Chinese Folk Style Grand Collection

Author: Chen Mingjie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: More than a year ago, while visiting Australia for a family reunion, Comrade Chen Mingjie planned to edit his album "A Grand Collection of Chinese Ethnic Customs and Scenery." We had exchanges over the phone, and he asked me to write a preface for the album, to which I readily agreed. Today, the hefty manuscript of the album lies before me, its weight, completeness, and beauty exceeding my expectations. Over 240 selected photographs are aesthetically pleasing, offering a visual feast. This album embodies Comrade Mingjie's lifelong dedication and long-held aspirations. As I flip through its pages, I am deeply moved and overjoyed that he has fulfilled his dream.
This is a significant, broad-minded, rich, and vibrant album; it is a work that spans mountains and rivers, built through years of diligent effort; it is a heartfelt gift presented to the 56 ethnic siblings of the People's Republic of China on the 56th anniversary of its founding.
Our motherland is a great multinational country. Across its 9.6 million square kilometers, the 56 ethnic groups each have their unique histories, cultures, religions, and customs. Yet, shared bloodlines, common ideals, and common goals bind us together in a harmonious and friendly. This is the powerful cohesion of the Chinese nation, enduring through time.
Today, as we look at the world, it is not uncommon to see conflicts, political instability, mutual killings, and national divisions caused by ethnic issues, frequently reported in the news. Ethnic issues are a challenge for many politicians. Against this international backdrop, the success of China's regional autonomy policy for ethnic groups becomes even more evident. The reality of all ethnic groups living in peace, prosperity, mutual assistance, and unity is a beautiful sight in the world today.
Comrade Chen Mingjie has seized upon this significant theme of ethnic unity and, with unwavering dedication, has used his camera to craft this grand narrative. He is not an expert in ethnic issues or a professional photographer, nor does he reside in a central location, lacking the favorable conditions to study or interview the lives and histories of China's ethnic minorities. Yet, he seized every opportunity, devoted himself wholeheartedly, and persevered, gradually accumulating and exploring year after year until he completed this magnificent work—worthy of admiration, celebration, and praise.
The Banyuetan magazine holds national correspondence meetings annually, often held in various locations. Comrade Mingjie is a thoughtful individual who always carries his camera with him, capturing meaningful moments and beautiful scenes wherever he goes during his visits. Many of the photographs in this album were taken during those travels.
Comrade Chen Mingjie's exquisite album allows us to vividly and directly understand the lives, historical changes, and spirit of the people across China's ethnic groups. From the southeastern coast to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains to the villages of ethnic minorities in the southwest, his footsteps and traces are everywhere, along with his records and creations. In his works, frontier landscapes are picturesque; ethnic customs are diverse and colorful; folk festivals are vibrant; ethnic dances are graceful and dazzling; young women shine with radiance. Each figure and scene is lifelike,, filled with poetic charm, as if people are in the paintings and poetry lies beyond them.
The album takes people into the midst of ethnic siblings, allowing them to experience and appreciate the sincere, passionate, hardworking, brave, and expressive nature of China's ethnic minorities—their love for life, labor, hometown, and country. Every page and scene is vivid, authentic, lively, and touching.
It is a three-dimensional panorama of China's vast landscapes and a rhyming poem of a harmonious homeland. A stone hides jade, and the mountain shines; a heart holds ambition, and the spirit soars. Comrade Chen Mingjie's photographic works radiate artistic vitality and a pursuit of beauty, with attention to composition, lighting, color, and form. He also focuses on ideas, artistic conception, spiritual resonance, and rhythm. This is thanks to his background in fine arts, where he studied painting and woodcut, building a solid artistic foundation.
Even more admirable is his keen observation, deep thinking, relentless exploration, unwavering determination, and pursuit of excellence. For an amateur photographer, this is rare.
German poet Goethe once said, "To love creation is to love life." Comrade Mingjie, in his years of amateur photography, enjoys creating, seeking novelty, beauty, and change. He captures, discovers, and expresses beauty not only in remote ethnic areas but also in urban and rural settings in Hong Kong and Australia, creating works with a unique style. His 97 photographs of Hong Kong landscapes left a deep impression on the audience.