Field Diary: The Beekeeper
Deep in the forests of Jizu Shan, a man convicted of illegal logging lives in isolation and raises bees that produce honey like nowhere else on earth.
September 15, 2021, Jizu Shan, Yunnan, China
I woke up this morning to capture some footage of the sunrise. The sky was still dark, but Da Ge and Da Sao had already started their day when I met them in the courtyard. I said a quick good morning and goodbye to them as I got on my motorcycle and drove halfway up the mountain to catch sunrise.
I stood on high outcropping with a panoramic view of Baicaolong Village while a rooster crowed in the village below. Some in the village had just finished breakfast and were beginning their trek up their mountain fields. Each went their own way--on foot, motorcycle or horseback. A girl was playing with her mobile phone while riding her horse, which I thought must be a lot safer than doing so while behind a wheel. It’s quite common for villagers here to play on their mobile phones…
Not far from the ridge where I was waiting for the sunrise lives a man I nicknamed “Big Big Brother" because he’s Da Ge’s (Elder Brother) elder brother. A month back we'd been caught in a sudden downpour while we collecting mushrooms higher up the mountain. Da Sao said we needed to find shelter and led me to Big Big Brother’s house. She led me down a weed-covered mountain path to a walnut orchard. Under the tree was a pile of dead tree trunks about one meter in length, sealed with mud at both ends—honeycombs. That was the first time I met him.
Big Big Brother lives on this solitary hillside where he raises bees alone. Da Sao told that he never feeds them sugar water, and the honey they produce is sweet but with a hint of bitterness. The flavor is a consequence of the bees suckling nectar from medicinal herbs.
Big Big Brother saw me drenched and shivering and offered me a glass of homemade herbal moonshine made specifically to drive away the cold. He likes to drink, and after two glasses he begins to tell stories.
Five years ago, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for cutting down some old trees on this hillside and planting walnut trees. After serving two years, he was sentenced to probation outside prison. After he got out, he went home and continued growing walnuts and red bayberries. He got interested in beekeeping and started raising sheep, chickens and geese. He had two dogs (one large, one small) to keep him company. Most of the time, he stayed alone, drinking and herding sheep.
In the years that have passed since his release, Big Big Brother has chosen to live as a hermit. Only a select few people have been on his property or witnessed his unique method of beekeeping.
Shandong-born painter, visual artist, and videographer who studied oil painting and copperplate engraving at Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. She lives in an ancient stone home in the mountains of southwest China.
