Photographer documents Qiang after big quake
Print Edition
DURING the Chinese New Year of 2009, Gao Tunzi went to a village 2,800 meters above sea level in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province. The 50-year-old photographer and filmmaker celebrated the festival with Qiang people, one of China’s ethnic groups. Though they had TVs for entertainment, the villagers still preferred chatting around the bonfire.
When Gao tuned in, they were talking about the biggest harm to befall human beings. Chen, a small leader of the village, said it was the automobile. He said the only victim in their village to die in the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 was trapped in a car.
“We are enjoying the convenience and benefits of modern industrialization, but people from a relatively primitive place may see the deeper influence of these inventions. They have their own ideology that differs from ours. And I want to experience their life that is more natural,°” Gao tells Shanghai Daily.
Recently Gao presented a visual exhibition showcasing the rural ethnic Qiang in Wenchuan County, following the catastrophic earthquake of May 12, 2008, along with their embroidery at Life Hub @ Anting in Jiading District for International Children’s Day.
The Qiang people mainly dwell on the mountains of the Tibetan plateau in clusters of up to 100 households called “zhai” — literally “fortress village.” As if living in a hermetic world, the inhabitants hunt animals, cultivate plants, herd yaks and collect herbs.
The earthquake destroyed many villages, and about 700 Qiang people in Wenchuan had to migrate to Qionglai City, more than 150 kilometers from their homes.
“They had lived in Wenchuan for many generations, so it was such a pain for them to leave. Many of the villagers cried on the way to their new homes,” Gao said.
Gao and his assistant walked into the villages and recorded the migration with a Hasselblad camera.
“When I was sending some relief in disaster-hit areas of Wenchuan earthquake, I encountered countless moving scenes that kept haunting me after I came back. And it felt like I really should do something,” he said.
Gao was in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Photographing at first was just his hobby. He worked as an editor in local media for six years.
“It has always been my dream to write, telling my views of reality. But maybe I am too serious toward words, and I find it’s hard to start,” he says.
Thus Gao quit his job and embarked on a different journey with his camera. “Photography makes you feel free and cheer your life up,” he says.
The ethnic Han has focused his lens on minority groups since 1995, when he became a photographer. His earliest photo series were mainly focused on the customs and natural scenic views of West China — from the stunning snows in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the pilgrimages of Tibetan Buddhists. He also published dozens of albums.
“The scenic albums brought me great commercial success, however, didn’t fulfill my artistic desire,” Gao says.
In 2004, he abandoned his graphic design business and went to study filmmaking at the Beijing Film Academy.
“No matter how hard I have tried, I couldn’t go back to the initial condition of photographing, where I spent most of the time creating work that related to tourism and cultural topics for commercial needs. And gradually I lost the passion shooting in the first rays of morning sun,” said Gao.
“With deep devotion toward words and images, it feels like I am bound to embrace filmmaking,” he adds.
Gao likes monochromes and was always inspired by directors Andrei Tarkovsky, Akira Kurosawa, Giuseppe Tornatore and Abbas Kiarostami.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
