If grains come from farming and are the basic particles that make up civilization, then milk originates from nomadism and witnesses the perfect integration of nomadism and farming. Whether as a beverage or food, the appearance of human beings is reflected in the milky history.

Starting from March 6, the documentary "Milk is a History of Civilization" which focuses on the category of "milk" for the first time was broadcast. This documentary is divided into six episodes: "The Original Sweetness", "The Tributary of Time", "The Nourishment of Life", "Boundless Heaven and Earth", "Condensed Inspiration" and "Fragrant Adventure". Through multiple perspectives such as workers, food makers, and cultural guardians, from the macro perspective to the micro world, it presents the endless exploration of human beings in the world of flavor.

A group photo of the main creators at the Beijing premiere of "Milk is a History of Civilization"

Recently, "Milk is a History of Civilization" held its premiere in Beijing, and the documentary's creative team shared with the media and the audience the film's content and creative process.

Why milk?

Zhu Lexian, head of the Obsidian Studio, Tencent's online video content production department, said that milk is defined by humans as "the closest to perfect food": "From the perspective of the history of civilization development, from the hunting era to the farming era to industrial civilization, milk has always accompanied the growth of mankind. In the long river of time, we can always see the shadow of milk, which is worth our in-depth exploration."

Secondly, for documentary innovation, "food is developing very fast, and we also hope to make breakthroughs in technology, art and content. We have made the series of 'Flavorful World' and 'A Day'. We have tried spicy, sour and other tastes. We also hope to open up a new track called 'pan-food field', and include drinks, fruits, etc. in the filming. This is also the first time we focus on one food - milk."

Stills from "Milk is a History of Civilization"

Chen Xiaoqing believes that milk is a very good window. "It is particularly common in space. Wherever there are people, there is milk."

Regarding the reason why "Milk is a History of Civilization" chose to focus on the dietary genes of milk, Chen Xiaoqing shared at the meeting: "The civilization and culture of milk are two concepts. Civilization is common to everyone, and culture is different. It is precisely because there are so many differences that we find some common things in the differences. This is the origin of the history of civilization." In each stage of food processing and cooking, milk plays a vital role. "Sometimes it not only provides people with emotional value, it may provide value itself."

Chen Lei, the chief director of "Milk is a History of Civilization", believes that compared with the previous "Grain Series" and other microscopic levels, milk poses greater challenges. Its breadth is very large, and the three words "history of civilization" also give people a strong creative impulse, which can further explore the significance of the use of milk in the historical dimension.

Stills from "Milk is a History of Civilization"

"In the early stages of research, we did a lot of work to sort out the journey of milk from its earliest accidental acquisition by humans to its active acquisition; then how to preserve it and how it became an indispensable food in our daily lives. All the stories have to take into account these different stages, and then allocate space according to the stories of different corners of the earth and different ethnic groups." Chen Lei said.

Milk not only reflects the civilizations of different places, but also carries warm family emotions. Chen Lei said: "Food is an emotional bond. When people share food, they build emotions between each other. But I think milk is more than that. It is not only a family bond, but also a bond that connects an ethnic group and even the whole world. In the first episode, we presented the story of the Tajik people. Their lives are a model of milk anthropology. Milk is integrated into every aspect of their lives. Milk is a universal food that will help us build consensus."

Tajiks

Deng Jie, the chief director of "Milk is a History of Civilization", introduced that the first episode starts with the Maasai tribe in the East African grasslands. "When we went to shoot, we really felt the importance of cows and milk to the Maasai people. They really eat very little food every day. For example, the corn and wheat that appear in the film may be their main food. They have no way to farm and no vegetables, so they mainly rely on drinking milk to maintain their daily lives. There may be very few opportunities in a year to kill a cow and eat beef. They rely entirely on the cattle they raise to survive."

Deng Jie said with emotion that when she was with the Maasai, she found that they had amazing physical strength and vision. "We couldn't find any wild animals even with a telephoto lens, but they could instantly spot elephants in the jungle in the distance. Elephants are a very dangerous species to them, and they cause great damage to villages. They can spot fast-moving wild boars or hyenas. The physical strength and vision of the Maasai people shocked us deeply. I think it has something to do with their diet, or milk."

Maasai

Deng Jie also shared the behind-the-scenes stories of the documentary filming process: "We followed the protagonist to shoot at an altitude of more than 4,500 meters, which was actually very difficult for our entire crew. Most of us were in a state of altitude sickness, and a nearly 1.9-meter-tall man in the crew collapsed directly."

The program's main visual poster constructs a vast natural landscape in "a drop of milk", the food culture condensed in a drop of milk, and a long history of global civilization, all of which are presented one by one in "Milk is a History of Civilization".

Poster of "Milk is a History of Civilization"

Producer He Shifei shared: "When I drink milk next time, I hope the audience will feel that what I have in my hand may not just be a simple drink or a consumer product. There are actually many stories behind it, and even human civilization."