Somehow for no reason, the west appears to have been snubbed or even forgotten by God.

In the past, from America to China, the west conjured up images of a desolate wilderness, and seemed synonymous with “uncivilized”.

In fact, we must thank God from the bottom of our hearts for having given western China numerous natural wonders and fascinating cultures. Here we can see Mother Nature’s uncanny craftwork, and by picking over ancient fragments lost in the evolution of civilization, find passwords to understand the development of its civilizations.

Looking back at history, Zhuang Xueben in the 1930s was the first photographer to truly record this fertile ground. Traveling through western China for a decade, he took over 10,000 photographs and became the pioneer of the photography of China’s western frontier. Unfortunately, he lost over half the images he took, due to various hardships and tribulations.

The photographer Jin Shouxian, however, has been favored by Fortune. Born and raised in western China, he has traveled in and paid constant attention to this region since 1972. There, he has painstakingly focused his lens upon its natural scenery and human cultures. A favored child of the Muses, he has an artistic eye of great spiritual insight. By making fanciful use of light and shadows, rhythmic lines, and magnificent colors, he truly presents the charm of western China, reveals its scenery, portrays the face-in-the-crowd, depicts the broader world, and so has shot many lovely and refreshing masterpieces of photography. At home and abroad, he is praised by colleagues and is a popular favorite of the general public.

In life, Jin is good at observing, pondering, and displaying both nature and changing times from a unique point of view; depicting with unadorned and emotionally expressive pictures the relationships between people, between individual and society, and between humanity and nature. He has captured and preserved western China’s natural landscape and cultural customs with his thousands of attractive photos. These works illustrate western China’s rich ancient cultures, gorgeous scenery, and natural environment.

Eleven years ago, Mr. Jin held a solo photo exhibition on western China in Hong Kong; eleven years later, he has brought out this new exhibition: “Gorgeous China, The Colorful West (美麗中國 絢彩西部)”.

Mr. Jin is not only a discoverer and recorder of beauty, he also illustrates and propagates it. The works in this exhibition will definitely lead us through time and space to appreciate the colorful and fascinating world of western China.

Wang Qiang
Chief Editor, Chongqing Photographers Post

Mr. JIN Shouxian is Han Chinese. Born in Chongqing, Sichuan in August 1943, he received a college education and joined the army in 1961. In 1970, he changed jobs and started working as a photo-journalist for the Southwest Economic Daily. Mr. Jin has practiced photography for more than 40 years, specializing in depicting humanity, and in documentary and landscape photography. He is now an adviser of Chongqing Photographers Association, a member of China Photographers Association, The Photojournalist Society of China and Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and the Director and Art Director of the Chongqing Xinghai Photography Club.

Since 1972, nearly two hundred of Mr. Jin’s works have been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in international and local photographic exhibitions and competitions. More than 1,800 of his photographs have been used in newspapers, magazines,and albums. He has photographed more than 80 albums and calendars for regional governments and enterprises in Southwest China. In 1992, his works were displayed in the America tour of “China Photographic Art Exhibition”. In August 2000, his works were exhibited at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, in conjunction with “Chinese Culture in the United States “, for which he received a commendation from the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China and the China Photographers Association. Another 74 of his works have been exhibited in Japan, Britain, France, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Hong Kong, Australia and other countries.

In recent years, he mainly engaged in photographic creations as well as the club’s teaching advisor, nurturing more than 40 members of the Chinese Photographers Association.

He has been interviewed by television media such as CCTV and others from Sichuan, Beijing, Greece and Hong Kong as well as newspapers such as the Beijing Wan Bao, the Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao, the Wen Wei Po, and the South China Morning Post.

In terms of photographic style, Jin prefers simple, crisp lines and colors and rustic pictures, together with the understanding of life to illustrate the change of time, people and people, man and society and man and nature – the everlasting theme.

• 20 inches: HK$800
• 24 inches: HK$1,200 (Same size as small exhibits)
• 30 inches: HK$2,000
• 1.2 meter: HK$3,000 (Same size as large exhibits)

Photos are printed using “Art Ejecta” technology. Limited reproduction.

Remarks

• UST staff and students will receive a 10% discount off the list price.
• The list price does not include mounting.
• A deposit equal to 50% of the list price is required when placing the order.
• As each photo will be individually developed by the artist, its color may differ slightly from the one on display.
• If you are interested in buying the photographs, please contact Edwin Leung (E-mail: library@ust.hk; phone: 2358-6708; fax: 2358-1043).

「美麗中國 絢彩西部」攝影展
Photo Exhibition in March

(Issue No. 87, February 2013)

Following the very successful ceramic exhibition last fall, we are pleased to announce the opening of a photo exhibition in the Library Gallery in March.

The exhibition will feature over 60 stunning photographs by Mr Jin Shouxian (晉守賢), who for the second time will exhibit his works in our Library. Mr Jin’s photos will unfold to you not only the beautiful scenery of West China, but also its people who are full of life and spirit.

Mr Jin is currently Advisor of Chongqing notes87-2-imgPhotographers Association and Manager and Art Director of Chongqing Xinghai Photography Club, among his other posts. Since publishing in 1978, Mr Jin’s works have received close to 200 gold, silver and bronze medals in exhibitions and contests in China and abroad. More than 1,800 of his works have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and books. He exhibits widely in the United States, Europe, Australia, and many other countries. Guided gallery tours and workshops are being planned in conjunction with the exhibition. Stay tuned – watch for our announcements!

Officiating Guests

• Mr Jin Shouxian, Artist
• Prof Wei Shyy, Provost, HKUST
• Ms Diana Chan, University Librarian, HKUST
• Mr Thomas Ng, Director of Publishing Technology Center, HKUST

1. How to Take a Good Picture (如何拍好照片)

Mr Jin will share his experience and knowledge in photography from various perspectives and thoughts, and will explore how to take good pictures to reveal the relationship between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. This talk is open to all HKUST staff and students.

2.  Entry Point in Photography (攝影創作中的「切入點」)

This talk will discuss the Entry Point in photography – an entrance, the beginning of a path that leads to determining the angle and effect of a series of photos. Mr. Jin will talk about why an Entry Point is essential to photographic creation. Students will get course hours after attending the Talk for fulfilment of Healthy Lifestyle Course Requirements.