台湾正在摧毁自己的高山乌龙茶园 [美国媒体]

-------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------



High mountain oolong tea is one of Taiwan’s most beloved products. In comparison to its lower-altitude counterparts it gives off extremely floral notes and has a distinctive milky aftertaste. It’s a Taiwanese national treasure and yet the government is destroying it.

高山乌龙茶是台湾最受欢迎的特产之一。相较低海拔的同类品种，高山乌龙茶散发着浓烈的花香，并且有着独特的牛奶回味。高山乌龙茶是台湾的国宝，然而，政府正在摧毁着它。

Today virtually all high mountain oolong tea farms that are located 2500 meters or more above sea level have been demolished.

如今，几乎所有位于2500米海拔以上的高山乌龙茶农场已经被拆除了。

The crop was first sown here in 1969 by Jindi Chen—the first in Taiwan to successfully plant tea at a high elevation. Chen was a peach farmer who won presidential recognition for his fruit; he was given a piece of land on Da Yu Ling a region on Li mountain with an elevation of 2700 meters. It was designated as an experimental place for fruit farming.

1969年，陈金地最先在高海拔地区种植这种作物-这是台湾首次成功地在高海拔地区种植茶。陈是一位种桃子的农民，他因这一成果获得了总统表彰奖；奖励了他一块位于大禹岭的土地，海拔2700米。这块土地成为了果树种植的实验基地。

 -------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

“In 1967 President Chiang Kai-Shek came over to our peach farm to pay his respects to my father. That’s how well-known our peaches were. They quickly began talking about alternative crops to plant because of Taiwan’s typhoon season and Chiang Kai-Shek recommended that my father look into tea” says Limei Chen the daughter of Jindi. “It felt like an emperor giving a decree and so my father took that suggestion wholeheartedly.” For the next three years he experimented with high-elevation tea tree farming.

1967年，蒋介石总统到我家的桃园来拜访我父亲，我们的桃子当时广为人知，他们很快谈到种植另外一种替代的农作物来规避台湾的台风季。蒋介石建议我父亲，何不试试种茶。金地的女儿陈丽美这样说到。我父亲视蒋介石的建议如圣旨一般用心执行。后面接下来的三年，他一直在试验高山茶树的种植。

“We had a 75 percent failure rate” she says. Of the 800 tea trees the Chen family planted only 200 survived. “But my father kept on going. He wanted to impress Chiang Kai-Shek.”

我们失败率是75%，她说。陈家种植的800株茶树只有200株存活。但是我父亲没有放弃。他想给蒋介石一个惊喜。

-------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

The Chen family with Chiang Kai-Shek. Photo courtesy of Limei Chen.

蒋介石和陈家的合影 照片由陈丽美（音）提供



Eventually Chen succeeded which set off a national trend. Today in Taiwan high mountain oolong tea which is classified as tea grown more than 1000 meters above sea level is one of the most prized brews on the market. “Because of limited sun exposure and the difference in temperature and the clouds high mountain tea is especially fragrant” says David Tsay a tea teacher in Taiwan who specializes in organic farming.

最终，陈成功了并引发了一场全国性的潮流。如今在台湾，生长于海拔1千米以上的乌龙茶才被归类为高山乌龙茶，也是市场上最受欢迎的珍品之一。大卫.崔（音译）-专门从事有机农业研究的台湾茶艺师说：“因为日照、温差以及云雾等因素，高山乌龙茶分外的芳香。

Tea from Chen’s farm formerly known as Song Lu Tea Garden became one of the most valued teas in Taiwan. Its altitude meant that the farm was the highest oolong tea plantation in the world. It produced a superb product called Snow Tea which retailed for the equivalent of $370 USD for 1.3 pounds of tea. In a year Snow Tea alone could generate more than $3 million USD in sales.

陈的农场产的茶叶，旧称松露茶，变成了台湾最昂贵的茶叶。其茶场的海拔高度让其成为世界上海拔最高的乌龙茶茶场。其出产的顶级产品雪茶能卖到1.3磅370美元。光是雪茶，一年的销售额都能达到300万美元。

-------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

The farm was destroyed last November. The government sent 50 men to cut it down.

农场在去年11月被毁，政府派了50个人去砍光了茶树。

“I want to buy back the land but they won’t let me” Limei says her voice quavering. We are sitting at Tsay’s Taipei tea studio and flipping through a magazine feature on her former tea plantation and its destruction. This is her first time reading this particular article and she looks visibly disturbed.

“我想把地买回来，但是他们不许”，丽美声音颤抖的说。我们坐在崔的茶艺馆里，翻着一本杂志，上面有她的茶场被毁之前和被毁坏时的照片。这是她第一次阅读这篇报道，她看起来非常悲伤。

“I don’t know how to keep on going” she says.

我不知道生活该如何继续下去，她说。

Nothing from the original plantation remains.

农场的一切都被毁了，没有任何东西留下来。

The Chen tea farm before it was razed. Photo courtesy of Limei Chen.

陈家茶场被夷平之前。 照片由陈丽美提供。



“A decade ago the Taiwanese government began a campaign to curb high mountain agriculture” Tsay tells me. “Their intentions were correct but it’s been executed in a horrible way.”

十年前，台湾政府开始抑制高山农业的发展，崔告诉我。他们的意图是好的，但是做法很粗暴。

-------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

High mountain agriculture can be quite destructive; it erodes the landscape and causes harmful pesticides and fertilizers to contaminate water sources and the land. The additives also strip the soil of moisture rendering it completely useless in a matter of decades. It’s a toxic industry; for every one pound of tea roughly $9 USD is spent on pesticides and fertilizers. To discourage high mountain farming in 2014 Taiwan tea researchers engineered a low-altitude tea—known as Taiwan Tea Number 22—that replicates high mountain tea aromas.

高山农业（对环境）有巨大的破坏性。不但破坏自然景观，而且农药和化肥还会污染水源与土地，一些添加剂更会剥夺土壤中的水分，致使土壤十数年内变得贫瘠。（高山农业）是一个有害产业，每磅茶叶中大概9美元（的成本）都是花在农药个化肥上。为了抑制高山农业，2014年，台湾茶业研究人员培育出了一种低海拔种植的茶种-台茶22号。一种同样具有高山茶香气的新品种。

In response to the environmental lobbyists and influenced by voter interests the government set off to reforest high-elevation tea farms and restore them to their pre-agricultural state. Most farmland was seized and reclaimed.

为回应环保主义者，以及选民诉求。政府启动了高海拔茶场的退耕还林计划以恢复其原貌。大多数农场已被查封和收回。

 -------------译者：大汉故土-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

“It’s a very black-and-white matter to the government” Limei says. “They see high mountain tea trees and they want to cut it down. What about high mountain cabbage farms and hotels? Those are more destructive than tea. We didn’t even use pesticides.”

政府完全是非黑即白。丽美说。他们砍掉高山茶树，那高山白菜农场和酒店呢？这些比茶场（对环境） 更具破坏性。况且我们甚至都没用过农药。

The Chen tea farm being torn down. Photo courtesy of Limei Chen.

陈家茶场被强拆的照片。 由陈丽美提供。



In an article by Taiwanese publication Rhythms Monthly the Dongshi Forest District Department which was responsible for tearing down the Chen family farm summed up its reasoning in four Chinese characters: zu di zao lin. The meaning: to rent the land you must create a forest.

台湾经典杂志的一篇文章提到：东势森林管理部门负责对林家的农场进行强拆，并给出了四个字的原因：租地造林。意思是：租的地，就必须造林。

Therefore anyone who wasn’t planting a “forest” had to give back their land to the government. Having trees is critical to high mountain land security; it means that there are strong roots to combat erosion. And on an island like Taiwan where typhoons are a plenty erosion is a huge problem. Because of irresponsible mountain farming techniques landslides are a recurring hazard in Taiwan’s mountain roads.

因此，没有造林的土地必须归还给政府。高山上的树对地质安全至关重要，（有树就）意味着有强壮的树根可以防止水土流失。对于像台湾这样一个岛屿来说，因为台风导致的水土流失本身已是个大问题。不负责任的高山农业更是经常给山区公路带来滑坡的灾害。

-------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

The problem is that the definition of “forest” is constantly changing.

问题在于“森林”的定义不断地在改变。

To understand the government’s logic we need to go back to Taiwanese land laws. After the Republic of China reclaimed the island from Japan in the mid-1940s and early 1950s all the land that was originally owned by the Japanese was given to the local government. This included most of Da Yu Ling. The authorities gave veterans two choices: a retirement paycheck or land. The Chen family chose land. The condition was that they had to promise to develop the property and create “forests.” Back then that meant fruit trees and tea. The priority in Taiwan during those days was economic development.

为了弄清政府的想法，我们需要回到台湾的土地法。在1940年代中期至1950年代早期，中华民国从日本收回台湾后，原先被日本人占领的土地归还当地政府了。这些土地包括大禹岭的大部分区域。当局给了退伍军人两种选择：退休金或土地。陈的家庭选择了土地。条件是他们必须承诺发展产业和创造”森林“。当时，”森林“意味着果树和茶。那个时期，台湾的当务之急就是经济发展。

“The government changed their minds in the last decade” Limei says “To them tea and fruit trees aren’t trees anymore.” The irony is that it was Chiang Kai-Shek who had told her father to start a tea plantation.

”近几年，政府改变了想法。“李梅说，”对他们而言，茶和水果已不再是树了。“讽刺的是：是蒋介石让她父亲开始茶树种植的。

-------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

“We wouldn’t have done it otherwise” she says. “Nearly 50 years of hard labor erased!”

她说：”否则我们不会这么做的。近50年的辛勤劳作就这样作废了！”

Another great irony: Tea trees that are planted without pesticides and harmful fertilizers actually have very strong roots—strong enough to withstand erosion. In fact at elevation above 2600 meters tea trees without strong roots will wither and die.

更加讽刺的是：实际上，无农药和有害化肥种植的茶树有着非常强壮的根系——强到足以防止水土流失。事实上，在海拔2600米以上，没有强壮的根系，茶树将会枯萎死掉。

“They don’t take these factors into consideration” Tsay says. “They have a one-track mind.”

“他们没有考虑这些因素”Tsay说，“他们的思想狭隘。”

Tsay himself used to be a strongly against high mountain tea farms until he met the Chen family. He says that because the Chen family only used organic fertilizers and rarely watered their plantation the roots of the trees were visibly resilient.

Tsay过去是强烈反对高山茶种植的，直到他遇到了陈的家庭。他解释道：陈的家庭仅仅用有机肥，并且很少灌溉，这些树的根系有着显而易见的适应能力。

 -------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

“For every three meters of tree there was one meter of root. Those trees had very thick branches as well. It held together the land really well and unlike other farms the Chen family didn’t strip the dirt of its nutrients” he says.

”树每长三米，其根长一米。而且，这些树有着粗壮的枝干。土地的完整性保持得很好，不像其他的农场，陈的家庭没使土地的养分流失”他说。

The Chen tea farm is now destroyed. Photo by Pamela Pan.

现在，陈的茶叶农场也遭到了破坏。如潘帕拉（音译）照片所示。



But the forestry department didn’t care. They confiscated all rented lands.

但是林业部门不关心这些。他们收回了所有租赁的土地。

“They say didn’t want to play favorites and so they eliminated all individually operated tea farms” Limei says. Ownership of the tea farms especially in mountainous areas like Da Yu Ling is extremely controversial.

“他们声称为了公平起见，取缔了所有独立经营的茶叶农场”李梅说。茶叶农场的所有权是颇具争议的，尤其是处于像大禹岭这样山区的。

“Back then people didn’t write things down” Limei explains. “Farmers weren’t sure if they owned the land or if they had rented it from the government. It was chaos.”

“当时，人们没有写下任何的字据”李梅解释道。“农场主们不确定他们是否拥有土地或是否是他们从政府那里租来的。这是一片混乱的。”

-------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Tsay explains: “The government’s solution has been to cut down all individually rented tea farms that grow above an elevation of 2500 meters. Farms with connection to politicians aboriginal protected lands and people who could prove that they owned their land were spared. Ironically farms like Chen’s who abided by organic standards were not. I had proposed that we turn the Chen family farm into a cultural and research destination. Instead they tore down decade-old trees and replanted them with saplings to curb erosion. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Tasy解释说："政府的解决方案是取缔所有位于海拔2500米以上个体租赁的茶叶农场。有当地政治家庇护的农场和拥有所有权的农场能够幸免。讽刺的是，像陈这样遵循有机标准的却难逃厄运。我已经提出将陈家农场改造成文化和研究基地。相反，他们砍掉了生长了10年的树，重新种植幼苗以防水土流失。这是没用的。“

Limei starts laughing and pulls up videos of her devastated plantation on her phone.

李梅笑了起来，打开了她破坏植被的手机视频。

“Look at these saplings” she says pointing at her screen. “They’re tiny. You’re telling me that these are better at combating erosion than decade-old tea and fruit trees?”

”看看这些幼苗“她指着视频说。”它们小小的。你是在告诉我它们能比生长10年的茶树和果树更好地控制水土流失吗？“

-------------译者：chocolate2012-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Tiny saplings like this are all that remain. Photo by Pamela Pan.

现在只保留下了这样的小树苗。潘Pamela摄。



According to the forestry department however if a tree has economic value it does not qualify as a tree with reforesting potential.

但是林业部门认为即使一棵树具有经济价值，它也未必具有退耕还林的潜质。

“I spent a lot of time at Chen’s farm. They were an environmentally conscious operation and planted organically” contends Tsay who has spent 12 years touring China and Taiwan’s organic tea farms as an educator and advocate. “Now are high mountain farms ultimately good for the environment? No. But the solution isn’t to tear preexisting ones down. The solution is to integrate tea farms with nature.”

Tsay这12年来以教育者和倡议者的身份去过很多中国和台湾的有机茶园，她说：我在陈的农场里呆了很长时间。他们都是根据环境有机运作和种植的。那现在高山农场对环境是有利的吗？当然不是。但是并不是让茶园消失，而是让茶园能够和自然融合在一起。

Unfortunately it’s too late. The plantation all 13 acres of it is gone—a chunk of Taiwanese history erased in a matter of hours. All the peach trees have been uprooted as well.

不幸的是，太迟了。那13英亩的茶园已经消失了。台湾的一段历史就这样被瞬间抹除了。所有的桃树也被连根拔起了。

-------------译者：龙腾翻译总管-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------


At Da Yu Ling alone nearly 80 percent of individual farms have been destroyed. War veterans who had opted to help develop the land have been kicked out of their homes. The land is now barren.

单单在大禹岭就有将近80%的个人茶园被摧毁。那些帮忙开垦土地的老兵被赶出自己的家园。这块土地现在变成了荒地。

Limei Chan. Photo by the author.

陈丽美。作者提供。



“It’s a shame. Da Yu Ling had the best high mountain oolong tea farms in Taiwan” Tsay says. “They’re all gone.”

“这是个遗憾。大禹岭曾经拥有最好的台湾高山乌龙茶园”Tsay说。“现在都没了。”

Of course there are still many high mountain tea farms but all of them are at an elevation of 2400 meters or lower. The region from Chayi to Alishan alone has 2300 hectares worth of tea plantations. The term “high mountain” applies to any tea grown at an elevation of 1000 meters of higher.

当然还有很多高山茶园，但是他们的海拔都在2400米或以下。嘉义到阿里山那块地区就拥有2300亩的茶园。高山茶指的是种植在海拔1000米以上的茶叶。

But Tsay maintains the quality of tea that these farms produce isn’t spectacular and that many of them are in fact eroding the landscape and using heavy pesticides. But because of different zoning laws a lot of them are still in operation.

但是Tsay认为这些茶园所产的茶叶质量并不是特别好，而且很多都对山水产生了侵蚀，而且使用很多农药。但是由于不同的地区有不同的法律，所以这些茶园依然在运行中。

-------------译者：magicqueen99-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

“Wait” I ask. “Where is all the high mountain tea coming from? Is it all just bad tea?”

‘’等等，“我问：”所有的高山茶都从哪里来的？难道就是些劣质茶叶？“

I think about the slew of tea shops in Taipei City alone. High mountain oolong tea is on every tea menu in town. Annual domestic production of tea in Taiwan adds up to 15000 tons while demand is about 45000 tons. The math doesn’t add up.

我回想起台北一个城市就有那么多茶馆。城里每张茶单上都列有高山乌龙茶。台湾每年本地的茶叶产量总计15000吨，而需求量是45000吨。怎么合计数字都对不上。

“A lot of it is imported now from Vietnam India and Thailand and then branded as Taiwan tea” Tsay says. He says that in a load of commercially marketed Taiwanese oolong tea leaves only 70 percent of that is real Taiwan oolong. The rest is imported and then mixed in with the batch.

”很多茶叶是从越南、印度和泰国进口的，然后打上台湾茶叶的牌子。“蔡说。他说，这么多市面出售的台湾乌龙茶茶叶中，只有70%是纯正的台湾乌龙茶。余下的都是进口的茶叶，掺杂到乌龙茶里头。

-------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

David Tsay in his tea studio. Photo by the author.

David Tsay在他的茶室。照片由作者拍摄。



According to the Taiwan Tea Manufacturers’ Association Taiwan’s tea industry is reliant on imports from Vietnam from which roughly 20000 tons of tea are brought in annually.

根据台湾茶叶制造商协会的说法，台湾的茶叶产业依赖从越南进口，每年进口大约20000吨茶叶。

And yet from a marketing standpoint Taiwan oolong has as much clout as California milk or Wisconsin cheese. It’s an important brand to the island nation; 5000 hectares of Taiwanese land is dedicated to high mountain oolong.

然而，就市场而言，台湾乌龙茶的影响力能与加州的牛奶和威斯康星的奶酪匹敌。对台湾岛来说，它是一个重要的品牌；5000公顷的台湾土地种植着高山乌龙。

“Have you ever encountered anyone in Taiwan selling imported oolong tea?” Tsay says. “Of course not. They won’t tell you the truth. People want to sell for high prices but at a low cost. Consumers don’t know. They’re more into the packaging. The general public is very uninformed about quality.”

”你见过谁在台湾卖进口乌龙茶吗？“Tsay 说。”当然没有，他们不会告诉你真相。人们想以高价出售成本低的乌龙茶。消费者是不会知道这个的。他们更看重茶叶的包装。一般人是不知道茶的质量的。

-------------译者：magicqueen99-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Because of that Tsay has dedicated his career to educating people about quality tea. He regularly gives lectures at Chinese and Taiwanese colleges and is considered Taiwan’s leading authority on organic tea.

正因为如此，所以蔡先生投身到教授人们如何辨别茶叶质量的事业中去了。他经常在中国和台湾的高校授课，被公认为台湾有机茶权威专家。

The brews that he pours in his private studio are consistently appealing. They have clear aftertastes and are unlike anything I’ve tasted in tea shops throughout Taiwan. Tsay is able to break down the history of each tea how it was made who made it and when it was made—a skill that few people that I have met have been able to demonstrate. He has a working relationship with organic tea farmers throughout Asia.

他在私人工作室中泡的茶一直很吸引人。茶尝起来有明显的回甘，不同于我在全台湾的茶馆里尝到的任何其它茶的味道。蔡先生可以把每种茶叶的历史掰开来揉碎了讲：这茶是怎么制作的，谁制作的，哪一年制作的----我遇到的人很少有人有这种本事。他和全亚洲的有机茶农都保持了工作上的联系。

-------------译者：czzsl-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

A cup of high mountain oolong tea. Photo by the author.

一杯高山乌龙茶。照片由作者拍摄。



“People in the city think they can sit in their ivory towers and demand organic products. But they don’t consider the perspective of the farmer. They’re not willing to pay the price and understand what quality is” Tsay says. “That is why it’s so easy for the government to tear down a national treasure like the Chen tea farm … We as a society need to go into the fields and kneel down on the ground with the farmer and understand our land and how it works. It should be a collective effort between the consumer and the grower.”

“这座城市的人们认为他们在象牙塔中，并且需要有机产品。但是他们没有站在农民的角度考虑。他们不愿意支付高昂的价格，也不能理解质量的意义。“Tsay说。”这就是为什么政府能够轻易毁坏像陈的茶场这样的国宝...作为一个社会，我们需要进入这个领域，和农民一起贴近土地，理解土地及其如何生产。这需要消费者和种植着共同努力。“

Limei sitting beside me nods fervently in agreement.

坐在我身旁的李梅一个劲点头，以示赞同。

Tsay adds: “Instead we just have people in the office with their feet up in the air demanding things. It’s people who have no understanding of what sustainability actually means.”

Tsay补充道：”相反，政府官员只是不切实际地索取。他们不明白可持续的真正含义。“

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.com 翻译：翻译加工厂 转载请注明出处
论坛地址：