Tree hugging is back! That’s on account of more and more young people in China on the brink of going crazy. So they are increasingly seeking emotional stability through the form of healing which the simple act of hugging a tree represents.
拥抱树又回来了！这是因为中国越来越多的年轻人处于疯狂的边缘。因此，他们越来越多地通过拥抱一棵树这一简单行为所代表的治疗形式来寻求情绪稳定。
Remember the trend which became a concept spreading globally in the 1980s and 90s, adopted by environmental groups, especially in the U.S. and Europe? Then though, their tree-hugging was a means for peaceful protest against deforestation.
还记得 20 世纪 80 年代和 90 年代，环保组织尤其是美国和欧洲的环保组织所采用的流行趋势吗？不过，他们拥抱树木是和平抗议森林砍伐的一种手段。
Today in China, it’s a different story altogether. Now, tree hugging is a way for young people to cope with depression, a lack of sleep, workplace stress or a lack thereof through unemployment.
今天的中国，情况完全不同了。现在，拥抱树木已成为年轻人应对抑郁、睡眠不足、工作压力或失业造成的压力的一种方式。
A Global Wellness Institute (GWI) report from 2023 shows that the market for mental wellness in China is approximately ¥139.9 billion annually. The number that is clearing growing is contributed to by many areas such as meditation, mindfulness and sleep health. Worldwide, the global-healing economy in 2025 surpassed US$7 trillion.
全球健康研究所（GWI）2023年的报告显示，中国心理健康市场每年约1399亿元人民币。冥想、正念和睡眠健康等许多领域都促成了这一数字的增长。从全球范围来看，2025年全球经济复苏将超过7万亿美元。
Internet user “Greenz” is one such Chinese tree hugger. She started taking tree hugging seriously in May of 2023, after a period of very severe depression and confusion.
互联网用户“Greenz”就是这样一位中国环保人士。在经历了一段非常严重的抑郁和困惑之后，她于 2023 年 5 月开始认真对待拥抱树木。
Speaking with Shanghai Yitiao (上海一条), Greenz said, “I had just resigned from an e-commerce company headquarters in Nanjing. My day job was the “996” mode [0900-2100; 6 days per week], where I have to work until 02:00. Then I had to return during rush hour to make tea for the company leaders at 09:00 the next morning”.
格林兹在接受上海一条采访时表示，“我刚刚从南京一家电商总部辞职。我白天的工作是‘996’模式（每周工作6天，0900-2100），必须工作到02:00。然后我必须在第二天早上09:00高峰时段回来给公司领导泡茶。”
Mainstream media may sometimes pejoratively describe such converts as “hippies” or “radical tree-huggers”, the reality is everyone’s tale is different.
主流媒体有时可能会贬义地将这些皈依者描述为“嬉皮士”或“激进的环保主义者”，但现实是每个人的故事都不同。
Hence the words of another; “As a sound therapist and sleep healer, I often feel lucky. Three years ago, the death of my mother was a severe blow to me. In order to be free from suffering, I went to a temple for more than a dozen days. Every day, in the morning chimes of the temple, I heard the healing energy of all things in the world”.
因此，另一个人的话； “作为一名声音治疗师和睡眠治疗师，我时常感到幸运。三年前，母亲的去世对我来说是一个沉重的打击。为了摆脱痛苦，我去了寺庙十几天。每天，在寺庙的晨钟声中，我听到世间万物的治愈能量”。
They added, “In 2023, my final year as a graduate student, I hadn’t started work yet, but I already felt the pressures I was going to face in the workplace, and holding a tree was a way to release my anxiety”.
他们补充道，“2023年是我研究生的最后一年，我还没有开始工作，但我已经感受到了职场上将面临的压力，抱着一棵树是释放我焦虑的一种方式”。
The act of hugging trees has probably existed for millennia; humans have long felt spiritual or emotional connections to trees. Ancient cultures such as the Celts and Druids revered sacred groves. Some would argue such civilizations long predate even the Chinese.
拥抱树木的行为可能已经存在了数千年。 人类长期以来一直感受到与树木的精神或情感联系。凯尔特人和德鲁伊等古代文化崇敬神圣的树林。有些人认为这种文明甚至早于中国文明。
Then there are the indigenous traditions in North America, Asia, and Africa which often feature rituals connecting people to trees, sometimes as symbols of life, wisdom or protection.
此外，北美、亚洲和非洲的土著传统通常以将人与树联系起来的仪式为特色，有时作为生命、智慧或保护的象征。
Another anonymous contributor to the aforementioned article on the subject said, “After college, and when I began to be exposed to nature, my world began to grow wider and my mental state improved. I was in New Zealand as an undergraduate in 2015, and I was in a very ecological town with easy access to the woods and nature”.
上述文章的另一位匿名撰稿人表示，“大学毕业后，当我开始接触大自然时，我的世界开始变得更广阔，我的精神状态也开始改善。2015年我在新西兰读本科，我在一个非常生态的小镇，很容易就能接触到树林和大自然”。
She added, “Once, I went hiking with some friends in the Whakarewarewa Redwoods Forest. The tallest sequoia in the forest is more than 70 meters tall, and it takes two or three people to hold one. I took off my shoes and stepped barefoot on the dirt. The moist air and the smell of plants brought by the breeze made me completely immersed in the forest for the first time.”
她补充道，“有一次，我和几个朋友去华卡雷瓦雷瓦红杉森林徒步。森林里最高的红杉有70多米高，需要两三个人才能扶着。我脱掉鞋子，光着脚踩在泥土上。潮湿的空气和微风带来的植物气味，让我第一次完全沉浸在森林里。”
“I felt I was embracing a very old creature on Earth, in which I could break free from the ‘social clock’ and be allowed to waste time. I felt a true understanding … For a moment when I held the tree, I was left with the world and nothing else.”
“我觉得我正在拥抱地球上一个非常古老的生物，在其中我可以摆脱‘社交时钟’并被允许浪费时间。我感受到了一种真正的理解……当我拿着这棵树的那一刻，我只剩下世界，什么也没有。”
