Original Gifts and Styles 
022-07-14 19:00 Published in Shaanxi
——Interview with Photographer Mr. Zhang Tao (Part 2)
Gifts and Styles: In what year did you start planning your photo studio in Huaxian? of ?
Zhang Tao: It was 1979 when a photo studio was established in Hua County. In 1975, the "movement" was not over yet, but Deng Xiaoping had already come out to preside over the work of the State Council. He was the Vice Premier of the State Council at that time, in charge of production and construction, focusing on the economy, and proposed the establishment of commune and team enterprises. That is, the two levels of management units, the brigade and the commune, can develop it appropriately and engage in some market operations. I started a photography side business in the name of the brigade, which can be regarded as a commune and brigade enterprise. In April 1976, Deng Xiaoping no longer served as Vice Prime Minister, but the commune, brigade and enterprise were not abolished. After the reform and opening up in 1978, commune and brigade enterprises were transformed into township enterprises, and the Township Enterprise Bureau was established.
Mountains and rivers, beautiful books|Pastoral after snow in Huaxian County
Before this, when I was taking pictures in Dali, someone from the local police station said that the masses reported that you are engaging in capitalism. I don’t think it is right. The country advocates it. As a commune and brigade enterprise, this is a mobile photo studio in our brigade. It serves the masses. What can be wrong with this? I also showed him my certificate, and he was told to call our commune to implement it. In the end, he actually called us. After the call, his attitude changed completely. Finally, the man said with a slight smile, young man, let me give you a suggestion. In the future, when people check you out, you must have a better attitude. I also smiled and said, I always have a good attitude, but you people always look up and stare when doing inspections, as if you are trying to catch a criminal. This may be an occupational disease of yours, but you don't think so. I also said that I often come to Dali and helped you build several class education exhibition halls in Dali. This was all done by me and Mr. Zhang Tiande from Dali. He said, I heard that there is a young man on the south side of Henan (referring to the south of the Wei River), who can draw and take photos, and is a friend of Tiande. So is he you? The two laughed and everything was resolved.
In 1979, the Huazhou Commune Street Brigade of Hua County invited me to set up a photo studio for their brigade. In those years, the commune and brigade enterprises were in the ascendant. This can be regarded as the Huazhou Commune Street Brigade having the collective enterprise . A year or two later, around 1980, the policy allowed private individuals to do business and start businesses, and I started to do it myself. It was very prosperous as soon as it started, and the business of the state-owned photo studios in the county was severely squeezed. The two state-owned photo studios were reduced to one, and in the end, none of them was lost.
Dream and reality are merging with each other in distant places | Zhang Tao sketched in Huashan in the 1970s
Lishangfengwu: In what year was the first shadow puppet performance you saw in Huaxian? Let’s talk about your interaction with shadow puppet artists. When did you decide to record their performances and lives?
Zhang Tao: In the spring of 1976, the county was going to hold a commemorative event for the "Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art". The cultural center issued a notice to all communes to hold literary and art training classes. Talents in art, calligraphy, literature, drama and other areas were recommended by all levels to participate. Then At that time, there were very few photographers in the county and there were no photography classes. I was recommended by the commune because of my expertise in art. There was a theatrical performance during the training. A shadow puppet artist sat on a big stool on the stage and sang a bowl bowl model opera to himself with his eyes closed. It was the first time I heard that tone in my life, it was so shocking! Compared with the Qin Opera I have been accustomed to since childhood, it has more flavor, emotion, and characteristics of human origin culture, which greatly aroused my curiosity. After the play, I asked the teacher at the cultural center who was the person who sang with his eyes closed that day? He said that that was "Bald Boy" (note: Pan Jingle 's nickname), a famous shadow puppet artist in our Huaxian County, and his role in the troupe was the "front voice".
The so-called world, isn’t it you? | On the last night of the class of the famous shadow puppet artist Pan Jingle in Huaxian County, I once again saw the shadow puppet show sung by the Bald Child. With the accompaniment of other musical instruments, the singing voice made people feel a sense of cutting through time and space, like the sound of nature. The feeling of sound, the beauty and enjoyment are simply natural. Since then, I have been fascinated by Huaxian shadow puppetry , Wanwanqiang, and shadow puppetry artists such as Pan Jingle and Hao Bingli (Mongwa). I would go and watch wherever there was a show.
Forgive the twists and turns | Building the stage with local materials before the performance
To the sobbing and roaring in the dark night | "Five people are busy" backstage at the shadow puppet show
In 1987, the "Yellow River Basin Folk Art" organized by the Central Academy of Fine Arts Inspection Group", they bypassed Tongguan, Huayin, and went directly to Huaxian County. They sent me a telegram before and asked me to accompany them on the inspection tour. The county officials were very happy after hearing my report and thought it was a great opportunity to promote Huaxian County. Then I left the photo studio and went on an inspection trip with them. We went to the countryside during the day and held lectures, exchanges, interviews, and slide shows at the cultural center in the evening. In order to repay the inspection team, we selected the best artists from many shadow puppet troupes and performed four or five hours of shadow puppet shows at the county cultural center in the evening. There are the most exciting local opera excerpts, as well as the local famous "Jinwan Chai" play. This night made the teachers, students and experts of the Central Academy of Fine Arts full of emotions and shock.
"You can also see that the eyebrows in the mirror are as beautiful as the spring mountains" - Shadow Puppet Opera | Lu Chongde, the youngest at that time, has now become the oldest voice
"The lights in the bridal chamber are bright tonight, and I am happy that the twenty-eight-year-old girl is matched with a talented man" - — Shadow Puppet Theater | Obsessed Shadow Puppet Theater Audience
Later, on the train back to Fujian, Ye Leilei used colored pencils to draw a small picture of a sunrise over the sea in an sketchbook using lines to express abstractly. Send it to me with the letter. She said that during this inspection of folk art in the Yellow River Basin, the shadow puppets and flower paintings in Huaxian County allowed me to see the value of human origin culture and folk creativity, which benefited me a lot. What touches me most is the unfortunate fate of you and those shadow puppet artists. Although you live in a poor rural area of China, you are doing something very meaningful to the world. I hope you can continue to do it.
How cruel and stubborn the world is, but also how gentle and beautiful | Zhao Zhencai, who suffers from eye disease, plays and sings at home
Before leaving, Yang Xian asked the professor to tell me that he would go back to raise some money and let me organize shadow puppet artists and bring them to Beijing to perform once. Because it would cost a lot more money to organize it in the county, I was afraid that more people from the county theater troupe would be hired, and the real old folk artists would not be able to come. On the second day after arriving in Beijing, everyone had a day off. The third day was New Year's Day. It was the first time for the artists to come to Beijing. The Academy of Fine Arts borrowed a cotton coat from each of the old artists, and then took everyone to visit the Great Wall . Badaling The wind was so strong that day that people could not stand firmly. The old artist was holding his hat with one hand and holding his coat with the other while taking pictures. When he returned to the hotel, the old artist touched the bed and said, "It's not as nice as the hot bed, so how can you let people get into bed?!" The next day everyone was going to Tiananmen. Pan Jingle said that if you don't take a photo in Tiananmen, it means you haven't come to Beijing.
I hope you and I can watch the clouds and the breeze together | Zhang Tao interviews and exchanges at the artist's home
On the first night of the performance at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the academy invited many celebrities in Beijing, Li Keran's son recorded the video with a small camera and went home Let the old man see it. His old and frail father said that this is the real art. All art comes from the folk and life. Later, he funded a performance for us to perform for senior painters from the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts. The Academy of Art gave enough respect to the shadow puppet artists and specially received everyone in the memorial hall of furniture used by Qi Baishi during his lifetime. The memorial hall was full of rosewood tables and stools, which was an eye-opener.This was a high recognition of Huaxian shadow puppets from the capital’s art circles. It made me realize the cultural value and artistic status of Huaxian shadow puppets, and from this I came up with the idea of recording the lives of shadow puppets and artists.
The glorious years | The grand occasion of folk shadow puppet performances in the 1980s and 1990s
Life is an adventure | In 1993, shadow puppet artists participated in the filming of the movie "Alive" and took a group photo with Zhang Yimou, Ge You, Gong Li and others
Today and today, the lights are on the building | 1995 In July, the Taipei Academy of the Arts specially arranged an open-air performance of shadow puppets
Return to the mountains and rivers in good health | Shadow puppet artists took a group photo with members of the Hua County Association in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Gifts and customs: What kind of opportunity did you finally decide to edit and publish? The book "Huaxian Shadow Puppet Archives"?
Zhang Tao: In 2006, I was invited to attend the "Meeting of Chinese and Foreign Photography Experts" in Beijing. The famous photographer An Ge saw my work "The Last Shadow Puppet" and recommended me to "Modern Photography" on the spot. "Teacher Li Mei, editor-in-chief. She took a look at my work and asked me what I did. I said, am I a farmer? She looked at me with doubtful eyes and asked, "Are you a farmer?" To prove that I was indeed a farmer, I showed her my ID card. She said, I really don’t believe it, can farmers have such conditions as you? How did you make these films? That’s how we started communicating. Finally, she said, please do a good job on this shadow puppet feature. The story you told about the shadow puppet artists moved me very much! I suggest you make a book. I said, I am really not good at writing. Li Mei said, I can help you. Later, I went to Beijing and found a military hostel with the help of a fellow villager. I told stories and she recorded them, and we communicated for nearly a week. She later called and said that there were some parts of the recording that she didn’t understand, and she felt more and more that the subject matter was too valuable, and what I talked about still lacked details, so she brought the tape recorder to Huaxian County, and I accompanied her to visit the artists and talk with her. Artists communicate face to face. Experience life in a dilapidated old artist's home and watch a shadow puppet show in the farmyard. Li Mei was impressed by the original performance form of these farmers, especially when the old artists talked about their ups and downs and misfortunes, Li Mei shed tears several times. Later, due to the difficulty of talking and communicating with the artists, Li Mei said that to make the shadow puppets thorough and touching, only you, Zhang Tao, can write them. First of all, I don’t understand the dialect of Huaxian County. Secondly, I have never been immersed in the shadow puppet culture and cannot feel the most sincere emotions. Later, after she returned to Beijing, she sent me all the original interview tapes and sent them back. In this way, I had to write the book "Huaxian Shadow Puppet Archives" by myself.
Lishang Fengwu: "Huaxian Shadow Puppet Archives" is a thick book. Writing, photo shooting, editing, proofreading, and design, including getting the number from the publishing house, are not easy tasks. How long did it take to publish this book, and what were the difficulties? How did you overcome these difficulties?
Zhang Tao: It has taken nearly thirty years from paying attention to shadow puppetry to photographing and recording, the accumulation of themes, and then to the writing, editing, and publishing processes. When Shanghai Culture Publishing House went to Xi'an to compile a manuscript and look for a topic, under the recommendation of teacher Shi Baoxiu, they were optimistic about my topic "Huaxian Shadow Puppet Archives". As for the establishment of the project, it was the matter of the publishing house. I remember that it took about four or five years from the time I attended the “Meeting of Chinese and Foreign Photography Experts” in Beijing. After being selected by the publishing house, I carefully verified the first draft and found that the birth and death information of many artists was unknown. Moreover, during the second field survey, some new artists from the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China were discovered. Even an artist may have three names at the same time - a stage name, a nickname, and a nickname. Some artists have been singing together for most of their lives and don't even know what their nickname is. In order to implement the detailed information of these people, it is necessary to investigate and verify one by one.
In 1953, the Huaxian Shadow Puppet Troupe took a group photo after participating in the provincial drama performance.
Talking about good karma and the rise and fall of the past and present | Wang Shuilong, the leader of the Sanyi Shadow Puppet Club in Daming Town, Huaxian
I found all the information about some artists in the Qing Dynasty. Their descendants were identified, and information such as family addresses and personal expertise and roles in the class community were confirmed. Three or four of them were able to find out the information by comparing it with the inscriptions on the tombstones. It is a pity that the biographical information of some artists still cannot be verified. I am a stubborn person who is unwilling to engage in fraud. If I act openly and openly, I will have made a mistake for a thousand years, and I will become a sinner of history. So what credibility does this book have? After the book was published, there were no copyright disputes or criticisms. There were typos, but "quandang" was written as "quandang".
This book was a lot of work. At that time, I found a college student. His father asked me to help me practice during the summer vacation. I asked him to convert my handwritten manuscript into an electronic version on the computer. I write very sloppily, and sometimes I don't recognize the characters I write. Sometimes they are traditional Chinese characters, sometimes they are simplified characters. Typing is also very difficult for me, and the accuracy can only reach 70% or 80%. Later, I revised and proofread it once, and then asked an middle school Chinese language teacher and a writer friend who graduated from the Chinese Department of Western University to proofread it again. Finally, I asked a professional proofreader from "Girlfriend" magazine to proofread it again. After it was handed over to the publisher, there were basically no textual errors, but some "inappropriate remarks" were slightly deleted. Fortunately, after several rounds of editing and proofreading, this book was finally published.
Life is busy, why rush | A shadow puppet artist in the middle of a performance
I have already seen what is on your mind | Hao Bingli held the cloth shoes handmade by his wife at the beach in Taiwan with pity
Etiquette and customs: if you jump out of "Huaxian Shadow Puppet Archives" This book returns to the entire cultural form as a whole. How do you view this cultural form in the Guanzhong area?
Zhang Tao: I think that although Shaanxi is similar but different from many places in the northwest in terms of folk customs, it is very consistent in terms of beliefs, etiquette and cultural connotations. I think Guanzhong, Shaanxi, is not only the imperial capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, but also has a close relationship with the historical and cultural aspects of the physical geography where it is located. I have checked some information, and many scholars believe that the Chinese nation originated in the Huashan area in the east of Shaanxi Province. This is well-founded. Folk customs, folk art culture, and the social education infiltrated by palace culture not only constitute the original folk culture of Shaanxi, but also form the basic culture of the entire Chinese nation. Therefore, if a person wants to do folk culture and really go deep into it, he must study and research from anthropology, , history, sociology, folklore and other aspects to see what our ancestors did. Why can these things be inherited?
Prosperity is dew on the flower, wealth is frost on the grass head | Village performance of shadow puppet show society
Return after singing a song | Current status of shadow puppet performance in Huaxian
Many dynasties have used so much political means to rule and injected many laws and regulations, but why do they not last long in the end? Only folk beliefs, folk culture, folk art , folk customs and other cultures that the common people like have been passed down? No one has ever mentioned the importance of these issues before. The intellectual who probably first proposed the concept of "folklore" and founded the folklore discipline in China in the 1920s and 1930s was Professor Gu Jiegang of Peking University in the 1920s and 1930s. He is the pioneer and founder of modern history, geography, and folklore in my country.Professor Jin Zhilin of the Central Academy of Fine Arts is a famous oil painter, but after he was sent to Yan'an to go deep into the folk, he actually stopped his "high-end" oil painting creation and began to like folk art. Through folk paper-cutting and embroidery , stone carvings, flour flowers and other folk cultural forms to study the relationship between anthropology, folklore and philosophy, explore and examine its origin and transmission context, and propose the academic research of "human origin culture".
Influenced by teacher Jin Zhilin and China Art MuseumTeacher Cao Zhenfeng, I became very interested in folk culture. I believe that the Guanzhong area in Shaanxi is the center of the original culture of the Chinese nation, and it extends from it to include: northern Shaanxi, Longdong, Gansu, , southern Shanxi, , and western Henan, Henan. There are three conditions for the formation of this center. One is the birthplace of the Chinese nation, the other is the similar natural conditions, and the third is the historical and political influence of the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties. After thousands of years of cultural exchanges and penetration, the Chinese nation has been formed. The center of the original culture.
In other words, in the end, only things that the common people like can be truly passed down.
See through this broken and muddy world | Pan Jingle sang a song in front of the grave of his senior brother Hao Bingli during the Qingming Festival
See the power of time in the desolate and quiet light | Shadow puppet artists marched arduously in the snowfield
Etiquette and Customs Editor Quote:
In the early stage of reform, it takes courage to keep up with the times, and even requires a certain price to compensate. Teacher Zhang Tao can solve the problem every time through his accurate judgment of the situation. On the other hand, it is also hard to believe that Teacher Zhang Tao’s attention, exploration and promotion of shadow puppet artists in Huaxian County have actually long surpassed the will and courage of a farmer, the brilliance of human nature and the vision of standing at the top of the mountain. , the farmers of Guanzhong who have been dealing with loess all their lives have gradually moved to the national stage and international perspective because of their singing and rough life experiences.
In addition, as for "Huaxian Shadow Puppet Archives", it is a relatively clear and comprehensive collection of domestic literature introducing the history and culture of Huaxian shadow puppets, as well as the lives and details of shadow puppet artists. The most charming thing about this book is that it retains the traces that have been lost in the years. The traveler is speechless, but there are traces on the road. This is not only a lament for the folk art form, but also a heartfelt sympathy for the spirit of Chinese culture. "The Tao is invisible", and the core of "Tao" is true love, which is also the truth and goodness that abandons all worldly distractions. Pay tribute to Teacher Zhang Tao! As a Yishangfengwu team that is also engaged in the excavation of Shaanxi folk traditional culture, Teacher Zhang Tao is a peak for us to learn from. While we are moved and admired, we also want to do all our love and responsibility to speak out for Shaanxi’s folk traditional culture. . If we don’t understand past culture well enough, how can we know how to take the future?
Introduction to Zhang Tao:
Born in Tongwei, Gansu Province in 1949. is a member of the Chinese Photographers Association and is a member of the Chinese Folklore Society.
Affected by historical reasons when he was a teenager, Zhang Tao was forced to travel around the northwest, reading about the vicissitudes of life and the ups and downs of events. In the 1970s, he picked up a camera and became an observer who used his lens to record the changes in folk culture and society. .
Zhang Tao uses the artistic instinct given by his father and the Chinese people's awareness and awe of traditional culture to record and describe the life course of Huaxian shadow puppets through the lens, which also reflects his deep and rich inner spiritual world. This is a precious life experience and cultural spirit, which will be passed down forever like shadow puppets.
Interview | Editor: He Li
Photography: Zhang Tao
Local customs and long-term relationships
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