THE CALM OF THE MASSES THROUGH SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION - COMMON PEOPLE IN “MEMORIES OF CHINA”
Mainland China has gone through a number of social revolutio since 1949. These radical changes were closely tied to the cycle peace and chaos that was inherent in traditional culture and social systems.The one-party rule in China and the violent revolutions in the West also had an impact on the country's transformation. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, China's development was connected to that of constitutional governments and democratic countries around the world, and to the global market economies.
Throughout these revolutionary changes, the lives of common people were filled with complications and unspoken sorrows. One moment they were proclaimed the “rulers" of history; the next they were under surveillance in every aspect of their daily life, including their intellectual inclinations. The assets of people belonged to the state; the state's assets was auctioned to benefit the elite, while employees of state-owned enterprises were dismissed in large numbers. In a moment of subversion, classics and traditions from the past centuries were engulfed in flames. Before the dust settled, people awoke to slogans of the country's emergence and cultural renaissance, and forced evictions from their homes for the rebuilding of urban civilization. In the era of filtered information, many changes eluded the masses in this closed country. In the present times of internet and globalization, changes in contemporary China seem to happen at a magical pace. Yet they are the reality of the country. It overrides mass imagination, and bewilders anyone who tries to follow its transformation.
There are reasons behind these recurrent and radical changes. The country's rulers attribute them to “national sentiments" or"quality of the people". There is any number of speculations on the logic behind these disruptions. In this vast country with an enormous population, people are often blinded by the media and public opinion, which make it hard for them to discern the underlying reason or logic of things. The only truth that stands is the solitude of one's existence. Circumstances and events happen, whether they conform to any preconceived notions or public opinion.
"Memories of China" and other works by Zhu Yi Yong feature children, teenagers and youngsters of varied social standing and from different eras to represent the common people in China. The portraits are mostly black and white, like faded photographs that embody rational perspectives on history. This treatment of colors hints at the filtering of different personalities to highlight their similarities. The red string stands out in its brightness. Most Chinese played the cat's cradle in their childhoods. These faded and ordinary subjects create the red pointed stars with their hands, and the paintings strike with their symbolic meanings.
It is not anyone's choice to be born in "Red China", just as the country's metamorphosis is beyond the control of her people. Despite their varying reactions toward the circumstances, the people must face the culture and systems symbolized by the red five-pointed star. It is a reality they must embrace. From their facial expressions, we can see subtle differences between the subjects, laced with doubt and confusion. What stands out, however, is the calm on their faces. Against one's social background and existence, such calm traces the undercurrents from past to present. It denotes profound meanings, or an introverted "national character". It may also be seen as the compliance with reality out of helplessness. Of course,
For the masses, the language of revolution sears and the image of utopia dazzles. Consumption is the stimulus to one's impulse, and the country's image is a force of cohesion among her people. As people are shaped by voluntary and involuntary indoctrination, they go adrift from their pursuits of peace and security amid the recurring changes. To be content with the passing moments would be true wisdom.
It is hard for people to grasp and define their own existence when they have limited interaction with the outside world. The questions and unknowns of existence remain, even when one is immersed in the external world. Doubt and confusion are essential to existence, especially for the masses who wrestle with the unknown. For the subjects in Zhu's portraits, the red five-pointed star is a reality they must face in their everyday life and existence; it is even a stamp of their selves and personalities. It is tied to the joy and sorrows, relationships, and critical thinking of the people. The past fades from the fleeting present, while the future remains unknown.Life continues and as the critical questions of existence magnify, living opens up new possibilities.
Du Xiyun
Dec, 2012
社會劇變中的平靜表情一《中國記憶》中的普通人
從1949年至今，中國大陸歷經多次劇烈的社會變動。中國的這些劇烈變動，與本土傳統體制和文化中的治-亂歷史迴圈有關，也與西方暴力革命、一党專政思维和體制有關。文化大革命結束後，又與憲政-民主國家和全球市場經濟有關。
在這些起伏動盪的變動中，普通民眾的生存體驗可謂百感交集、一言難盡。對他們而言，忽而被抛上歷史的浪尖被稱為“主人”，忽而又連飲食起居都要被嚴格管制，並在思想上"早請示、晚彙報”;忽而生產資料全部收歸國有並被國家统一分配忽而國有資產可以拍賣而被部分人所有，與之相随的是大批國有企業員工被解散:忽而橫掃一切傳統，將古跡典籍拆除焚毁，忽而大國崛起、文化復興，為打造城市文明形象而暴力拆遷……。在國門封閉、資訊短缺的時代，大量變動因為沒有及時、廣泛的被傳播而不為很多人所知;在互聯網被民用的全球化時代，當代中國的變動之奇特，如同魔幻般匪夷所思，但又是不折不扣的現實，讓人們的想像力黯然失色，而且其層出不窮讓每個關心它的人都應接不暇。
這些劇烈而頻繁的變動，應該有一定的原因。管理者們往往把原因歸結於“國情”或“國民素質”等。至於諸多變動之所以頻頻發生的邏輯，則眾説紛紜、千頭萬緒。國土如此廣袤、人口如此眾多，對於身處局內的民眾而言，輿論的迷霧和資訊的暗箱等，都讓人難以洞察原因、總結規律。唯一可以確定的是:每個人的生存體驗。如人水，冷暖自知。某些事情、遭遇，發生了就是發生了，無論它與理想的預設、輿論的宣傳是否相符。
朱毅勇的《中國記憶》等作品，以不同歷史時期和不同身份的兒童、少年、青年來象微中國普通民眾。他們大都是黑白色的，如同漂去了光鲜色彩的黯淡舊照，具有了觀照歷史時的理性視角。這種色彩處理方式，也讓彼此各異的個性在一定程度上被過濾，呈現出更多的共性。與之相對的，則是鮮豔奪目的紅繩。繩線在一番撥弄穿插下结成一定形象，是中國人在年幼時大都玩過的遊戲。當這些顏色黯淡的普通民眾用各自的雙手撐出鮮豔的紅色五角星來時，這樣的畫面顯然是象徵。
生在"紅色中國"是由不得自己選擇的，中國在這些年來的劇烈、頻繁變動，也不是這些普通民眾能夠主宰或控制的。不管對這種處境、局勢的感受是否各不相同，但红五星所象微的文化和制度，作為現實，是他們的生存所無法排斥、必須面對的。在這些人的表情中可以看到，彼此間有微妙的差異，也夾雜著迷惘和疑惑，但主要體現為平靜。但與這種平靜相對的社會背景和生存處境，卻又是如此的波瀾起伏、波濤洶湧，從過去直至當下。這時，這種平靜的表情意味深長，可以理解為含蓄、內斂的所謂“國民性”，也可以理解為無奈時的木訥、順從，當然，也有可能只是表裏不一的偽裝。
對普通民眾而言，革命話語熱血沸騰、烏托邦宣傳美麗迷人，物質消費刺激滿足、國家-民族形象凝聚人心……但這些強制和非強制性的話語灌輸、模塑他們時，基本的安身立命、安居樂業，是他們最孜孜以求，卻又在這些頻繁的變動中難以獲得的。在随波逐流中尋求隨遇而安，成為不得已的智慧。
身在局中，在與外界缺乏對比和交流時，人很難對自己的生存處境有清晰的認識和準確的定位;當與外界頻繁交流和對比後，自己所處生存處境中的具體問题，依然有很多未知需要面對。迷惘、困惑是生存的主题和重要组成部分，對於普通民眾而言，因為不可控、不可知要更多，所以更是如此。對朱毅勇這些畫中的人而言，紅五星是他們日常生活中必須面對的重要現實，也是他們的生存處境中的重要問题，甚至也是他們的自我、個性中的重要成分和標識。他們的喜怒哀樂、悲歡離合都與它緊密聯擊，他們的問題意識也和它息息相關。過去漸行漸遠，當下難以言說，前方充滿未知。無論如何，生命需要繼續，但對生存處境的問題意識越強，也就越可能生髮出新的可能性。
杜曦雲
10.2012