On September 6, 2024, a sad news came: Zhang Chongxiu, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and a famous war photojournalist, died at the age of 95 due to ineffective medical treatment and permanent closure of his eyes in Hefei. So far, this veteran, who recorded the history of China's battlefield with his lens and witnessed countless war moments, has left us forever with his battlefield memories frozen in film.
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He joined the army at the age of 13 and entered the beacon years
Zhang Chongxiu's life can be said to be closely linked to modern Chinese history. Born in Chaoxian County, Anhui Province in 1929, he joined the New Fourth Army at the age of 13 and embarked on the road of resisting Japan and saving the country. When he was a teenager, he may not have imagined that he would use the camera to record so many shocking historical moments.
In 1948, Zhang Chongxiu finished his studies in the journalism training class of the Political Department of the Eastern Front Corps and embarked on the road of battlefield photography. His photographic career began in the war of liberation, which was full of gunsmoke and turmoil. The Huaihai Campaign, the Battle of Crossing the River, and other major events that changed the course of Chinese history all had his figure. The camera in his hand not only recorded these scenes of war, but also recorded the years of burning passion he experienced.
Witness to the Battle of Changjin Lake
On November 27, 1950, the Battle of Changjin Lake in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea began, and Zhang Chongxiu went to the front as the head of the photography team of the Propaganda Department of the Political Department of the Ninth Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers. It was an extremely cold winter, so cold that even the lake was covered with thick ice. The Battle of Changjin Lake was one of the most difficult battles in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and Zhang Chongxiu was the witness and recorder of this battle.
With a camera and three rolls of film, Zhang Chongxiu recorded this shocking battle.
His work has become an important archetype for the stamp.
These photos seem to bring us back to that cold winter, to see the figures of those soldiers who fought for peace, and also to see the hidden indomitable and tenacious behind the cruelty of war.
From the battlefield to the everyday: A life of photography after leaving the battlefield
In the spring of 1958, Zhang Chongxiu returned to Hefei, Anhui Province, and although he left the battlefield, he did not leave the world of photography. He successively served as the deputy head of the photography group of Anhui Pictorial and the deputy head of the photography group of Anhui Daily, and continued to record the changes in society and life with his lens. Although the working environment after that was peaceful and safe, for Zhang Chongxiu, the sensitivity and persistence tempered in the rain of bullets have never changed.
In 2021, 92-year-old Zhang Chongxiu donated 80 photographs that had been treasured for more than 70 years to the Anhui Provincial Archives. He left the precious memories of his life as a witness to history for future generations. That is a kind of entrustment for the future: to remember those who shed blood and sacrificed for the country and the nation, and to remember those who showed indomitable and tenacity on the battlefield.
The condolences and resonance of netizens
Zhang Chongxiu's death has aroused widespread attention and mourning among netizens. A netizen wrote emotionally on social platforms: "He used his camera to record the most real moments for us, allowing us to understand the cruelty and greatness of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea." Such heroes should not be forgotten. Another netizen commented: "Paying tribute to this veteran, his photography is not only a picture, but also a witness to history." ”
These condolences are full of people's respect for Zhang Chongxiu's contributions in his life, and they are also expressing the memory of all the unsung heroes in those difficult years. After all, it is the hard work and sacrifice of these predecessors that have led to today's peace and prosperity.
For the late Zhang Chongxiu, his life has long since become a part of our national memory through those frozen pictures. His stories do not fade with time, and his work will continue to remind future generations of those that we should not forget.
Zhang Chongxiu is gone, but the history he recorded will become more and more precious with the passage of time. In this era of peace, let us remember his powerful words while remembering him: "To engage in photography, you must be bold." "May each of us have the courage to face all kinds of challenges in life and leave our own glorious moments.
Go all the way, Mr. Zhang! Your lens may be lowered, but the lens of history will never stop.