Exclusive interview with Lin Zhanxi, the prototype of "Mountains and Seas" and the inventor of fungal grass technology: chief scientist who came out of the sand and grass| bounce 2021

With the popularity of the TV series "Mountains and Seas", Lin Zhanxi, the prototype character of agricultural technology expert Ling Yinong, played by Huang Jue, is once again widely known.

Speaking of again, it is because Lin Zhanxi, as an agricultural expert, has won the "National Poverty Alleviation Champion", "National Poverty Alleviation Contribution Award", "National Poverty Alleviation Advanced Individual" and other well-known honors, he began to think about the new technology of edible mushrooms "replacing grass with wood" as early as the end of the 1970s, and finally succeeded in the arduous search until 1986, and took the lead in promoting it in various parts of Fujian.

In 1997, when Lin Zhanxi was helping ningxia in Fujian, the fungal grass technology was extended to Ningxia to help local farmers get rid of poverty and become rich.

Ling Yinong, played by Huang Jue in "Mountains and Seas"

In the following years, the fungal grass technology has been listed as Fujian's intellectual assistance to Xinjiang, counterpart assistance to Chongqing's Three Gorges Reservoir Area, and scientific and technological aid to Tibet, and has been promoted to more than 500 counties and municipalities in 31 provinces across the country, increasing the income of thousands of farmers. It is worth mentioning that in 2001, the fungus grass assistance project was successfully landed in Papua New Guinea, and has been spread to 106 countries in the world so far, writing a good story of "a small grass, a long love".

On the eve of the New Year's Day, Lin Zhanxi, the inventor of fungal grass technology and chief scientist of the National Fungal Grass Engineering and Technology Research Center, accepted an exclusive interview with Red Star News reporters.

Lin Zhanxi said that the TV series "Mountains and Seas" broadcast in 2021 was filmed very well, recreating the bumpy but also passionate years. In addition, it also let more people know about the fungus herb technology, hoping to make some contributions to the local development, "I am also busier, there are almost no rest days, no night and day."

As soon as Lin Zhanxi was discharged from the hospital, he went to the office to observe the growth of the special cultivated mushroom, according to Lin Lianghui

For the New Year's wish, the 80-year-old is still full of energy, "In my lifetime, I hope to successfully develop the fungal grass industry in ecologically fragile areas, such as the Yellow River Basin, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and some arid and semi-arid areas, build an ecological safety barrier for the thousands of miles of fungus grass on both sides of the Yellow River, and develop the fungal grass industry into a strategic emerging industry." ”

What is Fungus Technique? In the words of Professor Lin Zhanxi, it is to change the traditional way of wood production of edible mushrooms, and adopt a comprehensive biological new technology of various wild grasses and crop straw to cultivate edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms. Professor Lin Zhanxi recalled that in the 1980s, China had introduced basswood cultivation technology from abroad, and edible mushrooms became an important industry for rural poverty alleviation. However, what worried him was that at that time in Fujian, farmers consumed a lot of wood to produce edible mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms and fungus, and the trees that could grow mushrooms were cut down, and the "contradiction between the fungus forest" became increasingly prominent.

Can we use grass instead of wood to raise mushrooms? At that time, Lin Zhanxi, who was still working in the administrative post of Fujian Agricultural University, began to think about this problem, Chinese should have his own set of new ways to cultivate edible mushrooms, "I am a farmer's child, when I was researching in the countryside, I felt that using wood to plant mushrooms was not in line with our reality in China, why?" First of all, the nature of our land is different, and the peasants cannot wait for the trees to grow and cut down the mushrooms; secondly, our farmers are poor and eager to develop industries to increase income, and at that time, some farmers abroad were very rich, and they only increased their wealth by planting edible mushrooms. Most importantly, cutting down trees in this way for a long time is not conducive to environmental protection and will cause soil erosion. ”

In 1983, Lin Zhanxi began the research of "replacing trees with grass", he led the research team to use some wild herbs in western Fujian to conduct research, all work is "self-made", "there is no data to refer to, ancient and modern China and foreign did not have this kind of cultivation first, in the past, shiitake mushrooms, fungus, Ganoderma lucidum are all used in tree species, no grass." "The most common crops in rural areas, such as straw, bagasse, and wild grasses, have become research materials, and with the help of borrowed test tubes, Lin Zhanxi began a difficult exploration of cultivating edible mushrooms with grass instead of wood. Hundreds of days and nights passed, and no one could tell how much hardship he had put in. Lack of scientific research funds, he took into his own living expenses, and also owed more than 50,000 yuan. For him, whose monthly salary was only more than 40 yuan at the time, this was a heavy debt. Even his daughter, who was in elementary school, said to him with a serious face: "Dad, you owe so much money, not for our family, I will not pay you back when I grow up." ”

Stills from "Mountains and Seas"

Although many people are not optimistic about Lin Zhanxi's efforts, after unremitting research, Lin Zhanxi finally achieved success. One day in October 1986, a shiitake mushroom grew in the lab's medium, and the research of "replacing wood with grass" finally made a breakthrough. Recalling the scene of that year, Lin Zhanxi, who was too old, was still excited: "I feel that I have discovered a new continent. In the future, if you develop the fungus industry, you don't have to cut down trees!"

After the birth of fungal grass technology, due to the low production cost and quick effect, it quickly attracted the attention of many people, "What we hope to do is a poverty alleviation project, to promote the old and young border poor areas, the cultivation medium of fungi, it needs to be the most common plants in the field, such as crop straw, reeds, mangos, five-section mango, lute, etc., the cost is very low." Lin Zhanxi recalled that at that time, comrades from all over the country who came to study were received almost every day. At that time, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China listed the fungal grass technology as the top priority project of the National Science and Technology Commission's "Eighth Five-Year Plan" national spark, which was applied and promoted in 51 counties in Fujian Province, with a total output value of 2.246 billion yuan.

The fate of Lin Zhanxi and Ningxia poverty alleviation began in 1996. Lin Zhanxi recalled that in 1996, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation held a training course for the secretaries and county chiefs of 592 poverty-stricken counties in Xiamen, Fujian Province, and specially invited Lin Zhanxi to introduce the technology of fungus and grass. Liu Fu, then secretary of the Pengyang County Party Committee in Ningxia, was very interested in this technology, and in the exchange with Liu Fu, Lin Zhanxi asked in detail whether there were crop straws such as corn stalks and wheat stalks in the local area, "He said that there were, and then invited me to investigate." I think that if the insurance point is cultivated in a cave or a room with a wall, the technology can be promoted and applied. Subsequently, Lin Zhanxi reported to the Fujian Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office and suggested that the counterpart help develop the fungal and grass industry in Ningxia. It was also in this year that Fujian and Ningxia formed a pair of help and support, and determined a poverty alleviation cooperation mechanism of "joint promotion, paired assistance, industrial drive, mutual learning and mutual assistance, and social participation". In 1997, the second joint meeting of the Minning Poverty Alleviation Cooperation listed the fungus grass technology as a Project of The Minning Poverty Alleviation Cooperation Project.

Lin Zhanxi and the team members traveled thousands of miles and brought 6 boxes of fungal grass seeds to Pengyang County, Guyuan City, Ningxia to promote the fungal grass technology. Pengyang County in winter dripping water into ice, the temperature difference between day and night is large, Lin Zhanxi is worried about affecting the growth of edible mushrooms, so he built a semi-basement mushroom shed, using abandoned caves to cultivate edible mushrooms. He and the team members often lived in the mushroom shed and got up at night to check the temperature change of the mushroom room. Half a year later, the cultivation of edible mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and bisporus mushrooms from crop straw was successful, but most local farmers were suspicious. Mr. Lin selected 27 demonstration households and taught them to grow mushrooms by hand, and their incomes more than doubled that year.

Like Ling Yinong, played by Huang Jue in "Mountains and Seas", Lin Zhanxi dedicated his scientific research skills and led the team to teach villagers to grow bisporus mushrooms. In order to guarantee the production of the villagers, he even signed an underwriting agreement with the local government, and the team members were grouped to run sales channels for the villagers' products.

To this day, Lin Zhanxi still holds a photograph of the production of fungal grass in Minning Town on October 2, 1999 – more than 10 tons of fresh grass per mu, which is two to three times the local corn production. "A local old man was so happy that he immediately made up a slip of the tongue that has been passed down to this day: 'Fungi grass, Minning grass, happiness grass, or socialism is good, or the Communist Party is good.'"

〉〉Red Star News Dialogue Lin Zhanxi

To promote the fungus and grass technology in Ningxia, I went with the idea of the second Long March

Red Star News: This year's broadcast of "Mountains and Seas" let more people know about fungal grass technology, as the inventor of fungal grass technology, how do you feel?

Lin Zhanxi: Indeed, this road has come, ups and downs, ups and downs, and we have finally ushered in a new period of development, which is a new signal.

Red Star News: When "Mountains and Seas" was broadcast, were you watching it?

Lin Zhanxi: Yes, I watched it, we watched it after the series was made, and I think they acted very well, but the actual environment was more difficult and difficult.

Red Star News: In "Mountains and Seas", Ling Yinong was "tricked" by Chen Jinshan to help the local poverty. In reality, under what circumstances did you use ningxia to help the poor?

Lin Zhanxi: We took the initiative to go, where it is so difficult, not to take the initiative to go certainly can not stick to it. At that time, when I went to Ningxia, I went with the idea of the second Long March, and two veteran generals in Fujian brought the relevant responsible persons of more than fifty counties in Fujian at that time to visit my laboratory more than forty times, and at that time they discussed going to Ningxia to promote the fungal and herb technology, and we should go, which is my need to obey the country as a scientific and technological worker.

Red Star News: When you arrived in Ningxia, you went with a carton of 6 mushrooms and grasses, after you arrived in Ningxia, what was the situation?

Lin Zhanxi: Before leaving, my assistant and I asked for 6 soap boxes at the school commissary, loaded the fungus grass seeds into cartons, and then flew to Ningxia. I still remember that on April 15, 1997, when I came to Pengyang County that night, I didn't care about eating, so we called a flashlight to see the cave situation. Engaging in scientific research is very cautious in technology, after all, the cultivation of fungal grass should consider the weather, climate, humidity, temperature, etc. What is Pengyang's cave, can it work? I do not know.

Red Star News: What was the situation in Minning at that time?

Lin Zhanxi: Minning Village, like "Mountains and Seas", is a newly built immigrant village relocated from Xihaigu in the southern mountains of Ningxia to the Yellow River Beach District of Yinchuan, which is located in the Yellow River beach area at the southern foot of Ningxia's Helan Mountains, only more than 70 kilometers away from the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia. Our projects in Minning have received strong support from the governments of Ningxia and Fujian, providing good services in terms of capital, technology and market, and a large number of farmers have bid farewell to poverty through the development of fungal and grass production.

In 1997, Lin Zhanxi (first from the left) led the scientific research team to try to plant fungal grasses in Ningxia for the first time (file photo)

Red Star News: What kind of impact has "Mountains and Seas" brought to your life and work after it has been broadcast?

Lin Zhanxi: There is a great impetus for our fungal grass industry, and more and more people are paying attention.

Red Star News: What are your wishes for the new year?

Lin Zhanxi: I hope that with the care and support of leaders at all levels, I will work with the young people of the team to create a new discipline of "mycology" for our Chinese. Now fungal grass can not only cultivate fungi, but also sand control and sand fixation, some of our high-yield high-quality fungal grass new varieties have become an important role in ecological governance, I hope that fungal grass for the yellow river on both sides of the ecological safety barrier, the fungal grass industry into a strategic emerging industry, become the majority of developing countries of happiness grass.

Reporter's Note ——

The interview with Professor Lin Zhanxi was made for a long time, and his assistant was very sorry to explain the situation: since the broadcast of "Mountains and Seas", the professor's work has become busier, and the routine physical examination scheduled for early November can only be postponed.

A few days ago, Professor Lin Zhanxi also went to the hospital for hospital observation because of his physical condition, fortunately his body was not in serious trouble, "Nothing, that is, the organization cares about me, and must let me go to the hospital for examination." Speaking of his body, the old man said with a smile.

Shortly after the interview, Professor Lin's assistant sent reporters a conversation between the old man and his daughter, in which Professor Lin said to her daughter with a serious face: This matter, I have been thinking about since the 70s. Looking back at more than half a century of history, we are just doing a good job as an ordinary soldier and grasping the correct direction of progress in the face of the big tide, the big pattern, and the big history.

So what is this general direction? It is to do things for the country and serve the people. In this way, we have everyone's support.

Red Star News reporter Qiu Junfeng

Edited by Duan Xueying

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