China rewind
By Liu Heung Shing. Excerpt from the book 'China. Portrait of a Country'
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In 1942, at the Yan'an Forum on Arts and Literature Mao "explained" how all forms of art and literature should be placed in the service of the Chinese Communist Party, as its most handy propaganda tools. Seven years later, when Mao took power, proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic, the directives of his "propaganda" policy were carried out with meticulous attention to detail. With hindsight, the uses to which photography was put, and the crude manipulation to which it was subject, especially documentary photography, suited the Chinese rather well: it is ironic that the official censors would encourage only the coverage of social achievements under the Chinese Communist Party. This is compounded by the ingrained sensitivity expressed in the Chinese proverb jia chou bu ke wai yang, which means "scandal and ugliness in the family should not be broadcast outside the home".
Returning to Beijing in 1997 and witnessing the dramatic nature of the change, I was keen to undertake a comprehensive photographic tour of New China; my personal path has crossed with China for 25 years in different crucial periods. I realize there was a visceral impulse in me to edit this book and to use my own contextual understanding of the Chinese people to discover works that may have been buried by Chinese editors fearful of straying too far from the official party line. Completing this project has been an assignment of discovery as well as self-discovery. Meeting photographers of different generations in different provinces and cities, finding dusty negatives envelopes in the shoe boxes under their beds, and sharing their personal stories and photographs took almost four years. A number of the photographers I met divulged personal tribulations and fear of releasing their photographs. I had to reassure them by traveling to meet them at their homes in the different parts of the country. Regrettably, a few of the elder photographers who were in their eighties, such as Zhou Jiandong and Lu Xiangyou, passed away before this book could come to fruition. I was also privileged to hear the stories from the photographers who shared with me the notes that Premier Zhou Enlai wrote in releasing the photo of the first Chinese hydrogen bomb test, and that Mao had acted as photo editor in deciding which photographs of the historic handshake in 1972 between Nixon and Zhou was to be released to the press.
Photography Today
The last two chapters of this book reveal how the works of the current generation of photographers have evolved. Today, Chinese photographers are more open to new ideas, and materially better equipped to explore China. (Many early Chinese photographers of the 1950s and 1960s used 35 mm cinematic film in their still cameras. The imported 35 mm film was scarce and more expensive.) Their works, many of which reflected the prevailing influences of social documentary photography are a steady parting of ways with the prism through which their elderly colleagues see China. I sense the journeys taken by this generation of photographers will increasingly open up new paths, and at a pace that will continue to accelerate in tandem with the explosive energy of today's China. I owe my profound gratitude to each and every contributing photographer who has welcomed me to their homes and offices; and let me pour over the hundreds of thousands of negatives and prints. They have shared with me their trust and insight; I hope this book is a tribute to the Chinese photographers for their perseverance and love of the country.
Page [1] [2] [3]
Page [1] [2] [3]
In 1942, at the Yan'an Forum on Arts and Literature Mao "explained" how all forms of art and literature should be placed in the service of the Chinese Communist Party, as its most handy propaganda tools. Seven years later, when Mao took power, proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic, the directives of his "propaganda" policy were carried out with meticulous attention to detail. With hindsight, the uses to which photography was put, and the crude manipulation to which it was subject, especially documentary photography, suited the Chinese rather well: it is ironic that the official censors would encourage only the coverage of social achievements under the Chinese Communist Party. This is compounded by the ingrained sensitivity expressed in the Chinese proverb jia chou bu ke wai yang, which means "scandal and ugliness in the family should not be broadcast outside the home".
Returning to Beijing in 1997 and witnessing the dramatic nature of the change, I was keen to undertake a comprehensive photographic tour of New China; my personal path has crossed with China for 25 years in different crucial periods. I realize there was a visceral impulse in me to edit this book and to use my own contextual understanding of the Chinese people to discover works that may have been buried by Chinese editors fearful of straying too far from the official party line. Completing this project has been an assignment of discovery as well as self-discovery. Meeting photographers of different generations in different provinces and cities, finding dusty negatives envelopes in the shoe boxes under their beds, and sharing their personal stories and photographs took almost four years. A number of the photographers I met divulged personal tribulations and fear of releasing their photographs. I had to reassure them by traveling to meet them at their homes in the different parts of the country. Regrettably, a few of the elder photographers who were in their eighties, such as Zhou Jiandong and Lu Xiangyou, passed away before this book could come to fruition. I was also privileged to hear the stories from the photographers who shared with me the notes that Premier Zhou Enlai wrote in releasing the photo of the first Chinese hydrogen bomb test, and that Mao had acted as photo editor in deciding which photographs of the historic handshake in 1972 between Nixon and Zhou was to be released to the press.
Photography Today
The last two chapters of this book reveal how the works of the current generation of photographers have evolved. Today, Chinese photographers are more open to new ideas, and materially better equipped to explore China. (Many early Chinese photographers of the 1950s and 1960s used 35 mm cinematic film in their still cameras. The imported 35 mm film was scarce and more expensive.) Their works, many of which reflected the prevailing influences of social documentary photography are a steady parting of ways with the prism through which their elderly colleagues see China. I sense the journeys taken by this generation of photographers will increasingly open up new paths, and at a pace that will continue to accelerate in tandem with the explosive energy of today's China. I owe my profound gratitude to each and every contributing photographer who has welcomed me to their homes and offices; and let me pour over the hundreds of thousands of negatives and prints. They have shared with me their trust and insight; I hope this book is a tribute to the Chinese photographers for their perseverance and love of the country.
Page [1] [2] [3]
China, Portrait of a Country
Hardcover 9.8 x 13.4 in., 424 pages
$ 59.99
$ 59.99
A sweeping portrait of China, its people, and its history since 1949. Seen by China's most prominent photographers and edited by Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Liu Heung Shing.
In Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong, workers at a painting factory are trained to reproduce masterworks by artists such as van Gogh for export. Photo (c) Yu Haibo, 2005
A giant billboard toting the signature handbag of French luxury brand Louis Vuitton advertises the opening of a flagship store for China on Shanghai's own Champs Elysee, Nanjing West Road; an achievement of which this ordinary pedestrian is apparently oblivious. Consumers of luxury products make up just 0.5 per cent of the population in China, but the annual sales volume for luxury goods is estimated at close to 3 billion US dollars per annum. Photo (c) Yong He, 2002