異類之不一樣的成功啟示錄 第155期:民以食為天

When the time came to plant, a Chinese farmer would have hundreds of different varieties to choose from.

一旦到了種植季節(jié)，中國(guó)的農(nóng)民就需要在100多種稻種之中選出適合今年種植的稻種。

each of which offered a slightly different trade-off, between yield and, say, how quickly it grew, or how well it did in times of drought, or how it fared in poor soils.

因?yàn)槊糠N稻種在收益上都會(huì)有輕微的不同，所以農(nóng)民需要衡量不同稻種在產(chǎn)量上的差異和成長(zhǎng)速度上的快慢、遇干旱時(shí)的長(zhǎng)勢(shì)或在貧瘠土地上的長(zhǎng)勢(shì)。

A farmer might plant a dozen or more different varieties at one time, adjusting the mix from season to season in order to manage the risk of a crop failure.

一個(gè)農(nóng)民可能會(huì)同時(shí)播種12種甚至更多種類的稻子，來(lái)平衡季節(jié)以及氣候?qū)⒔o稻田收成帶來(lái)的影響，降低播種失敗所帶來(lái)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

He or she (or more accurately, the whole family, since rice agriculture was a family affair) would plant the seed in a specially prepared seedbed.

農(nóng)夫或農(nóng)婦（實(shí)際上，一般都是整個(gè)家庭在參與，因?yàn)榉N植稻谷是整個(gè)家庭的事務(wù)）將根據(jù)不同的品種選擇特定的種床來(lái)培植稻種。

After a few weeks, the seedlings would be transplanted into the field, in carefully space rows six inches apart, and then painstakingly nurtured.

經(jīng)過(guò)幾個(gè)星期的培植之后，稻種將被轉(zhuǎn)移到田地里，每壟地間隔6英寸，然后辛苦的勞作就此拉開序幕。

Weeding was done by hand, diligently and unceasingly, because the seedlings could easily be choked by other plant life.

手工除草的工作必須一直持續(xù)，不能停下來(lái)，因?yàn)橐坏B(yǎng)料被其他的植物吸收了，種子就會(huì)因缺少養(yǎng)料而死掉。

Sometimes each rice shoot would be inpidually groomed, with a bamboo comb to clear away insects.

有些時(shí)候有些稻穗還需要用竹刷梳理，以便驅(qū)趕害蟲。

All the while, farmers had to check an recheck water levels, and make sure the water didn't get too hot in the summer sun.

除此之外，農(nóng)民們還需要不斷檢測(cè)稻田的水位是否合適，以確保夏季里的水溫不會(huì)太高。

And when the rice ripened, farmers gathered all their friends and relatives and, in one coordinated burst, harvested it as quickly as possible,

當(dāng)?shù)咎锍墒斓臅r(shí)候，農(nóng)民們經(jīng)常找親戚朋友來(lái)幫忙收割，同時(shí)進(jìn)行第二次播種，

so that they can get the second crop in and harvest it before the winter dry season began.

為此可以在冬天來(lái)臨之前得到一年中的第二次收成。

Breakfast in south China, at least for those who could afford it, is congee- white rice porridge with lettuce and dace paste and bamboo shoots.

在中國(guó)的南方，人們的早餐通常都以稀粥為主，白米粥配上萵苣、小咸魚和筍絲。

Lunch is more congee. Dinner is rice with "toppings."

午餐就是喝過(guò)多的粥而已。晚飯則是米飯加菜。

Rice was what you sold at the market to buy the other necessities of life.

大米通常都拿到市場(chǎng)上去賣，以換取其他的生活必需品。

It was how wealth and status were measured.It dictated almost every working moment of everyday.

在當(dāng)?shù)?，大米是衡量?cái)富和地位的一種標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，它揭示了人們每天的工作程度。

"Rice is life," says the anthropologist Goncalo Santos, who has studies traditional south Chinese village.

“民以食為天，”一位研究中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)的南方鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)生活的人類學(xué)家孔卡洛·桑托斯（Goncalo Santos）說(shuō)道，

"Without rice, you don't survive. If you want to be anyone in this part of China, you would have to have rice. It made the world go around."

“沒(méi)有糧食，你就無(wú)法存活，如果你想在中國(guó)的南方取得某種社會(huì)地位，你就必須擁有很多糧食，糧食使社會(huì)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。”