If the price of civilization and develop-ment is to eradicate previous civilization and development, how should people choose?
China's Three Gorges-Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge-are located in the midstream section of the Changjiang (Yangtze River). The impressive cliffs and drops of the gorges have been created by the eastward flow of the river through the Wu Mountain Range. The Three Gorges area begins at Baidi City in Fengjie County of Sichuan Province and extends for 204 kilometers to Nanjin Pass in Yichang County in Hubei Province.
At its surface, the river averages 200-300 meters in width, thinning to only 100 meters at the narrowest parts. The rushing waters, small boats, astonishing mountains, dazzling cliffs, sparkling waterfalls, and colorful and rapidly changing skies have been a source of wonder and inspiration for literati and artists since ancient times. The area has been a major center of civilization in China, and was the birthplace of renowned patriot-poet Qu Yuan and the statesman Zhuge Liang, among many others. Above all, it has been the home of countless generations of ordinary Chinese who have made their living around the river. All of this will be forever swallowed up beneath the Three Gorges dam project.
The Three Gorges project has always been dogged by controversy. The first phase of work was completed in November of 1997. The live broadcast of the ceremony announced to the world that there would be no turning back on this unprecedentedly huge engineering project. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of former residents, carrying what household goods they could on their backs, walked away into an unknown future.
When Phase 2 of the project is completed (expected to be in 2003), the water will have risen by 135 meters. When the total project is finished (est. 2009), the water will be 175 meters-roughly equivalent to a 50-story building-above its original level. The resulting reservoir will be 300 kilometers across and the catchment area will cover 19 cities and counties including 300 smaller townships. The dam will turn the Three Gorges area into a mere memory that can never be retraced.
With this in mind, photographers from both Taiwan and mainland China, working under a cooperative effort by the Chinese Photographic Culture Association and mainland China's Arts Photography Association, met at the end of 1997 in Chongqing for a Three Gorges project of their own. They followed the river county by county and stop by stop, recording both sides of the Three Gorges area on film. The superb natural scenery, the rich store of historic artifacts, and the ordinary lives of citizens have been frozen in eternal moments in the sensitive lenses of the photographers.
The photographers who participated in the shoot are themselves legendary. The five photographers from Taiwan included organizer Chung Yung-ho, from a small town in Ilan County, Teng Kun-hai from Changhua, Chuang Ling, who was born in Beijing and during World War II moved to Chongqing where he spent his early childhood on the banks of the Changjiang, Lin Po-liang, born and raised in Kaohsiung, and Lin Tien-fu from Tucheng, a suburb of Taipei. On the mainland side, there were Liu Lei, from Jilin in the Northeast, He Tingguang, whose ancestry traces back to Shanxi, Ningxia's Wang Zheng, and two other photographers, Yu Zhixin and Zhang Tongsheng, who preferred to avoid the question of place of origin.
Though hailing from different places, their shared love of photography has brought them to myriad destinations. In the eyes of these photographers, there's neither regionalism nor nationality. Some of them shoot in praise of nature, others focus on how people live, and others commemorate history. In April of last year and February of this year, they met again at the Three Gorges to reminisce. Many things they saw in their first meeting were already a part of the past:
"Standing out on a promontory, the buildings below have been demolished, and all we can see are shattered columns and smashed tiles. The waters of the Changjiang still surge eastward, but everything else is gone. To think that it was less than half a year ago that markets still flourished on the outskirts of Badong County townships."
What they have recorded is in the process of becoming history. What they have not been able to record is the reality of people's struggle to keep their lives together.
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Dicui Gorge, one of the "Little Three Gorges":
When the Changjiang rises, the mirror-like water will become muddied. (photo by Chuang Ling)
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Qu Yuan's Hometown:
Xiangxi, located in today's Zigui County in Hubei, is the hometown of the renowned patriot-poet Qu Yuan, and also the starting point of the Xiling Gorge. It will be completely inundated by the dam project. (photo by Chung Yung-ho)
Shibaozhai:
Also called Yuyinshan, it is located in Zhong County of Sichuan Province. An isolated peak, legend has it that it was dropped there by the Woman Who Mended the Hole in Heaven. Later, in the Wanli reign period of the Ming dynasty (1573-1619), the mountain was named Yuyinshan and a twelve-story wooden structure erected. Legend has it that people were guided to this site by the circling of a hawk. After the dam is built, the lower part will be covered in water. (photo by Chung Yong-ho)
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China is a vast land with many regional variations, including techniques for carrying heavy loads. The photo on the opposite page shows the method preferred in Sichuan of lifting with poles, while in Hubei (left) the load is laid on the person's back. (photo by Chung Yung-ho)
Fengjie in Sichuan is a coal-producing area. Half of it will be under water when the dam is completed. What will those dependent on the coal industry do then? (photo by Lin Tien-fu)
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Beiling, Sichuan is famous for its Baiheliang water culture. It is said that starting in the Tang dynasty literati gathered here in the dry season; besides inspiring countless poems, the area also has fine stone carvings of fish. Take a good look now; these will soon be under water. (photo by Chung Yung-ho)
Wan County in Sichuan is relatively modernized. Markers indicating areas that will be inundated can be seen everywhere on city streets. (photo by Teng Kun-hai)
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Sichuan is famous for its "preserved-mustard with meat strips" soup, and Beiling is the source of the only truly orthodox preserved mustard. Will this food, still processed entirely by hand and treated in the sun, disappear when the dam comes along? At the very least, it is certain that scenes like this of an elderly man checking the preserve jars in his courtyard-scenes that have lasted for generations-will be no more. (photo by Teng Kun-hai)
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The waters of the Shennong River are shallow and fast-moving. For centuries the only viable transport was barges pulled by human labor. Images like this one have not existed since a government ban on nudity was issued in 1994, even before construction of the Three Gorges dam began. (photo by Lin Tien-fu)
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There are historic artifacts everywhere along the Three Gorges. Though many of the "historical incidents" surrounding these sites are fabrications, the Han tombs at Fengdu in Sichuan are genuinely important artifacts. The spirits of those interred here will have to find new homes to haunt. (photo by Lin Po-liang)
Pottery from a Han tomb. (photo by Chuang Ling)
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An old woman from Yun'an smoking from a tobacco pouch. How will she adjust after leaving behind her home of 80 years? (photo by Chuang Ling)
Xiangxi, located in today's Zigui County in Hubei, is the hometown of the renowned patriot poet Qu Yuan, and also the starting point of the Xiling Gorge. It will b e completely inundated by the dam project. （photo by Chung Yung-ho）
Shibaozhai: Also called Yuyinshan, it is located in Zhong County of Sichuan Province. An isolated peak, legend has it that it was dropped there by the Woman Who Mended the Hole in Heaven. Later, in the Wanli reign period of the Ming dynasty (1573-1619), the mountain was named Yuyinshan and a twelve-story wooden structure erected. Legend has it that people were guided to this site by the circling of a hawk. After the dam is built, the lower part will be covered in water. (photo by Chung Yong-ho)
China is a vast land with many regional variations, including techniques for carrying heavy loads. The photo on the opposite page shows the method preferred in Sichuan of lifting with poles, while in Hubei （left） the load is laid on the person's back. （photo by Chung Yung-ho）
Fengjie in Sichuan is a coal-producing area. Half of it will be under water when the dam is completed. What will those dependent on the coal industry do then? （photo by Lin Tien-fu）
Beiling, Sichuan is famous for its Baiheliang water culture. It is said that starting in the Tang dynasty literati gathered here in the dry season; besides inspiring countless poems, the area also has fine stone carvings of fish. Take a good look now; these will soon be under water. （photo by Chung Yung-ho）
Wan County in Sichuan is relatively modernized. Markers indicating areas that will be inundated can be seen everywhere on city streets. （photo by Teng Kun-hai）
Sichuan is famous for its "preserved-mustard with meat strips" soup, and Beiling is the source of the only truly orthodox preserved mustard. Will this food, still processed entirely by hand and treated in the sun, disappear when the dam comes along? At the very least, it is certain that scenes like this of an elderly man checking the preserve jars in his courtyard--scenes that have lasted for generations--will be no more. （photo by Teng Kun-hai）
The waters of the Shennong River are shallow and fast-moving. For centuries the only viable transport was barges pulled by human labor. Images like this one have not existed since a government ban on nudity w as issued in 1994, even before construction of the Three Gorges dam began. （photo by Lin Tien-fu）
There are historic artifacts everywhere along the Three Gorges. Though many of the "historical incidents" surrounding these sites are fabrications, the Han tombs at Fengdu in Sichuan are genuinely important artifacts. The spirits of those interred here will have to find new homes to haunt. （photo by Lin Po-liang）
Pottery from a Han tomb. （photo by Chuang Ling）
An old woman from Yun'an smoking from a tobacco pouch. How will she adjust after leaving behind her home of 80 years? （photo by Chuang Ling）
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