Emperor Cuckoo: Human interest in China

Sky-high price for "Panda tea" ... Is it hype or is it actually effective?
天价“熊猫茶” 炒作还是确有其效? 
Tiān jià “Xióngmāo chá” chǎozuò háishi què yǒu qí xiào?

March 27, Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, An Yanshi, the creator of "Panda tea," formally has begun marketing tea leaves made from plants grown in the organic wastes of pandas, and the sales price has reached 220,000 yuan per jin [$35,000 per half-kilo, or about one pound] --
3月27日，四川省成都市，安琰石所创始的“熊猫茶”正式上市销售，该茶叶由熊猫粪便种植培育，售价高达22万元一斤—--
3 yuè 27 rì, Sìchuān shěng Chéngdū shì, An Yǎnshí suǒ chuàngshǐ de “Xióngmāo chá” zhèngshì shàngshì xiāoshòu, gāi cháyè yóu xióngmāo fènbiàn zhòngzhí péiyù, shòujià gāodá 22 wàn yuán yī jīn—--

Photo: An Yanshi demonstrates his skills pouring tea 
安琰石在表演茶艺  Ān Yǎnshí zài biạ̌oyǎn chá yì 

Recently on the internet, "Panda tea," a kind of "Pure Brightness" tea [traditionally, tea leaves picked on certain days at the very beginning of Spring, before the "Tomb-sweeping" celebration in China when ancestors are remembered and honored], has stirred up a lot of discussion.  The inventor An Yanshi has said publicly that Panda tea is made from the organic waste of pandas, and he relies on "intuition" for his belief that the tea prevents cancer ...
最近，网上有种名为“熊猫茶”的明前茶遭到众多网友热议。开发者安琰石公开表示，熊猫茶是由熊猫的粪便培育而成的，他“凭直觉”认为其具有抗癌功效。。。
Zuìjìn, wǎng shàng yọ̌uzhǒng míngwéi “Xióngmāo chá” de míngqián chá zāodào zhòngduō wǎngyǒu rè yì. Kāifāzhě An Yǎnshí gōngkāi biǎoshì, Xióngmāo chá shì yóu xióngmāo de fènbiàn péiyù ér chéng de, tā “píng zhíjué” rènwéi qí jùyǒu kàng'ái gōngxiào...

A jin of Panda tea sells for the sky-high price of 220,000 yuan, and he will apply for the Guiness Book of World records; part of the profits will be donated to environmental protection agencies. If you calculate three grams of tea leaves per cup of tea, that's about 1,000 yuan per cup of tea ($160.00).  But some experts believe the claim [that the tea prevents cancer] is debatable, and that hyping the precious reputation of "national treasures" is not desirable.
熊猫茶每斤更是卖到了近22万元的天价，还将申请吉尼斯世界纪录，把部分利润捐给环保志愿者联盟。按每次放3克茶叶计算，一杯茶的成本也已过千元。不过专家认为，这种说法目前尚无依据，利用“国宝”名声炒作的做法不太可取。
Xióngmāo chá měi jīn gèng shì mài dàoliǎo jìn 22 wàn yuán de tiān jià, hái jiāng shēnqǐng jí ní sī shìjiè jìlù, bǎ bùfen lìrùn juāngěi huán-bǎo zhìyuàn zhě liánméng. Àn měi cì fàng 3 kè cháyè jìsuàn, yī bēi chá de chéngběn yě yǐguò qiān yuán. Buguò zhuānjiā rènwéi, zhèizhǒng shuōfa mùqián shàng wú yījù, lìyòng “guóbǎo” míngshēng chǎozuò de zuòfǎ bụ̀tài kẹ̌qǔ.

Source: 《中老年时报 》2012-03-30 第01版: 天价“熊猫茶” 炒作还是确有其效?  online

Many things can float in it 
很多东西都能浮起来

        For more than three hundred years, generations of villagers have safeguarded this well.  Now they urgently need experts on-the-spot to investigate and explain its riddles.
       距今三百余年  村民世代维护   亟待相关专家实地考察解谜  Jùjīn sānbǎi yú nián  Cūnmín shìdài wéihù   Jídài xiāngguān zhuānjiā shídì kǎochá jiě mí 

　   Everyone knows that in Yijie village [Wangqingtuo township, Wuqing district, Tianjin] there is a mysterious well:  Built more than three hundred years ago, this ancient well has never gone dry; through droughts and floods, the water always remains at the same level.  Even more mysterious, the water in this well is more buoyant than it is in other wells, and with it, one can make extremely sweet and fragrant cooked rice. 
       在武清区王庆坨镇一街村，有一口村民无人不晓的神奇水井：这口古水井建成三百多年，却从没干枯过，无论天干大旱，还是暴雨连天，井里的水都始终保持在一个高度。更为神奇的是，这口水井里的水浮力比普通的水大，而且用井水做出的饭非常香甜。
       Zài Wǔqīngqū Wángqìngtuózhèn Yìjiēcūn, yǒu yì kǒu cūnmín wúrénbùxiǎo de shénqí shuíjǐng: zhè kǒu gǔ shuíjǐng jiànchéng sānbǎi duōnián, què cóng méi gānkū guò, wúlùn tiān gān dà hàn, háishì bàoyǔ lián tiān, jǐng lǐ de shuǐ dōu shǐzhōng bǎochí zài yí gè gāodù. Gèng wéi shénqí de shì, zhè kóu shuíjǐng lǐ de shuǐ fúlì bǐ pǔtōng de shuǐ dà, érqiě yòng jǐngshuǐ zuòchū de fàn fēicháng xiāngtián. 

　　[Photo: Amazingly, plastic pens with coins attached  float on the well water's surface    水笔拴硬币 竟浮水面上  Shuíbǐ shuān yìngbì   Jìng fúshuǐ miàn shàng]

　　At a street corner in Yijie village center, the reporter saw the ancient well, called "Village Benevolence". Surprisingly, the well's mouth is about 2.5 meters in diameter, and has four viewing holes above ground ... When you look down into the well, the water is clear and translucent. 
       在一街村中心的一个路口，记者见到了这口名为“仁义庄”的古井。只见这口井井口直径2.5米，打有四口眼。从井口望下去，井水清澈晶莹。
        Zài Yìjiēcūn zhōngxīn de yí gè lùkǒu, jìzhě jiàndào le zhè kǒu míngwéi "Rényì zhuāng" de gǔ jǐng. Zhǐjiàn zhè kǒu jǐng jǐngkǒu zhíjìng 2.5 mǐ, dǎ yǒu sì kǒu yǎn. Cóng jǐngkǒu wàng xiàqu, jǐngshuǐ qīngchè jīngyíng. 

       Li Mingyi, the person who takes care of the well, said "The water in 'Village Benevolence' is extremely buoyant, and many things can float in it; in the past, people have fallen into the well, but no one has ever drowned in it.  In the 1970s and '80s, one day when the village chief's grandfather was drawing up water, he was a little careless and fell in, but the water in 'Village Benevolence' was so buoyant, the old man did not sink, and his life was saved." 
      护井人李明义说，“仁义庄”井水浮力很大，很多东西都能浮起来，历朝历代“仁义庄”里都掉下过人，却没有淹死过人。上世纪七八十年代，村主任的爷爷打水时不小心掉到“仁义庄”里，但“仁义庄”井水的浮力让老人一直没有沉下去，最终老人成功得救。
      Hù jǐng rén Lǐ Míngyì shuō, "Rényì zhuāng" jǐngshuǐ fúlì hěn dà, hěn duō dōngxi dōu néng fúqǐ lái, lìcháo lìdài "Rényì zhuāng" lǐ dōu diàoxià guò rén, què méiyǒu yānsǐ guò rén. Shàng shìjì qī-bā shí niándài, cūn zhǔrèn de yéye dǎshuǐ shí bùxiǎo xīndiào dào "Rényì zhuāng" lǐ, dàn "Rényì zhuāng" jǐngshuǐ de fúlì ràng lǎorén yìzhí méiyǒu chénxiàqu, zuìzhōng lǎorén chénggōng déjiù. 

       Seeing is believing: A villager at the scene did a "float test": he threw in two pens, both of which could be seen to float; then he attached two one-yuan coins to the pens and the whole thing floated, and everyone thought this was miraculous!
       眼见为实，一位村民现场做了一次“浮力试验”，村民先是扔下两管水笔，只见水笔轻松地浮了起来，随后村民又在水笔上接连拴上了两枚一元硬币，再将水笔丢进井水中，却发现水笔连同两枚硬币又一起浮了起来，令人叹为观止。
       Yǎnjiàn wéi shí, yí wèi cūnmín xiànchǎng zuò le yí cì "fúlì shìyàn", cūnmín xiānshì rēngxià liǎng guǎn shuíbǐ, zhǐjiàn shuíbǐ qīngsōngdì fúle qǐlái, suíhòu cūnmín yòu zài shuíbǐ shàng jiēlián shuānshàng le liǎng méi yìyuán yìngbì, zài jiāng shuíbǐ diū jìn jǐngshuǐ zhōng, què fāxiàn shuíbǐ liántóng liǎng méi yìngbì yòu yìqǐ fúle qǐlái, lìngrén tànwéiguānzhǐ.

　　If you use the well's water, you don't need to add baking soda to make bread, and steamed rice is really sweet. 
      井水发面不用碱 蒸出米饭分外甜
      Jǐngshuǐ fā miàn búyòng jiǎn   Zhēng chū mǐfàn fènwài tián 
　
      The buoyancy of the well's water surprises people, and the villagers really are curious why it should be this way, but because the village has had limited resources in recent years, they still don't know the reasons why the water is so buoyant. 
      井水的浮力令人惊讶，村民也很好奇井水为什么会这样，但由于村里条件有限，这么多年来，村里人始终对“仁义庄”浮力大的原因疑惑不解。
      Jǐngshuǐ de fúlì lìngrén jīngyà, cūnmín yě hěn hàoqí jǐngshuǐ wèishénme huì zhèyàng, dàn yóuyú cūnlǐ tiáojiàn yǒuxiàn, zhème duōnián lái, cūnlǐ rén shǐzhōng duì "Rényì zhuāng" fúlì dà de yuányīn yíhuòbùjiě. 

       A villager explained that if you use 'Village Benevolence' water to make steamed buns, you don't need to add baking soda, and the steamed buns come out spongy and tasty; when used for cooking steamed rice, the rice turns out sweet and sticky, in summers, the villagers throw watermelon into the well, and after a few hours when they take them out, the watermelon is crisp and refreshing.
      村民还介绍，用“仁义庄”的井水发面做馒头不用放碱，馒头松软可口；用来蒸米饭，米饭又香又糯；夏天的时候，村民们都把西瓜扔到井里，隔几小时后捞起来，西瓜爽口脆生。
       Cūnmín hái jièshào, yòng "Rényì zhuāng" de jǐngshuǐ fāmiàn zuò mántou búyòng fàng jiǎn, mántou sōngruǎn kékǒu; yòng lái zhēng mǐfàn, mǐfàn yòu xiāng yòu nuò；xiàtiān de shíhou, cūnmínmen dōu bǎ xīguā rēngdào jǐng lǐ, gé jǐ xiǎoshí hòu lāoqǐ lái, xīguā shuángkǒu cuìshēng. 

　　These days the villagers all have running tap water, so few people use "Village Benevolence" to draw water, but during periods when water or electricity are shut off, or when disaster strikes, the well is indispensable, and it continues to be a life-saver for the villagers.  The village Party secretary said he hoped experts could clear up doubts, but he still didn't know what kind of experts should be called in to investigate.
      现在家家户户都用自来水了，在“仁义庄”里打水的村民少了，但它却能在停水停电或是火灾的时候解燃眉之急，继续为村民的生活提供保障。一街村的村书记表示，村民们希望能有专家解开谜团，可现在又不知道该找哪方面的专家来实地考察。
      Xiànzài jiājiāhùhù dōu yòng zìláishuǐ le, zài "Rényì zhuāng" lǐ dǎshuǐ de cūnmín shǎole, dàn tā què néng zài tíngshuǐ tíngdiàn huòshì huǒzāi de shíhou jiě ránméizhījí, jìxù wéi cūnmín de shēnghuó tígōng bǎozhàng.  Yìjiēcūn de cūn shūjì biǎoshì, cūnmínmen xīwàng néng yǒu zhuānjiā jiěkāi mítuán, kě xiànzài yòu bù zhīdào gāi zhǎo nǎ fāngmiàn de zhuānjiā lái shídì kǎo chá. 
　
      The well was first built in the Ming Dynasty, and to this day has been protected by the villagers
      古井始建于明朝 至今村民仍维护
       Gǔ jǐng shǐ jiàn yú Míngcháo   Zhìjīn cūnmín réng wéihù 
　
      "Village Benevolence" has survived under the care of Yijie and Erjie villagers, and could not continue to be preserved without their help ... Recently, the well has undergone extensive renovation ... The villagers spontaneously donated more than 10,000 RMB for the materials to have the well completely restored.
      “仁义庄”能够保留下来，跟附近一、二街村村民的悉心维护离不开。前几天，“仁义庄”刚刚结束修缮。村民们自发捐了一万多元买材料，将水井修葺一新。
      "Rényì zhuāng" nénggòu bǎoliú xiàlái, gēn fùjìn Yī, Erjiēcūn cūnmín de xīxīn wéihù líbùkāi.  Qiánjǐtiān, "Rényì zhuāng" gānggāng jiéshù xiūshàn. Cūnmínmen zìfā juān le yí wàn duō yuán mǎi cáiliào, jiāng shuíjǐng xiūqìyìxīn. 

      Li Mingyi, the well's caretaker, told the reporter that beginning with his grandfather's generation, his family has been the caretaker of "Village Benevolence," and in the Ming Dynasty, because of war they came to Wangqingtuo, and in order to have drinking water, a well was dug into the ground.  In the Qing dynasty, a wooden mouth for the well was built.  The well has undergone many repairs, and eventually has become the cement and tiled well that it is today.
       护井人李明义告诉记者，从爷爷辈起，他们家就一直守护着“仁义庄”，“仁义庄”始建于明朝，当时先辈因战乱来到王庆坨，为了饮水，挖了一口土井。清朝时，村民将“仁义庄”修葺，并建起了木头的井口。历经数次修缮，“仁义庄”成了现代的水泥砖瓦井。
       Hù jǐng rén Lǐ Míngyì gàosu jìzhě, cóng yéye bèi qǐ, tāmen jiā jiù yì zhí shǒuhù zhe "Rényì zhuāng", "Rényì zhuāng" shǐ jiàn yú Míngcháo, dāngshí xiānbèi yīn zhànluàn láidào Wángqìngtuó, wèi le yínshuǐ, wāle yì kǒu tǔjǐng. Qīngcháo shí, cūnmín jiāng "Rényì zhuāng" xiūqì, bìng jiàn qǐle mùtou de jǐngkǒu. Lìjīng shùcì xiūshàn, "Rényì zhuāng" chéngle xiàndài de shuǐní zhuānwǎ jǐng. 

     An eighty-year-old villager said that "Village Benevolence" once supplied drinking water for more than two thousand villagers.   
     村里一名八十多岁的村民介绍，“仁义庄”这口井，曾经供两千多名村民饮用。
     Cūnlǐ yì míng bāshí duō suì de cūnmín jièshào, "Rényì zhuāng" zhè kǒu jǐng, céngjīng gòng liǎng qiān duō míng cūnmín yǐnyòng. 

Sources: 《每日新报》2011-10/22 第A4版：“神奇古井浮力大 人落水中不下沉” and online version