Luo Shaoyang
The dragon in the sky
Chinese imperial dynasties appeared, prospered and died out through history. The Great Wall bears witness to our vicissitudes, and demonstrates the Chinese people's hard working spirit, and the splendid culture and history of the Chinese civilization. Photo by Mr.Zhou Wanping
On the first day of 2008, I met Mr. Zhou Wanping（周万萍）on The Great Wall. Mr. Zhou Wanping is a photographer who lives at the foot of the Jinshanling Great Wall. In the preface to his published photograph album, My Home Town, he says: "At the time I graduated from high school and went home, the Jinshanling Great Wall was being repaired. Although sick, I participated in the renovation process along with other villagers. This experience fully brought home to me the hardship involved in the original construction of the Great Wall. All the bricks, lime and water needed for construction had to be carried to the site on the backs of laborers." However, he is now a member of the China Photographers Association has been a long-time photographer of China’s Great Wall. His works have won many prizes at exhibitions both in China and abroad.
元旦节前一天，我和几个flickr网友去了长城。这次去金山岭长城，最有意思的是在长城上结识了海内外著名的“长城摄影专家”周万萍先生。记得他当时是一行三人，在长城上问我“要不要三脚架”时，我被这突如其来的话语感到有点不知所措，觉得这位陌生的中年农民男子有点怪。我的直觉告诉我，此人肯定是当地的“导游”。经过一番交流后，才知道他就是大名鼎鼎的周万萍先生。说来也很巧，我们几个北京flickr的网友在刚到金山岭找过夜的客栈时，绕了一圈，最后我才到最高的那家农家院里找到了一家比较满意的落脚点，而这家客栈也就正好是他的家。
晚饭后，我们有了一次愉快的交流。此间，我们一行人问了他许多有关拍摄长城的问题，他都一一作了答复，但是，当我问及他为什么不在家里安宽带时，他的脸一下就沉寂了下来。原来，当地政府为了节省“不必要的开支”，屡次拒绝了他及其他村民的要求。这样的做法，显然不符合“为人民服务”的精神及理念。虽然周先生在国内外已经有名气，也可以算是“中华文明的栋梁之材”，可当地的父母大官人们硬是不予安装，其官僚主义作风和意识形态就宛如金山岭长城上绊脚的废砖烂瓦，只应该被践踏在脚下。
我很高兴收到了周万萍先生赠送给我的摄影作品集——《我的家乡》。就在他给我签名留念时，我发现他的签名方式是典型的“台湾风格”。这使我情不自禁地想到了长城的功能及其作用，如果说当年的长城是用来抵御外族入侵的话，那么在今天，蜿蜒的长城显然成了中华各族儿女、乃至世界各地人士相互交流、沟通和借鉴的纽带，除了少数像陈水扁先生那样高雅的江湖人士还不会认同中华文明外，长城内外的绝大多数炎黄子孙，都懂得一个道理：我们是中国人，我们有五千年的文明。我想，这也是长城“活到”今天最大的作用之一！至于官僚与制度，它与我们的文明是平行的，但它绝不是不会改变的、更不可能是中国人民最终的选择。（此页照片系周万萍摄）
The dragon in the sky
Chinese imperial dynasties appeared, prospered and died out through history. The Great Wall bears witness to our vicissitudes, and demonstrates the Chinese people's hard working spirit, and the splendid culture and history of the Chinese civilization. Photo by Mr.Zhou Wanping
On the first day of 2008, I met Mr. Zhou Wanping（周万萍）on The Great Wall. Mr. Zhou Wanping is a photographer who lives at the foot of the Jinshanling Great Wall. In the preface to his published photograph album, My Home Town, he says: "At the time I graduated from high school and went home, the Jinshanling Great Wall was being repaired. Although sick, I participated in the renovation process along with other villagers. This experience fully brought home to me the hardship involved in the original construction of the Great Wall. All the bricks, lime and water needed for construction had to be carried to the site on the backs of laborers." However, he is now a member of the China Photographers Association has been a long-time photographer of China’s Great Wall. His works have won many prizes at exhibitions both in China and abroad.
元旦节前一天，我和几个flickr网友去了长城。这次去金山岭长城，最有意思的是在长城上结识了海内外著名的“长城摄影专家”周万萍先生。记得他当时是一行三人，在长城上问我“要不要三脚架”时，我被这突如其来的话语感到有点不知所措，觉得这位陌生的中年农民男子有点怪。我的直觉告诉我，此人肯定是当地的“导游”。经过一番交流后，才知道他就是大名鼎鼎的周万萍先生。说来也很巧，我们几个北京flickr的网友在刚到金山岭找过夜的客栈时，绕了一圈，最后我才到最高的那家农家院里找到了一家比较满意的落脚点，而这家客栈也就正好是他的家。
晚饭后，我们有了一次愉快的交流。此间，我们一行人问了他许多有关拍摄长城的问题，他都一一作了答复，但是，当我问及他为什么不在家里安宽带时，他的脸一下就沉寂了下来。原来，当地政府为了节省“不必要的开支”，屡次拒绝了他及其他村民的要求。这样的做法，显然不符合“为人民服务”的精神及理念。虽然周先生在国内外已经有名气，也可以算是“中华文明的栋梁之材”，可当地的父母大官人们硬是不予安装，其官僚主义作风和意识形态就宛如金山岭长城上绊脚的废砖烂瓦，只应该被践踏在脚下。
我很高兴收到了周万萍先生赠送给我的摄影作品集——《我的家乡》。就在他给我签名留念时，我发现他的签名方式是典型的“台湾风格”。这使我情不自禁地想到了长城的功能及其作用，如果说当年的长城是用来抵御外族入侵的话，那么在今天，蜿蜒的长城显然成了中华各族儿女、乃至世界各地人士相互交流、沟通和借鉴的纽带，除了少数像陈水扁先生那样高雅的江湖人士还不会认同中华文明外，长城内外的绝大多数炎黄子孙，都懂得一个道理：我们是中国人，我们有五千年的文明。我想，这也是长城“活到”今天最大的作用之一！至于官僚与制度，它与我们的文明是平行的，但它绝不是不会改变的、更不可能是中国人民最终的选择。（此页照片系周万萍摄）