By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 199 From Li Younan to Teacher Li [First Update!]

In the first episode, only one contestant was eliminated.

The contestant was eliminated in the video after being attacked by a lynx. The production team didn't even blur the contestant's scratches, showing the audience the reality and cruelty of the show.

The contestant's unfortunate experience was featured as a key element of the first episode, and it was precisely his presence that made the performances of the other contestants all the more remarkable, highlighting the good fortune and professionalism of Li Younan and Pasini.

The show was launched on Douyin around the same time.

After all, they had already signed a contract, and if the release dates were too far apart, viewers would rather watch the original pirated version.

On a quiet night, the first episode of "Living Alone in the Wilderness" officially aired.

More than half a month has passed since the hype on the video platform, and the popularity of "Living Alone in the Wilderness" has declined considerably during this period. After all, in this information-saturated age, no one will keep an eye on a show that doesn't know when it will air.

Discussions about Lee You-nam's performance on the show never ceased during this period.

Although the traffic gradually decreased, the judgments on Li Younan gradually converged.

First and foremost, it must be acknowledged that Li Younan possesses extremely high archery skills.

Secondly, he also demonstrated a certain ability to survive in the wilderness during his ascent of Mount Gongga.

However, upon calm analysis, these factors do not guarantee that he will go far in "Living Alone in the Wilderness".

Everyone realized that the benefits of archery should not be overestimated.

One of the most direct reasons is that there are not many opportunities to successfully hunt with a bow and arrow in the wilderness.

Looking back at previous episodes, while there have been contestants who actually hunted their prey with a bow and arrow, there haven't been many.

The reason why the vast majority of hunters fail to hunt is not because their archery skills are poor, but because they cannot find prey.

Li Younan will face the same dilemma; no one can guarantee that he will be able to hunt large animals with a bow and arrow in the early stages of the show.

If you're unlucky, you might not even get a single hair on an animal when you're eliminated.

As is well known, a person can be eliminated within a few days if they lack food.

Although some people suggested that Li Younan also possessed considerable fishing skills, others immediately countered that Li Younan's fishing ability was demonstrated in a modern social context, where there were professional baits and tools available, which do not exist in the wild.

Without these specialized tools and fish food, can he still catch fish?
This judgment makes sense to some extent. If Li Younan were not only a fishing expert but also well-versed in animal habits and changes in the hydrology, he would indeed have difficulty catching fish consistently.

At first, there was a lot of opposition to Li Younan's pessimistic remarks, but this rational voice gradually gained the upper hand and became the mainstream. As for other discussions, such as building shelters, they did not have much volume.

Because these initial opinions became mainstream, when the show aired that day, Li Younan's performance, which completely overturned people's perceptions, immediately pushed this contrast to its extreme.

As people pondered how Li Younan would overcome the initial difficulties, they were astonished to discover that Li Younan had no intention of attempting to hunt large animals from the outset.

He was simply taking a leisurely stroll in the woods, explaining to the viewers on camera the habits of certain plants, whether they were edible, what their uses were, and so on, while also collecting vines to weave a basket.

The camera then switched a few times, and when it returned to him, his basket was already full of edible things.

In order to let the audience intuitively feel the role of these plants in the show about living alone in the wilderness, several shots were of Li Younan cooking and eating.

Following closely behind were Li Younan's incredibly detailed fishing techniques.

He explained to the audience with almost absolute certainty what kind of fish could be caught near Lake Chilco in Canada, in what kind of waters, at what time, and using what methods.

Then, seemingly to verify his claim, he demonstrated the essence of fishing, "small fish eat big fish," in just a few minutes.

The fishing skills demonstrated here far surpass those displayed by fishing masters in civilized society.

Although Li Younan's fishing skill is only level one, his mountaineering skill gives him the ability to judge the natural environment, and his zoologist skill gives him the ability to judge the habits of fish. This allows him to demonstrate a higher upper and lower limit in the wilderness despite having only level one fishing skill.

If you only watch Li Younan's footage, you might find it hard to believe that this is a reality show about struggling to survive in the wilderness.

The production team seemed to intentionally draw viewers' attention to this, so they edited together the miserable situations of other contestants. In particular, the scene in the first episode where the unluckiest guy was scratched by a lynx—although the version released on Douyin had been blurred, it still sent chills down the spines of viewers watching from behind the scenes.

They then realized that the show was a real survival challenge, not a scripted performance as they had imagined.

Come to think of it, this show offers a $100 million prize to the contestants who survive to the end.

While watching Li Younan's footage, viewers also saw contestants who cut their hands on wood while building shelters, and female contestants who were overjoyed after picking a handful of berries.

Finally, comparing Li Younan with Li Younan, everyone gradually realized that Li Younan was definitely not the kind of contestant who would be eliminated because he couldn't hunt large animals in the early stages, as previously thought.

The ending of Li Younan's storyline is that he begins to build a wooden house and rammed earth walls.

This scene moved almost all Chinese viewers – he had already demonstrated the intangible cultural heritage craft of weaving rattan baskets in the program, and the subsequent techniques of beam-and-column house structure and rammed earth walls further showcased Chinese stories and culture in front of a world-class program.

When the scene of Li Younan offering three fish heads as sacrifices while erecting the wooden frame and bowing to the east to pay homage to his ancestors appeared, many Chinese people were moved to tears.

Foreign viewers were equally excited by this scene, leaving comments such as, "A mysterious Eastern ritual, this is so cool!"

Some foreigners left comments on foreign websites asking what was going on. Soon after, some Chinese people provided explanations.

The comments section was filled with a harmonious scene of Chinese people warmly explaining Chinese culture to a young foreigner, and the young foreigner humbly learning from him.

After the initial excitement, a wave of marketing accounts and video bloggers jumped on the bandwagon, offering detailed analyses and professional interpretations.

Among them are even animal science bloggers with thousands of followers across the internet.

Animal science blogger Tibetan Fox is giving a serious interpretation of the wild animals that appear in Li Younan's videos.

His interpretation was basically the same as Li Younan's explanation in the video, but he was more detailed in his interpretation to show his professionalism.

After finishing the episode, the blogger said very seriously, "We can see that Mr. Li Younan is very professional in wilderness survival. With my current knowledge, I can't find any flaws in his understanding of these animals and plants."

"Keep in mind that this is Chilco Lake in Canada, which is quite different from the environment in China. This shows that he did a lot of research before going to the 'Living in the Wild' program."

“I even suspect that his head contains an encyclopedia of the flora and fauna of the entire Chilco Lake area.”

"What does this tell us? It teaches us the importance of reading."

"An excellent wilderness survival expert not only needs to have strong practical skills, but also a solid knowledge base to help him go further."

In addition, some bloggers specializing in intangible cultural heritage and ancient architecture have also jumped on this bandwagon.

They provided professional insights into the skills Li Younan demonstrated on the show, including basket weaving, woodworking mortise and tenon joinery, house structural frameworks, and rammed earth walls.

By this time, everyone's address to Li Younan had changed from Li Younan to Teacher Li.

“Look at the rattan basket woven by Teacher Li Younan. It’s not just a bunch of bamboo pieces twisted together! Notice the herringbone weaving pattern on the bottom of the basket—each rattan piece has to be woven along the grain and be about the same thickness, otherwise the uneven stress will easily cause it to crack. Also, the edging of the basket is secured with a sliplock, a technique passed down from our old bamboo craftsmen in the south. It’s sturdy and can be slightly adjusted according to the size of the contents.”

"Teacher Li's skills are so good that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she has intangible cultural heritage-level weaving skills!"

“Come on, let’s pause for a moment and take a look… First, look at the wooden frame that Li Younan built. Anyone who knows about these things can tell at a glance—he’s using a simplified version of the beam-and-column structure!”

"Let me first explain to everyone what a platform beam structure is..."

"Look here again, Li Younan didn't use a single nail, relying entirely on mortise and tenon joints. The pillars and beams are secured with dovetail tenons. I will do a special feature to explain in detail why the dovetail tenon structure is more suitable for the tools he has now... Next, the diagonal bracing is paired with a half tenon, which saves materials and can withstand the wind by the lake. The most amazing thing is his attention to detail in handling the wood... After cutting down the tree trunk, he first lightly roasts it over a fire. This is an old carpenter's traditional method of removing moisture and preventing cracks. In the wilderness without tools, it is more practical than any modern anti-corrosion treatment."

"Look at the rammed earth walls he built, it's absolutely a restoration of ancient techniques! He didn't just pile up the mud and ram it directly; instead, he first laid a layer of gravel on the foundation—this is a hidden layer to prevent rainwater from softening the foundation, a step many modern imitation ancient buildings skip. He also added foundation columns during the ramming process, like adding steel bars to the earthen walls, which greatly reduces cracking. Building a house in the Canadian wilderness using traditional Chinese rammed earth techniques, while also taking into account the local climate, truly impresses even me, a researcher of ancient architecture..."

As more and more experts from various fields interpret Li Younan's performance in "Living Alone in the Wilderness" on camera, it not only further increases the show's popularity, but also allows Li Younan's popularity to promote the popularization of related knowledge and the dissemination of intangible cultural heritage.

Many ordinary people who are unfamiliar with this field have gradually come to see the treasures of traditional Chinese culture, the relationship between man and nature, and the issues of promoting and protecting intangible cultural heritage. It is no exaggeration to say that this process has even prompted many philosophical reflections on these issues.

Li Younan, Teacher Li—this title is not an exaggeration at all.

(End of this chapter)