| In fact, there was little public awareness of the poverty in the countryside. Xie says he expected to find the beautiful landscapes he had heard about in popular songs about folk customs. Instead, what he found was cruel poverty. |
實際上，人們對農村的貧困知之甚少。 解海龍說，他本希望能夠找到流行民歌中聽歌唱的美景，然而他找到的卻是殘酷的貧窮。 |
| "What we were told was that everything is perfect in rural areas - villagers are quite rich and living a happy life," Xie says. "But you would be disappointed and shocked when you personally see it." |
他說：“我們所了解的農村只是它美好的一面：村民非常富有，過著幸福的生活。但是當你親眼看到，就會感到非常失望和震驚。” |
| The Chinese government introduced its compulsory nine-year education program in 1986. Despite a promise to provide free education for every child, the government faced – and still faces - shortfalls in its education funds, especially in rural areas. The annual per capita expenditure on rural schoolchildren at the time was less than 10 yuan, Xie found. He asked his boss for a year off to explore their lives. |
中國政府從1986年開始實行九年制義務教育。雖然承諾向每個孩子提供免費義務教育，但是政府從過去到現在都面臨著教育經費不足的局面，特別是在農村地區，情況更糟糕。那個時候，解海龍發現，農村孩子上學，每年每人的投入不足10元。于是他向領導請假一年深入農村進行調研。 |
| "In 1989, as people began to xia hai [flock to cities to do business and make money], I decided to shang shan [go to the mountains, the more impoverished areas]," Xie says. "I knew these children needed my camera to make more people hear their cry, 'I want to go to school,' and I must seize the time." |
“1989年，當人們開始熱衷于‘下海’經商時，我卻決定‘上山’。我知道這些孩子需要我的鏡頭來讓人們聽到他們‘我要上學’的呼喊。我必須抓緊時間。” |
| Xie's journey into the impoverished countryside ofChinawas not without obstacles. He had to fund his travels and buy his own equipment himself. And though he had his boss's support, his colleagues thought his idea was ridiculous and dangerous. Some even warned him that the government may not want people to see the "dark side" of the country. |
解海龍對貧困農村的探訪并非是一帆風順。他得自己負擔路費以及設備費用。盡管得到了領導的支持，他的同事卻認為他的想法可笑，而且危險。一些人甚至提醒他：政府是不愿讓人看到國家“不光彩”的一面的。 |
| But Xie was used to this kind of discouragement. As a factory worker, he had to save up for two months and sell his wife's coats and watch to buy an ordinary camera. At one point, he even donated blood for 75 yuan so he could develop his pictures. His colleagues ridiculed him for taking pictures in his spare time, even as they enjoyed the pictures he took of them. It was a journalist's work to take pictures, not a worker's, they said. This only inspired him to try to become a photojournalist. |
但是解海龍對這樣的勸阻已經習以為常。作為一名普通工人，他必須省吃儉用兩個月來存錢，甚至要變賣妻子的衣物和手表來購買相機。有一次，他竟然去獻血，換回75塊錢來沖印照片。盡管同事們很喜歡他拍攝的照片，但他們仍然嘲笑他在業余時間拍攝的做法。他們說，攝影是記者的工作，不是一個工人的分內職責。但這反而激勵他努力成為一名攝影記者。 |
| He had already won many awards as an amateur photographer, but in 1984 a quarrel with his boss changed his life. An exhibit featuring works of groundbreaking American photographer Robert Adams was in town, and Xie asked for a day off from work to see it. His boss refused him, saying a worker like him needn't pay attention to such cultural things. But Xie realized that his talents could not progress if he was forbidden to practice his love. He ignored his boss and went. Soon after, he became a lecturer at the Culture Publicity Office and quit his factory job. |
作為一名業余攝影師，他獲得了許多獎項。但是1984年一次與領導的爭吵改變了他的生活。當時城里正在舉辦一場在美國攝影界被譽為開拓者的羅伯特·亞當斯的作品展，解海龍想向單位請一天假去參觀。但領導拒絕了他的請求，說像他這樣一名工人不需要理會文藝。但是解海龍意識到如果他不能實踐自己的愛好，他的才能將不可能得到發展。他不顧領導的反對，毅然前去參觀。不久之后，他成為文化站的一名講師，并且辭掉了工廠的工作。 |
| Xie continued to win awards for his photography but began to find little meaning to his work. His early subjects were those around him: colleagues, friends, his son and wife. But he knew that he would remain an amateur photographer if he only took pictures of his family. If he wanted to become a professional photographer, he still had a long way to go. |
之后，解海龍的作品陸續獲獎，但是他發現單純追求獎項并沒有什么意義。他早期的攝影作品主要是圍繞他身邊的人和事：同事、朋友、兒子和妻子。但是他知道如果只是拍攝自己的家庭，他仍將只是一名業余攝影師。如果想成為一名專業攝影師，他還有很長的路要走。
（China.org.cn 何珊 譯）
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![Xie Hailong's first photo of rural education [CPA]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20090924/0011432100f50c254ceb3f.jpg "Xie Hailong's first photo of rural education [CPA]")
