Travel Photographer Highlights China’s Traditional Cormorant Fishing旅行攝影師聚焦中國傳統的鸕鶿捕魚

Travel photographer Peter Yan left behind a successful career at Apple to pursue his work as a respected visual storyteller. In a few short years， the Chinese-born Australian photographer has built an impressive following on Instagram， where over 150，000 people follow his inspiring imagery from around the globe. In particular， one image that was taken on a trip to Yangshuo， China has caused the internet to sit up and take notice. In the photograph， a cormorant fisherman stands on his simple wooden raft， ready to work while his two birds are perched next to him.

旅行攝影師彼得·嚴（音譯）放棄了在蘋果公司的成功事業，轉而成為一名受人尊敬的視覺敘事工作者。短短幾年，這位出生在中國的澳大利亞攝影師就在照片墻上獲得了極大關注，擁有超過15萬來自世界各地的粉絲，他們關注著他激動人心的影像作品。特別是他在中國陽朔旅行時所拍攝的一張照片，在網上引起了一時轟動。照片中，一位靠鸕鶿捕魚的漁夫站在簡易的木筏上準備捕魚，兩只鸕鶿停歇在他身旁。

Cormorant fishing is an ancient tradition with deep roots in China， Japan， and Korea. The technique is typically practiced in rivers， with fishermen training their birds to catch fish in their throat and bring them back to the boat. The method was first described in a 636 CE text about the history of the Sui dynasty in China and， at one time， was a lucrative industry. Now， cormorant fishing is typically practiced for tourism purposes， which makes Yan’s photograph all the more special. Through one viral photograph he’s been able to bring awareness back to an important cultural tradition that is slowly fading into obscurity. And at the same time， given Yangshuo’s incredible mountainous landscape， he’s exposed his followers to a new side of China that they may not otherwise have discovered.

鸕鶿捕魚是一種歷史悠久的傳統捕魚方法，在中國、日本和韓國都淵源深厚。這一方法通常用于河上捕魚，漁夫訓練鸕鶿捕魚，讓它們將魚存在喉嚨里帶回船上。有關這種方法最早的文字記載可見于公元636年關于中國隋朝的史書。鸕鶿捕魚舊時是一個收益頗豐的行業，現在主要是為了吸引游客，這使嚴的攝影更具特色。通過一張迅速走紅的照片，他讓人們重新關注到一種正逐漸消失的重要文化傳統。同時，憑借陽朔美不勝收的山水風光，嚴向粉絲們展示了他們可能從未發現的、關于中國的嶄新一面。

We had the chance to chat with Yan about his transition into full-time photography and the story behind his exceptional photograph of the cormorant fisherman.

我們有機會和嚴聊了聊他向全職攝影師轉變的過程，以及他這張鸕鶿漁夫攝影佳作背后的故事。

What is it in particular about travel photography that you find so stimulating？

你覺得旅行攝影有什么特別吸引你的地方？

I get to travel around the world， and experience different cultures and eat a variety of food. Most importantly， I get to create beautiful visual content and document life moments through my lens and then to share with the world on social media.

我可以周游世界，體驗不同文化，嘗到各色美食。最重要的是，我可以創作精彩的視覺內容，用鏡頭記錄生活瞬間，然后在社交媒體上與世界各地的人分享。

Can you share a bit about your time in Yangshuo？ What were your favorite parts of the trip？

你能分享一下在陽朔的經歷嗎？你最喜歡那趟旅行中的哪些方面？

Although I was born and raised in China， I never had the opportunity to travel in this massive country and take photos. I saw a lot of incredible images from Yangshuo on Instagram， and I never knew such paradise existed in China. So I decided to make a solo trip to Yangshuo before visiting my family for Chinese New Year. The weather wasn’t too great， but I had a fantastic time exploring the old streets， riding a bike in the countryside and learning about the rich history of this region.

雖然我在中國出生，在中國長大，但我從來沒有機會在這個幅員遼闊的國家旅行和拍照。我在照片墻上看到了很多在陽朔拍攝的精彩的影像作品，我從來不知道中國有這樣的人間仙境。所以我決定在春節回家之前獨自去陽朔旅行。那時天氣不是很好，但我度過了一段美妙的時光——探索古老的街道，在鄉村騎行，了解這個地區豐富的歷史。

I loved the famous local delicacy—beer fish. It might sound wrong， but it’s actually very delicious， I ordered this dish literally every night for dinner.

我喜歡當地著名的美食——啤酒魚。這聽起來可能有點奇怪，但實際上非常美味。毫不夸張，我每天晚上都點這道菜。

What makes China an exciting place for a travel photographer to work in？

中國是旅行攝影師工作的向往之地，你認為原因有哪些？

First of all， China is MASSIVE！ As far as natural wonders go， China has some of the most diverse and spectacular landscapes in the world. Many of which are still not being discovered by the rest of the world. With a history of thousands of years， China boasts the world’s richest breadth of culture. You can experience many different ethnic customs within just one country， which is very unique. Although China is massive in land size， traveling in China is easier than ever with its extensive grid of high-speed train networks. They cover pretty much the entire population.

首先，中國很大！就自然奇觀而言，中國擁有世界上最多樣、最壯觀的風景，其中許多仍未被其他國家發現。中國有數千年的歷史，是世界上文化最豐富多樣的國家。你能在一個國家感受到許多不同的民族風俗，這太特別了。盡管中國幅員遼闊，但在中國旅行能體會到前所未有的便捷，因為中國有龐大的高速鐵路網，而且幾乎覆蓋了所有人口。

What’s the story behind your photo of the fisherman Lao Huang and his cormorant？

你拍攝的那張照片——漁夫老黃和他的鸕鶿——背后有什么樣的故事？

Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants to fish in rivers， but sadly the thirteen-hundred-year-old method now only survives as a tourist attraction in modern days. Usually， in Yangshuo， you will find some of these fishermen along the Li River. Fortunately for me， the Li River is just across the road from my hotel， so I walked over one morning to check it out. Once I got there， I saw this fisherman was just setting up his “workstation.” I greeted him and asked him if I could take a few photos， and he said yes.

鸕鶿捕魚是一種傳統的捕魚方法，漁民使用訓練有素的鸕鶿在河里捕魚。但遺憾的是，這種有1300年歷史的捕魚方法現在只作為吸引游客的手段而存在著。在陽朔，你通常會在漓江沿岸看到一些用鸕鶿捕魚的漁民。我很幸運，漓江與我當時所住的酒店只隔一條路，所以一天早晨我走到江邊去看個究竟。我一到那兒，就看到漁夫老黃正布置他的“工位”。我與他打了招呼，又問他我能不能拍幾張照片，他說可以。

Through our conversation， I learned a little more about him. His last name is Huang， and he is 86 years old. The locals call him Lao Huang （meaning old Huang in Chinese）. He told me he’s been a fisherman ever since he was a kid， and both he and his brother learned to train cormorants from his father. Nowadays， this is just a hobby， and apparently， he makes a good living from donations， as well as breeding the birds.

通過談話，我對他有了更多的了解。他姓黃，86歲。大家都叫他“老黃”（中文意思是姓黃的老人）。他告訴我，他從小就捕魚，他和哥哥訓練鸕鶿都是跟著父親學的。如今，這只是一個愛好，老黃靠得到的捐助和飼養這些鳥兒為生，顯然日子過得不錯。

Why is it important for you， as a photographer， to document these traditions？

作為一名攝影師，為什么記錄下這些傳統文化對你來說如此重要？

It takes one viral photo on social media to create the most awareness， which is far more effective than any traditional media outlets because if people find something rare and mildly amusing， they will want to share with their friends too. The more photographers document these traditions and share them on the internet， the better！

一張在社交媒體上走紅的照片才能引起最多的關注，這比任何傳統傳播媒介都要有效得多，因為如果人們發現一些不常見但比較有趣的事物，他們會想和朋友們分享。越多的攝影師記錄下這些傳統文化并發布到網絡上，當然越好！

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）