Autobiography of Xie Hailong
In the early 1980s, I began to teach myself photography. After nearly ten years of hard work, my photography skills have improved significantly, and I have been selected and won awards in various photography competitions and film festivals at home and abroad. But the subject matter is messy and there is no personal style. In 1990, I went to the countryside again to create art and found that many farm children in poor areas were unable to go to school and receive education due to life difficulties. Their desire to study deeply moved me, so I decided to record them with a camera. Tell people in wealthy areas that as long as you lend a helping hand, these children will not become illiterate. At that time, I was reading information everywhere. Understanding the current situation of rural basic education in China and knowing that there are still 200 million illiterate people in China, and that one out of every four illiterate people in the world is Chinese, had a great impact on me.
In early 1991, I bought a map, pieced it together, found some funds, and began to conduct interviews in remote areas. That year, I took hard-seat trains, tractors, donkey carts and other means of transportation, I went specifically to the mountains. I traveled to 12 provinces, 28 counties, and more than 100 schools for a whole year, and shot 70 films. When it’s hot, run south. When it gets cold, I run north to experience the hard work of the children. Money is tight, so I live in a fellow villager's house. I always eat two pancakes and a bowl of vegetable soup, and sometimes I have to walk forty or fifty miles a day.
In fact, the difficult conditions were not my biggest difficulty. Many people could not understand the need to shoot this special topic. At that time, the society advocated the main theme, shooting more and showing the brighter side. But this special feature records only the old and shabby, the old and the young, and the poor. Not only can the photos not be published, but they will also cause trouble. But I firmly believe that doing so makes sense. I can't see these kids wandering outside the campus. Many children cried and wanted to go to school. Since their families had no conditions, they went to the mountains to cut firewood, catch some scorpions and sell them, or cut off their nails and hair in exchange for money. It was so touching. No matter what, I have to keep doing this. At that time, many friends started businesses and made a fortune, but I thought that as long as I did this well, it would be worthwhile to take the camera, and it would be a good thing for society. Something meaningful.
In the countryside, I always ran into trouble and was ignored everywhere. The local leaders did not want me to "expose" them, and they did not think of the benefits these pictures could bring to them. As a result, the progress is very slow, the car cannot be found, and walking is commonplace. Another time, I was taking photos in a dilapidated school that had just rained. The children used broken basins and broken bowls to clean up the water in the classroom. However, they never expected to be misunderstood by a young teacher. During the scuffle, they were injured. I was covered in mud, and felt very sad. I only thought about the children and the teachers in impoverished mountainous areas. Their lives were very difficult, and their monthly salary was less than a few dozen yuan (and they had to pay in advance for the children who could not afford the tuition). But when they see me taking photos, they always feel unhappy, fearing to embarrass the society and obstructing me in every possible way. In this way, climbing mountains and wading in rivers, wind and rain, everywhere I go, I am infected by the praying eyes of those poor children. Often one sad story does not dissolve, and another sad story is absorbed in my heart. At first, I couldn't help but take out some change and give it to them, but after all, it couldn't solve the actual problem. I often think that we must shoot more trots so that they can get help as soon as possible.
I often live with rural teachers, listen to their sad stories, and am often moved by their determination to educate rural people.
In April 1992, I enlarged 40 of all the negatives and sent them to many people around me for review and to listen to their opinions and feelings. Everyone who saw the photos had the same feeling: they were donating money for these children. Especially the picture of "Little Girl with Big Eyes" will affect everyone who sees it. At that time, various news media reported on it, and the effect was unexpected. They sent their donations to the China Youth Development Foundation and received hundreds of millions of dollars in donations in less than eight months. Many people wrote on their remittance orders: "Please transfer the money to the "little girl with big eyes". Sometimes we can receive tens of thousands of yuan in donations in a day. Seeing this, I was very excited. Originally, I was very excited. I thought that these photos would not be published, but I did not expect that they would trigger a huge philanthropic power in society. Most of these people are ordinary people, and they are not rich in life. They cannot allow others to have a harder time than them, so I started to organize a personal photo exhibition while the iron was hot. , let more people understand the current situation and participate.
In October 1992, my photo exhibition titled "Photographic Documentary of Project Hope" was displayed in Beijing and Taipei at the same time, which was unprecedented on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The exhibition in Beijing was part of the China Photography Art Festival. At that time, there were thirteen or four large-scale photo exhibitions on display at the same time. The famous artist Lao Ping and many famous foreign photographers also participated. The authors of domestic film festivals include masters Wu Yinxian and Jian Qingfu. And I am an unknown person, so the film festival was held in the aisle. Unexpectedly, the photos triggered a strong response. Within 10 days, tens of thousands of people flocked to the exhibition, crowded in front of the exhibition board, and never wanted to leave. Many elderly people wiped their tears while visiting and were filled with emotion. Many college, middle and primary school students lined up to visit. They put money on the ground, and 10,000 people signed autographs to cheer for the film festival. They spoke highly of the work and expressed their sincere moral support for Project Hope. For the first time, I felt the great power of photography, and for the first time I realized the significance of my career.
Ten days later, the film festival ended. North China Oilfield moved my film festival to the oilfield to continue, and then there was an upsurge of pairing up to help out-of-school children. A wedding photo studio in Wuhan was celebrating a store. The owner canceled the planned banquet and used the money to hold a Project Hope Film Festival, which was very effective. After that, the film festival continued to tour Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hefei and other places, creating a sensation wherever it went.
My film festival was toured in three major cities on the island of Taiwan, hosted by China Times Weekly. The exhibition in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung lasted for more than 80 days. Some publications published my cover photo and conducted continuous reports with the title "The Chinese Photographer Who Has exerted the Most Influence", which caused a sensation in Taiwan. .
Seeing such results made me more determined. Donations are pouring in, adding up to hundreds of millions every year. My photos are hung on the main streets of major cities. Every carriage of the Beijing subway train is covered with posters I took.
In 1994, I donated the royalties I received from taking photos to five out-of-school children in Qinghai Province. The children wrote to me saying that they didn’t know whether they called me uncle or grandfather, or where I worked, and they thanked me for my concern and help to them. In 1997, I donated 50,000 yuan from the auction of a personal camera I used to shoot this special series to Project Hope.
In August 1994, CCTV’s “Oriental Time and Space” produced a special program called “Son of the East” for me. After it aired, the calls kept coming. I took a taxi and the driver recognized me, and they entrusted me to transfer the donation to the children in the mountains. Many newspapers and magazines published articles about me. During that period, I received thirty or forty letters from readers every day. Some made donations and some provided me with interview leads. They all said that I had done a good deed that was indispensable.
In October 1994, my photo album "I Want to Go to School" was published. I distributed the photo album to party and government leaders at all levels, as well as celebrities from all walks of life. They all donated money to varying degrees. Many party and government officials donated money. Leaders of the same family also donated money to build Hope Primary Schools in Shazang and other places.
I was transferred to China Youth Daily as a reporter at the end of 1992. In the past few years, I have taken advantage of business trips to visit nearly a hundred counties in 26 provinces across the country. I have followed up and interviewed many of the subjects I have photographed. I have learned about their current situation, made timely reports, and received Good results.
As my "fame" increased, newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, government agencies, schools, and enterprises kept coming to me. Some asked to publish my pictures, some wanted to visit and report on me, and some asked me to I make reports. I also take every opportunity to tell others the story behind each photo.
In the past eight years, I have toured Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, the United States and other places to conduct exhibitions and give lectures. Every time I came back, I gained a lot. In the United States, I was doing a live show on a radio station. I returned to the exhibition venue an hour later and the place was already full of overseas Chinese. They said they shed tears after listening to the program, so they came to donate money. An overseas Chinese in his seventies was very moved after receiving an original painting from me, and immediately donated 120,000 US dollars to us as an education incentive fund.
Among the dozens of photos I took, those involving out-of-school children have all returned to school, and those involving distressed classrooms have all been built into Hope Primary Schools.
The person in charge of the China Youth Development Foundation once said: "A photo of Hai Long often attracts a school, or even more than one." He also said: "People mostly understand the Hope Project through his pictures. First of all, They were deeply moved by his works, so they donated their love one after another. "As early as 1994, the photo of "Little Girl with Big Eyes" was designated as the image symbol of Project Hope, and was registered as a trademark with the national industrial and commercial department and went through legal procedures. Protect.
In January 1994, the China Youth Development Foundation held a large-scale charity performance "Bells Across the Century" at the Great Hall of the People. 56 of my works were enlarged to 0.8x1.2 meters and displayed in the hall. This is the first time that China has held a personal photo exhibition here.
In 1996, the China Press Photography Society awarded me the "Special Contribution Award." In 1997, the Chinese Photographers Association awarded me the "Special Honor Award". In 1998, people gathered in the special program "20 People in 20 Years of Reform and Opening Up" of the Economic Channel of CCTV. At present, Project Hope has been carried out for nearly ten years, and the children I interviewed have become knowledgeable young people. The "little girl with big eyes" has already entered high school and was elected as an alternate member of the 14th National Congress of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League. Project Hope tells people with its successful experience that it is an extremely influential event in the 50 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. At present, Project Hope *** has received 1.782 billion yuan in donations, assisted in the construction of more than 7,000 Hope primary schools, and assisted 2.2 million out-of-school children. More importantly, the party and government also spoke highly of Project Hope.
Jie Hailong and Project Hope
China Youth Development Foundation (hereinafter referred to as China Youth Development Foundation) is a national non-profit social organization with independent legal person status. The China Youth Development Foundation strives for domestic and foreign relations. With the support and sponsorship of groups and individuals who care deeply about the China Youth Development Fund, we promote the development of Chinese youth education, science and technology, culture, sports, health, social welfare and environmental protection, promote modernization and the reunification of the motherland, and safeguard world peace.
Project Hope, launched in October 1989, is a social welfare undertaking initiated and organized by the China Youth Development Foundation. Project Hope aims to mobilize social forces to help out-of-school children in poor rural areas of China continue their primary school studies and improve school conditions in poor areas. This is considered to be the most influential social welfare undertaking in China in the 20th century; it has received strong support from the government and active participation at home and abroad. Mr. Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China's reform and opening up, had personally named Project Hope during his lifetime.
In the ten years since Project Hope has been implemented, hundreds of millions of well-wishers at home and abroad have donated money, raised 182 million yuan, and helped more than 2.209 million children who have dropped out of school due to poverty return to school. We assisted in the construction of more than 7,549 Hope Primary Schools in poverty-stricken areas, donated 10,000 "Hope Library", 2,000 "Three Exhibition Library" children's audio and video product series and supporting recording and playback equipment to rural primary schools, and trained and commended more than 6,000 rural primary school teachers.
"China Youth Daily" photojournalist Xie Hailong actively participated in the promotion of Project Hope as a Project Hope volunteer at the beginning of its implementation. In the past few years, he has gone deep into poverty-stricken areas in China, traveled to 26 provinces and more than 120 counties in China, interviewed hundreds of rural schools, tens of thousands of rural students and rural teachers, and shot and published hundreds of highly infectious and shocking pictures. Powerful documentary photography. The works photographed by Xie Hailong have been widely used by more than a thousand newspapers, television and other publicity media such as People's Daily and CCTV. They have become classic works for the promotion of Project Hope. They have wide influence, become household names and are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Many kind-hearted people have been influenced by him. Moved by his works, he donated money, materials and love to Project Hope. He has held Project Hope photography documentary exhibitions at home and abroad many times. Wherever the exhibitions were held, he spoke about the needs of out-of-school children and brought care from all walks of life at home and abroad back to poverty. One of his works can often bring one or several hope primary schools to poor rural areas. For this reason, many people in poor areas have sincerely invited Xie Hailong to use his camera to express their voices.
Xie Hailong played an irreplaceable role and made outstanding contributions in arousing all walks of life to participate in and support Project Hope. It is precisely because of the influence of Xie Hailong’s works that Project Hope has achieved today’s brilliant achievements< /p>
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