Source: Voice of China, Central Radio and Television Corporation
Today, #The person who took pictures of the Terracotta Warriors# was on the hot search, and this person was Zhao Zhen, a cultural relics photographer at the Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum Museum. "It's the best job in the world," he said. His story has been followed by tens of millions of netizens, and nearly 100,000 netizens have liked it.
Zhao Zhen's job was to take ID photos of the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang. At present, he has completed the shooting of 862 terracotta figurines in the First Pit of the Terracotta Army. In the latest issue of "National Treasure", Zhao Zhen walked from behind the scenes to the front of the stage to share the story of his life and the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang.
For Zhao Zhen, "Enter the no. 1 pit, that is my world", shooting the Qin figurines is to talk to the ancestors. Because the Qin Figurine Pit can't be lit, sometimes in order to take a photo of the most beautiful natural light, he even waits for a year.
Regarding this "best job in the world", Zhao Zhen shared more unknown details with reporters from the main station. ↓↓↓
Terracotta ID card
That's what it was
Since 1997, Zhao Zhen has worked in the museum for more than 20 years. Most of the "ID photos" of a statue of terracotta warriors came from his hand.
Each terracotta warrior has its own heritage archive. The sum of all cultural relics archives is called the General Ledger of Cultural Relics. It is like a household registration book, and the import of the family must be supplemented and updated. The preservation status of each figurine, whether it has been restored, whether it has participated in the outreach, and whether there are new figurines unearthed, must be re-recorded. For black-and-white films with low pixels or even old age, information must be updated.
Zhao Zhen and his colleagues wanted to make new additions to the general ledger of cultural relics of the Terracotta Army. In layman's terms, it is to shoot id cards for the terracotta warriors.
For the safety of cultural relics, colleagues from several departments are required to cooperate with Zhao Zhen to go down to the pit, and sometimes they can also arrange a camera position for him.
When going down the pit, Zhao Zhen carefully prepared, bathed and changed clothes, stopped eating an hour before going down the pit, put on the softest shoes and close-fitting overalls - apron, and he carefully went down to the pit to start work.
△ Zhao Zhen's apron in the picture is called a battle robe by him, which has accompanied him for nearly five years
The distance between the terracotta warriors in pit no. 1 is extremely close, only 30-40cm. In order to protect the cultural relics, in the winter cold, you can only wear thin clothes, and only attach a circle of warm babies to the waist. In order not to scratch the Qin figurines, the bloated photographic vest has long become a "taboo" in the lower pit; the camera bag cannot be carried, only the battery is placed in the most intimate place, and the body temperature is used to maintain the working state. This warmth is thus transmitted from the battery to every photo.
Summer is also uncomfortable, Zhao Zhen said that the first pit is the "weight loss training class", a whole day to shoot down, sweating so much like a bath, a touch of the face, sweat into salt particles. The apron had salted enough to stand on the ground.
Taking ID photos for the Terracotta Warriors is not only the front, but also the sides, the bun, the shoes... All the details must be photographed in place, in order to completely shoot a different angle of a Qin figurine, Zhao Zhen squatted, crouched down, stood up, and kept walking around. ... It took at least an hour to shoot a figurine.
△ The picture is selected from Zhao Zhen's circle of friends, and his accompanying text is: You can hear the flag waving and shouting, and the sky is destroyed; you can see the glory of martial arts, cloaked and armored.
With such a labor intensity, Zhao Zhen can sometimes sit and fall asleep, and he can eat a large pot of rice when he goes home. After the no. 1 pit ID card was filmed, Zhao Zhen lost 12 pounds.
Day after day, does Zhao Zhen feel bored at work? He said nothing, "I have the best job in the world, and I make all photographers envious." The joy was palpable.
For the shooting of the Terracotta Warriors, at first I felt that I was facing the cold artifacts, but now I think this is the photographer. Zhao Zhen would call the Qin figurines "Ye", which was both respectful and kind. During the shooting, the four eyes were facing each other, and the terracotta warriors seemed to be breathing. Zhao Zhen will also interact with "Grandpa": "Grandpa is good now, let's keep a few more." ”
What impressed Zhao Zhen the most was the fingerprints found on the beard and lower lip of the Qin figurine, which were left by the craftsmen who shaped the Qin figurine a thousand years ago. When he first found out, his brain exploded, almost stupid in place.
That feeling is subtle. In the same position, the Qin Dynasty craftsmen who made the terracotta warriors seemed to have just left, leaving fingerprint marks, and the next second Zhao Zhen followed. The time of "this second" spans 2200 years.
Surprises don't stop there. The Terracotta Warriors are "resurrected" once a year. The so-called resurrection is the credit of light and shadow. Lead-gray artifacts instantly glow in the sunlight, as if they were reborn.
The use of flash is strictly forbidden in the Qin Warrior Pit, and by the end of December, the characteristic angle of natural skylight sprinkles on the faces of the terracotta warriors, and the lead-gray faces become colorful and vivid in the reflection. At that time, this silent army "did not move like a mountain, and moved like a fire plundering the forest." The sound of horses' hooves fighting is back.
In order to wait for the annual "resurrection", Zhao Zhen will go to the squatting pit at the end of December. From two o'clock in the afternoon to the sun setting in the west, even if you can only make two such films a year, it is very worth it.
He wanted to shoot it all with the lens
The tourist's "wow" expression
The 2200-year-old Terracotta Army, in Zhao Zhen's eyes, is not a grandfather but a vigorous teenager in his 20s.
On this year's May Fourth Youth Day, he sent a microblog to wish the forever young Qin figurines and a happy Youth Day.
Under Zhao Zhen's lens, the characteristics are more clear and obvious: there are small round faces, Chinese character faces, and Hu people with high noses and deep eyes; they have different postures: some have firm eyes, and some look relaxed. They are unique individuals and imposing group portraits.
△ The picture shows a group photo of Zhao Zhen and "Ye", he said that this Qin figurine is very similar to "Thanos"
Zhao Zhen's head on social media is the side face of the terracotta warriors, with smooth lines and clear contours. This is the unique manliness and spirit of the oriental man, and it is the unique spiritual outlook of the ancestors, which is particularly beautiful.
The terracotta warriors are as tall as people. Through the lens, the four eyes are facing each other, they seem to be alive, flesh and blood, breathing evenly, full of emotions. This kind of gaze, silent is better than sound, a glance for a thousand years.
Zhao Zhen unconsciously imagined the Qin Empire at that time, "Jinge iron horse, swallowing like a tiger." It was a fascinating time, erupting like a volcano to produce a splendid civilization. That kind of touch in the heart, is an earthquake. He believed that a million unknown soldiers would settle the world with their flesh and blood; he believed in the unique beauty in China's genes, and the beauty of the millions of Qin soldiers who were waiting in a strict line, firm and resolute, and magnificent.
Using the clearest photos and the nearest distance to bring this shocking beauty to the audience is the meaning of Zhao Zhen's work.
Before the epidemic, Zhao Zhen, who was filming in xiakeng, could always hear tourists visiting from all over the world, in different language tones, saying a word: Wow!
Behind the amazement is the shock. Zhao Zhen once wanted to use the camera to photograph all the "wow" expressions. Due to environmental factors, the plan was put on hold for the time being. But he always wanted to one day start this project and record different faces, different languages of "wow". This is the shock of the world to the Terracotta Warriors, but also the shock of Chinese culture.
"Tomb Keepers" and "Tomb Keepers' Families"
Zhao Zhen's WeChat name is "Tomb Keeper". From childhood to adulthood, Zhao Zhen stayed here. When he was a child, his father worked in the museum, and he spent the winter and summer vacations in Qin figurine village, lying on the railing of the No. 1 pit and watching his fathers work around the terracotta warriors.
At that time, the conditions were harsh, and I had to ride a bicycle for three or four kilometers to eat ravioli, but Zhao Zhen felt very happy. The people in the village are very kind, not relying on anything else, relying on the love of everyone calling the Terracotta Warriors "Grandpa".
Later, Zhao Zhen became a photographer of cultural relics, and the museum became his home. When I was a child, I called "Grandpa", and I called it all the way down.
Zhao Zhen said, I am the tomb keeper here, and his wife will also joke that then I will also change my name to the family of the tomb keeper. In the eyes of the couple, the name of the tomb keeper is not crazy at all, but also extra warm.
Zhao Zhen and his wife have a habit of walking around the Qin Tomb at night, which they call "walking the tomb". Sometimes it was windy and rainy, and I would go to Qinling to walk around and talk to "Grandpa".
"Walking the tomb" a circle, just 5.20 kilometers. Every time the couple finished, Zhao Zhen always wanted to say something very vulgar but wanted to say: "Darling (darling, translated as dear) I will take you to see the tomb I guard." They are all the people they love the most, and they are all things that they want to protect for a lifetime.
In fact, Zhao Zhen's wife is also his "special photography assistant", sometimes the assistant is not enough, the wife will help with the notebook and battery. Unable to enter the cultural relics area, his wife watched him from a distance outside the cultural relics area. Sometimes Zhao Zhen's nose was sour when he thought of his wife's appearance.
Thinking about that scene, it is actually very romantic, the girl clutches the battery and rushes to the Terracotta Warriors No. 1 pit. What she conveyed was not a 100,000-hot military intelligence report, but more like a romantic secret language that belonged to two people.
△ The picture shows the painting that Zhao Zhen gave to his wife on her birthday
Sometimes I come home from work covered in dirt and my masks are black. Sometimes Zhao Zhen's wife quipped that "don't let me in the door", he would say that this is the ash of 2,000 years ago, and others want it or not!
△ The picture shows Zhao Zhen after a day of work, the mask has been black
"I volunteer to guard the kneeling samurai figurines
Guarding Qin Feng"
Zhao Zhen told the reporter of the main station that all the people in the museum, like the Qin figurines in the first pit, were silent, lined up neatly, and bravely moved forward in one direction. Guarding the tomb is the Qin Tomb, and guarding the emotional dreams of all cultural relics workers.
In fact, the Qin warriors also guarded Zhao Zhen. At first, Zhao Zhen, who did not intend to participate in "National Treasure", strengthened his determination because of his wife's words. She said: "There are more than 800 grandfathers behind them, what are you afraid of!" At once, he calmed his mind: "My more than 800 grandfathers are my confidence!" This is why Zhao Zhen is now standing on the stage of "National Treasure" and telling stories related to national treasures to hundreds of millions of viewers and netizens.
In fact, Zhao Zhen's profession is not only a cultural relics photographer, he also likes to depict a different historical world through a paintbrush.
Swipe down for a glimpse of Zhao Zhen's creation Invited "National Treasure" Beginning and End Hand-painted Author: Zhao Zhen
He has his own understanding of national treasures: in the eyes of cultural relics workers, treasures are not necessarily valuable and brilliant. But it must be a signpost for the cultural spirit to carry forward the past and the future, let us know ourselves, and always remind us who we are and who we want to be.
△ Image source @ Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum Museum
Zhao Zhen was invited to become the guardian of the national treasure of the "National Treasure" program, guarding the kneeling samurai figurines, and guarding the cultural family foundation of all Chinese.
Zhao Zhen on the stage looked firmly and threw a voice:
We volunteer to guard
Kneeling samurai figurines
Guard history
Guard Qin Feng Zhao!
Zhao Zhen's work does not stop, he hopes that through his own lens, let everyone see the lofty spirit of the Qin figurines, let everyone better understand, the spirit created by the Qin figurines, still running in our bodies; let everyone more deeply feel the historical and cultural beauty of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum, and the beauty of spiritual strength!
▌Source of this article: Voice of China (ID: zgzs001)