in the region’s enormous caves.

中國格丼——在現代中國創(chuàng)立之前的混亂年代，這片位于中國西南貴州省內的偏遠山區(qū)武裝土匪橫行，苗族村民于是藏進了這一帶的巨大洞穴之中。

And there they have remained, even after China was united under Communist rule, grinding out an existence of profound rural poverty and isolation.

即使后來中國統(tǒng)一在了共產主義的統(tǒng)治之下，他們仍然留在了那里，慢慢形成了一種極度的農村貧困和孤立存在。

The area is in one of the poorest provinces in China. The only link to the rest of the country, and the outside world, is over a mountain footpath — a brisk one-hour hike through a steep valley — that leads to a nearby road.

該地區(qū)地處中國最貧困的省份之一。它與全國其他地區(qū)以及與外界的唯一聯(lián)系，只有一條通向附近道路的山路——這段路要越過一個陡峭的山谷，快步走也要一個小時。

Over the past 20 years, though, the caves have become less secluded because of a steadily increasing trickle of tourists, who come to experience what local media have described as the last continuously inhabited cave in China.

但在過去的20年間，這些洞穴已經沒那么與世隔絕了。游客在不斷增多，他們前來體驗這個被當地媒體稱為中國最后的一個持續(xù)有人居住的洞穴。

A cottage industry has popped up in which the cave dwellers earn extra money by renting out rooms in their homes, which over time have clustered within Zhong cave, a limestone cavern big enough to hold four American football fields. The hangar-like cave is so large that their wooden or bamboo-made residences form a small, subterranean village built along its undulating walls.

洞穴的居民通過出租自家的房間，掙得了額外收入，有了繁榮的家庭產業(yè)。他們的房屋是在這個大得足以容納四個美式橄欖球場的石灰?guī)r洞穴之中慢慢積累起來的。而這個飛機庫似的洞穴是如此龐大，以至于能讓他們的木制或竹制的住房沿著起伏不平的洞壁組成一個小巧、隱秘的村莊。

During the day, the cave is filled with the sound of cows and roosters. On Friday afternoons, the laughter of children echoes and the smell of cooking fires permeates the cave’s cool, damp air, which offers relief from the heat of the valley below.

白天，洞穴里飄蕩著牛和公雞的叫聲。周五的下午則會響起孩童的笑聲，洞穴內涼爽、潮濕的空氣中彌漫著炊煙的氣味，減輕了下面山谷傳來的熱氣。

The county government wants the residents of Zhong cave to move to a nearby block of housing: low-slung, white-walled farmhouses with wooden window frames that were completed nearly 10 years ago.

縣政府希望中洞的居民搬遷至附近的居住區(qū)：將近十年前完工的低矮村舍，有著白色的墻和木質的窗框。

Officials say that residents have not taken care of the cave, leaving it unsuitable for inhabitation, and that the government should oversee the village as it is listed as a protected community by the Getu River Tourism Administration, a local agency. They have offered each resident 60,000 renminbi, or approximately $9,500, to leave.

官員們表示，居民們沒有維護好洞穴，使洞穴變得不適合居住了。并且由于這個村莊被當地機構格凸河旅游局列為了受保護群落，政府應對其進行監(jiān)管。政府為每位居民提供了六萬元人民幣讓他們離開。

Only five families have agreed to move.

只有五戶人家同意搬遷。

The remaining 18 families have held on stubbornly to their homes inside the cave. They say that the new homes are too small, that they fear losing access to their land, and that they alone, because of their historical connection to the cave, should have the right to independently control its small tourism economy.

其余的18戶人頑固地堅守著洞穴之中的家。他們說新家太小，說他們擔心會失去自己的土地，并且還說因為他們與這個洞穴有著歷史聯(lián)系，他們應有權獨立管理這個洞穴的小型旅游經濟。

“The residents of this cave should be the administrators of tourism here, regardless of whether or not we are paid,” said Wang Qiguo, the head of the local village, who established the first hostel there.

“這個洞窟的居民應該是本地旅游業(yè)的管理者，不管是不是要拿報酬，”當地村長王齊國(音)說道，他建起了村里第一家旅館。

As he spoke, his wife prepared a steaming array of dishes made from home-smoked pork and local vegetables grown in the valley.

在他說話的時候，他妻子用自家熏制的豬肉和山谷里種的當地蔬菜做了一大桌熱氣騰騰的飯菜。

After all, Mr. Wang noted, “The best thing about this cave is its inhabitants.”

畢竟，王齊國說，“這個洞最好的地方是住在里面的人。”

Even residents who are considering moving out seem to agree that $9,500 per person is too little money, especially because many are elderly and speak little or no Mandarin, meaning they could feel isolated if they leave the cave community. They still rely on their nearby land to grow the millet and vegetables on which they subsist.

就連考慮搬出去的居民也認為，一個人六萬元太少了，尤其是因為很多人上了年紀，會說的普通話很少或根本不會。這意味著如果離開住在山洞里的這個群體，他們可能會感到孤獨。他們依然靠附近的土地種植他們賴以生存的小米和蔬菜。

Villagers have also complained about the quality of the new housing, saying it’s too small and poorly made.

村民還抱怨新房的質量，說房子太小，粗制濫造。

During the 1980s, the outsiders who most often visited the Zhong cave were local government officials conducting checks to enforce China’s “one-child” policy. The measure was deeply unpopular among the villagers whose children work alongside their parents in the fields, tending to livestock.

80年代最常造訪中洞的外來者是檢查“獨生子女”政策執(zhí)行情況的當地政府官員。這項措施在村民中極不受歡迎。他們的子女要和他們一起下田勞作，照料牲畜。

Mr. Wang said that during those years, violators of the policy would sometimes be taken away for forced abortions and sterilization.

王齊國說，那些年里，違反政策的人有時會被帶走接受強制墮胎和絕育。

The single greatest change in the history of the cave was the introduction of electricity, only in 2002.

山洞史上最大的變化是2002年通上了電。

Surprisingly, the Chinese government did not bring electricity to the area. Instead, a wealthy American businessman from Minnesota, Frank Beddor Jr., was responsible.

令人驚訝的是，讓該地區(qū)通上電的不是中國政府。它靠的是來自美國明尼蘇達州的富商小弗蘭克·貝多(Frank Beddor Jr.)。

Mr. Beddor first visited the Zhong cave in 2002, and would ultimately return several more times — donating tens of thousands of dollars to connect the cave to the region’s electrical grid.

貝多2002年第一次到訪中洞，后來又來了好幾次。他捐贈了數萬美元，用于將中洞接入該地區(qū)的電網。

His continuing financial support also built a schoolhouse and a communal bathroom, and delivered livestock and other assistance to the villagers, dramatically improving their quality of life.

他持續(xù)的資金支持還為洞里修建了一所學校和一個公共浴室，并為村民提供牲畜和其他援助，極大地改善了他們的生活質量。

But in 2011, the school was closed by the local government, forcing residents to send their children, some as young as five, to the region’s boarding school nearly two hours away.

但2011年，當地政府關閉了學校，逼迫居民把孩子送到該地區(qū)的寄宿學校。那所學校距離村子大約兩小時路程，而孩子中有的才五歲。

Mr. Beddor died at age 83 in 2007. His emotional connection to the village is still a mystery to the villagers, some of whom remember the few times he visited the cave.

貝多于2007年去世，享年83歲。對村民來說，他與村子的情感聯(lián)系依然是個謎。他們中的一些人還記得他為數不多的來山洞的情形。

Wang Qicai, 39, a farmer who also runs a small general store out of his home in the cave, said young people may move out to become migrant workers, but many end up returning to have their families.

39歲的農民王齊才(音)在山洞里的家中經營著一個小雜貨店。他說，年輕人可能會搬出去，變成民工，但很多人最后還是會回來成家。

The cave, he said, “feels like home.”

他說，山洞“感覺像家。”

“The weather inside the cave is amazing,” he added. “It feels like heaven.”

“洞里的天氣很好，”他接著說。“感覺像天堂。”