1936:AsJapanesetroopsattackChina'sSuiyuanregion,FangDazengembarksonhorsebacktothebattlefield.AnewsphotographerwiththeChinaandForeignJournalismSociety,Fangcontributedtoagreatnumberofnewphotosandarticlesfromthefrontlines.At8o’clockonthemorningofDecember12,2016,havingtraversedthewholeofBeijingCity,FengXuesong,aTVproduceranddocumentarydirector,finallyarrivedattheLiangxiangCampusofBeijingTechnologyandBusinessUniversity.Itwasthe14thlegofthecampaign“FangDazengonCampus,”andalsothefinallegof2016.
InitiatedbyFengXuesong,“FangDazengonCampus”isacharityevent,whichaimstovisit20ChineseuniversitiestodisplayFangDazeng’slifeandChina’shistoryinhistimes.ThetourbeganinSeptember2015andwillrununtilJuly2017,theenddatemarkingboththe80thanniversaryoftheLugouBridgeIncident(alsoknownastheMarcoPoloBridgeIncident),launchedbyJapaninJuly1937,andalsothe105thanniversaryofthebirthofFangDazeng.
Sincetheendof1999,Fenghasbeen“lookingforFangDazeng”inallkindsofways.Hehaslookeduphistori-caldocuments,visitedFang’soldfriendsandreturnedtothelastplacesmentionedinreportsbyFang.FenghasnotmissedanythingaboutFangandhasdonealmostbiographicalresearchonhim.“LookingforFanghasbeenthemosttime-consumingtaskofmycareer,”claimsFeng.“Iwon’tstopuntilIfindhim.”
FengXuesong(right)withhiscrewmembers,finishingthelastshotofthedocumentaryLookingforFangDazeng.Whileshootingthefilm,FengdiscoveredmoretraitsofFangincludinghisvisionofnews,professionalismandpatriotism.
December10,2016:The"FangDazengonCampus"tourarrivesattheLiangxiangCampusofBeijingTechnologyandBusinessUniversity.FengXuesonginitiated"FangDazengonCampus,"acharitablecampaignlastingfromSeptember2015toJuly2017,whichplanstotour20ChineseuniversitiestodisplayFang'slifeandChina'shistoryinhistimes.byWangYuncongWhyLookforFang?
OnJuly7,1937,JapanbeganitsfullscaleinvasionofChinabylaunchingtheLugouBridgeIncident,ontheoutskirtsofBeijing.Threedayslater,Fang,then25yearsold,rushedtothebattlefieldwithhiscamera.OnAugust1,asfightingagainsttheJapaneseaggressorscontinuedonLugouBridge,a7,000-wordarticleunderhispenname“XiaoFang”waspublishedinWorldAffairs,amagazinefoundedbytheCommunistPartyofChinain1934.Thiswasthefirstarticletocoverthebattlewithbothtextandpictures,makingFangthefirstcorrespondentevertoreportontheLugouBridgeIncident.
In1936,whenJapanesetroopsattackedChina’sSuiyuanregion,Fang,thenaphotocorrespondentwiththeChinaandForeignJournalismSociety,contributedanumberofnewsphotosandarticlesfromthefrontlines.Thearticles,withtheirmanyphotos,showedskillfulwritingandcloseobservations,creatingpreciousrecordsoftheSuiyuanbattlefield.However,FangwentmissingafterhislastbattlefieldreportonTaKungPaoonSeptember30,1937.
In1999,inhisoffice,FengXuesongstumbledacrossafaxnotefromtheChinaPhotographersAssociation,askingiftheycouldco-compileFang’sworksintoabook.Wordssuchas“China’sRobertCapa”and“mysteriousdisappearance”onthenotecaughtFeng’sattention.ItwasatthatmomentthatFengembarkedonhisjourneyof“lookingforFangDazeng.”
SomephotosbyFangDazeng.Anexcellentwarcorrespondentandphotographer,FangDazengtookagreatnumberofphotosofsoldiersandcommandersonthefrontlines.Healsodocumentedthelivesofordinarypeopleinthe1920sand1930swithhiscamera.FengwenttoFangChengmin,theyoungersisterofFangDazeng,whoprovidedhimwith837photostakenbyherbrother.IntriguedbytheprecioushistoricalmomentsrecordedbyFang,Fengbegantolookintotheperiodicalsandnewspapersfrombetween1934and1937storedintheNationalLibraryofChina.IttookFengfourmonthstofindFang’sarticlesandpicturesinthesepublications,includingFightingagainsttheJapaneseAggressorsonLugouBridge,The29thArmy:FightingforOurCountry,AirRaidDrillinJining,andWanpingCountyUndertheGunfireofJapaneseInvaders.Fromthenon,moreandmoretracesofFang’sworkasawarcorre-spondentgraduallyemerged.
Later,FengvisitedvariousplacesFanghadoncefrequented,includingcitieslikeBaoding,Shijiazhuang,Taiyuan,andDatong.Withineightmonths,Fenginterviewedaround100civilianswhohadexperiencedtheChinesePeople’sWarofResistanceagainstJapaneseAggression,aswellasscholarsandspecialists,andfilmedmorethan40hoursoffootage.OnNovember8,2000,thefirstJournalists’DaysincethefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChinain1949,Feng’sdocumentaryLookingforFangDazengwasbroadcastonChinaCentralTelevision.
Whilefilmingthedocumentary,FenguncoveredmoreevidenceofFang’svaluablequalities:hisvisionofnews,hisprofessionalismandhispatriotism.Inthedecadethatfollowed,FengsearchedforinformationandfriendsofFang,andretracedthefinalstepsmentionedinFang’snewsreportstoseekeverypossibleclueconnectedtohim.
In2014,FengXuesongcompiledthehistoricalmaterialshehadfound,alongwithhisexperiencesfromthesearch,intothebookFangDazeng:DisappearanceandReappearance.“Feng’sbookrevealsthestoriesofFangDazeng,adistinguishedjournalistandphotographerwhohadbeenburiedinoblivionforover80years,”saysFangHanqi,aleadingChinesescholarofnewshistory.“MakinghisnameknowntothepublicisagreatcontributiontotheresearchonChina’shistoryofjournalismandwarphotography.”
TheMemoryWon’tFadeAway
Fangwasfamousbeforehevanished,buthisdisappearance,combinedwiththeturbulenceofthetime,drownedoutbothhimandhisworks.AmajorpublicationonthehistoryofChina’sphotographyincludesjusta100-worddescriptionofhim.ThankstoFeng’ssearchoverrecentyears,publicknowledgeofFang’slifehasbeenenriched.
Fangwasanexcellentwarcorrespondentandphotographer.Butbeforeturningtobattlefields,heoncerecordedpeople’slivesinTianjinCityandShanxiProvincewithhiscamera.Hisattentiontoordinarylaborersandunderprivilegedpeopleisalsoofsignificance.
Thefiguresseenthroughhislensincluderickshawpullersattheentranceofahutong,localpeopleinraggedclothes,boattrackersatawharf,andlaughingkids.Thosepicturesshownotonlythewartimelivesofpeopleinthe1920sand1930s,butalsoatrustandequalitybetweenthesubjectsandthephotographer.
In2006,Fang’srelativesdonatedhis837survivingoriginalphotographicplatestotheNationalMuseumofChina.In2015,Fang’sphotographsofthebattlefieldswereexhibitedinthemuseumtocommemoratethe70thanniversaryofthevictoryoftheChinesePeople’sWarofResistanceagainstJapaneseAggression.
InthehistoryofChinesephotography,manyofthemostpreciousimagesweretakenbyforeignphotographers,suchasfamousFrenchphotographersHenriCartier-BressonandMarcRiboud.TheabsenceofChinesephotographershasalwaysbeenapity.ButFang’sreturntoprominencefillsthisblank.Despitethepoorconditionsofhistimes,Fangintuitivelyinjectedarichsenseofempathyandagreatdealoffunintohisworks,andwhetherintentionallyoraccidentally,createdarecordofhistimes.
IntheyearssincethepublicationofthebookFangDazeng:DisappearanceandReappearancein2014,a“FangDazeng”crazehasspreadthroughChina’sacademicandmediacircles,withvariouseventsorganizedtorememberandstudyhim.AsymposiumonFengXuesong’stracingandcollectionofFang’sstorieswasheldbytheAll-ChinaJournalistsAssociation;theFangDazengMemorialwasestablishedinBaoding,HebeiProvince;andthe“FangDazengonCampus”publicitycampaignhasbeenstarted,influencinganincreasingnumberofcollegestudents.Still,Fenghasmoreplans,suchasaddingFangDazengintotheEncyclopediaofChina,settingupaFangDazengFund,establishingtheFangDazengAwardtoencourageyoungjournalists,andadaptingFangDazeng’sstoriesintoadrama.