Solidarity, December 31, 2023, page 4.
"A woman never grows old in the poet's poem, but the poet himself grows old. "When I think about it, I'm very depressed. Life is too brittle and thin, and it does not stand up to the wind and rain of the years more than a flower.
- Shen Congwen
Zhang Jin(Right) Member of the Chinese Photographers Association Visual Director of Unity Daily Cultural Tourism Weekly
2023 is a year of ups and downs. At the beginning of the year, the new crown virus caused many elderly people to leave prematurely, and after the pain, life has to go on, the fireworks in the world are still rising, and people care for each other and warm, and walk through 2023 hand in hand.
In 2023, I have witnessed all kinds of major news events happening in the land of Xiangxi. When Xiangxi Airport opened, I took the first flight with the villagers of Shibadong Village, the first place of targeted poverty alleviation, from Xiangxi Border City Airport to Beijing Daxing Airport. With the grateful hearts of the people of Xiangxi, the villagers waited in Tiananmen Square for the sun to rise in the east and the national flag to flutter. Photojournalism records the rapid development of Xiangxi.
In 2023, I still like to record the subtle lives of ordinary people, go to villages and villages, feel the sorrow and joy of ordinary people, and photograph markets, folk customs and traditional villages in Xiangxi. The existence and disappearance of some things are natural things, and documentary photography itself cannot change anything, but it can become a memory of time, recording those beauty, kindness and warmth.
At night, I always like to go to the ancient city of Jishou Qianzhou alone for a walk, there is a bar at the east end of Hujiatang, and there is a red balloon hanging in the window, with a few eye-catching words on it - the world will be good. The light is dim at night, and I thought it was "Liang Shuming's question" more than 100 years ago. Liang Shuming said that there are two problems that he has been pursuing all his life: one is the problem of life, what do people live for?The second is the China issue, that is, where is China heading? At the end of 1918, the scholar Liang Ji asked his son Liang Shuming: "Will the world be good?"Liang Shuming replied: "I believe that the world is getting better day by day. Three days later, Liang committed suicide by throwing himself into the lake, and since then, the entire 20th century has seen almost all of China and the world in turmoil. Today, more than 100 years later, the pandemic of the century has been superimposed on the changes of a century, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have dragged the Eurasian continent to the brink of turmoil. "Will the world be okay?"Once again, it has become the question of the times. Chinese culture has both the "benevolence" of Confucianism, the "Taoist heart" of Taoism and the "confidence" of Legalism, which can exert great influence and transformation on the prosperity and development of the world. To the west of Hujiatang, three urchins played in the shape of a moon, playing happily, perhaps the children's smiling faces hid the answers I was looking for.
There is no end to the universe, I know very well that an ant, a person, and even the solar system and the Milky Way are as small as dust in the universe, and a person's life passes in a flash, but the earth is the only planet known to have a species of life, a grass, a flower, a smiling face, and a warm word can move me. "There is always a power that brings tears to our eyes" because it is the power of life and love. I hope to inject this love into my images and show the beauty of this world.
The sun rises every day, the starry sky still twinkles, the world is so vast, and the soul is still surging.
The first sunshine will rise again in 2024, towards the sunshine, with love, and set off again!
January 2023
On January 24th, Jishou Qianzhou Spring Meeting, Wanrong River, a hundred lions in spring.
February 2023
On February 10, the hands of a family of five were clasped together. Xiao Dongjiu should be called my uncle, she was born in the coldest winter of 2022, when the whole family was "yang". In this **, there are the pink little hands of Dong Jiu, who is only more than 50 days old, the warm and masculine hands of her parents, the dark hands of my sun and rain, and the soft hands of her 85-year-old great-grandmother full of blood vessels and age spots. We held hands and felt the warmth of family.
March 2023
On March 11, Jishou's first "Xiangxi ** Tea Cup" bicycle race was held, and the riders rode by the ** tea garden in Pass Village.
April 2023
On April 26th, in the ancient city of Phoenix, there were strings of small bells and bookmarks hanging at the door of Jinfeng Hall, and the spring breeze was blowing, and the bookmarks were swinging in the bells, and beautiful things were always encountered.
May 2023
On May 20, at the back gate of Jishou University, takeaway could not enter the school, but could only be hung on the guardrail, and the courier brother notified the customer to pick it up.
June 2023
On June 19, a dragon boat race was held in Pushi Town, Luxi County. For thousands of years, the relics of Chu Wu are still prevalent in the Yuanshui Basin, and people race freely in the Yuanshui River, which is majestic and romantic.
July 2023
On July 14, Wu Qixiong, the person in charge of Nanhua Mountain Scenic Area in Fenghuang County, was chatting, and on the wall was Mr. Huang Yongyu's inscription on him, "The most bitter for kindness". Mr. Huang Yongyu donated ten bridges for Jishou and Phoenix. On June 13, 2023, Mr. Huang Yongyu passed away, leaving no ashes, only works, love and happiness to the world.
August 2023
At 12:30 on August 18, Zhang Jin and Peng Ning, reporters of Unity Daily, as representatives, and 65 villagers from Shibadong took Capital Airlines flight JD5324 to Beijing. In the early morning of August 19, the villagers of the 18th Cave held a national flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and the three words "18 Holes" on the head of villager Yang Chaowen were particularly eye-catching.
September 2023
On September 14, 2014, Long Yuanqing searched for unfinished ears of grain in the rice field after harvesting. Her family has two acres of rice, with an income of 3,000 yuan per mu. Since 2018, her family has replanted the original rice field with tea, giving support in tea, fertilizer and other aspects, and now her family has three acres of tea garden, with an income of 7,000 yuan per mu. Her lover Yang Zaide works in Jishou and has an income of 4,000 yuan a month. On September 25, 2023, Long Yuanqing cleared weeds in a tea garden.
October 2023
On October 3, in Orchid Cave Village, Furong Town, Yongshun County, a group of bridesmaids shared the joy of the newlyweds.
November 2023
On November 16, in the ancient city of Qianzhou, Jishou, a young man wearing flower pants and a panda mask was selling vegetables on the street while broadcasting live.
December 2023
On December 25, in Hujiatang, the ancient city of Qianzhou, Jishou, three children sat on the moon model and looked at the moon from afar. Children should have mountains and rivers and stars and seas in their hearts, love for life and perception of life, not just mobile games.
2023 Zhang Jin visual layout review
* Xiangxi Net.
Written by Zhang Jin.
Editor-in-charge: Yang Shifang.
Second review editor: Wu Yizhi.
Final Editor: Chen Hao.
Executive Producer: Yue Yueqiang.
A quick look at the highlights
My 2023 Zhang Heng: Grasp the moment and walk towards beauty My 2023丨Yang Xianqing: Xiangxi in 12 pictures is cold and warm The New Year's Day holiday notice is here Like!This police station in Xiangxi Prefecture was on "Guangming**".