Red-Color News Soldier
text and photographs by Li Zhensheng, introduction by Jonathan Spence

The Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976) remains one of the most catastrophic and complicated political movements of the twentieth century. Almost no visual documentation of the period exists that which does is biased because of government control over media, arts, and cultural institutions. However, Li (b. 1940), a photo journalist living in the northern Chinese province of Heilongjiang during the revolution, managed, at great personal risk, to hide and preserve over 20,000 stills during the ten-year period. He was able to capture the events as a party-approved photographer for the Heilongjiang Daily. This body of work is the only known existing photographic documentation of the Cultural Revolution. It has remained unseen until now, except for some 8 photographs that were released for publication in 1987.

Red-Color News Soldier includes over 400 photographs and a running diary of Li's experience, both capturing and explaining events of which little or no other visual record exists. The images are powerful representations of the turbulent period, including photos of unruly Red Guard rallies and relentless public denunciations, Maos rural re-education centers, as well as prominent participants in the Cultural Revolution. Jonathan Spence, a leading historian of modern China and Yale Professor, writes in his introduction to the book, Li was tracking human tragedies and personal foibles with a precision that was to create an enduring legacy not only for his contemporaries but for the generations of his countrymen then unborn. As Westerners confront the multiplicity of his images, they too can come to understand something of the agonizing paradoxes that lay at the center of this protracted human disaster.

This book excels both as a volume of compelling photography and an exciting historical record. It is truly unique and indispensable for all interested in modern Chinese history or the powerful cultural role of photo journalism.

ZC3083    Red-Color News Soldier                                $39.95

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