Wen/Mina? Figure/Tan Jintu, partly from the Internet

? Nostalgia for the old days seems like an old friend. Old photos are the records of historical moments, the history of light and shadow frozen in the camera lens, and there are vivid stories hidden in old photos. History is not groundless, it is a living existence. In Suzhou, there is such an old photo collector who touches history in his own way and feels the texture of time. In the 1991s, we began to collect and study old photos and interpret them. The silent old photos became more and more vivid. Approaching old photos will make people feel close to nature, truth and human nature, and touch human nature. I like to use the word "close", which keeps me humble, marginal and happy to study hard. He said that reading old photos is reading history. He is an old photo collector-Tan Jintu.

nothing great can be done in a hurry. Tan Jintu, a native of Danyang, is a writer. Before retiring, he was a prosecutor. After work, I have collected and studied old photos, legal historical materials and Suzhou literature and history materials for many years. At the beginning of 2119, Tan Jintu Old Photo Collection was opened in Shantang Street, which became a cultural window for citizens and tourists to look back on Suzhou's history. Teacher Tan Jintu really worked as a teacher. He graduated from Jiangsu Normal University (now Chinese Department of Suzhou University) in his early years and stayed as a teacher after graduation. "At that time, there were very few college students, and university teachers were scarce resources." In 1979, Tan Jintu was transferred to Suzhou Procuratorate, and became attached to the legal system. He worked for a lifetime and was considered a "great scholar" at that time. After retirement, he was hired by Suzhou Park Procuratorate to preside over the "Procuratorate Culture Studio". He has made great achievements in historical images, legal historical materials and Suzhou literature and history materials. The collection scope and quality of Mr. Tan's old photos are well-known in China. He has published 211,111-word legal essay "Fa Yan and Fa" and 311,111-word prose collection "Maocao", "Those" and "Finding the Green River" and other articles on literature, history and legal system. Fa Yan and Fa won the Jinding Literature Award of the Supreme Procuratorate. Sina has a "Tan Jintu Blog". Over the years, he has published more than 211 articles with nearly one million words in newspapers and magazines at home and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Tan Jintu was awarded the title of Suzhou Excellent Collector, and became a special collector of archives and a member of the literature and history expert group of the CPPCC Literature and History Committee. His collection of Tan Jintu's old photos in Shantang Street and Tan Jintu's legal historical materials showroom in the park procuratorate attracted the attention of many people at home and abroad and came to visit and exchange.

The Gourmet written by Mr. Lu Wenfu is famous all over the world. Lu Wenfu's "Old Suzhou-Searching for Dreams in Water Alleys", in which there are more than 51 old photos provided by Teacher Tan Jintu. In order to put the world-famous Suzhou gardens on the TV screen, Lu Wenfu strongly recommended Liu Lang, a famous cultural person, to personally shoot Six Chapters of Su Garden. In order to take a good picture of past lives in the garden, persistent Liu Lang searched everywhere for old images of Suzhou gardens, but unfortunately, only a few were found. However, he found detailed information in Suzhou Garden Archives, the old Suzhou gardens in the 1931s, which were provided by Teacher Tan Jintu. Six Chapters of Suyuan successfully depicts Su Yuan, which not only reproduces the garden landscape, but also shows the "garden landscape", showing the cultural implication and humanistic spirit for hundreds of years. The feature film Six Chapters of Su Yuan was a great success and won the Eighth National Five-One Project Award. Liu Lang, the editor-in-chief, never forgets his experience of looking for old photos of the garden. Liu Lang made a special trip to visit Tan Jintu. He was pleasantly surprised to find that "there are 151 old photos of Tiger Hill alone." Teacher Tan Jintu gently corrected that there should be 311 copies. Liu Lang said, "How many good things our ancestors left behind were destroyed by later generations, including old photos, and we don't need to know how they were destroyed. What I value is that there are a group of discerning people who have collected the old photos as ashes after the robbery in time. It can be said that this unique thing, compared with other cultural relics, has irreplaceable cognitive function and existence value, because the scenes and contents it contains are destroyed, one is missing, it cannot be copied, and it is difficult to regenerate. Kangxi's plum vase can also be highly imitated. It is impossible for you to reproduce the characters in the old photos. Tan Jintu has been collecting old photos for a long time, which proves that this person who is long at writing has long had a unique vision of discovery. "

A couplet of "My brother has excellent taste, but my brother has dirty feelings" hangs in the old photo collection. There is also the name of the "Tan Jintu Old Photo Collection", which was written by Mo Yan himself. Mo Yan is the vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association and the first China writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mo Yan is called a "root-seeking literature" writer because a series of local works are full of complex feelings of "homesickness" and "resentment". In Mo Yan's eyes, Tan Jintu is also a root-seeker, seeking roots in another way. Mo Yan's book Sandalwood Punishment, he said with emotion, "I have read my brother's masterpiece before, so Sandalwood Punishment will have another atmosphere." Fortunately, I basically relied on the details created by imagination, which was partially confirmed in my brother's article. " He was surprised to find some details described in his book, which were recorded in old photos. He was greatly surprised and lamented the meticulous research of Tan Jintu. After Mo Yan became famous, so many people asked him to write a preface that he almost refused. However, Mo Yan volunteered to write a preface to Tan Jintu's monograph, and bluntly said, first, because the article is good, and second, because people are simple and honest, they are ashamed to speak. Teacher Tan Jintu's article is said to be well versed in ancient and modern times, widely cited at home and abroad, and has outstanding opinions. Mo Yan came to the Soviet Union several times and met with Mr. Jintu. Every time, he gained a lot. Mo Yan's words are also in Mr. Yang Zhenning's home.

The theme of the Old Photos series is to take care of the survival and development of mankind for more than a hundred years. The biggest feature of photos is visualization. Even some photos taken to illustrate a certain concept often provide intuitive information beyond the concept itself. Historical photos seem to naturally have the function of helping us understand history from multiple perspectives. Memory is the unique power of human beings. Memory is not only an emotional investment, but also a rational collection, collecting everything that has fallen and arranging it in a new way, which leads to thought-provoking results. Old Photos, edited by Feng Keli in Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, initiated China's era of reading pictures, which made it famous in the publishing industry. Over the years, Feng Keli has read countless films and people. His unique vision left a deep impression on Mr. Tan Jintu and forged a friendship. I have been in contact with Tan Jintu for nearly 21 years. They met in 1998, when Lao Tan's first reading article "Who is Lost in the Image" interpreted the group photos of seven young people and sent them to Old Photos magazine. Feng Keli got a treasure, and the article was quickly published in Old Photos, so Tan Jintu began to collect old photos and write reading articles. In October 2111, Mr. and Mrs. Feng Keli came to Suzhou to visit Mr. Tan Jintu. In August, 2111, Lao Tan was invited to participate in the pen meeting of Old Photos held in Qingdao. Lao Tan formed an indissoluble bond with Old Photos, and also started a correspondence with Feng Keli. Mr. Feng Keli wrote a preface for Tan Jintu's prose collection Those. Later, Feng Keli and his wife visited Suzhou many times and went to the old photo collection of Shantang Street to watch and select films. Editor-in-chief Feng took the initiative to invite manuscripts. He was interested in photo albums such as Shanghai Printing and Dyeing Factory, China Aluminum Factory, Huxing Shen Shi Genealogy and Suzhou Water Town.

In Mr. Tan Jintu's eyes, those yellow old photos turned out in the pile of old paper seemed to tell one bumpy story after another in the light and shadow, which was really touching. At the edge of these photos, the memory will stretch out. Through those details, parts and fragments, you will feel the dispersion of the smell of life, and then form an almost complete artistic conception. Concern for the environment, respect for life, and pursuit of human nature have flashed by in front of our eyes but left a deep mark on our hearts. When I first went there, the old photo collection was on the second floor of an old library with rich books. Walking up to the second floor, a strong sense of history and weight came from the pavement. A little narrow space, a little dark, the room was full of all kinds of old photos, patchwork and dense. The second time I went, the memorial hall had moved. This time, I met Teacher Tan Jintu. He sat at the window, made a cup of tea and began to have a long talk. There is time and years in the photo, which makes people feel excited. By reading photos, you can read stories about life events and time. The intimate photos between grandparents and grandchildren at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the wedding photos of a couple in 1935, the photo taken by Zhang Daqian in Suzhou at the age of 17, the first photo taken by Mei Lanfang, the photo taken by the wife of a senior Kuomintang official and his daughter during the Republic of China, and the family of two generations ... Walking around the collection museum seems to be sitting on a time machine. With the rapid rotation of the brain, the historical knowledge usually obtained in textbooks seems to come alive at once, and the old photos collected after screening seem to be witnesses of a period of time, telling the story. These photos seem to capture the atmosphere at that time, making people full of warm feelings for secular life and ordinary people, which is touching. Tan Jintu remembers the story behind each photo very clearly. He is like a master of memory. He can talk for a whole day just by taking a photo. In his view, these old photos are history, trivial joys and sorrows of ordinary people, and footnotes of an era. In the face of the old alleys, riverside houses, suburban fields, Millennium scenic spots and all kinds of forests related to Suzhou collected by Tan Jintu, I felt the power of change and the ruthlessness of time in the identification of three points of familiarity and seven points of strangeness. Especially in tiger hill of different ages, those who are bleak have it, those who are ruined have it, and those who are quiet have it. After reading and reading, they feel a kind of desolate and cold beauty that has never been experienced. People's cultural feelings are always attached to "things". We interpret old photos to convey not only the cultural changes of a city, but also the so-called news of historical passage and time undercurrent. "The deceased is like this", only by sighing and touching time can we truly touch life.

We have already entered the era of reading pictures, but most of our lives are full of "visual fast food", which is carefully collected by Teacher Tan Jintu, but it deserves your deep gaze. This kind of "reading pictures" enriches your knowledge and the way you feel about the world. Today, when you are more and more numb and turn a blind eye, these will attract your attention and enrich the meaning of your life. Based on his personal experience and thinking, Tan Jintu echoed a historical philosophy and cultural trend. In this impetuous and utilitarian era, it is almost archaic to devote nearly 21 years of energy to one thing, not to mention that it is an inevitable result. Collection, not only requires you to endure hardship, but also bear the unknown loneliness, obsession and selfless investment. And things in the world, often also need such a character, to make it. After nearly 21 years of collection and thinking, Tan Jintu has formed a unique feeling and interpretation of objects. The author's careless reading and shallow thinking can't match Tan Jintu's thinking in this long time, and the weight of his words can't be whispered on the same day. Teacher Tan Jintu published Fa Yan and Fa, Those and Old Photos, and published dozens of articles and hundreds of articles, becoming a special contributor to the magazine. I wrote it reluctantly. As a literary and art worker, I feel obligated to say what I feel.

Mr. Tan is very modest. He said that I have entered a quiet and calm state of mind and a way of life. It's not about painting, photography, writing or any major, but about the high vision and state of mind.

There is a saying that all masters are contemporaries. Why do you say this is the same mentality, and the acquisition of that mentality is the unexpected result of their lifelong tempering and purification of their personality, temperament, knowledge and wisdom, and it is the result of their choice of a way of life that does not violate their own nature and willingness.

Tan Jintu: Not all photos are worth collecting. I prefer to choose. Historical events, scenic spots, social customs and daily life require some insight. Of course, knowledge, learning and research skills are needed. These are all carefully selected. These old photos have important events, people's lives and social scenery. In my eyes, it is a vivid and living history. Every time I receive a valuable photo, I will be excited for many days, and then I will look for relevant information and write down the words, and I will never tire of it.

Chen: When did you start collecting old photos?

Tan Jintu: In 1998, there are seven young men in dark gowns in the photo. On the left is a line of words "a group of people who sell their labor-us", which was signed in February of 26 th. There are six names in the bottom, with different handwriting. On the back is an inscription written by their friend four years later. It says that Japan occupied Shanghai and two younger brothers of seven people went to the front. My first feeling at that time was that this was the last photo of these seven people. This idea hit me at once, and I was fascinated since then. I now have more than 41,111 old photos and a lot of literature and history materials. From the beginning, I found it interesting to hide old photos, to explore the history and stories behind them, and to observe people and backgrounds. Later, I got out of hand and fell in love with old photos.

Chen: What kind of old photos do you collect the most?

Tan Jintu: Suzhou, a photo of old Suzhou. My hometown is Danyang. After so many years in Suzhou, I am full of curiosity about Suzhou's past.

Chen: What is the biggest gain from collecting old photos?

Tan Jintu: Reading stories is the greatest pleasure in collecting old photos. I may be older than old Suzhou. From the old photos of Suzhou, I read the faces of intellectuals before and after the Cultural Revolution, the specific treatment of foreign companies in the Republic of China, and the brief history of Suzhou people's lives. To tell the truth, I have really earned some subsidies by reading old photos over the years, but compared with the stories behind these photos, it is really insignificant.

Chen: Does your family support you?

Tan Jintu: I have been blamed. My wife said, "The person in the photo has nothing to do with you", but Tan Jintu seems to take this as an obligation. There are often regrets in the collection. "There is not enough money." He kept thinking, "I don't know where they went." .

Chen: Do you already have a sense of mission? How much did you spend? Why do you still insist on collecting?

Tan Jintu: It cost hundreds of thousands. It's not just a hobby. I'm preserving history. This photo of the victims in the second year of Qing Xuantong. At that time, there was a flood, and the people in Anhui, Jiangsu and other places were "dying". Later, the photos spread to Shanghai, which caused a fundraising. This is the first time that China turned the camera on the poorest people. In the past, taking photos was very expensive. "A 12-inch photo in 1923 cost 5 yuan money", which was the living expenses of an ordinary family at that time.

In the past 31 years, the collection of old photos has gradually warmed up and once became a "fever". It is a awakening of consciousness to remove the role of the market. This awakening is a re-emphasis on the past years. Lao Tan has been collecting old photos for a long time, which is enough to prove that this man who is good at writing has long had a unique vision of discovery. The weight of old images, its scarcity and preciousness are amazing. Reading old photos is also reading history, perhaps reading more real history. When a hundred people tell the same thing, there will be a hundred kinds of narration and records because of their different ideas, different memories and different narrative methods, while an old photo has only one angle, one record and one watch.