Emperor Cuckoo: Human interest in China

0:00  Originally, there wasn't a road here ... Four men, six years, blowing up the rocks and cutting into the mountain, built this road...  
这里 本 没有 路 , 四个人， 六年，炸石开山, 修了这条路
Zhèlǐ běn méiyǒu lù , sì gèrén, liù nián, zhà shí kāishān, xiūle zhè tiáo lù

0:34   Four families live on this mountain, each family contributed one man, and they spent six years, without the use of any heavy equipment, only using their human labor, building this five kilometer mountain village road ... For these four families, there now is a road to leave and return on ... 
住在大山里的四个人家， 每家出一个人，花了六年的时间， 完全没有机械， 只有人工，修了一条五公里的山村公路 ... 就为了这四户人家， 就有了这条能走出去，也能走进来的路...
Zhù zài dà shānlǐ de sì gè rénjia, měi jiā chū yī gèrén, huāle liù nián de shíjiān, wánquán méiyǒu jīxiè, zhị̌yǒu réngōng, xiūle yī tiáo wǔ gōnglǐ de shāncūn gōnglù ... Jiù wèile zhè sì hù rénjia, jiù yǒule zhè tiáo néng zǒu chūqu, yě néng zǒu jìnlai de lù...

1:34  Xiao Gao is the village's only young man, he is the leader of road building team.... 小高，村里唯一的年轻人，他是修路的带头人Xiǎo Gāo, cūnli wéiyī de niánqīngrén, tā shì xiūlù de dàitóurén

1:38  (Xiao Gao) "This is just like building the Great Wall, really ... We only have four men ... When the Great Wall was built, there were a lot of people ... The Emperor of the Qin ... He had people and soldiers and horses ... We just have four people ... So it takes us a lot more effort  ..."
像修那个长城一样啊， 真是 ... 只有四个人 ... 修那个万里长城的时候人多 ... 那个秦泰皇 ... 他的人兵马多 ... 我们这个才有四个人 ...比那个还要费劲 ...
Xiàng xiū nàge Chángchéng yị̄yàng a, zhēnshì ... Zhị̌yǒu sì gèrén ... Xiū nàge wàn lǐ Chángchéng de shíhou rén duō... Nàge qín tài huáng... Tā de rén bīngmǎ duō... Wǒmen zhège cái yǒu sì gèrén... Bǐ nàge háiyào fèijìn ...

2:02  Xiao Gao and the others who are building the road are using a primitive method, they planned a good way through the mountain, then they used explosives to blow up rocks and cut into the mountain, and it totally depends on their labor to complete the work of removing what's left over ...
小高他们修路，用的是最原始的方法， 现在规划好路线的山体上打炮眼， 用炸药把岩石炸开，剩下的就全靠他们手工来完成...
Xiǎo Gāo tāmen xiūlù, yòng de shì zuì yuánshǐ de fāngfǎ, xiànzài guīhuà hǎo lùxiàn de shāntǐ shàng dǎpào yǎn, yòng zhàyào bǎ yánshí zhàkāi, shèngxia de jiù quán kào tāmen shǒugōng lái wánchéng...

Source:  CCTV-[看见～周末版] 2012.3.25（1 of 2）肖家塘的路  Link to YouTube

Eleven-year-old Xiao Hei                                            十一岁的小黑  Shíyī suì de xiǎo hēi
always rushes through these woods and over ridges      总是飞快地穿过这些树林和田埂 zǒngshì fēikuài de chuānguò zhèxiē
                                                                                                     shùlín he tiángěng
This is the path he takes to go to school         这是他上学的路 zhè shì tā shàngxué de lù
He does this four times a day                        每天来回四趟 měitiān láihuí sì tàng
The trip takes about 30 minutes                     一趟要走三十分钟 yī tàng yào zǒu sānshí fēnzhōng
but to save time for doing his homework         为了节省时间写作业 wèile jiéshěng shíjiān xiě zuòyè
Xiao Hei allows himself only 10 minutes          小黑只允许自己用十分钟 Xiǎo Hēi zhǐ yụ̌nxǔ zìjǐ yòng shífēn zhōng

Once when it was raining                                有一次天下了雨 Yǒu yī cì tiānxiàle yǔ
as he was crossing a bamboo bridge               在过一道竹子搭成的桥时 zàiguo yị̄dào zhúzi dāchéng de qiáo shí
he stepped on a patch of mud and fell down     他踩到一块泥巴摔了一跤 tā cǎi dào yị̄kuài níbā shuāile yī jiāo

"When I got home I just stayed in bed                           “回去在家里一直在床上  “Huíqu zài jiālǐ yī̠zhí zài chuáng shàng,
and slept for more than a month"                                  睡了一个多月” shuìle yī gè duō yuè”
"You didn't go to the hospital?"                                     “没去医院吗?"  “Méi qù yīyuàn ma? "
"No money...didn't go...asked a rural doctor for herbs"  "没钱...没去...请个草医医的”  "Méi qián...méi qù...qǐng ge cǎoyī yī de”

For six months after that                 在这之后的半年里 Zài zhè zhī hòu de bànnián lǐ
Xiao Hei went to school limping      小黑一直瘸着腿上学 Xiǎo Hēi yī̠zhí quézhe tuǐ shàngxué
Recently he got all better                直到不久能才完全恢复 zhídào bùjiǔ néng cái wánquán huīfù

He runs along the path just as before         他依然每天都飞奔在路上  Tā yīrán měitiān dōu fēibēn zài lùshang
It's only when he reaches the riverbank      只会在来到河边时 zhǐ huì zài láidào hébiān shí
that he slows down                                   才放慢他的脚步 cái fàngmàn tā de jiǎobù

Source: CCTV- [看见～周末版] 2012-01-08（3 of 4）梦想的桥 [online at YouTube]

After greeting the program's viewers, the TV announcer says:

[0:06 - 0:12]  We'll begin today's program by looking at a few photographs ... these are photographs of children going to school ... 
我们的节目还是从几张照片开始看起...这是几张孩子们上学的照片... 
Wǒmen de jiémù háishi cóng jǐ zhāng zhàopiàn kāishǐ kànqǐ...zhè shì jǐ zhāng háizimen shàngxué de zhàopiàn ...

[0:12 - 0:29]  The first photo is from Chongqing (Pengshui)... Miaozu and Tujiazu ethnic minority regions ...Every day these children have to turn on flashlights and walk more than 10 kilometers [6.2 miles] up and down mountains to attend classes ... It takes the child who lives farthest away eight hours a day to go to and from school...
第一张，这是在重庆彭水苗组土家组自治县。这个孩子们每天要打着手电筒，步行...10多公里，翻山越岭去上学，最远的孩子来回要走八个小时。Dì-yī zhāng, zhè shì zài Chóngqìng (Péngshuǐ) ... Miáozǔ Tǔjiāzǔ zìzhìxiàn. Zhège háizimen měitiān yào dǎzháo shǒudiàntǒng, bùxíng...10 duō gōnglǐ, fānshānyuèlǐng qù shàngxué, zuìyuǎn de háizi láihuí yào zǒu bā gè xiǎoshí.

[0:29 - 0:39] Now let's look at the second photo ... This is in Shaanxi province (Qinba Mountain area)..., it's five o'clock in the morning, the children are carrying torches and are on their way to school ... These children live ten kilometers from school ... 
再来看第二张照片，这是在陕西的秦巴山区宴唐村，这是凌晨五点的时候，孩子们举着火把去上学。孩子们住的地方离学校是10公里。Zàilái kàn dì-èr zhāng zhàopiàn, zhè shì zài Shǎnxī de Qínbā Shānqū Yàntángcūn, zhè shì língchén wǔ diǎn de shíhou, háizimen jǔzhe huọ̌bǎ qù shàngxué. Háizimen zhù de dìfang lí xuéxiào shì 10 gōnglǐ.

[0:39 - 01:19] Let's look at the third photo, these children also are carrying torches on their way to school ... This is in Guizhou (Changshun) ... These children also have to get up at five o'clock in the morning, grope their way in the dark, go up and down mountains to get to the school ... At 3:30 classes are over, and the children again have to go up and down mountains to return home ...
再来看一张孩子们举着火把去上学的照片。这是贵州常顺县打兆村的孩子。孩子们也是凌晨五点就起床，摸着黑儿，翻山越岭去上学，下学是三点半，然后再翻山越岭回到家里。Zàilái kàn yī zhāng háizimen jǔzhe huọ̌bǎ qù shàngxué de zhàopiàn. Zhè shì Guìzhōu Chángshùn xiàn Dǎzhàocūn de háizi. Háizimen yě shì língchén wǔ diǎn jiù qǐchuáng, mōzhe hēir, fānshānyuèlǐng qù shàngxué, xiàxué shì sāndiǎn bàn, ránhòu zài fānshānyuèlǐng huídào jiālǐ.

[01:19 -  end]  These photographs, before dawn and after dark, in starlight and moonlight, are of children either carrying torches or holding flashlights, taking difficult mountain paths to get to school ... Seeing these photos is distressing, and makes us a little anxious, because today is the nation's first Day of Traffic Safety ... During these days of emphasis on safety, we are going to follow these children closely as they make their way to and from school .... 
这几张照片，凌晨夜晚，披星带月，孩子们或者举着火把，或者打着手电，用这样的一种艰辛的方式走上上学的路。看了完这组图片，让人心疼，更让人揪心，因为今天是全国第一个安，叫作交通安全日。在这样一个强调安全的日子里面，我们就把关注的目光锁定在这些孩子的上、下学的路上。Zhè jǐ zhāng zhàopiàn, língchén yèwǎn, pī xīng dài yuè, háizimen huòzhě jǔzhe huọ̌bǎ, huòzhě dǎzháo shǒudiàn, yòng zhèyàng de yī zhǒng jiānxīn de fāngshì zǒushàng shàngxué de lù. Kànle wán zhè zǔ túpiàn, ràngrén xīnténg, gèng ràngrén jiūxīn, yīnwèi jīntiān shì quánguó dì-yī ge ān, jiàozuò Jiāotōng Anquán rì. Zài zhèyàng yī gè qiángdiào ānquán de rìzi lǐmiàn, wǒmen jiù bǎ guānzhù de mùguāng suǒdìng zài zhèxiē háizi de shàng, xiàxué de lùshang.

Source: CCTV-13, 2011-12-02, [新闻1+1] 孩子们的上学路！online [YouTube]

A veteran recounts how he and his war buddies took a pledge by tattooing their names on their arms ... 

[0:00-0:20]  Reporter:  A veteran, now more than 80 years old, began searching more than half a century ago for the remains of his fallen war buddies, and has spent thirty years erecting a memorial for them ... He built a shack for himself next to it, and has never left ... And this is because, 70 years ago, nine young men took a pledge by tattooing their arms ... 

[0:20-0:57]   Veteran: You see, on my arm, my name is Ou Xingtian ... Reporter: But that was so many years ago, how did you pierce your arm? ...  Veteran: At the time, we used an ink brush, and we used black ink to write with, and after we wrote, we used a needle to pierce again and again, once you began piercing, the blood would flow, the ink would pour in and couldn't come out, it was in there ... Reporter:  You pricked yourself?  Veteran: Yes, I did it myself ... Reporter:  How could you stab your flesh like that? ... Veteran:  But I don't remember any pain ... Reporter: You didn't have any impression of pain? ... Veteran: At that time, no, no impression of pain at all ... 

[0:57-end]  Reporter:  His name is Ou Xingtian, on his arm he carved his own name, he was 14 years old, and this was a pledge he took with eight of his classmates ...  

Source: CCTV-1 《看见》 2011-12/11: "一个为战友守陵的老兵" [online at YouTube]

Blind Chinese Folk Singer Zhou Yunpeng interviewed; performs Hai Zi's "September"

First clip is part of a recent interview with CCTV1; the second clip is the opening few minutes of Zhou Yunpeng's performance of Hai Zi's poem): 

[0:00 - 0:15]  Reporter: You are unable to see, how is it that you are on trains traveling from place to place?  Zhou Yunpeng:  After I went blind, I had an even greater thirst for travel, this gives my body endless exercise, and I get a little news from the outside world, experience new things ...

[0:15 - 0:48]  Reporter:  People who don't get it might say: When you arrive in a city, what new things you experience are you able to talk about, for example, you don't have any visual stimulus ...  Zhou Yunpeng:  But there are ... at the very least I'm on a new road, when I come to a new city, the name of the road is different from others, the way people speak, those are all new things -- this is the Qiantang River, I guess -- Reporter:  How did you know? --  Zhou Yunpeng: We're crossing a bridge ... I can tell from the sound ... There's a kind of hollowness, an emptiness ... 

[0:48 - end]  Reporter: From 1995, when he went to Beijing, to 2004, before he published his first music, for those ten years, according to his own account Zhou Yunpeng was penniless and wandered about living a vagrant's life ... Reporter:  When you were ill, didn't you have anyone to rely on? ... Zhou Yunpeng: Falling ill ... I didn't get sick all that much .... Isn't it true that if you don't want to give yourself an excuse or a reason to fall ill, it's really hard to fall ill ... It's not sudden anxiety but a kind of continual feeling of being ill at ease ... The feeling of being an underground river ... Reporter: Back then, his friend "Desert Boat" wrote about what Zhou Yunpeng's life was like ... He was drunk and sitting on the ice-cold concrete ground, he didn't want come into the room, he was banging his blindman's cane on the ground...   Zhou Yunping: I think the first thirty years of my life were really stressful ...  
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Source: For the interview with CCTV-1 [YouTube]
Source: For Zhou Yunpeng's full performance of Hai Zi's "September"  [YouTube]

* * * 
Background for Zhou Yunpeng
Born in 1970, in Liaoning (Shenyang), Mainland Chinese folk singer and poet; in his early childhood, an eye disease led to total blindness at the age of nine.  He attended schools for the blind; in 1994, he graduated from Changchun University with a major in Chinese.  In 2005, his musical career began to take off, in 2007 he released "Chinese Children" (《中国孩子》"Zhōngguó háizi"), featuring sad and sentimental songs about children lost in natural disasters in China. 

Background for Hai Zi
[From the Wiki]  Hai Zi (Chinese:海子, March 1964 - 26 March 1989) is the pen name of the Chinese poet Zha Haisheng (Chinese:查海生). He was one of the most famous poets in Mainland China after the Cultural Revolution. He committed suicide by lying on the path of a train at the age of 25.

This video clip is from a longer segment devoted to Xiao Feng, a little boy whose parents died of AIDS, and who also has this illness ... Here we are introduced to Liu Libao, a 14-year-old boy whose mother has left him to find work in Heilongjiang; the two boys have become friends, and both are missing their parents ...
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[0:00 - 0:20]  The clip begins with Liu Libao saying that he asked Xiao Feng if he misses his parents, and Xiao Feng says, How could I not miss my parents?  Then he teases Xiao Feng for crying, and Xiao Feng says, Who's crying? and hits Liu Libao, and says again, Who's crying? You're crying and I'm also crying (we're making each other cry)  ...
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[0:20 - 0:51]  In the next segment, the two boys are shown playing together, they have an air rifle and are shooting at a plastic bottle that contains Xiao Feng's medicine ... The reporter says that the two boys met last summer, Liu Libao's mother had gone to Heilongjiang to find work, and Liu Libao feels very badly about that ... But he knows that Xiao Feng can never see his parents again, so he thinks he can totally understand Xiao Feng ... 
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[0:51 - 1:46]  The scene shifts to the place where Xiao Feng and Liu Libao met -- a public square where the grown-ups get together to dance ... The reporter says that Liu Libao noticed there were people dancing, and he wanted to learn, and Xiao Feng, who was his age, generously grabbed him and started gesturing, and so Xiao Feng and Liu Libao became the best of friends, and sometimes, when Liu Libao saw Xiao Feng having fun with other friends, he'd get a little angry, and from Xiao Feng's point of view, not only was Liu Libao a dance partner, but he was willing to talk from the heart ... 
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[1:46 -  2:01]  The reporter returns to interviewing Liu Libao, who says that once when he and Xiao Feng were lying together on some hay and chatting, Xiao Feng said to him, Why didn't my mother strangle me when I was little, why did she let me grow up and suffer so much?  And Liu Libao says he told Xiao Feng, How could that be?  If your mother had strangled you, we would never have become friends, how can you be so cold-hearted?...
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[2:01 -  end]  In the last scene of this clip, Liu Libao is at Xiao Feng's house, they are playing a hand-slapping game, and Xiao Feng's granduncle comes by and tells Liu Libao to go home, because he mistakenly believes that Liu Libao is bullying Xiao Feng ... Liu Libao says he was about to go, he just wanted to wait a little longer ... The granduncle says, "Go home right away."  Then Xiao Feng's grandaunt comes in and says that Liu Libao is her child too ... Your child? says the granduncle ... The grandaunt says, He comes here to play with Xiao Feng, how could he not be part of our family?  Then she says to the old man: You don't want him here, but I want him here ...
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Source： CCTV-[看见～周末版] 2011.12.4  围坐在他身旁