A man without a name
Reclusive
It's real, but it's illusory
That's the protagonist we have today
In 2006, director Wang Bing worked on the preparation of the feature film "Jiabiangou" in the mountainous areas where Hebei and Inner Mongolia meet. In the interval between work, Wang Bing strolled alone in the nearby courtyard, on the one hand, he was distracted, on the other hand, he was looking for scenes for the drama film. As he walked to a wasteland beside the highway, a hunched figure drew his attention to it. Only to see a pair of dark and slightly weak hands, crawling out of the hole blocked by rags. Then a ragged man appeared outside the cave.
When the figure walked away, Wang Bing curiously walked to the mouth of the cave and looked inward, only to see that although the cave was dark and dirty, it was full of daily necessities, and it seemed that this person had lived here for a long time. At that time, he was interested, and Wang Bing caught up with this person and asked for his name, and the other party said, "I don't have a name." Then he continued to carry the broken pocket on his back. Wang Bing saw that the other party did not want to have too much verbal communication with him, so he did not ask about the other party's past. However, driven by curiosity, Wang Bing still followed the "Nameless" all the way to see what he was going to do.
This walk was tens of miles, and the "nameless man" came to another wasteland, filled a sack of black soil, turned his head and walked back. Pockets weighing tens of kilograms pressed his body lower. In order not to let the sack slip off his back, the "Nameless" held a piece of rope that tied the sack tightly in his mouth. In this way, Wang Bing followed the "Nameless" back to the other party's "residence", which was the cave he drilled out. As soon as he reached the mouth of the cave, the "Nameless" collapsed to the ground.
The sack also fell heavily to the side, but he quickly got up again, poured the black soil in the bag on the ground, and stepped on the soil little by little, so that the seeds of the crops could be thickened. It can be seen that the "Nameless" has a wealth of farming experience. When the black soil is stepped on and the seeds are sown, the sun has risen. The "nameless man" left the "dwelling" again, went to the vicinity to pick up the branches, slowly folded them together, and put them into another hole. These branches were the fuel he used to make a fire.
When all this is done, the morning work will come to an end. The "Nameless" burrowed back into the hole to rest, and when he went in, he blocked a sack of hay at the entrance of the hole. This can block the cold wind that is pouring in from the mouth of the cave.
Wang Bing saw that the "nameless person" had returned home, and it was inconvenient for him to follow up. Turning around to look around the cave, you can clearly see many artificially reclaimed wastelands, some of which have grown seedlings. This "nameless person" aroused Wang Bing's great interest, he had seen too many sounds and horses, and he had also seen too much golden splendor, and he did not understand what it was that made a person live in a cave every day, get up and reclaim the wasteland, keep fertilizing and planting, keep working, year after year, day after day.
After that, as long as Wang Bing had time, he would bring a video camera to this side of the wasteland, and the "nameless person" would slowly work, and he would shoot slowly next to him. Because Wang Bing himself has affairs, he sometimes shoots once every two or three months, sometimes once every six months, so he shoots some materials one after another, and in 2009, he cut these materials into a 92-minute film, the title of which is "The Unknown One". There is no dialogue in the whole film, only the labor and voice of the "Unknown Man".
After a long time, Wang Bing slowly and some simple communication with this "nameless person" was also carried out. Wang Bing once asked the "nameless": "Do you need money?" I can give you some. But the other party happily refused. When asked what is needed, the needs of the "nameless" are also extremely simple, some cigarettes, lighters, and that's all.
Every time Wang Bing appeared, he would be pleasantly surprised to find something, such as the sorghum planted by the "Nameless" growing taller, and he reclaimed new cultivated land. With the passage of time, Wang Bing also gained the trust of the other party, and he had the honor to walk into the "residence" of the "Nameless" to shoot.
The space in the cave was not as big as it seemed from the outside, and when Wang Bing entered, the "Nameless" was preparing to make a fire to cook. The stove was a small pit dug on the ground, and when the dry branches were ignited, the smoke choked so much that both people could not open their eyes, and a "refreshing" smell of smoke went straight into Wang Bing's nose. The "Nameless" took out a broken iron pot and put it on the fire, and he picked up a 12-liter mineral water bottle from the side, probably because it had been used for too long, the bottle body had lost its plastic transparency, the label was gone, and the cap could not see the color. He poured the water into the pot, waited until it boiled, and threw the noodles into the pot. After that, it was time to wait for the noodles to be cooked, and while the noodles were being cooked, the "Unknown" began to prepare the dish, he did not have a kitchen knife, the only kitchen utensil was a rusty pair of scissors, only to see him use scissors to cut the cabbage open and put it aside for later. When the noodles were cooked, he fished them out into a cracked warm pot lid, poured the cabbage into the pot, and waited until the cabbage was soft and the meal was complete. There was not a drop of oil or salt the whole time. Two folded small branches are chopsticks, broken warm pot lid is the bowl, although it is coarse tea and light rice, but the "nameless" still eat gobble and relish.
Filling his stomach, the "nameless" rolled himself a cigarette, leaned on the slope of the earth in the cave, savored it carefully, and was stunned. In Wang Bing's eyes, at this moment, he was already empty of all four.
After that, day after day, every time the "nameless" went out, he would use the broken plastic sheet he had picked up to block the opening of the cave tightly, and then carry the broken mineral water bucket out to work. Plough the ground with a shovel, get tired and slowly draw a bucket of water from the muddy river not far from the road, pick some of your own crops from the field, and cook on the fire when you get home.
Whenever it rained, the "nameless" would put on a rag and stand in the field in a daze, his eyes full of anxiety.
Until the rain clears, the sky hangs a rainbow. The "Nameless" looked at the crops he had worked so hard to plant and did not fall because of the heavy rain, and he walked back to his residence satisfactorily, and at this moment, his steps were slightly relaxed.
Back at home, he painstakingly cut the newly picked melon into small pieces with scissors, put it in an iron pot, and then took a piece of pickle lump from the pot next to him, pressed the pickle into the pot, and as the water temperature rose, the aroma was full of holes.
After eating and drinking, the "Nameless Man" drilled deeper into the cave, and Wang Bing found that there was a hole in the cave, leading to a deeper hole, and a pile of cotton wool in the cave was his bedroom. The "Nameless" gradually fell asleep in the flickering light of the fire.
When Wang Bing exited the cave, he found that the residence of the "Nameless" was not as dirty as he thought, but was in an orderly manner, and in several large and small earth caves nearby, there were special kitchens, warehouses for the other party's miscellaneous goods, bedrooms, and so on. At this moment, Wang Bing's view of him changed again.
Since the "nameless" does not want money and food, let him buy some tools to cultivate land or live. So Wang Bing bought shovels, hoes, axes, and cold-proof clothes, and when he went out, they were all stacked at the entrance of the cave. But when Wang Bing returned again, he found that there was nothing left, but the "nameless person" had not yet returned. Although this was a small matter, clothes and tools were not valuable, but it still made Wang Bing angry, at this moment, he suddenly did not understand, he did not understand what the real normal social order should look like, but why would someone take away other people's things? He was a little confused at this moment, he didn't know who was richer than the "nameless" and the people who took things.
On the way back, Wang Bing thought about the life of the "nameless" over and over again in his mind, he was far away from the crowd, he would not be surrounded by people, he survived and lived on his own. It doesn't matter what he used to look like, but he lives his life his way now.
Wang Bing filmed the "Nameless Man" for eight years, and during these eight years, if Wang Bing went alone, they could still have some simple communication, and if there was an outsider, he would never pay attention to that outsider. Wang Bing suddenly felt that when he had nothing, he was actually the same as the "nameless person". Although he was poor in the eyes of the world, this life did not make him lose the dignity of life. Although he had read countless people, only when he was with the "nameless person" would Wang Bing feel relaxed, unprecedented relaxation, because he did not have any wariness or hostility towards himself. Although most of the time, it is Wang Bing shooting, the "nameless" is working, the two do not have any excessive communication, but still make Wang Bing feel very relaxed.
In 2009, the film was officially produced. Many people have asked Wang Bing, who is this "nameless person"? What happened to him? Even speculation is overwhelming. Wang Bing never answered positively.
Until a few years later, a friend mentioned the "nameless" again, Wang Bing looked in the direction of his first acquaintance with the "nameless", and the various pictures at that time kept flashing in his mind. When he drew his gaze back, he lowered his head as if to say to himself:
"He's a tramp, right?" No, he has his own dwelling and is well organized; is he a beggar? Nor was it, he never asked me for anything, nor did he have any interest in what I could offer; the cropper? It doesn't seem to be either. Maybe he's a hermit..."
When I got here, I couldn't help but think of Yu Hua's "Alive", the life of this "nameless man" seems to be just to survive, he eats muddy river water, eats tasteless meals, just fills the hunger; sleepy rest in the cave, there is no sadness and joy on his face. The only slightest desire is just glad that nature has not been inseparable from itself. His life was filled with numbness and despair.
But when you taste it, it seems that there is a little bit of life that is fleeting. We think of the "nameless" as pathetic and numb, simply because we judge from a secular point of view. We pity him for being lonely, but "the son is not a fish, and the joy of knowing the fish" may be enjoying this "loneliness".
Thinking about it, do the "nameless" really live harder than we do? Although the material is simple, it can be relaxed mentally; although it is not delicious, it is enough to be full; the bed is not comfortable, and it is enough to rest. Eat and drink enough, no longer worry, live in isolation, more is pure, less is trouble.
In fact, the essence of unhappiness is that it is the unfulfilled desire that produces anxiety and pain. The more material is abundant, the more disturbances there are. Today's car loans, mortgages, overtime, socializing, luxury consumption, which one does not make us a slave to desire?
In fact, people are diverse, so life is also diverse, their own lives do not need others to control and comment, as long as they are happy. And the "nameless" is just finding his own island in the sea of people.
Peach Blossom Wood in Peach Blossom An, Peach Blossom An in Peach Blossom Fairy.
Peach blossom immortals plant peach trees, and then pick peach blossoms for wine money.
When the wine wakes up, he only comes to sit before the flower, and when he is drunk, he comes to sleep in the flower.
Half awake and half drunk day after day, flowers fall and blossom year after year.
May the old dead flower wine room, do not want to bow in front of the carriage.
The car dust horse is full of nobles, and the wine cups are poor and cheap.
If the rich are compared to the poor, one is on the flat earth and the other is in the heavens.
If he compares the wine to the cart, he will drive me to idleness.
People laugh at me for being crazy, and I laugh at people who can't see through it.
There is no tomb of Wuling Haojie, no flowers and no wine hoes to make fields.