与植物世民为伴:从植物人文倡议到植南门市部

Be Kin With the Plant Inhabitant:From Plant Humanities Initiative to Plant South Salesroom

植物人文研究起源于环境人文领域。得益于美国敦巴顿橡树园研究图书馆于2018年设立的一项倡议,植物人文研究首次作为一个跨学科领域进入大众视野。同为有机生命体,植物身上兼具生物和文化属性,具有重要的社会文化意义。本文回顾了笔者在2020年植物人文暑期项目中邂逅植物人文研究、开展植物叙事研究,并回到中国联合发起“植南门市部”行动团队来推广“以植物为重”的理念的经历。为摒弃根深蒂固的植物盲症、开启科学与人文研究之间的潜在对话,该团队将植物人文研究本地化,并提出了更符合中文语境的“植物世民”一词。迄今为止,植南门市部以研究为基础,结合文化内容创作和传播,已经在中国多个城市的本地文化空间开展了形式多样的公众参与实践活动:通过“植物行走”带领参与者在城市中漫游,对植物进行观察,并辅以植物人文相关的讲解与讨论;以击鼓传花的形式进行“植物访谈”,收集并分享大家在日常生活中和植物之间的故事;与本地文化空间合作,设立流动的“本地植物邮局”,邀请人们写下自己的植物故事,并进行社交媒体和线下展览的分享;还以“植物小报”的形式发表植物人文研究成果。参与者们开始通过这些活动欣赏植物的“原貌”,并逐渐建立与“植物世民”的伙伴关系。与此同时,公众的参与反馈和植物视角下的研究洞察也极大地丰富了现有的植物人文研究。

Emerging from the discourse of environmental humanities,plant humanities debuted at Dumbarton Oaks in 2018 as an interdisciplinary field.As living species,plants possess both biological and cultural attributes,holding unparalleled socio-cultural significance.This article recollects the author’s journey of encountering plant humanities in the 2020 Plant Humanities Summer Program,and co-initiating an action group in China,Plant South Salesroom,to promote the burgeoning plant-matters idea among wider audience.Plant South Salesroom raised the phrase“Zhiwu Shimin”(植物世民,Plant Inhabitant)to get rid of the ingrained plant blindness and open potential dialogues between scientific and humanities studies.It makes the modified research framework of plant humanities more accessible.Rooted in the plant humanities studies,Plant South Salesroom has conducted diverse public-engaged practices at local cultural space,combined with culture-oriented creation and spread.The activities of Plant Walk,Plant Life Interview,Local Plant Post,and Plant Tabloid facilitate the participants start to appreciate plants in the original form and be kin with them.Reciprocally,the feedback received during the practices and the insights captured under the perspective of plants also enriched the existing plant humanities studies.