Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/03/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:49:33 -0700 > From: Adam Bridge <abridge at mac.com> > Subject: Re: [Leica] China 1976 > To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Message-ID: <03B0A2D5-2D6B-4365-857E-9281350862EA at mac.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII > > Howard, > > We you in a position to photograph ordinary life at all or was that > proscribed? Foreigners were an oddity wherever we went. And so we were followed. My home telephone line was tapped. Sometimes you could hear them rewinding the tape when you picked up the receiver. Chinese people would side up to you and start a conversation and as soon as they saw the "gong an" (public security) following they would turn away. Pictures were easier when you were photographing children and their families. Not an easy time for us - or the Chinese people. > > My nephew was married in China last summer. My wife and many of her > family members travelled there, stayed in non-Western hotels, and > had a wonderful experience. I'd love to compare images from the 70s > with the images she made in 2010. What a revolution in 40 years. > Probably not the one Mao had in mind. Or maybe yes? If Mao were alive today and still in charge I am certain he would be appalled and try to start another cultural revolution to turn the people away from the capitalist road. China owes a great debt to Deng Xiao Ping who cast aside Maoist orthodoxy and said that it was alright to get rich, Deng was imprisoned by Mao's widow and when he came back he had her and the "Gang of Four" arrested and tried for treason. I have pictures of that period too - big character posters and demonstrations. Then the restrictions on picture taking were lifted. The Chinese authorities wanted the stories told to the outside world. > > Adam Bridge Howard