Dao, law, nature, man and nature

 　　There are four big things in the realm, and people live in one of them. People follow the earth, the earth follows the sky, the heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows the nature.

　　——The proposition of "Natural Ecology" in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching

　　has been a topic that has attracted the attention of all mankind since the 20th century. The global ecological environment crisis broke out, and mankind found itself in an unprecedented predicament of survival. More and more people began to be keen on nature. The return of human beings, and the popularization of ethical care to life outside of human beings, have a new understanding of their own value and status in nature. The 2009 Copenhagen World Climate Change Conference made the "ecological" proposition become the global focus again. The panic of "2012" is the worry of all mankind over the punishment of nature, and the fantasy of "Avatar" is our desire to return to our lost homeland. Natural ecological documentaries, which have always carried the mission of "carrying ecology with images", have been popular around the world since the 1970s: British BBC, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, and Disney Nature are all brand channels of ecological documentaries. In the field of Western ecological documentaries, French ecological documentaries have an irreplaceable position as a model of high-end production. "Microcosm", "Migrating Black", "Emperor Penguin Diary" and "White Planet" are all landmark works of ecological documentaries. The most praiseworthy thing about the French eco-documentary is that it transcends the simple natural scenery and ecological science, but integrates the romantic perspective of humanism and benevolence of heaven and earth. Modern media broadcast the compassion of ancient Eastern philosophy and become the common wealth of all mankind.

　　

　　1. The Taoist thought

　　

　　with "nature" and "inaction" as the core is regarded by contemporary Western scholars as an important source of ideas for contemporary ecological ethics, which contains deep ecological concepts. At the level of nature view, Taoism views all things in nature in a macroscopic way of thinking, and regards all things in nature as an organic and harmonious whole. Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" said: "There are four major domains, and people live in one of them. People follow the earth, the earth follows the sky, the heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows the nature." Emphasizing the relationship between people and nature in a macroscopic way of thinking Harmony and unity, integrating nature and man into one, treating nature and man as an organic and unified whole, and opposing the opposition between man and nature. It is believed that only by following and conforming to nature can we achieve harmony and unity with nature.

　　A landmark in the field of French eco-documentary is Jacques Behan's "Heaven, Earth and Man" trilogy - "Micro World", "Migrant Wu" and "Himalaya". From the tiny world of insects underground, to the legend of the migration of Wuwu in the air, to the human tribes at the foot of the snow-capped mountains, all of them radiate the power and beauty of life.

　　"Microcosm" (1994) is a documentary focusing on the insect world, which took fifteen years of research and planning, two years of filming equipment design, and three years of actual shooting. It was released in 1994 and won the 49th Cannes Film Festival Technology Award, the 23rd Caesar Film Festival Best Production, Photography, Sound, Music, Editing five awards. The film records a day in the field from dawn to night in the insect world. From morning to night, in a corner where we don't pay attention, in another time domain, a group of small creatures experience harvest, danger, love, competition, and killing. The 73-minute film has no storyline, no subtitles, and no narration, except for a short vocal narration at the beginning of the film: "Dawn, in a meadow somewhere, here lies a world of insects...for insects , the smallest stone can become a mountain, and the smallest puddle is as vast as an ocean. Here, time flows in another way: an hour is a day; a day is a season; a season is a life. In order to understand the world, we You should learn to listen to their murmurs quietly." This is the only human voice in the film, expressing the producer's inner voice, without words, as long as you feel the peace and beauty of these tiny lives with your heart. Ants, caterpillars, snails, praying mantises, bees, etc., the most insignificant life on earth, a world under the feet of human beings, using beautiful pictures and realistic foley to magnify a tiny world of insects on the screen, exquisite natural The spectacle is jaw-dropping. The ants tirelessly harvest food, diligently hoard rations to maintain food and clothing, and spend their short life down-to-earth to make a living. Tiny snails tell each other the sweetness of love in the most insignificant corner of the universe, and their lingering depth is comparable to human love. ; The dung beetle persistently pushes the dung ball up the slope, and again and again after the failure of the previous efforts, it makes a comeback, repeating itself like a Sisyphus-style calm and persistent...

　　"Migrating Birds" is a documentary about migratory birds created by the original crew of "Micro World" in three years. It is a story about commitment. Immediately after birth, migratory birds can accurately fly thousands of kilometers and arrive at the mainland where they spend the winter safely. The meaning of their existence is to fly, follow the seasonal arrangements, follow the clocks and conventions inherited from ancient times, and go back and forth on the route that fulfills the promise year after year. From the cold Antarctic to the hot desert, from the deep valley to the altitude of 10,000 meters, use your life to shock your dreams. The incredible shooting angle in the film seems to give the viewer wings of dreams, spreading their wings together with the migrating birds, rising together, and soaring in the blue sky together. Travel with migrating birds through lakes, fields, swamps, seas, over canyons, snow-capped mountains, cities, farms, and enjoy picturesque natural beauty. Listen to the low-pitched chirping of your companions with migratory birds, listen to the sound of wings proudly cutting through the air, feel the tiny feathers flashing in the wind; fly through spring, summer, autumn and winter with migratory birds, and experience the long promise Migration journey. In peaceful flight, whether swans, wild ducks, or larks have incredible grace and dignity.

　　Contemporary French eco-documentaries do not simply copy animal life, but explore deeper truths, reveal the connotations hidden by the naked eye, revive people's withered feelings in real life, and let the audience find that they are ignored in their daily knowledge. The power and beauty of animals, and find new meanings from animals, through them, human beings also have an additional window to examine themselves. Behind these gorgeous images, people and animals, the essence of nature, and the benevolence of heaven and earth are interwoven into a philosophical proposition about life itself.

　　

　　two

　　

　　The greatest thing about French eco-documentary is that it goes beyond the traditional "anthropocentric" ecological perspective, abandons the condescending look down, pity or analysis, and regards animals as a life existence equal to human beings, sharing the earth's grace with human beings This is an important ecological view in the ancient Chinese Taoist ecological philosophy. Zhuangzi believes: "All things are seeds, and they have different shapes and forms. The beginning and death are like a ring, and there is no such thing as a relationship. It is called the balance of the heavens. Forms alternate with each other, which is natural equality. Zhuangzi further pointed out: "From the perspective of Taoism, nothing is noble or cheap" ("Zhuangzi: Autumn Water") "All things are the same, which is short and which is long" ("Zhuangzi: Autumn Water"). Compared with other things, human beings have no special features of their own, and there is no distinction between human beings and all things. This is an egalitarian ecological value. It is believed that human beings and all things in nature are interdependent and equal in the ecosystem, and the life of human beings and the destiny of nature are integrated, and they do not put human beings above all things in nature.

　　The animals under the lens of the French eco-documentary are neither scientific miracles nor new favorites in the breeding house. They are a group of natural living creatures that have not been alienated, no circus-style tricks, no anthropomorphic performances, and they are not for human beings. However, they exist, like human beings, are a link in the natural biological chain, with extremely beautiful postures and independent ways of living. Peter Singer, the leader of the contemporary animal liberation movement, put it this way: "We don't need to 'love' animals. All we want is to want humans to see animals as sentient beings independent of humans." The story of animals, who live on this planet year after year in parallel with humans, where everything is the work of its creator. The grass grows and the warbler flies, the tiger roars and the apes croak. The traces of life are everywhere. Life is not an empty concept, but fills the existence of every individual. It is not only human beings who have the power and beauty of life. Life is worth scrutinizing, and each has its own secrets and dreams.

　　When we look at these animals that have coexisted with us for thousands of years with such a mood, we find that it is a world that is different from our common daily understanding. They are more beautiful, smart, and strong than human imagination. A purer, cleaner world. Another French Ecology in 2005

The documentary masterpiece "Emperor Penguin Diary" amazes the world. A group of clumsy emperor penguins are struggling to migrate, get married, and reproduce in the frozen continent of Antarctica. They spend their whole lives in this wind and snow to complete their journey of life extension. The record of the style outlines the arduousness of the situation and the cruelty of fate. The pureness after removing the sidelines and oblique branches can directly hit people's hearts. The seemingly simple insistence on life requires unimaginable tenacity and courage. The firmness and calmness in this desperate situation is not even inferior to that of human beings. "A group of penguins living on the edge of the world, it has all the elements of a great drama - love, life and death," said director Luc Jaguer. The animals themselves are a legend of life that requires no human processing.

　　In a morbid natural environment, a healthy human culture cannot exist, and the spiritual paradise of human beings is gradually lost. At this time, human beings turn their attention to natural creatures again, and find that they still carry the lost spirit of human beings. Love and tenacity from the essence of life contain the good qualities of family, friendship, love and many other human dispositions. They retain what we have little or almost forgotten, and all that human beings have lost. But the answer is found in animals. When human beings face and appreciate the world with respect, it also means a kind of self-discovery of human beings. Humans have truly admitted here that they are actually only a part of nature.

　　

　　three

　　

　　Compared with the high-end production of ecological documentaries in the West, ecological documentaries in my country are still in their infancy. The production of ecological documentaries in China is dominated by large-scale TV documentaries. In the early days, due to the limitation of shooting costs, the methods imported from abroad were mostly used. ”, “Toshiba Animal Park”, “Man and Nature”, to “Animal Planet”, “Magic Earth”, “Wild Weekend” and “Earth Stories”, these programs have cultivated a large number of loyal audiences for ecological documentaries. In recent years, many documentary columns reflecting environmental issues have emerged on CCTV and local TV stations in various provinces, such as "Man and Nature", "Green Space", "Exploration and Discovery", "Animal World", "Earth Story", "Traveling in China", "Classic Humanities" Geography, etc., in which the content of the programs reflecting environmental issues are all closely related to the current social status. With the introduction of ecological issues into the public eye, ecological communication has also been raised to an important height. Coupled with the growth of economic strength, China's ecological documentaries have developed rapidly in recent years. The shooting of Chinese ecological documentaries has gained more and more people's recognition and support. "Song of the Forest" (2007), "Water Questions" (2008), "Drinking from the Same River" (2008), etc., are all ecological documentaries that took several years to shoot, are rich in humanistic atmosphere, and are rich in ecological beauty and historical depth.

　　The theme selection of Chinese ecological TV documentaries is different from that of French ecological documentaries. More grand natural landscapes are selected, such as the Yangtze River Basin or large-scale virgin forests. relationships, rather than just the way of life of a particular species or the records of changes in a particular natural area. The selection of themes generally tends to represent environmental problems across the country, and more representative large-scale areas are selected. For example, "Song of the Forest" systematically records China's forest territory, reflecting the important role and contribution of forests in building ecological civilization, maintaining ecological security, and slowing global warming. In terms of narrative mode, Chinese ecological documentaries often use story-based series connection, and use narrative rhetoric to make scientific ecological documentaries with a humanistic flavor. From the point of view that ancient Chinese ecological philosophy has become an important reference for Western modern ecological ethics, in China, which is rich in ecological philosophy and rich in natural ecology, the development prospects of ecological documentaries are very broad.

　　Some people say that the aesthetic purpose of documentaries is to “provide a kind of observation, by looking at each other and comparing itself. If literature is a dream, a daydream, then documentary is a mirror, a mirror of human reality; from the mirror , we understand the situation and state of human beings themselves.