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C. Li
sunshine, air, cars and buildings. I was told that the Hani children play the game of
making terrace since they are young. Every boy, with a small hoe in hand, would
reclaim terraces on the ground like adults do, following exactly the same procedures
even if it is just a game. They dig a ditch first to divert water, then build layers of
ridges to channel the water into small terraces. The girls, on the other hand, would
each carry a small basket on their back and pretend catching eels and loaches in the
completed terraces. Real beauty is never painted. The Hani terraces, as a paradigm
of classic farming culture, are hidden among the mountains and forests as an integral
part of nature—that is real beauty.
For thousands of years, the Hani people have “polished” and “chiseled” their
terraces by hand, creating a peerless piece of land art with its lines, rhythms and
pace all impregnated with both cultural and natural beauty. The Hani terraces bask
in the shining sun during the day and sleep under the twinkling stars at night. It is a
place where the sun, the moon and the stars all seem to be within reach, so beautiful
that it is intoxicating and awe-inspiring. Like the “ladder to the sky,” the terraces,
big or small, high or low, snake up along the mountain layer upon layer and stretch
from one mountain to another; along the way the farm ridges meander either into
the villages or forests or rivers, but all toward the future. “There are four seasons in
the same mountain; the weather changes every ten miles.” The terraces in spring are
like a green blanket, those in summer like billowing waves, those in autumn like a
golden landscape painting, and those in winter like bright mirrors, which reflect the
appealing mountains and forests, the agile clouds, and the eternity of nature.
Green farmlands, golden harvests and numerous ponds and lakes—these are just
what meet the eyes. The thousand-year-long ecological wisdom is more vividly
reflected in how the mountain wetland has nurtured and preserved natural ecology.
When the Hani ancestors first arrived here, floods year after year caused serious water
and soil losses. To protect their home, they began to build dams and farm ridges on
different layers following the local landform to mitigate the impacts of flood and
make up for nature’s deficiencies. As a result, arable terraces gradually took shape
and functioned as a vast artificial wetland on the mountain that could not only fend
against floods and droughts, but also moderate the climate. Two years ago, Yunnan
was hit by a rare drought that hasn’t been seen in a century, but the water-rich Hani
terrace wasn’t affected at all. In particular, the genes of the red rice growing on the
terraces haven’t deteriorated in the past over a thousand years, and it is a real green
food because it is so sensitive to fertilizers that the application of fertilizers would
cause rice blast.
Therefore, the beauty of terraces doesn’t stay on the surface, but lies in its ecological wisdom; doesn’t stop at harvest, but lies in its harmony with nature. The beautiful
terraces have shown us how to let life and nature thrive together into eternity.
We celebrate the Hani terrace because it has followed nature’s course and reared
generations of Hani people; we celebrate the Hani people because they have worked
miracles and contributed the best ecological wisdom to the world.
C. Li
sunshine, air, cars and buildings. I was told that the Hani children play the game of
making terrace since they are young. Every boy, with a small hoe in hand, would
reclaim terraces on the ground like adults do, following exactly the same procedures
even if it is just a game. They dig a ditch first to divert water, then build layers of
ridges to channel the water into small terraces. The girls, on the other hand, would
each carry a small basket on their back and pretend catching eels and loaches in the
completed terraces. Real beauty is never painted. The Hani terraces, as a paradigm
of classic farming culture, are hidden among the mountains and forests as an integral
part of nature—that is real beauty.
For thousands of years, the Hani people have “polished” and “chiseled” their
terraces by hand, creating a peerless piece of land art with its lines, rhythms and
pace all impregnated with both cultural and natural beauty. The Hani terraces bask
in the shining sun during the day and sleep under the twinkling stars at night. It is a
place where the sun, the moon and the stars all seem to be within reach, so beautiful
that it is intoxicating and awe-inspiring. Like the “ladder to the sky,” the terraces,
big or small, high or low, snake up along the mountain layer upon layer and stretch
from one mountain to another; along the way the farm ridges meander either into
the villages or forests or rivers, but all toward the future. “There are four seasons in
the same mountain; the weather changes every ten miles.” The terraces in spring are
like a green blanket, those in summer like billowing waves, those in autumn like a
golden landscape painting, and those in winter like bright mirrors, which reflect the
appealing mountains and forests, the agile clouds, and the eternity of nature.
Green farmlands, golden harvests and numerous ponds and lakes—these are just
what meet the eyes. The thousand-year-long ecological wisdom is more vividly
reflected in how the mountain wetland has nurtured and preserved natural ecology.
When the Hani ancestors first arrived here, floods year after year caused serious water
and soil losses. To protect their home, they began to build dams and farm ridges on
different layers following the local landform to mitigate the impacts of flood and
make up for nature’s deficiencies. As a result, arable terraces gradually took shape
and functioned as a vast artificial wetland on the mountain that could not only fend
against floods and droughts, but also moderate the climate. Two years ago, Yunnan
was hit by a rare drought that hasn’t been seen in a century, but the water-rich Hani
terrace wasn’t affected at all. In particular, the genes of the red rice growing on the
terraces haven’t deteriorated in the past over a thousand years, and it is a real green
food because it is so sensitive to fertilizers that the application of fertilizers would
cause rice blast.
Therefore, the beauty of terraces doesn’t stay on the surface, but lies in its ecological wisdom; doesn’t stop at harvest, but lies in its harmony with nature. The beautiful
terraces have shown us how to let life and nature thrive together into eternity.
We celebrate the Hani terrace because it has followed nature’s course and reared
generations of Hani people; we celebrate the Hani people because they have worked
miracles and contributed the best ecological wisdom to the world.