The vast fields of our motherland are spreading out before us, flourishing and colorful, majestic and grand.
This is a field that has created miracles and witnessed great glory. On February 25, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared in Beijing that China had achieved a “complete victory” in the fight against poverty. This great and glorious victory testifies to the struggle and creation of the Chinese people, the original intention and mission of the Communist Party of China, and the dream and will of the Chinese nation.
This is also a field full of vigor and vitality. Extreme poverty has become a historical footnote, and the Xiaokang society (a moderately prosperous society) that has been dreamed of for thousands of years has become a reality. From lifestyles to modes of production, from daily experiences to individual destinies, new paths with infinite possibilities are suddenly opening up across the field. Every village and every household is feeling the warmth and encouragement of the new era, full of confidence and yearning for a better life.
The exhibition Field of Hope: A National Photographic Exhibition on “Poverty Alleviation and Sharing a Moderately Prosperous Society” jointly held by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the National Museum of China and the China Photographers Association is the artistic crystallization of our participation in and bearing witness to this epic battle.
It is the glorious duty of Chinese literary and art workers in the new era to witness and remember these great developments. It is the firm commitment of Chinese photographers to listen to the heartbeat of the land among the people and record the times with their lenses. For many years they crossed fields and mountains, their lenses like affectionate eyes gazing toward this great era and the lives and struggles of the people.
We have witnessed history. Each image is engraved with time, and each moment is a freeze-frame leap between the past and the future. Rich in meaning and powerful memory, each moment is faithfully taken from the trajectory of changes and development. Photography has become a means of witnessing history, and images constitute the “local history” and “national history” of an era.
We have seen the spirit. This is a heroic epic written by light and shadow and a spiritual chart composed of light and shadow. Faces, scenes and even landscapes converge into the expression of the times. The halo of the spirit of the times is clearly displayed, which is the great spirit of poverty alleviation and the enthusiasm and fortitude, joy and heroism of the Chinese nation in creating a happy life in the new era.
We have seen the people and the land. Everyone in front of the camera is remembered with great clarity. When the once restrained teenagers put on natural and vibrant smiles, when sweat rolls down those dark sturdy backs like golden beans, the fragrance hidden at the depths of the images comes to the surface, so that the images of the people gain the most concrete and vivid expression. The fields, mountains, villages and time have all been sincerely examined and recognized through historical and aesthetic observation. This is our land, our people, and our great Chinese community. We are deeply in love with the fields, and the people marching forward on this land they love.
The field of hope is spreading out toward a more magnificent future. On their new journey, the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation will always remember everything they have seen here.