Chinese Farmers Testimony中國農民證言
Hou Yimin

The photograph did not end with the shutter.

When I photographed this mother in Sichuan, her own words were already a complete testimony: "My husband found work with a construction crew in Beijing, but after a whole year he has not earned a single cent. Instead, he owes the contractor money for food and lodging. He does not even have money to call me. He has fallen ill and wants to come home, but I have no money to send him..."

In rural China, there is a special group: impoverished mothers. Many live in extreme poverty, short of food, without basic education or medical protection. Many are illiterate and in poor health. For their children and families, they endure illness, poverty, and heavy labor.

This close-up portrait of a peasant mother holding twins later became one of the representative works of Chinese Farmers. It won the Non-Spot News Photography Award from People's Photography News that year and was published across the newspaper's entire front page.

After publication, People's Photography News launched a nationwide search for this mother. She was eventually found, and a donation ceremony was held. Many readers donated money to her. People's Daily and People's Photography News later found her again and delivered the readers' donations into her hands. Only when this later journey is told does the photograph become a complete story.

我拍摄这位四川母亲时，她自己的话已经是一段完整的证言：“我丈夫在北京建筑队找了个活，但是一年了一分钱都没有挣到，还欠了工头一笔食宿费。他连给我打电话的钱都没有。他病了想回家。可是我也没有钱寄给他……” 在中国农村，有一个特殊的群体，就是贫困的母亲们。她们很多人生活在极度贫困中，食物匮乏，没有必要的教育和医疗保障；很多人是文盲，身体也不好。为了子女和家庭，她们忍受病痛、贫困和沉重劳作。这幅抱着双胞胎的农民母亲大特写后来成为《中国农民》的代表作之一，获得《人民摄影报》非突发新闻摄影奖，并被《人民摄影报》头版整版刊登。刊登后，《人民摄影报》发起全国寻找这位母亲的行动，后来找到了她，并举行捐赠仪式；许多读者捐款，人民日报、人民摄影报又去找到她，把读者捐赠的钱送到她手里。只有把这些后续也讲完，这张照片才是完整的故事。

From the field to the night photograph.

On Christmas afternoon in 2003, in Group 1 of Fushou Village, Huaiyuan Town, Chongqing, Sichuan, I met a peasant woman. People from the land administration office had beaten her until her nose bled. When she saw me photographing in the fields, she came to find me. She was disabled and could not speak clearly in front of me. I could only hear her crying, a sound coming from the bottom of her heart.

It was getting dark, and I was ready to leave, but I wanted to go to her home and hear what had happened. Her family lived in about forty square meters. It was very dark. In one room there was a pigsty, and beside it a small bed. She said it was where her daughter slept. It was too dark, and I had not brought a flash, so I could not photograph it.

After returning to where I was staying, I still wanted to go back, so I took a lamp and went again. By then her daughter had come home: Wang Sha, a second-year junior middle school student. She was fourteen years old, such a good child. When she saw me, she cried. One year of school cost RMB 700, while the family's annual income was RMB 1,000, earned by her father digging and selling sand from the riverbed.

The family wanted to raise more pigs, so they built a small pigsty beside the road. Her mother was beaten until her nose bled, and the pigsty was destroyed. I asked how much the pigsty was worth. The mother said 50 yuan and kept crying. I gave them RMB 100 and told them to find another place to rebuild a pigsty. I truly wished I could give this little girl the money she needed for school, but I did not have it with me. I hoped my work could help more children go to school.

This story was later published on the founding issue cover of China Poverty Alleviation magazine, under the headline "Can I still go to school next year..." It caused a strong social response, because one girl's school fee, one family's annual income, and one destroyed 50-yuan pigsty suddenly stood before the public.

2003 年圣诞节的下午，我在四川省崇庆市怀远镇福寿村 1 组遇到一个农民，她被国土局的人打得流鼻血了。她看到我在地里拍摄就来找我，她是个残疾人，在我的面前也说不清楚话，我只能够听到她的哭，从心底里发出的声音。本来天要黑了，我已经准备回去，但是我要去她家看一下，听她说是怎么回事情。他们家有 40 平方米，黑黑的，有一个房间里有一个猪圈，旁边有一个小床铺，她说是女儿住的地方。很黑，我没有带闪光灯，没有办法拍摄。回到住的地方，我还想去，就拿了灯又去。这时候她女儿已经回来了，王沙，14 岁，初中二年级，好乖的一个孩子。她看到我就哭，因为她上学一年要 700 元，家里一年的收入是 1000 元，是父亲在河道里挖沙卖的钱。他们家想多喂几个猪，就在路旁边修了一个小猪圈，妈妈就被国土局的人打得流鼻血了，猪圈也破坏了。我问猪圈价值多少钱，妈妈说 50，哭不停。我给了她们 100 元钱，让她们换一个地方修个猪圈。我真是希望可以给这个小女孩子上学的钱，但是我的身上没有，希望我的工作可以让更多孩子上学。这个故事后来发表在《中国扶贫》杂志创刊号封面，标题是“明年我还能不能上学……”，在社会上引起了强烈反响。