27.4 - 5.8 2018

Florian KnotheDirector University Museum and Art Gallery,The University of Hong Kong

羅諾德香港大學美術博物館總監

Bosshard in China offers a comprehensive sweep of black and white photographs and documentary films produced by Swiss photo-journalist Walter Bosshard. Living and traveling extensively in China from 1933 to 1939, Bosshard was one of the earliest journalists to record this critical decade in Chinese and world history.

The exhibition is organised into thematic sections that give insight into the photographer’s mind as he traversed myriad landscapes and social conditions, from Beijing to Lake Qinghai in western China; from the bombing of Hankou to Mongolian shepherds on the steppe. Apart from filming daily life, Bosshard also photographed and interviewed key political figures, including Mao Zedong in Yan’an, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling, Madame Chiang Kai-shek.

Following earlier exhibitions at UMAG of Magnum photographers and their oeuvres in the West, Bosshard in China documents China’s landscape and its people during a time when China was undergoing significant sociopolitical upheaval. During this same era, photojournalism was developing into a serious mass medium of information, and

Bosshard’s work in the 1930s was one of the primary means by which the Far East came to life across living rooms in Europe and America.

As photography and film began to dominate modern visual culture, and provided information and an entree to far-away countries and cultures, the work done by Bosshard served, and continues to serve, as a cultural mediator that provides access to an historical period irreversibly marked by complex layers of social change.

This exhibition is generously supported by the HKU Museum Society as part of their 30th anniversary celebration. UMAG is thankful for the society’s continued support and generosity. Special thanks are due also to Peter Pfrunder, Director of the Swiss Foundation for Photography, for his work on the exhibition and publication, and to Lianzhoufoto for the production of the images.

《博薩特在中國：記錄一九三零年代的社會變遷》展覽呈獻一系列由瑞士攝影記者瓦特爾．博薩特所拍攝的黑白照片和紀錄片。在 1933 年至 1939 年間，博薩特旅居並走訪中國，成為最早記錄這於中國和世界歷史上屬關鍵十年的記者之一。

從北京到中國西部的青海湖、從遭受轟炸的漢口到草原上的蒙古牧民，博薩特穿越無數的山水風光、經歷各樣的社會狀況。故是次展覽分為不同的主題區域，以洞悉這位攝影師的思緒。除了拍攝日常生活外，他更採訪到舉足輕重的政治人物，包括身在延安的毛澤東、蔣介石和蔣介石夫人宋美齡。

作為本館於稍早前舉辦的馬格蘭攝影師、及其於西方拍攝的作品展的延續，本展覽記錄了在重大的政治和社會動盪下，中國的山水景色與人民。與此

同時，新聞攝影亦發展成一個專業的大眾媒體。而博薩特於 30 年代拍攝的作品，亦是令遠東活現於家家戶戶的歐洲與美國人眼前的主要方法之一。

隨著攝影和電影開始主導現代視覺文化、提供資訊來切入理解遙遠國家及文化，博薩特的作品仍會持續成為一個文化中介者，以接觸這段不可逆轉地、以層層複雜的社會變遷為特色的歷史時期。

是次展覽承蒙香港大學博物館學會贊助，作為其中一項慶祝該會三十週年紀念的活動。香港大學美術博物館謹此衷心感謝他們一直以來的慷慨支持。特別鳴謝瑞士攝影基金會總監彼得．普夫倫德為本展覽及出版工作、並連州國際攝影年展為影像製作所作的貢獻。

Walter Bosshard (1892–1975) was a pioneer in the field of photojournalism. A master of the word and the photographic eye, he made a name for himself both as an adventurer and bridge builder between Asia and Europe, reporting on key political events and daily life. Today, his photographs and films are a rich source of information for understanding global history, specifically the visual memory of China between 1930 and 1950.

Soon after entering the field of international photojournalism, Bosshard was given two dream assignments. In 1930, he spent several months in India reporting on the growing unrest and independence movement. He succeeded in capturing private moments from the daily life of the usually camera-shy Mahatma Gandhi. A year later, he scored another resounding success, this time with photographs from an airship headed to the Arctic.

Walter Bosshard’s first assignment in China was in 1931. In April of that year he travelled to Nanjing in time for the opening of the Chinese National Assembly on the 5th of May. For his essay in the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, Bosshard succeeded in meeting with notable military and political

瓦特爾．博薩特 (1892-1975) 是新聞攝影界的先驅。作為文字與「攝影眼光」大師，博薩特以作為冒險家和歐亞之間的橋樑而聞名，報導關鍵的政治事件和人民的日常生活。今天，博薩特的攝影和膠卷作品成為了解世界歷史，尤其是 1930 年至 1950 年的中國之視覺回憶的豐富來源。

在剛發展國際新聞攝影事業後不久，博薩特得到兩個夢寐以求的工作機會。1930 年，他在印度逗留了數個月，報導當地持續發生的騷動和獨立運動。博薩特成功用鏡頭捕捉到向來在鏡頭前顯得較為羞澀的聖雄甘地的日常生活片段。一年後，這位攝影記者因拍攝到飛往北極地區的飛船而蜚聲國際。

1931 年，博薩特展開在中國執行的第一次拍攝任務。同年 4 月，他赴當時的首都南京出席 5 月 5 日舉行的國民議會開幕儀式。在《柏林畫報》發表的報導中，博薩特成功會見重要的軍事

personalities, including Chiang Kai-shek, his wife Soong Mei-ling, the Panchen Lama and the highly influential ‘Young Marshal’ Zhang Xueliang, who controlled Manchuria and was integral to solidifying forces in the country. Two years later, in 1933, he settled in Beijing, where he lived until 1939.

Despite his many and varied interests, he paid greatest attention to the Sino-Japanese War and the tenacious power struggle between the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Red Army led by Mao Zedong. Walter Bosshard was aware that he had a great responsibility; namely, to inform the West first-hand about developments that would change the world significantly in the 20th century. Thanks to his diplomatic skills and outstanding network, he compiled countless exclusive reports. In 1937, he was one of the first to provide the West with images and reports on the Japanese bombing of Shanghai and Beijing.

A shorter, but perhaps more crucial episode for his career took place in May 1938, when Walter Bosshard succeeded in visiting the already legendary Mao Zedong in his compound in Yan’an. Bosshard set out—accompanied by the US journalist Archibald Steele—on a daring trip to Yan’an. After a six-day journey, the city of Yan’an came into sight, embedded between steep hills and a small river. As the countryside gradually became poorer and the fields more barren, the number of people the journalists met increased: groups of young Chinese who, with only a few bags on their backs, were making their way on foot, “in the hope of finding a paradise with the Eighth Route Army,” to use Bosshard’s own words.

Peter PfrunderDirector / CuratorSwiss Foundation for Photography

彼得．普夫倫德瑞士攝影基金會總監及策展人

和政治人物，如蔣介石和夫人宋美齡、班禪喇嘛，和極具影響力、掌控滿州並致力於團結國內勢力的「少帥」張學良。兩年後即 1933 年，他定居北京，直至 1939 年為止。

儘管博薩特的興趣廣泛，中日戰爭、和由蔣介石領導的國民黨軍與由毛澤東統領的紅軍之間的權力鬥爭，始終是他最關注的事件。他明白到自己身負重任：以第一手資料來向西方媒體匯報將左右 20 世紀世界局勢的事態發展。憑藉卓越的外交手腕和廣闊的人脈網絡，博薩特取得數之不盡的獨家採訪機會。1937 年，他成為最早向西方提供有關日軍轟炸上海和北京的報導和圖像的攝影記者之一。

同年 5 月，博薩特成功訪問到當時身在延安、已為傳奇人物的毛澤東。此短暫的採訪卻為他的職業生涯寫下至關重要的一頁。在美國記者阿奇博．斯蒂爾的陪伴下，博薩特勇敢地前往延安。經過了六日的旅程，被陡峭的山峰和一條小河包圍的延安城終於映入眼簾。當沿途的鄉鎮地區愈來愈窮困、土地變得更貧瘠時，博薩特遇見的人數卻逐漸增加──一群群只背負簡單行囊的中國青年徒步上路，用博薩特的話形容就是：「他們抱著與八路軍一同找到天堂的希望」。

Team of mules pulling a truck on the road to Xi’an, somewhere beyond Pingliang. 1933.

在平涼以外，拉著卡車前往西安的騾隊。1933 年。

Twenty-year-old abbot Andscha-su-scha-tung seated on a throne in the prayer room. He has worn this silk cloak in countless previous incarnations. Kumbum Jampa Ling monastery. Qinghai, 1933.

20 歲的堪布 Andscha-su-scha-tung 坐在經堂的寶座上。他曾經在昔日無數的轉世中穿過這件絲綢外袍。塔爾寺。青海，

1933 年。

One of Deva-gun’s wives. Her jewelery is made of gold, set with jade,

coral and turquoise. The amulet at the throat protects her from evil

spirits. Mongolia, 1934/36.

蒙古王侯的妻子之一。她佩戴的金飾鑲嵌了翡翠、珊瑚和綠松石，

在喉嚨位置的護身符則有助抵抗邪靈侵擾。蒙古，1934/1936 年。

Family in front of a yurt. Mongolia, 1934/36.

站在蒙古包前的家庭。蒙古，1934/1936 年。

Rickshaw and pedicab stand. Nanjing, 1931.

人力車和三輪車停靠處。南京，1931 年。

The Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek listening to Dr Sven Hedin speak about his journey to Xinjiang. Hankou, February 1935.

蔣介石與蔣介石夫人正在聆聽斯文．赫定博士講解他的新疆之旅。漢口，1935 年 2 月。

Mao Zedong in front of the entrance to the Red Academy. Yan’an, 1938.

站在抗日軍政大學門前的毛澤東。延安，1938 年。

The Japanese conqueror marches in. Hankou, end of October 1938.

日本侵略者進城。漢口，1938 年 10 月底。

Cover - Bag being passed to a mother and child in a rickshaw. China, ca. 1937.

封面 - 將皮包遞給坐在人力車上的母子。中國，約 1937 年。

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