“Either rises or falls the dynasty, suffering still are the common people” , wrote Zhang Yanghao, a verse writer in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), in his “Hillside Goat: Reminiscence at the Tong Pass”. The Chinese peasants are the world’s largest group of laborers. For thousands of years, they have been surviving on the same lowest social stratum, suffering from time to time the droughts and floods, social unrest, tyranny, disasters of war, and banditry – the varied sorts of natural and social hazards. They are a group still struggling to merely survive. The dramatic changes of China today have attracted the world’s attention, so more aptly should have the plight of the Chinese peasants behind these dramatic changes. They deserve a general human sympathy.

For the seven-year period starting from June 1997, I visited and shot 16 backcountries in Sichuan and Chongqing, China. They are Tongjiang, Dachuan, Langzhong, Neijiang, Zizhong, Jianyang, Xinjin， Dayi，Chongqing， Ya’an， Wuling， Youyang， Fuling， Pengchuan and Hechuan. Without any governmental auspice, and faced with tremendous challenges, I managed to obtain an in-depth contact with the grass-root peasant families. Through chats and communications with them, I have taken 500 rolls of film, had and recorded 300 hours of voice interviews. This was accomplished in my individual plan for the first time through my independent observation and with my self-raised fund. I was inspired by the events before my camera which have made my goal steadfast.

In January 2004, I visited Qingquan, a small town beside the Wujiang River，when the local market was just open. The town has a population of several hundreds, with just one small street, where I identified 6 gambling spots - on the street in the light of day! Gamblers were many, mostly peasants going to the market who put their gross bet on the table. Into forties, I no longer had the kind of impulse as a young correspondent would have. Still, I could not stand to see them go simply cheated of their bets. Having gained my nerve, alone without any covering passport, I took three shots. Almost immediately, I heard a threatening snarl from the far end of the table – “smash his camera…”

“Kick in”, the people outside my hostel room shouted, at three hours past midnight – the hostel itself being a gambling den. The people who came in appeared to be police officers, who demanded the showing of my ID. I was lately told that a police officer had been killed on a manhunt of gamblers the day before. The scene was only several hundred meters away from my shooting spot, just cross the river from the hostel I had checked in.

Again I felt an imminent danger. I decided to leave the hostel immediately. I departed Qingquan on a boat to Gongtan. On board were many school children returning to their school in Gongtan. Among them was a short girl seemingly in her early teens. She carried a large bundle of firewood on her back. I asked her for what use the firewood was. “For cooking,” said she. “How much does it cost you for a month’s living? “, I asked. “A dozen yuan,” answered she. “How old are you?” “Fifteen.” I recognized that she was shorter for her real age due to malnutrition. It was common that school children in country schools fell faint in gym course.

On board the same boat, a dozen children, seemingly junior highs, were gambling, with some bets in 50 RMB notes. I took some photos. In some minutes, they continued with their gambling. These children baffled me – They quarreled with the boatman for a single yuan and each child would depend on 50 yuan for several months’ living. This bewildered me: "what has gone wrong with the society – in the year 2004?" Tears went down behind my camera. Out of the dozens of adults on board, I decided to stop them. A number of older children pointed their fingers at me, “what do you want to do?” “I would report it to your school, and you will be dismissed,” I said. This made them stop their gambling.

 From time to time, I was touched by the plight of the folks. I have recorded the story of a largest population group in the world — the Chinese peasants, the story of their real life. Though they are large in number, they are weak in power, since they were in a state of disunity, just like a sheet of loose sand. They include the old men who suffered pains of diseases and could do nothing but wait to die at home; the malnourished children who had no money for school; the peasant construction workers who received no pay from the contractors and an 84-year-old woman who cultivated six mu (or 1/15 of a hectare) of land by herself and who was bent down with the heavy work….


In China, ninety percent of illiterates are in the rural area, where poverty leads to illiteracy, and illiteracy deepens poverty. The Chinese peasants have long been trapped in such a cycle of poverty. Since 1989, RMB 1.9 billion Yuan has been donated to the “Project Hope” , a program initiated by the Chinese government to sponsor the schooling of children in the rural area. This was a drop in a bucket if compared with the RMB 140 billion yuan diverted from the public fund and spent on entertainment and pleasures each year.

We desire to share these images of the Chinese peasants with more people for more sympathy in the world, i.e. through an exhibition in some more countries, an exhibition of 80 pieces of work, up to one square meter each in size. We welcome any cooperation with us. Please write your suggestions or opinions to: hou1891@vip.sina.com       

I.M. Hou, the photographer

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