Before setting out on his band’s first national tour, before recording another album and before appearing on a major television network, Ba Nong had one task: finishing the summer harvest.

在乐队开启首次全国巡演行程、录制下一张专辑、在一家主要的电视台表演之前，岜农有一件事情要先完成：完成夏收。

Standing in a field edged by rolling hills, two days before the first tour date in late September, Ba Nong, the frontman of the Chinese band Varihnaz, looked over the yellowed remnants of the rice stalks he had spent the past few months tending.

今年9月下旬的第一次巡演开始的两天前，中国乐队瓦依那的主唱岜农站在连绵起伏的丘陵环绕下的田头，看着收割后剩下的黄色稻秆，过去几个月里，他一直在田间辛勤劳作。

“The land gets to rest, and I get to go play,” he said.

“让土也休息一下，我也玩一下，”他说。

Planning around the harvest may be an unconventional way to manage an ascendant music career, but Varihnaz is an unconventional band.

对一支越来越受欢迎的乐队来说，围绕收割时间来安排表演日程也许是非常规的管理方式，但瓦依那是一支非常规的乐队。

For its members — two farmers and a former bricklayer from rural Guangxi in southwestern China — the land and their music are inseparable. Rather than the usual staples of love and longing, their lyrics dwell on pesticides and poultry rearing.

瓦依那的成员是来自中国广西省的两个农民，以及一个当过泥瓦匠的人。对他们来说，土地和他们的音乐密不可分。他们的歌词描绘的不是常见的爱情和渴望，而是杀虫剂和家禽饲养。

Varihnaz means “fields filled with fragrant rice flowers,” in the language of Guangxi’s Zhuang ethnic minority. To fans, the group offers a refreshing break from China’s hyper-commercialized popular entertainers, with music about a simpler, slower way of life, an alternative to the intense competition of modern Chinese life.

瓦依那在广西壮族语言中的意思是“稻花飘香的田野”。不同于中国过度商业化的流行艺人，这支乐队为粉丝们带来了一种令人耳目一新的东西，他们的音乐传达了一种更简单、更缓慢的生活方式，是中国现代生活激烈竞争的另一种选择。

Ba Nong hopes his music helps people consider shrugging off mainstream expectations themselves. “The more tolerant and developed a society is, the more diverse its lifestyles should be, too,” said the musician, who is 44.

岜农希望他的音乐能帮助人们思考那些超出主流期望的选择。“我觉得社会越宽容越发达，它的生活方式就应该是多样的，”这名现年44岁的音乐人说道。

在乐队开始全国巡演的几天前，岜农在自家地里收割豆子。他在巡演的同时顺便销售家里种植的大米。

Born Wei Jiayuan, Ba Nong adopted his name early in his career; it means farmer from the karst mountains, a reference to his home region. He and his bandmates’ commitment to their lifestyle, even at the cost of conventional success, has been a guiding principle since they started attracting national attention last year, on a reality music competition, “The Big Band.”

岜农本名叫韦家园，在音乐生涯的早期开始使用这个艺名，意思是来自喀斯特山区的农民，喀斯特山区指的是他的家乡。自从去年他们在真人秀音乐比赛《乐队的夏天》上引起全国关注以来，他和他的乐队成员们一直坚持着自己的生活方式，即使代价是牺牲世俗意义上的成功，这是他们的指导原则。

When asked on the show what would happen if they advanced to the final rounds that September — which would interfere with the harvest — Ba Nong replied: “Then we’ll try not to get to September.”

当在节目上被问及如果他们能晋级到去年9月的决赛的话，会发生什么时——那会与收割的时间有矛盾——岜农回答说：“争取不要到9月。”

Before appearing on “The Big Band,” Ba Nong had been making music with a rotating cast of friends under the name Varihnaz for almost 20 years, as a hobby. The group played for crowds of 30 or 40 people and had little desire for more.

在上《乐队的夏天》节目之前，作为一种爱好，岜农已经与一群不固定的朋友以瓦依那的名字创作音乐近20年了。他们的乐队曾为30或40人表演，而且几乎没有扩大听众的欲望。

But when the reality show, which has often highlighted less mainstream musicians, approached him, he readily agreed.

但当那个真人秀节目找到他时，他欣然同意了。该节目经常关注不那么主流的艺人。

“It was the peak of the pandemic, there were all kinds of quarantines, and there was also the Russia-Ukraine war,” he recalled during an interview in Guangxi, while loading the last of his harvest into a winnowing machine. “Everything felt very divided and tense.”

“那时候是疫情最高端，各种隔离，还包括什么俄乌战争也都是，”他在广西接受采访时回忆道，同时他一边将最后的收成装进扬谷机。“呈现的都是一种分裂和紧张。”

岜农正在准备自家农场的有机大米。

He saw an opportunity to share a message of peaceful coexistence, inspired by natural farming techniques, which eschew chemicals.

他看到了一个分享和平共处信息的机会，灵感来自避免使用化肥的自然耕作技术。

“When we went on, I was explaining to everyone about organic rice farming,” he said, laughing. “I was overeager.”

“所以上去的时候，我还跟大家都在说什么有机种稻什么的，”他笑着说。“太过于想分享那个东西。”

The broadcast “didn’t show much of that,” he said.

后来播出的节目“也不会放太多”，他说。

Yet the band members — who by that point consisted of Ba Nong; Shi Ba, the other farmer; and the bricklayer, Lu Min — also made clear that they were not rejecting modern life, but adapting it. They talked onstage about breaking up harvest days with red wine. Often described as folk music but frequently crossing into rock or blues, their songs are as likely to feature electric guitars as a whistle made of fresh-picked leaves.

但乐队成员（除了岜农，还有艺名“十八”的农民，以及当过泥瓦工的路民）也明确表示，他们不是在拒绝现代生活，而是在适应现代生活。他们在台上讲收获季节忙里偷闲喝红酒的故事。虽然他们的歌通常被描述为民间音乐，但经常带有摇滚或布鲁斯的风格，他们的乐器既包括电吉他，也包括新摘来的树叶用作哨子。

岜农在瓦依那乐队全国巡演的首场演出中用树叶演奏音乐。

Ba Nong was born in rural northwestern Guangxi. At the time, China’s economy was booming, and like so many in his generation, he dreamed of moving to a city.

岜农出生于广西西北部的农村。在中国经济蓬勃发展的时候，他和许多同代人一样，梦想着搬到城市去。

He eventually found work as a graphic designer in Guangzhou, the megacity near Hong Kong. On the side, he taught himself guitar.

他最终在广州找到了一份平面设计师的工作，广州距离香港不远。在业余时间，他自学了吉他。

He played love songs at first. But then friends introduced him to pirated CDs of African folk songs, and to Taiwanese Indigenous musicians who infused traditional sounds with contemporary influences. He wondered why Chinese music seemed to be separated into only two distinct genres — either pop, or folk music like the kind he’d grown up with, which was dismissed as uncultured.

起初，他弹的都是情歌。但后来，朋友给他听了非洲民歌盗版CD，还给他介绍了将传统音乐与当代影响融合在一起的台湾原住民音乐家。他很好奇：为什么中国音乐似乎只分为两种不同的流派——要么是流行音乐，要么是他成长过程中听过的民歌，而后者被认为品味不高。

岜农手持一把他回到广西农村老家后学习的传统乐器。他在广州居住期间自学了吉他。

His song “Mama’s Indigo Blues” drew on American blues and Zhuang mountain songs, which also often served as laments. Another song, “A Mei Wants to Be a City Girl,” was folk “but expressed the mood of modern people,” he said.

他的歌曲《妈妈的靛蓝Blues》借鉴了美国蓝调和壮族山歌，后者也经常被用作哀歌。另一首歌《阿妹想做城里人》是民谣，“但表达了现代人的情绪”，他说。

At the same time, he was growing disaffected by his work designing insurance ads. He read “The Half Farmer, Half X Lifestyle,” a book by a Japanese environmentalist about getting by through sustainable agriculture mixed with passion projects. In 2012, he moved home.

与此同时，他对自己设计保险广告的工作越来越不满。他读了《半农半X研究所》，这是一个日本环保主义者写的书，讲述了如何通过可持续农业和兴趣项目来生存。2012年，他搬回了老家。

The change was lonely at first. Most young people were in the cities working, so Ba Nong played with village children. Other villagers couldn’t teach him to farm, because they all used pesticides.

起初，这种改变是孤独的。大多数年轻人都在城里打工，所以岜农只能和村里的孩子一起玩耍。其他村民没法教他种地，因为他们都用农药。

岜农在家乡。搬回农村后，他一开始会感到孤独，因为该地区的大多数年轻人都去城里打工了。

But he connected with other organic farming aficionados online.

但他在网上与其他有机农业爱好者建立了联系。

He also found new hobbies. Cognizant that his hometown traditions were endangered, he visited local museums to study traditional instruments. He collected nursery rhymes in the Zhuang language, which has faded as schools push standardized Mandarin, and published a book of his lyrics and poems.

他还找到了新的爱好。意识到家乡的传统正受到威胁，他参观了当地博物馆，研究传统乐器。他收集壮语童谣，这种语言随着学校推行标准化普通话而逐渐消失，他还出版了一本歌词和诗歌集。

“Some people told me that my coming back was like retreating from the world,” he said. “I said no, after coming back, I am more useful.”

“有些人跟我说，我回家是有点隐居避世，”他说。“我说没有，我回来发挥的作用更大。”

岜农不能指望其他村民教他耕作，因为他们都使用农药。

During an event promoting his book in a nearby city, Ba Nong met Shi Ba, who after graduating from a top university chose an itinerant lifestyle, raising pigs, bartending and busking. Shi Ba introduced him to Lu Min, who had left school at 13 and learned to play guitar while working in factories.

在附近城市举行的一次图书推广活动上，岜农遇到了十八。从一所顶尖大学毕业后，十八选择了流动的生活方式，养猪、做酒保和街头卖艺。十八将他介绍给了路民。路民13岁就辍学了，在工厂打工时学会了弹吉他。

Together, they reconstituted Varihnaz, which had gone dormant as Ba Nong pursued other projects.

他们一起重组了瓦依那乐队，由于岜农追求其他项目，该乐队一度处于停歇状态。

“Big Dream,” a song written by Shi Ba, cemented Varihnaz’s popularity on “The Big Band.” The lyrics span a migrant worker’s life, from childhood to old age, and narrate his exhaustion trying to make a living.

十八创作的歌曲《大梦》巩固了瓦依那乐队在《乐队的夏天》中的受欢迎程度。歌词涵盖了农民工从童年到老年的一生，讲述了他为谋生而疲惫不堪的故事。

Many audience members cried during the taping. The song went viral, with some declaring it an anthem for a disillusioned generation.

录节目的时候，许多观众都为之动容。这首歌迅速走红，有人称它是失意一代的赞歌。

Fame brought critics, too. Some viewers accused the band of overly romanticizing the countryside, or of exaggerating their farming lifestyles as a marketing ploy.

伴随着名声，批评也随之而来。一些观众指责该乐队过分浪漫化乡村，或夸大农耕生活方式不过是为了营销。

桂林演唱会上的瓦依那乐队的乐迷。乐队最受欢迎的歌曲之一《大梦》的歌词涵盖了农民工的生活，讲述了他为谋生而疲惫不堪的故事。

Ba Nong was unbothered. Everything was romanticized, he said, pointing out that many young people flocked to cities because of TV shows, only to be disillusioned.

岜农对此不以为意。他说，一切都被浪漫化了，他指出，许多年轻人因为电视剧而涌入城市，结果却大失所望。

Besides, he wasn’t calling for everyone to become a farmer. Ba Nong knew his lifestyle wasn’t for everyone. He was promoting a mind-set.

此外，他并不是呼吁每个人都成为农民。岜农知道他的生活方式并不适合每个人。他只是在推广一种心态。

On the first night of the tour, at a sold-out venue in the city of Guilin, Varihnaz shifted between slow songs led by a hand-carved flute, and “Field Song,” a pulsing number in which Lu Min struck the tip of a hoe with a drumstick as Ba Nong curled over an electric guitar.

巡演的第一晚，在桂林一个全场爆满的演出场地，瓦依那乐队在手工笛子引领的慢歌和《田歌》之间切换，《田​​歌》是一首节奏感很强的歌曲，路民用鼓槌敲打锄头的尖头，岜农则抱着电吉他弹奏。

When they sang in Zhuang, Mandarin translations were projected behind them. One song, “Extermination Curse,” was composed entirely of names of pesticides, recited in a monastery-like chant.

当他们用壮语演唱时，身后会显示白话文的翻译。其中一首名为《灭咒》的歌曲名称源自杀虫剂，以修道院般的吟诵方式朗诵。

Halfway through the performance, Ba Nong clicked through a slide show, teaching the audience of around 450 people about natural farming techniques. He and Shi Ba had brought bags of their rice for purchase.

表演进行到一半时，岜农点击幻灯片，向大约450名观众讲授自然耕作技术。他和十八带了几袋他们种植的大米供人购买。

In describing why they liked Varihnaz, several audience members used the word “pure.”

在描述他们喜欢瓦依那乐队的原因时，几位观众用了“纯粹”这个词。

乐迷们在贩卖周边的桌子周围看着售卖的有机大米。

“This is the era of clicks,” said Yu Zhujun, a 31-year-old visual artist. “Everyone is trying to get ahead. But they just stay true to themselves, perform when the time is right, and then go home to their own lives.”

“现在都是流量时代嘛，”31岁的视觉艺术家玉竹君说。“大家都簇拥着头往前面，但他们比较保持自我，在适当的时候在人群面前表演，表演完又回到自己的生活。”

Li Jingwei, a 24-year-old university student, said he grew up in the countryside of northern China, and had also longed to escape. He planned to stay in the city for now. But he admired Varihnaz for highlighting the beauty of what he had left behind.

24岁的大学生李经伟（音）说，他在中国北方的农村长大，也曾渴望逃离。他计划暂时留在城市，但他欣赏瓦依那乐队，因为他们突出了他抛在身后的那些东西的美丽。

“To be able to get this emotion from others, and let myself settle down and find a good job, is enough,” he said.

“能够从别人那里得到一种情绪，然后让自己能够再安定下来，好好工作的生活就可以了，”他说。

While Ba Nong expressed some disappointment that Varihnaz’s new popularity had not translated into more people reassessing their own routines, he knew that was a lot to expect.

虽然岜农对瓦依那乐队新积聚的人气并没有让更多人重新审视自己的日常生活感到有些失望，但他早就知道这是意料之中的事。

The band has already achieved more than he ever imagined. Guangxi’s main broadcaster recently aired a program starring Varihnaz as ambassadors of pastoral bliss, and the band recently recorded an album at the studio of one of China’s most renowned indie rock bands.

乐队已经取得了超出他想象的成就。广西的主要电视台最近播出了一档节目，瓦依那乐队在其中担任了田园幸福的形象大使，乐队最近还在中国最著名的独立摇滚乐队之一的录音室录制了一张专辑。

Still, Ba Nong has no expectations for how long Varihnaz’s fame will last.

尽管如此，岜农并不指望瓦依那乐队的名气能持续多久。

“If we become outdated, that’s fine,” he said. “I can go back to farming peacefully.”

“过气了，我就，好，”他说。“又可以种地了，安心种地了。”

演出结束后，瓦依那乐队在桂林向乐迷打招呼。