秘境中的坚守：中国最后的“穴居人”
中国格丼——在现代中国创立之前的混乱年代，这片位于中国西南贵州省内的偏远山区武装土匪横行，苗族村民于是藏进了这一带的巨大洞穴之中。
And there they have remained, even after China was united under Communist rule, grinding out an existence of profound rural poverty and isolation.
即使后来中国统一在了共产主义的统治之下，他们仍然留在了那里，慢慢形成了一种极度的农村贫困和孤立存在。
The area is in one of the poorest provinces in China. The only link to the rest of the country, and the outside world, is over a mountain footpath — a brisk one-hour hike through a steep valley — that leads to a nearby road.
该地区地处中国最贫困的省份之一。它与全国其他地区以及与外界的唯一联系，只有一条通向附近道路的山路——这段路要越过一个陡峭的山谷，快步走也要一个小时。
Over the past 20 years, though, the caves have become less secluded because of a steadily increasing trickle of tourists, who come to experience what local media have described as the last continuously inhabited cave in China.
但在过去的20年间，这些洞穴已经没那么与世隔绝了。游客在不断增多，他们前来体验这个被当地媒体称为中国最后的一个持续有人居住的洞穴。
A cottage industry has popped up in which the cave dwellers earn extra money by renting out rooms in their homes, which over time have clustered within Zhong cave, a limestone cavern big enough to hold four American football fields. The hangar-like cave is so large that their wooden or bamboo-made residences form a small, subterranean village built along its undulating walls.
洞穴的居民通过出租自家的房间，挣得了额外收入，有了繁荣的家庭产业。他们的房屋是在这个大得足以容纳四个美式橄榄球场的石灰岩洞穴之中慢慢积累起来的。而这个飞机库似的洞穴是如此庞大，以至于能让他们的木制或竹制的住房沿着起伏不平的洞壁组成一个小巧、隐秘的村庄。
During the day, the cave is filled with the sound of cows and roosters. On Friday afternoons, the laughter of children echoes and the smell of cooking fires permeates the cave’s cool, damp air, which offers relief from the heat of the valley below.
白天，洞穴里飘荡着牛和公鸡的叫声。周五的下午则会响起孩童的笑声，洞穴内凉爽、潮湿的空气中弥漫着炊烟的气味，减轻了下面山谷传来的热气。
The county government wants the residents of Zhong cave to move to a nearby block of housing: low-slung, white-walled farmhouses with wooden window frames that were completed nearly 10 years ago.
县政府希望中洞的居民搬迁至附近的居住区：将近十年前完工的低矮村舍，有着白色的墙和木质的窗框。
Officials say that residents have not taken care of the cave, leaving it unsuitable for inhabitation, and that the government should oversee the village as it is listed as a protected community by the Getu River Tourism Administration, a local agency. They have offered each resident 60,000 renminbi, or approximately $9,500, to leave.
官员们表示，居民们没有维护好洞穴，使洞穴变得不适合居住了。并且由于这个村庄被当地机构格凸河旅游局列为了受保护群落，政府应对其进行监管。政府为每位居民提供了六万元人民币让他们离开。
Only five families have agreed to move.
只有五户人家同意搬迁。
The remaining 18 families have held on stubbornly to their homes inside the cave. They say that the new homes are too small, that they fear losing access to their land, and that they alone, because of their historical connection to the cave, should have the right to independently control its small tourism economy.
其余的18户人顽固地坚守着洞穴之中的家。他们说新家太小，说他们担心会失去自己的土地，并且还说因为他们与这个洞穴有着历史联系，他们应有权独立管理这个洞穴的小型旅游经济。
“The residents of this cave should be the administrators of tourism here, regardless of whether or not we are paid,” said Wang Qiguo, the head of the local village, who established the first hostel there.
“这个洞窟的居民应该是本地旅游业的管理者，不管是不是要拿报酬，”当地村长王齐国(音)说道，他建起了村里第一家旅馆。
As he spoke, his wife prepared a steaming array of dishes made from home-smoked pork and local vegetables grown in the valley.
在他说话的时候，他妻子用自家熏制的猪肉和山谷里种的当地蔬菜做了一大桌热气腾腾的饭菜。
After all, Mr. Wang noted, “The best thing about this cave is its inhabitants.”
毕竟，王齐国说，“这个洞最好的地方是住在里面的人。”
Even residents who are considering moving out seem to agree that $9,500 per person is too little money, especially because many are elderly and speak little or no Mandarin, meaning they could feel isolated if they leave the cave community. They still rely on their nearby land to grow the millet and vegetables on which they subsist.
就连考虑搬出去的居民也认为，一个人六万元太少了，尤其是因为很多人上了年纪，会说的普通话很少或根本不会。这意味着如果离开住在山洞里的这个群体，他们可能会感到孤独。他们依然靠附近的土地种植他们赖以生存的小米和蔬菜。
Villagers have also complained about the quality of the new housing, saying it’s too small and poorly made.
村民还抱怨新房的质量，说房子太小，粗制滥造。
During the 1980s, the outsiders who most often visited the Zhong cave were local government officials conducting checks to enforce China’s “one-child” policy. The measure was deeply unpopular among the villagers whose children work alongside their parents in the fields, tending to livestock.
80年代最常造访中洞的外来者是检查“独生子女”政策执行情况的当地政府官员。这项措施在村民中极不受欢迎。他们的子女要和他们一起下田劳作，照料牲畜。
Mr. Wang said that during those years, violators of the policy would sometimes be taken away for forced abortions and sterilization.
王齐国说，那些年里，违反政策的人有时会被带走接受强制堕胎和绝育。
The single greatest change in the history of the cave was the introduction of electricity, only in 2002.
山洞史上最大的变化是2002年通上了电。
Surprisingly, the Chinese government did not bring electricity to the area. Instead, a wealthy American businessman from Minnesota, Frank Beddor Jr., was responsible.
令人惊讶的是，让该地区通上电的不是中国政府。它靠的是来自美国明尼苏达州的富商小弗兰克·贝多(Frank Beddor Jr.)。
Mr. Beddor first visited the Zhong cave in 2002, and would ultimately return several more times — donating tens of thousands of dollars to connect the cave to the region’s electrical grid.
贝多2002年第一次到访中洞，后来又来了好几次。他捐赠了数万美元，用于将中洞接入该地区的电网。
His continuing financial support also built a schoolhouse and a communal bathroom, and delivered livestock and other assistance to the villagers, dramatically improving their quality of life.
他持续的资金支持还为洞里修建了一所学校和一个公共浴室，并为村民提供牲畜和其他援助，极大地改善了他们的生活质量。
But in 2011, the school was closed by the local government, forcing residents to send their children, some as young as five, to the region’s boarding school nearly two hours away.
但2011年，当地政府关闭了学校，逼迫居民把孩子送到该地区的寄宿学校。那所学校距离村子大约两小时路程，而孩子中有的才五岁。
Mr. Beddor died at age 83 in 2007. His emotional connection to the village is still a mystery to the villagers, some of whom remember the few times he visited the cave.
贝多于2007年去世，享年83岁。对村民来说，他与村子的情感联系依然是个谜。他们中的一些人还记得他为数不多的来山洞的情形。
Wang Qicai, 39, a farmer who also runs a small general store out of his home in the cave, said young people may move out to become migrant workers, but many end up returning to have their families.
39岁的农民王齐才(音)在山洞里的家中经营着一个小杂货店。他说，年轻人可能会搬出去，变成民工，但很多人最后还是会回来成家。
The cave, he said, “feels like home.”
他说，山洞“感觉像家。”
“The weather inside the cave is amazing,” he added. “It feels like heaven.”
“洞里的天气很好，”他接着说。“感觉像天堂。”
