走向自己

"Sanjiao Fish is Coming" stares at the pureness thrown in the mountains and forests

Feb 17, 2023

I think everyone's life process and outcome are already predetermined, and you just try your best during this process. ——Zhu Youtian

Director Mai is here again

Director Mai's camera is always aimed at the unique appearance of Taiwan. "MIT Taiwan Chronicle" explores innumerable mountains and humanities with 906 episodes. "The Black Bear Is Coming" released in 2009 followed Huang Meixiu's team for 11 years, capturing the images of Taiwan's black bears in close contact; It took 17 years to search for the unique species of glacier relics among the mountain streams, and it took 17 years to finally polish it. Every time, I am amazed by the effort Director Mai put into the image project. I think it is the incomparable perseverance and vision brought to him in the process of getting along with the mountains, and it is also a gift for people who care about the land of Taiwan.

The Smiling Elf in the Mountains

The recognition and attention of salamander is not as good as other Taiwan-endemic species, such as Taiwan black bear, cherry hooked salmon, etc., which may be the reason why it has not yet appeared on banknotes. During the ice age, salamanders multiplied to the islands through land bridges connected to the Asian continent. As the climate warmed, the living space was gradually limited to high-altitude, humid mountain stream areas. The high mountains in Taiwan also became the southernmost distribution of salamanders in the world. boundary. It is known from the film that there are five species of salamanders that live in the high-altitude areas of the whole island, and there is not much gene exchange between them. The academic community has not yet concluded why this is the case. The highlight of the middle and late stage takes the audience to see the reproduction process of the salamander. Even for the researchers, this is a rare observation sample. How fortunate to be able to easily watch the embryos of the salamander grow inch by inch, and the body of the salamander is jumping around in the egg cluster. Witness the joy of life, and at the same time be gently reminded that the current progress of global warming and the pollution of mountains and forests by human footprints have had a direct impact on the ecology of Taiwan's salamanders.

In the image, the purity of people

The researchers who shuttled through the mountains and forests and bent over to turn over stones are important co-stars in this film. After watching the movie, what left a deep impression on my heart was not the strange smile of the salamander, but the figure of the salamander in the forest and looking down. This is a journey of inheritance, betting on the purest concentration of many researchers. Based on the investigations during the Japanese occupation period, Professor Lu Guangyang from the Department of Life Sciences of Taiwan Normal University returned to Taiwan to teach in 1977. He devoted himself to the ecological research of the island, and then selected amphibians as the main research axis, and led the research team to discover several new species. , making an outstanding contribution. The most touching thing is that Professor Lu, who is nearly 80 years old, still goes up the mountain with his team, up the stream, bending over and turning stones, like an unshakable spiritual pillar.

In 2008, Dr. Lai Junxiang, who took over the mantle of Prof. Lu's research on salamander, jointly published two new species of salamander, starting the systematic research on salamander in Taiwan. Through the lens, I realized that the academic circles are still trying to piece together an understanding of the Taiwanese salamander. In June 2016, Dr. Lai, together with his research team and MIT photography team, climbed Qilai North Peak, in order to cross the central mountain range, and confirmed that there were also footprints of salamander on the east side of the island; It's in the mountains. In the first half of the dialogue between the researchers, there was already a hint of mourning. It was not until the camera turned from the salamander to the researchers in the second half that I knew where the nostalgia came from.

The soul who led the research is gone, and the inheritor is holding on to the will he handed over, which is gratifying and distressing at the same time. Professor Zhu Youtian of the Department of Animal Science and Technology at National Taiwan University specializes in the study of sambars that move in the mountains. By chance, he got on line with Dr. Lai and decided to use the team's ability to participate in the research project of salamanders. Two months after the mountain disaster, Professor Zhu led the research team up the mountain again, followed the same route, and confirmed that there were indeed traces of salamanders on the east side of Taiwan, fulfilling Dr. Lai's wish. So far, Professor Zhu has continued to advance the research frontier of salamander, and established the first 3D micro-computed tomography skeleton imaging of salamander, which has become an exquisite animation that welcomes the audience at the beginning of the film, and is expected to create a new classification model of salamander based on this. During the period, the camera captured the sadness and nostalgia of Dr. Lai after his departure, while the research partners were still walking on the road of his long-term gaze.

In addition to Professor Lu, Dr. Lai, and Professor Zhu, the assistants who are good at traveling through the mountains and forests, the researcher of the Forestry Bureau who stared at the egg clusters with glowing eyes, the station staff who swallowed Alishan sanjiao fish, and several camera positions The members of the MIT Taiwan Chronicle and the mountain guides who were briefly introduced, each figure in the film is cherished. I can't help but feel that it's great that these life stories intertwined with salamanders can be recorded.

The perfect combination of ecological records and professional spirit

In addition to the story of the salamander fish, Director Mai did not forget to bring the beautiful scenery of the mountains to the audience, especially the scene of heavy snow falling and snow everywhere at the beginning, which makes people unbelievable that such scenery exists on Taiwan Island, combined with the small and delicate salamander fish in it , It really makes people feel like meeting a mountain elf. It is not easy to photograph five kinds of salamanders. After stepping through South Lake, Yushan, Snow Mountain National Park and other areas again and again, it is impossible to predict whether you will be able to get something every time you set off, and you have to face the challenges of weather changes. There are so many perfect scenes of salamanders in the film, behind which is accumulation and persistence.

In an in-depth interview with the Good Life Bookstore, Director Mai mentioned that he consciously combined the characters into the film, because most people are not familiar with the species of salamander, so they will not have much resonance; Combined together, using the ability of mutual induction between people, the emotions of the characters in the film can create a kind of empathy, which can shorten the distance between the documentary and the audience. I really admire Director Mai's deliberation in narrative. He is not trying to give the audience hard knowledge of ecology, but skillfully uses human nature to accurately convey his cherished workmanship while understanding the uniqueness of salamanders.

At the end of watching the movie, accompanied by the brisk theme song "Morni" composed by Chen Sheng, I stared hard at the list of all the ending staff and cooperating units, and thanked them one by one for their contribution to this film. Taiwan's unique species, and the people who gave their lives and passions for it.