Li Zhensheng (1940–2020)

If we are one day truly to be able to answer such questions and to gain an understanding of not only their personal motivations, but also the hidden meanings of the Cultural Revolution, it may well be because of the evidence provided by witnesses such as the news photographer Li Zhensheng. In many thousands of rolls of film, shot between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s, Li tracked the developments of the Cultural Revolution in China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang, in and around the city of Harbin. As an official photographer for the state-controlled newspaper he was, of course, to some extent doing no more than obeying orders in framing his photos; but as a young man with an acute eye, he was also achieving something far more complex: he was tracking human tragedies and personal foibles with a precision that was to create an enduring legacy not only for his contemporaries, but for the generations of his countrymen then unborn.'

(Abstract from introduction by Jonathan D. Spence)… (lisätietoja)

Rare View of the Cultural Revolution

The collection of photos in this book is simply amazing. Although the internet has made many hard-to-find photos of the Cultural Revolution more common, it is still a challenge to find them. With the late Li Zhensheng's "Red-Color News Soldier," we have 300 photos taken from the same region, Heilongjiang. They show mass rallies, executions, the Down to the Countryside movement, Red Guards, struggle sessions, and other facets of the Cultural Revolution.

These are Li's photographs when he was a photographer working for a state newspaper, where Li participated in the Cultural Revolution. Despite taking part in struggle sessions, he was eventually denounced himself, although he did not receive the harshest of punishments. We learn of this from the narrated text that introduces different sections of the book. In addition, there are very meticulous captions to help the reader make sense of what is happening.

Unfortunately, the book is very awkwardly designed. The written narrations go right up to the edge of the page, making them difficult to read. The cover is an awkward vinyl. Such rare and interesting material deserves better treatment.… (lisätietoja)

Li's book is an excellent and heart breaking personal account of the Cultural Revolution. The book, which isn't overly long, is designed in a coffee table sense, as the photos were not cropped or altered. The content (words and photographs) are broken down into sections, each covering a period of time in the history of China and Li's life. While by itself, these pictures of the Cultural Revolution (never before seen glimpses into China we've only read about) are moving -- what makes Red-Color News Soldier such a profound book is that many of the people in the photographs are given names and we know who they are and what they've done (or, in some cases didn't do).

Before each section (safe the preface, introduction and epilogue) are several pages of Li's own story, including pictures he took of himself, his coworkers and his immediately family. These pages also provide the background (both about Li and that of the photos he took) we need to look at the photographs and to understand them (if we, outsiders, can even do that).… (lisätietoja)