9000瓶污水和一個(gè)中國(guó)村莊的水污染

BEIJING — The 9,000 bottles of water on display at an art gallery in Beijing last month appeared identical to those of Nongfu Spring, one of China’s most popular spring water brands, with one jarring difference. Inside each bottle was brown, murky groundwater collected from a Chinese village.

北京——上月北京一家畫(huà)廊展出的9000瓶水，與中國(guó)最受歡迎的礦泉水品牌之一農(nóng)夫山泉看起來(lái)一模一樣，只有一個(gè)醒目的不同。每個(gè)瓶子里裝的都是從中國(guó)的一個(gè)村莊里采集的棕褐色、混濁的地下水。

The water from the village, Xiaohaotu, in the central province of Shaanxi, is polluted with heavy metals, the likely result of nearby coal mining and gas exploration operations, residents and officials say.

這些受到重金屬污染的水來(lái)自中國(guó)中部陜西省小壕兔鄉(xiāng)，當(dāng)?shù)鼐用窈凸賳T說(shuō)，這可能是附近煤礦開(kāi)采和天然氣勘探活動(dòng)所致。

“The things I’m concerned about are all related to people’s survival experience,” said Brother Nut, an artist and activist known only by his pseudonym, who put up the exhibit. “For example, do people have fresh air, clean water to drink? These are basic human rights.”

“我其實(shí)關(guān)注的都是跟人的生存經(jīng)歷相關(guān)的，”舉辦這次展覽的堅(jiān)果兄弟說(shuō)，他是一位藝術(shù)家和活動(dòng)人士，僅以這個(gè)化名為人所知。“比如人有新鮮的空氣啊，有干凈的水喝，這都是人的基本權(quán)利嘛!”

This is not Brother Nut’s first attempt at turning pollution into art with a message — in 2015, he used an industrial vacuum to suck up particulate matter in Beijing’s air and formed it into a brick — but the “Nongfu Spring Market” exhibit stands out for prompting officials to take action.

這不是堅(jiān)果兄弟第一次嘗試將污染轉(zhuǎn)化為傳遞信息的藝術(shù)——2015年，他利用工業(yè)吸塵器吸取北京空氣中的顆粒物，并將其制成磚塊 ——但這次的“農(nóng)夫山泉超市”展覽促使官員對(duì)其采取行動(dòng)，因而顯得更加突出。

Almost immediately after Brother Nut opened the “market” on June 20 in Beijing’s popular 798 Art District, images of muck-filled water bottles began to circulate on Chinese social media. The authorities in the capital ordered the show closed, which only served to generate more attention.

6月20日，堅(jiān)果兄弟在北京廣受歡迎的798藝術(shù)區(qū)開(kāi)放了這個(gè)“超市”，之后裝滿渾水的水瓶圖像很快就開(kāi)始在中國(guó)社交媒體上傳播。北京當(dāng)局下令關(guān)閉該展覽，卻引發(fā)了更多關(guān)注。

The authorities in Shaanxi also responded to the stir the show had caused. Rather than censure Brother Nut, the authorities there opened an investigation into the water quality in Xiaohaotu, a village on the outskirts of the city of Yulin.

陜西官方也回應(yīng)了該展覽引起的轟動(dòng)。當(dāng)局沒(méi)有對(duì)堅(jiān)果兄弟表示譴責(zé)，而是對(duì)位于榆林市郊小壕兔鄉(xiāng)的水質(zhì)進(jìn)行了調(diào)查。

Brother Nut, 37, said he was moved to create the performance piece after traveling in Xiaohaotu, where he met residents who, he said, were suffering from high rates of cancer and skin diseases.

37歲的堅(jiān)果兄弟表示，去過(guò)小壕兔旅行后，他受到打動(dòng)，開(kāi)始創(chuàng)作這些展品，他說(shuō)，他遇到的村民中罹患癌癥和皮膚病的比例很高。

The villagers had complained for years to the provincial authorities, but the government did little to mitigate the problem, he said.

他說(shuō)，村民多年來(lái)向省政府投訴，但政府幾乎沒(méi)有采取任何措施來(lái)緩解這個(gè)問(wèn)題。

Within two weeks of the show’s opening, however, officials in Yulin held a news conference in response to the “online reaction to ‘the drinking water safety problem in Xiaohaotu,’” according to the state-run Shaanxi News Agency.

據(jù)官方的陜西新聞網(wǎng)報(bào)道，展覽開(kāi)幕后兩周內(nèi)，榆林官員舉行了新聞發(fā)布會(huì)，回應(yīng)“網(wǎng)絡(luò)反映小壕兔鄉(xiāng)部分村飲用水安全問(wèn)題”。

The authorities in Yulin said they tested 11 drinking water sources in and around Xiaohaotu and found that 10 were contaminated with high levels of iron and manganese.

榆林當(dāng)局表示，他們?cè)谛『就绵l(xiāng)及其周?chē)鷾y(cè)試了11個(gè)飲用水源，發(fā)現(xiàn)其中10個(gè)水源內(nèi)，鐵和錳的污染指標(biāo)很高。

The Yulin Environmental Protection Bureau announced on July 7 that it would further inspect wastewater at three nearby coal mines and a gas field operated by Sinopec, a state-owned enterprise. The bureau also ordered the companies to temporarily halt their operations.

榆林市環(huán)保局于7月7日宣布，將進(jìn)一步檢查附近三個(gè)煤礦和國(guó)有企業(yè)中石化經(jīng)營(yíng)的天然氣田排放的廢水。該局還要求這些公司暫時(shí)停止生產(chǎn)。

The Yulin officials further announced that a new water supply network, including water purification equipment for some villages, would be fully implemented by the end of July.

榆林官員進(jìn)一步宣布，將于7月底全面實(shí)現(xiàn)新的供水網(wǎng)絡(luò)，包括在一些村莊安裝凈水設(shè)備。

“Water pollution is very common, it’s very common around the world, but it never receives any special attention,” Brother Nut said. “There are so many villages like Xiaohaotu who have been drinking water like this for years, and then they get cancer, skin disease, their sheep die, but no one cares. People just don’t know.”

“水污染很普遍，在全世界都很普遍嘛，但是又沒(méi)有受到特別的關(guān)注，”堅(jiān)果兄弟說(shuō)。 “像小壕兔這樣的村莊太多了，就十幾年喝這樣的水，然后的癌癥，得皮膚病，羊死掉，沒(méi)人管吶。大家根本都不知道，就是沒(méi)有話語(yǔ)權(quán)。”

The exhibit remained in place for about two weeks before it was shut down by the Beijing Bureau of Industry and Commerce in response to complaints by Nongfu Spring about trademark infringement.

該展覽了持續(xù)兩周，之后被接到農(nóng)夫山泉關(guān)于商標(biāo)侵權(quán)投訴的北京工商局查封。

The police confiscated the 7,000 bottles included in the show.

警方?jīng)]收了展覽上的7000瓶水。

But Brother Nut has another 1,000 bottles filled with Xiaohaotu’s polluted water. Beginning Saturday, he plans to display them in an old military van, known as the Moving Art Museum. Brother Nut said he planned to drive the van around the 798 Art District.

但是，堅(jiān)果兄弟還有另外1000瓶小壕兔鄉(xiāng)的污水。從周六開(kāi)始，他計(jì)劃將它們放在一輛名為“移動(dòng)美術(shù)館”的舊特警防爆車(chē)上展示。他說(shuō)他計(jì)劃開(kāi)車(chē)環(huán)繞798藝術(shù)區(qū)。

San You, the owner of a gallery across the street from the site of the exhibit, said he was impressed by Brother Nut’s artistry.

展覽現(xiàn)場(chǎng)街對(duì)面一家畫(huà)廊的老板三友(音)說(shuō)，堅(jiān)果兄弟的藝術(shù)才華打動(dòng)了他。

“I think it’s very refreshing and creative,” Mr. San said. “He’s using this supposed-to-be-pure symbol to display the polluted water, which is really good. It poses a contrast.”

“我覺(jué)得這令人耳目一新，很有創(chuàng)意，”三友說(shuō)。“他用這個(gè)被視為純凈的符號(hào)來(lái)展示污染的水，這真的很好，形成了一種對(duì)比。”

Despite the actions taken by the Yulin authorities, both Brother Nut and the curator of the Moving Art Museum, Chen Junhui, said they doubted that the local government would take lasting steps to solve the pollution problem.

盡管榆林當(dāng)局采取了行動(dòng)，但是堅(jiān)果兄弟和移動(dòng)美術(shù)館館長(zhǎng)陳俊暉(音)表示，他們懷疑當(dāng)?shù)卣欠駮?huì)采取持久措施來(lái)解決污染問(wèn)題。

Nevertheless, they remained committed to the idea that art had the power to influence governments and move people to action.

盡管如此，他們?nèi)匀粓?jiān)持認(rèn)為藝術(shù)有能力影響政府并讓人們采取行動(dòng)。

“If it’s something that has meaning, that has moral value, and we don’t support it,” asked Mr. Chen, “then what is our art for?”

“如果有意義的事情、有價(jià)值的事情都不去堅(jiān)持，”陳俊暉問(wèn)，“那我們做藝術(shù)還為了什么?”