In the 1930s, Wu Yinxian left Wuhan, where the Japanese army was approaching, and took a northbound train all the way to Yan'an.
But what he never expected was that he would be able to be favored by the god of fate and have the opportunity to take pictures of Chairman Mao frequently.
The once-in-a-lifetime historical opportunity not only injected a strong fresh vitality into Wu Yinxian's artistic career, but also gave Wu Yinxian the privilege of reflecting that great era, and truly recorded the footprints of this generation of great people leading the Chinese people to defeat the evil forces and move from darkness to light.
At the same time, Wu Yinxian's emotional world and spiritual outlook have undergone profound and thorough changes. While following and reflecting the struggle of the Communists, it also reshaped Wu Yinxian himself.
When Wu Yinxian first arrived in Yan'an, the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army set up a film troupe to prepare for the filming of a large-scale documentary "Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army".
Tan Zheng, deputy director of the General Political Department, served as the head of the regiment, and Wu Yinxian served as the leader of the photography team. It is said that it is a film troupe, in fact, there are only six or seven personnel, coupled with the limited conditions at that time, not only did there was no basic processing equipment, but even the film was seriously insufficient.
Just a few people, just such a state of equipment, to shoot the first large-scale documentary of the Chinese Communist Party, it is too difficult.
Wu Yinxian often felt anxious and uneasy about this, and his confidence was insufficient. At this time, Chairman Mao unexpectedly took a break from the complicated official duties of the day to receive the film troupe and invited everyone to dinner.
At that time, the newly founded Yan'an Revolutionary Base Area was in a difficult period of waste and waiting to be rebuilt, and the material conditions were very simple.
Chairman Mao was dressed in a coarse cloth old military uniform, his hair was very long, like walking on the streets of Yan'an, it was difficult for you to distinguish him from ordinary soldiers, and Wu Yinxian was very surprised by this!
"Welcome, Comrade Muzhi and Comrade Yinxian, I have long looked up to your great name. You are a director and a famous photographer, and it is not simple for you to leave the big city and come to the town of Yan'an to participate in the work of our Eighth Route Army! ”
Holding Chairman Mao's generous and generous hand and listening to his sincere words, Wu Yinxian's heart was shaken.
The chairman's mood was full of cheerfulness and his attitude was extremely kind, and Wu Yinxian began to understand why the soldiers and civilians in Yan'an respected and admired him so much when they mentioned him. He does have great charisma in him, making people feel confident and powerful, and can draw people closely to the common cause.
During the meal, Chairman Mao asked with concern about the film troupe's plans and plans, and what difficulties and requirements they had. When he learned that their greatest difficulty was a serious shortage of photographic equipment, Chairman Mao made a helpless gesture: "I am afraid that I can't help this help!" ”
The funny answer caused everyone to laugh easily, "Now you masters of art may be heroes and useless," Mao Zedong said sharply, "but there will always be opportunities to display your talents in the future." It is impossible for you to shoot the Long March now, but in the future, it may be possible, we in the Eighth Route Army have nothing else to rely on, everything depends on our own struggle! ”
Chairman Mao smiled slightly, stared at them for a moment and then turned his gaze to the window, staring at the blue sky and pagoda in the distance.
Chairman Mao seems to have deliberately created a period of stagnation and solidification, so that those who have just arrived in Yan'an can follow his train of thought to appreciate the spirit of the Eighth Route Army and choose their own future path.
He was like this, injecting the essence of Yan'an into their bodies in a few concise words, and incorporating their work into the entire body of the Eighth Route Army.
It is precisely by relying on this "struggling" Yan'an spirit that all the cadres and fighters of the film troupe have completed the filming of documentaries such as "Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army", "Nanniwan", and "Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of China" without the conditions.
In the absence of electricity, a part of the film was completed, leaving valuable information for this history.
In the process of taking pictures of Chairman Mao afterwards, there were several things that left a very deep impression on Wu Yinxian.
Everyone who lived in Yan'an still remembers that 1940-1942 was the most arduous and severe stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The outbreak of the Soviet-German war made the mud-soaked Japanese militarists want to break free from the Chinese battlefield as soon as possible in order to deal with the American and British troops in the Pacific theater.
To this end, it attacked the anti-Japanese base areas with a hundred times as much madness as it did everything, "swept up" and "cleared the countryside" on a large scale, and indiscriminately bombed indiscriminately, causing heavy losses to the soldiers and people in our base areas.
At the same time, the Kuomintang troops also continued to create anti-communist friction and tightened the economic blockade of the base areas. In those years, many people in the base areas actually reached the point of starving with grass roots and bark.
One day in the spring of 1942, Wu Yinxian took two comrades from the photography team to take pictures of Chairman Mao, who was about to make a report to the cadres of the Jinsui Of the 120th Division.
The weather was very good that day, the sun was shining on the Loess Plateau, and the cadres and soldiers in the venue were in good spirits. Chairman Mao wore a gray cotton military uniform, a pair of homemade cotton shoes, and what was striking was that two large patches were patched on his pants.
In his report, Chairman Mao fully affirmed the achievements of the Jinsui Border Region in heroically resisting the Great Spring "Sweep" of the Japanese Army, and he demanded that the Cadres of Jinsui should further mobilize the masses, set up militia and armed task forces, and "squeeze" the enemy out of the border area.
With his consistent optimism and self-confidence, Chairman Mao commented on the political situation and analyzed the situation, which greatly encouraged the cadres and fighters attending the meeting.
Infected by Chairman Mao's demeanor of a general who is in a bad situation and does not panic and vows to contend with stubborn enemies, a thick and solid self-confidence and an indestructible force have rapidly and quietly risen up in everyone's hearts, and will spread rapidly through them to various base areas to form an even more powerful fighting force.
Wu Yinxian was also touched by the rising morale in the venue, touched by Chairman Mao's great wisdom and courage, and was determined to record this unforgettable moment through the camera in his hand and reflect Chairman Mao's spiritual outlook.
In the case of a shortage of film, Wu Yinxian only captured four shots. One of the most satisfactory was a single photograph of Chairman Mao, with a half-cave house as a background, a square stool and a half-old enamel teapot that named the theme of the lecture.
Chairman Mao's slightly thin face and patched trousers added a little more awareness of that particular hard time.
Although there is no audience on the screen, from Chairman Mao's look and posture, you can feel the exhilarating atmosphere of the crowd at the venue, and feel Chairman Mao's optimism, calmness, and firmness when the soldiers pressed the situation.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao was very satisfied when he saw this photograph, saying: "This photograph is the best expression of the spirit of the times. ”
In fact, it is Chairman Mao's own temperament, and it is the revolutionary spirit of arduous pioneering that he advocates and practices that has injected extremely rich connotations into this photo, so that the chairman's simple attire and inner strength are highly unified and coordinated, and the grandeur of the communists is highlighted, so that this photo has an eternal artistic appeal.
After the report meeting, He Long, commander of the 1st and 20th Divisions, stayed with Chairman Mao for dinner, and the two chiefs greeted each other warmly: "Comrades of the film troupe have come to eat together!" When Ren Changyu, a service soldier, packed up his photographic equipment and went into the cave, everyone was already seated, and only Chairman Mao had an empty seat next to him.
After Ren Changyu sat down, Chairman Mao asked him in a thick Hunan dialect: "Where did you get born and when did you join the army?" ”
Ren Changyu found himself sitting next to Chairman Mao, and the young man immediately became nervous and shy, stuttering to answer Chairman Mao's question while wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hand.
Chairman Mao laughed kindly and laughed, "Eat vegetables, eat vegetables!" Everyone laughed, and the spring in the cave was stronger.
After dinner, Chairman Mao sat down with Wu Yinxian and chatted, because Jiang Qing also liked photography, but at that time, she was mostly self-taught and did not go through professional study.
Therefore, in the course of this chat, when talking about Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao proposed to Wu Yinxian: "Jiang Qing also likes photography, are you willing to be her photography teacher?" ”
Of course, Wu Yinxian is very willing, he hopes that more people will learn photography and like photography. Later, Jiang Qing often went to Wu Yinxian to ask for knowledge on photography, but because the conditions were limited at that time and it was in the war years, this matter was first shelved.
It was not until the 1960s that Jiang Qing officially began to study photography, and later directly invited Wu Yinxian to live in Building 10, and with the help of Wu Yinxian, Jiang Qing's photography level has indeed improved significantly. It laid a solid foundation for her to continue her studies in photography.
At the beginning of March of that year, Comrade Zhang Hao, deputy director of the Workers' Movement Committee of the CPC Central Committee, died of illness. He was one of the earliest members of the Communist Party of China and had long been involved in the workers' movement. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, he was sent to Changsha by the Central Committee and actively participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Comrade Mao Zedong, and had a close relationship with Mao Zedong.
After his death, Yan'an held a solemn memorial service for him. Wu Yinxian has filmed on the spot.
In March, the northern Shaanxi Plateau was still cold, and a black-lacquered coffin was placed in the center of the square, covered with a red flag. In front of the venue hung a portrait of Comrade Zhang Hao.
People who came from all directions to send off were wearing black veils and looking sad. Wu Yinxian could not remember who presided over the memorial service, but remembered that almost all the leaders of the Central Committee had come to guard the spirit of Comrade Zhang Hao that day.
Chairman Mao was still the same old cotton military uniform, and because it was cold, he put on an old military hat.
He was the first to stand solemnly in front of the coffin for a moment, and then together with Mr. Zhu, He Long, Shang Kun, Chen Yun, and Kang Sheng, he silently lifted the coffin, placed it on his shoulder, and walked out of the venue step by step, until Comrade Zhang Hao was sent to the cemetery.
Comrade Zhang Hao's wife and son walked miserably next to the line, followed by hundreds of cadres and fighters.
This is a unique and huge funeral procession! The shock to Wu Yinxian's heart was undoubtedly enormous. Although Zhang Hao has deep qualifications, he cannot be compared with the chairman in terms of his position and prestige.
In 1942, Mao Zedong and others carried the coffin of zhang Hao martyr
But when he died, Chairman Mao personally carried a coffin for him and buried him, and this friendship rooted in common faith and common cause is the most equal, precious, most worthy of respect and cherishing in the world.
Wu Yinxian once again experienced the mystery of the Communist Party's indestructible and invincible. This photograph of Chairman Mao carrying the coffin of Comrade Zhang Hao was eventually named "Only Public Servants And No Officials."
In 1943, after the joint struggle of the military and the people in the base areas, the situation improved. Not only has it smashed the enemy's military "sweep," pinned down and eliminated a large number of the enemy's living forces, and consolidated the base areas, but also through the mass production movement of the whole people, economic production activities have also developed considerably.
From 1942 to 1944, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region alone reclaimed more than 2 million mu of wasteland, and everyone's life has been greatly improved.
To this end, the Government of the Border Region held a meeting of model workers and heroes in the Yangjialing Auditorium, at which Chairman Mao made a report on "organizing."
In the absence of electric lighting, indoor shooting is quite difficult, not to mention the photographic equipment is very simple, there is no flash, even the film is out of date.
However, after taking pictures of Chairman Mao many times, Wu Yinxian was already familiar with Chairman Mao's habit of speaking with gestures to help him speak in a tone; every time he talked about the key points, his voice was not only more depressed and frustrated, but also often used some extremely exaggerated gestures to greatly strengthen the power of language, and it seemed that he wanted to better instill his thoughts into the hearts of the listeners with those dashing and powerful movements.
Therefore, listening to Chairman Mao's report, everyone felt that it was an artistic enjoyment. It is precisely because he has mastered the characteristics of the chairman's speech that Wu Yinxian has confidence in capturing Mao Zedong's speech.
He took the machine, put the aperture, waited patiently, and as a result, he captured a group of photos of Chairman Mao's different gestures and expressions at a slow speed of 1/2 to 1/5.
The effect of the large aperture and slow speed makes the sense of light on Chairman Mao's face very clear and prominent under the low-key background, and the combination of glowing eyes, firm demeanor, and unique gestures vividly reproduces Chairman Mao's magnificent courage and unique charm as a leader.
This group of photographs not only has a greater influence on politics, but also has a very distinctive effect in the art of photography.
August 26, 1945, was an unforgettable day for the military and civilians of Yan'an. On this day, Chairman Mao set off from Yan'an Airport and went to Chongqing to negotiate with the Kuomintang government.
Everyone knew in their hearts that Chiang Kai-shek had no sincerity in seeking peace by telegram inviting Chairman Mao to Chongqing, but Chairman Mao proceeded from the general national interest and did not miss any opportunity to strive for peace and democracy.
Despite the great risks of the negotiations, he resolutely decided to go to Chongqing himself.
In the early morning, Wu Yinxian came to the airport with the flow of people, where thousands of cadres and fighters had gathered, and they gathered around the plane in an orderly manner, with a look of excitement and nervousness on their faces, and everyone sweated for Chairman Mao's safety!
After a while, Chairman Mao, Vice Chairman Zhou, Wang Ruofei, and others, as well as Zhang Zhizhong, a representative of the Kuomintang government, and Hurley, the US ambassador to China, and his party came to the airport.
Chairman Mao was wearing a semi-new blue cloth uniform and a gray helmet hat, which was compared with the gray cloth military uniform of Yan'an, and people felt that Chairman Mao, who was about to go on a long journey, was more personable and detached, and watched him shake hands with the people in front of the plane to say goodbye, and from time to time he made a loud laugh, and everyone's nervous mood felt a little relaxed.
In Yan'an, no matter how hard it is, as long as Chairman Mao is there, people feel a sense of security and confidence, which is also a psychological characteristic of Yan'an!
When the time came to board the plane, Chairman Mao stepped on the boarding board and steadily entered the entrance of the machine compartment, and then he turned around and took off his hat in front of the crowd of send-offs, only to see him slowly raise the hat, wave hard above the top of his head, and stop in the air.
The crowd who were holding their breath suddenly gave off thunderous cheers, the airport boiled, and Yan'an boiled! Everyone wished Chairman Mao a smooth journey, and Wu Yinxian immediately pressed the shutter to record this moment forever.
Regrettably, however, U.S. Ambassador to China Hurley was also at the entrance of the machine at this time, smiling beside Chairman Mao and waving his hands to the people who were sending off.
Compared to Chairman Mao's stature, the American was thinner and taller, and his neat, structured suit was wearing a bow tie. Everyone knows that Chairman Mao did not like Hurley.
He was a changeable and stubborn man, and he played a very bad role in the relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
Shortly before his arrival in Yan'an, the chairman twice published articles harshly criticizing him for violating President Roosevelt's idea of establishing a democratic coalition government during his lifetime, and for pursuing a "Hurley-style policy" from the standpoint of "sponsoring China's anti-people forces and such a large number of Chinese people as enemies."
In the process of taking pictures of Chairman Mao, Wu Yinxian deeply felt that the chairman not only had superior wisdom, broad mind, and the demeanor of commanding Ruoding, but also had the same joys and sorrows as ordinary people, as well as a delicate and unrestrained emotional world.
I remember that at the Yan'an Literary and Art Forum, due to the small venue, dark light, and too many personnel, Wu Yinxian never succeeded in shooting, and his heart was very anxious.
As a literary and art worker, Wu Yinxian is well aware that this meeting will have a profound impact on the party's literary and artistic undertakings and will become a congress of historical significance.
If you don't shoot the scene well, the loss will not be repaired. Wu Yinxian decided to ask the chairman for help, hoping to make up for it after the meeting.
"Okay!" Chairman Mao nodded as he looked around the venue, "Well, I don't see a good picture inside, the dam in the courtyard outside is quite large, let's just take a group photo as a souvenir. ”
As soon as I heard that Chairman Mao wanted to take a group photo with the deputies, the venue immediately exploded, and everyone's excitement immediately rose.
Wu Yinxianlian said, "Good idea, good idea." Immediately, a row of uneven stools was placed in the courtyard outside the venue, and the chairman took the lead in walking to the middle of the first row, and the precious photos of Chairman Mao and Yan'an literary and art workers gathering together were finally born under this huge care.
Today, many of the people in the photos have passed away, and the photos are still hanging outside the venue of the year, and most of the visitors have to stop in front of the photos, look carefully, and taste carefully.
Compared with ordinary people, this photo leaves Wu Yinxian with more memories and more intense. The president's voice and smile, the chairman's care and understanding, are still in front of you.
In 1942, in order to solve the serious material shortage caused by the economic blockade of the Hoarding People's Party, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ordered the 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army to go to the Nanniwan Army to reclaim tuntian 100 miles away from Yan'an, creating a great miracle of production in that barren area that had been sleeping for hundreds of years.
The film troupe also entered Nanniwan a year later, overcoming numerous difficulties and filming and making a large-scale documentary called "Production and Combat Combined" (later renamed "Nanniwan").
Considering that this film is closely coordinated with the large-scale production movement, the encirclement and blockade of the enemy is a powerful blow, and only has urgent practical significance, the film troupe proposes that Mao Zedong should appear in the film.
Wu Yinxian walked into the cave where Chairman Mao lived, and after reporting on the filming and production process, he plucked up the courage to say to Chairman Mao: "Chairman, the film will be screened in Yan'an in the near future, and everyone hopes to see you in the film, which is an encouragement to us and to all the people." ”
Wu Yinxian looked very nervous and uneasy. Unexpectedly, when the chairman heard it, a heartfelt smile immediately appeared on his face: "Can you see the movie right away?" That's great! You wish I could be on camera, but that's a rare opportunity. ”
The chairman looked at Wu Yinxian with great interest: "How to get on the law?" As soon as he heard it, there was hope, and the stone in Wu Yinxian's heart fell to the ground.
"We thought of an opinion and asked the chairman to write an inscription for this film."
Chairman Mao immediately nodded his head and smiled and said, "This is a good idea, both the inscription and the camera, killing two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone, you are worthy of being a movie, and the idea is many." ”
When all was said and done, everyone moved the table pen and ink to the courtyard dam outside the cave. Here the sun is shining, the light and background are ideal, Chairman Mao while smoothing the white paper on the table with his hand, while frowning slightly and thinking for a moment, then dipped the pen in enough ink, waved the question: "Do it yourself, enough food and clothing" Eight strong and powerful characters.
As soon as the camera was turned off, everyone clapped excitedly and expressed their admiration for the chairman's wonderful inscription. Mao Zedong smiled shyly, beckoning everyone to sit down and rest, and the shooting scene showed a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere.
On that day, Mao Zedong was in a very good mood, showing great interest in the upcoming screening of "Southern Mud and Sand", and as he talked, he suddenly turned around and picked up the inscription, "Comrade Yin xian, your work is very meaningful, and I will send you this inscription as a souvenir!" ”
Wu Yinxian did not expect it, and everyone did not expect it, but they all felt very excited and encouraged.
Wu Yinxian solemnly took the inscription and sincerely said, "Thank you Chairman!" At this time, Wu Yinxian more profoundly realized that it was correct to choose the road of Yan'an, that the work done was valuable, that he could make contributions to Chairman Mao's cause and the people's cause, and that he was not vain in this life.
Chairman Mao's inscription not only deepened the theme of the film, publicized and educated the masses, but also affirmed and supported the work of the film troupe in his special way, and this inscription Wu Yinxian treasured around him until 1957, when it was presented to the Chinese Military Museum for exhibition.
After Chairman Mao left, many of Wu Yinxian's photographs in Yan'an were already in ancient times. But whenever you open the album of that year, an endless thought will gush into Wu Yinxian's heart........