Living With Pandas1與大熊貓為鄰

邵葉凡/文　孟潔冰/譯

Gu Xiang has lived on China Panda Avenue for 15 years， but he’s never come close to China’s national animal. “I was born and raised in Sichuan， but I’ve never even seen panda poop，” the 35-year-old tells TWOC.

古翔在中國熊貓大道生活了15 年，但他從來沒遇到過國寶大熊貓。“我生在四川，長在四川，可我連熊貓便便都從來沒見過。”這位35歲的男子告訴《漢語世界》。

That hasn’t stopped the black and white， bamboo-munching bears from leaving their mark on his village， Maoshui—not just by lending their name to roads. In fact， Maoshui and its residents were moved to their current location in part to aide the conservation of giant pandas， most of which live in Sichuan province in China’s southwest. The village used to be deep in the mountains， and pandas would even occasionally roam around the neighborhood， Gu claims.

這不妨礙以竹子為食、黑白毛色的熊貓在他生活的冒水村留下自己的印記——不僅僅是用熊貓給道路來命名。實際上，冒水村和村里的居民搬遷到現在的安置點，也是為了保護大熊貓——大熊貓大多生活在中國西南部的四川省。古翔說，這個村子以前位于大山深處，熊貓偶爾會在附近轉悠。

But since the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008， residents have been moved to a newly built settlement sandwiched between Wolong National Nature Reserve and Sichuan Fengtongzhai National Nature Reserve， partly to make more space for pandas in their habitat. Though tourists now flock to the panda-themed town， where Gu owns a restaurant， the bears never turn up here.

不過，自2008年汶川地震以后，居民們搬遷到位于臥龍國家級自然保護區和四川蜂桶寨國家級自然保護區之間新建的安置點，也是為了給熊貓的棲息地騰出更多的空間。雖然如今游客紛紛涌入這個熊貓主題小鎮（古翔在鎮上開了一家餐館），但是熊貓從未在這里露過面。

In Sichuan， one of the most biodiverse provinces in China， protecting the habitat of the country’s most famous animal means altering the lives of thousands of people who call the area home.

四川是中國生物多樣性最豐富的省份之一，在這里，保護中國最出名動物的棲息地意味著要改變成千上萬以此為家的人的生活。

Though giant pandas only became widely known outside of China in the 19th century， there are many references to the bears in Chinese history. The first known records date back to the Zhou dynasty （1046–256 BCE）， when they were described as “貔 （wild beasts）” in the Classic of Poetry and as “白羆 （white beasts）” in the Book of Documents. They were also recorded in ancient literature like The Classic of Mountains and Seas from the Han dynasty （206 BCE–220 CE）.

盡管大熊貓到了19世紀才在中國以外的地區廣為人知，在中國歷史上有很多關于熊貓的記載。已知最早的記載可以追溯到周朝（公元前1046—前256），當時熊貓在《詩經》中稱為“貔”，在《尚書》中稱為“白羆”。在漢代（公元前206—公元220）的《山海經》等古代文獻中也有關于熊貓的記載。

French missionary Jean Pierre Armand David2 is credited with bringing the panda to wider international attention when he brought a specimen back to Eur- ope in 1869. Soon after， Europeans and Americans began hunting the animal， with the help of locals—Theodore Roosevelt’s sons famously killed one. Deforestation and construction also destroyed much of the giant panda’s habitat， and formed barriers in its territory that left many populations isolated and reduced their chances of finding a mate.

1869年，法國傳教士譚衛道把一只熊貓標本帶回了歐洲，使熊貓受到國際社會更為廣泛的關注。不久之后，歐洲人和美國人開始在當地人的幫助下獵殺大熊貓——西奧多·羅斯福的兩個兒子以捕殺一只熊貓而出名。森林砍伐和建設施工也破壞了大量大熊貓棲息地，在熊貓的領地上形成了屏障，把許多熊貓族群隔離開來，減少了熊貓找到配偶的機會。

The panda population decreased quickly， and it wasn’t until 1962 that China’s State Council finally announced a ban on hunting them. Wolong and subsequent reserves were established to reduce the impact of human activity on the pandas， restricting activities including logging and farming， and many locals moved out of the reserves to new homes.

熊貓的數量迅速減少，直到1962年，中國國務院最終下令禁止獵捕大熊貓。臥龍保護區和隨后幾個保護區的建立是為了減少人類活動對大熊貓的影響，限制伐木和耕作等活動。許多當地人從保護區搬到了新的家園。

People out， pandas in

村民出，熊貓入

As of 2019， Sichuan has 95 nature reserves， covering 113，500 square kilometers—nearly a quarter of the province.

截至 2019 年，四川共有 95 個自然保護區，面積達 11.35 萬平方公里，約占全省面積的四分之一。

“Ecological migration，” as authorities call the movement of residents out of conservation areas， has been a key pillar of panda protection methods in Sichuan. In 1983， for example， 800 residents moved out of the Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve and into new villages built outside the park. The reserve prohibits logging， farming， and hunting， while locals can no longer forage in the mountains.

有關部門把居民遷出保護區的做法稱為“生態移民”，它一直是四川大熊貓保護工作的重要組成部分。例如，1983年，800名居民遷出唐家河國家級自然保護區，搬到保護區外新建的村莊。保護區禁止伐木、耕作和狩獵，當地居民也不能再進山采摘。

The local government and NGOs try to bring area residents （which include many ethnic Tibetans and Qiang） into conservation efforts： employing them as rangers， for example， or training them to be guides for research teams. Authorities also encourage the region’s traditional honey bee farming， as it doesn’t require cultivation of the land and is environmentally friendly.

當地政府和非政府組織設法讓當地居民（包括許多藏族人和羌族人）參與到保護工作中：例如，聘請他們擔任護林員，或者培訓他們當研究團隊的向導。當局還鼓勵發展當地傳統蜜蜂養殖，因為養蜂不需要耕種土地，而且對環境有利。

Where some people still reside， as in the Wolong reserve in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture， local authorities have strict rules on activities in protected areas. Wolong was designated a special administrative district in 1983， with the district authority granted power to punish crimes such as poaching and illegal logging. Authorities also offer incentives for locals to protect the environment， such as subsidies for electricity if they limit the use of firewood.

在仍然有人居住的地方，比如阿壩藏族羌族自治州的臥龍自然保護區，當地政府對保護區內的活動有嚴格的規定。1983年，臥龍被劃定為特別行政區，區政府有權懲處偷獵和非法伐木等犯罪行為。當地政府還制定激勵措施，鼓勵當地人保護環境，例如，限制使用柴火就可以獲得電費補貼。

Can people and pandas live together？

人與大熊貓能否共存？

“Sichuan is a province with many people and very little land. It’s not easy to set up a purely ‘uninhabited’ reserve for giant pandas，” says Gao Fuhua， a 58-year-old writer who calls himself a “panda journalist” in Baoxing county （where David， the missionary， first came across giant pandas）.

“四川是一個人多地少的省份。要為大熊貓建立完全無人居住的保護區并不容易。”寶興縣（法國傳教士譚衛道首次發現大熊貓的地方）自稱“熊貓記者”的58歲作家高富華說。

In a church in Baoxing county， built by a team of missionaries that included David， photos from the 1980s show local Tibetans playing with wild pandas and feeding milk to the cubs. Gao believes this is the ideal relationship for pandas and humans： if people stop hunting pandas and protect their habitat， local residents won’t have to move away from the territory.

在寶興縣一座由譚衛道等傳教士修建的教堂里，20世紀80年代拍攝的一些照片展示了當地藏民與野生熊貓一起嬉戲、給熊貓幼崽喂奶的場景。高富華認為，這是大熊貓和人類的理想關系：如果人們不再獵殺熊貓，保護熊貓的棲息地，那么當地居民就不必搬離這個地區。

Rather， conservation can bring benefits to local communities. Sichuan’s giant pandas helped generate 370 billion yuan from ecotourism in 2022， almost a quarter of the province’s GDP. Villages near reserves try to attract visitors by playing up their panda credentials with giant panda images and elements all over town. Baoxing received over 142，000 tourists during the Labor Day holiday from April 29 to May 3 this year.

確切地說，保護工作可以惠及當地社區。2022年，四川的大熊貓幫助創造了 3700 億元的生態旅游收入，幾乎占全省GDP的四分之一。全鎮各保護區附近的村莊遍布大熊貓形象和元素，彰顯自身的熊貓特色，以此吸引游客。2023年4月29日至5月3日的五一小長假期間，寶興接待游客超過14.2萬人次。

In 2014， the Baoxing county government and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation （CFPA）， an organ-ization affiliated with China’s State Council， launched a post-disaster reconstruction project to promote the panda-themed tourism industry， mainly by encouraging locals to set up guesthouses. They also built the Panda Culture Communication and Education Centre which now houses two giant pandas.

2014年，寶興縣政府和中國國務院主管的中國扶貧基金會啟動了一項災后重建項目，主要通過鼓勵當地人開辦民宿客棧促進以熊貓為主題的旅游產業。他們還建立了大熊貓文化宣傳教育中心，該中心目前養著兩只大熊貓。

Finally， wild panda numbers may slowly increase again： The Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced in 2021 that they no longer considered the bear endangered in the wild， with the population exceeding 1，800. The IUCN reclassified giant pandas as “vulnerable” in 2016， an improvement on “endangered.”

最終，野生熊貓的數量可能會再次緩慢增加：2021年，生態環境部宣布，大熊貓野外種群數量超過1800只，不再認定為瀕危野生動物。2016年，世界自然保護聯盟將大熊貓重新歸為“易危”物種，與“瀕危”相比情況有所改善。

That doesn’t mean pandas are likely to be seen roaming around Baoxing or elsewhere any time soon， though. Most of them are now living far away from humans. “It’s true that many Sichuanese may never see a giant panda， but that won’t stop us from protecting them，” says Gao.

不過，這不代表很快就會看到熊貓在寶興或其他地方閑逛。大多數熊貓如今生活在遠離人類的地方。“確實，很多四川人可能從來沒有見過野生大熊貓，但也不妨礙我們保護它們。”高富華說。

1本文節選自《漢語世界》官網（www.theworldofchinese.com）2023年6月25日刊文。

2法國傳教士、生物學家，中文名譚衛道。1869年，他在四川省雅安市寶興縣鄧池溝深山中發現了大熊貓，并制作大熊貓標本寄到了巴黎自然歷史博物館。