January 1, 2022. early morning. Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Under the glow of the morning sun, accompanied by the rising of the five-star red flag, ten thousand peace doves rose in front of the golden and brilliant Tiananmen Tower and soared under the blue sky. This familiar and beautiful picture has become the most classic portrayal of the Chinese nation's love of peace and China's peaceful and prosperous world.
In the early morning of January 1, 2022, a flag-raising ceremony was held in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to release the dove of peace. China News Service reporter Yi Haifei photographed
Pigeons have been regarded as auspicious birds since ancient times. However, in the name of "peace doves", they have become the messengers of people's good wishes, but they have experienced a long period of baptism and interpretation.
Huang Jian, vice president and chief expert of the China Carrier Pigeon Association, told China News Network that in Western mythology, pigeons are angels that let human beings see life. According to records, after the Ancient Flood, Noah, the last survivor of mankind, released a pigeon from the ark and asked it to find out whether the flood had receded. The pigeon returned an olive branch, and Noah saw it and concluded that the flood had receded and that the world had ushered in the hope of life.
Beautiful peace dove. Courtesy of the Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association
In China, pigeons have been used as auspicious objects for thousands of years. According to historical records and archaeological findings, China began to raise pigeons in captivity during the Shang Dynasty. In Chinese folklore, the pigeon is regarded as a "happy bird" that can ward off disasters and bring good luck. In the Qing Dynasty official Xiu Provincial Local Chronicle "Qifu Tongzhi", the story of two pigeons saving the life of Han Gaozu's ancestor Liu Bang was recorded: "Xiang Yu led troops to chase After Han Gaozu and avoid the well. There are double pigeons gathered in the well, and the pursuit of the soldiers is not doubtful, because they are spared. ”
Huang Jian said that it is precisely because the pigeon is beautiful and docile and intelligent, has a strong belief in homing, and has the ability to fly that is difficult for human beings to reach, so it has been loved by people since ancient times and has been given auspicious meanings.
"I started raising pigeons when I was 6 years old, and I was attracted by the docile beauty of the pigeons in the neighborhood and the melodious whistle of the pigeons in the alley. Children's eyes are the purest, and they can see the 'heart' and goodwill under the beautiful appearance of the pigeon. Huang Jian said with a smile.
According to Kao, the "Pigeon Classic" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties is the earliest pigeon culture monograph in the world. There is a cloud in the book: "The pigeons are inseparable, the flying song depends on each other, and there is a song that follows the meaning... Whoever has a sigh of no fat (fat: meaning of harmony and prosperity) should raise birds. At this time, the dove has begun to "speak" for harmony and peace.
But the pigeon's final certification as a "peace dove" stems from a tragic story that is not peaceful.
Pigeons that have just flown out of the loft. Courtesy of the Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association
In August 1940, fascist bandits occupied Paris, killed a young boy and stabbed his pigeon to death. The boy's grandfather found Picasso, who was living here at the time, and asked the Spanish painter to help him paint a pigeon in honor of his grandson who had been killed.
Looking at the bloody dove in the old man's hand, Picasso, who had already hated war, was even more sad and indignant, and he swiped his pen to achieve it, and the prototype of the "peace dove" came into being.
In 1950, to commemorate the World Peace Congress held in Warsaw, Poland, Picasso painted a flying pigeon with an olive branch on the basis of the image of the pigeon. At that time, the Chilean poet Neruda named the dove in this painting "Peace Dove", and the dove has since become a recognized symbol of peace in the world, and many countries have since released the "Peace Dove" to express their desire for world peace in major events. The emblem of the International Year of Peace consists of a dove of peace and an olive branch flying with both hands.
"But now, when it comes to the 'peace dove,' most people in the world only know Picasso, but they don't know that before Picasso, a Chinese painter had named his hundred dove figures 'Messenger of World Peace.'" Huang Jian said that the painter was Zhang Shuxu, who had been called "Jinling Sanjie" with Xu Beihong and Liu Zigu.
In the spring of 1940, Zhang Shuxu was commissioned by the nationalist government at that time to create a dove map called "The Messenger of World Peace" and gave it to US President Roosevelt in order to win the United States to join the international anti-fascist struggle and establish a new order of world peace as soon as possible. The whole picture of a hundred pigeons has different shapes and movements, so this painting is also known as "Hundred Pigeons" in the folk.
Although Zhang Shuxu's "Messenger of World Peace" is not well known, the use of pigeons as a symbol of world peace predates Picasso's world-recognized "peace doves" by 10 years.
Huang Jian told reporters that in his memory, the first time New China released peace doves in major events was at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of New China in 1959. The Chinese Pigeon Association was founded in the 1980s, and the organized large-scale release of peace pigeons in China began after the establishment of the Chinese Pigeon Association, and was completed by the members of the pigeons.
At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Asian Games in September 1990, the spectacular picture of 11,000 white pigeons taking off at the same time made many people still remember it vividly; on June 10, 1997, 1997 peace pigeons were released in Sha Tau Kok, Hong Kong, to celebrate Hong Kong's return to the motherland; on September 3, 2005, at the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Anti-Fascist War, 16,000 white pigeons released sounded the sound of "peace" under the blue sky and white clouds.
Fly the peace dove at the National Memorial Service for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. Courtesy of the Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association
December 13, 2014, is China's first National Day of Commemoration for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. Members of the Nanjing Carrier Pigeon Association donated 3,000 carrier pigeons to be released at the scene, once again showing the world that the Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, and at the same time expressing the strong desire of Chinese "backwards and world peace". The release of peace doves on National Day of Public Worship has also become a common practice ever since.
Under the clouds of war filled with smoke and smoke, the dove completed the indictment of the war with his own life, and achieved the name of "peace dove". Today, in the clear and clear sky of Chengping, these flying spirits are not only the transmitters of people's wishes for peace, but also the prayers for the auspicious and healthy health of mankind, and the guardians and interpreters of this peaceful and peaceful years.
On October 1, 2009, the peace dove was released at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Courtesy of the Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association
In 2009 and 2019, the 60th and 70th anniversaries of the founding of New China were held respectively. On these two National Day days, Tiananmen Square released 60,000 and 70,000 peace pigeons respectively, which became the world's largest number of peace pigeons released at large-scale events at that time.
July 1, 2021, marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association organized national members to release 200,000 peace pigeons at 72 release points across the country to celebrate the birthday of the party, with Beijing's Tiananmen Square as the main venue, once again creating a world record for the number of peace pigeons released in major celebrations.
2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. At the celebration on 1 July, 100,000 peace pigeons were released. Courtesy of the Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association
"Pigeons are easily frightened and do not come out of chaos. Therefore, the pigeon can fly freely, which is itself the best interpretation of 'peace'. "In 2005, the Beijing Municipal People's Government issued a document stipulating that during New Year's Day and National Day every year, when the national flag is raised in Tiananmen Square, peace doves will be released. ”
Since then, at the beginning of the new year and the National Day festival, the hunting of the red flag, the sound of military music, and the sound of pigeons have also become a colorful movement of peaceful China.
It is worth mentioning that behind these peace pigeons, there are more than 400,000 pigeon owners , members of the Chinese Carrier Pigeon Association. It is precisely because of their years or even decades of dedication and dedication that they have cultivated and trained pigeons that can obey orders and receive instructions; it is precisely because they selflessly dedicate their carrier pigeons to participate in the activities that we can witness the spectacular scene of the large-scale release of the peace pigeons and feel the good wishes and blessings they convey.
It's New Year again.
Bathed in the first rays of sunshine of 2022, the "dove of peace",
It also carries the common blessings of 1.4 billion Chinese:
May this world be as you and I wish,
Stop the war, truce,
Yong is the prosperous scene of Guotai Min'an.
China News Service: Wang Zumin
Source: China News Service