This article is from WeChat official account:Guyu Image-Tencent News (ID: ihuozhe), the original title “I took pictures of Suzhou for 14 years, her gentle and old house story is beyond imagination”, photography & narration: Lu Chengde, writing: Xia Tiantian, editor: Jia Muzi , Zhou An, produced: Tencent News Guyu Studio, title picture from: original text

Lu Chengde is 84 years old. Starting from the age of 70, he took his camera and walked the streets in the old city of Suzhou for 14 years. Born in Shanghai, he said that he was a foreigner in Suzhou, and he might be more keenly aware of the special features of this city.

Everyone called him Lao Lu, but Lao Lu used his curiosity and enthusiasm as much as young people to record the stories in Suzhou. About the individual, about the family, about the history, behind the vivid photos, standing is a life unwilling to aging and an ancient city spreading vitality in his eyes——

one

When I was 70, my son was afraid that I would have Alzheimer’s, so he gave me a SLR camera. I had lived in an old house near Pingjiang Road in Suzhou for 20 to 30 years.

The old houses in Suzhou were built on the flat ground with one-entry, two-entry, and three-entry, and communication between neighbors is very convenient. I started to shoot from the doorstep. Our neighbors have a good relationship, and the neighbors never mind.

The Sipo Bridge in front of my house was taken in my first photo. Everyone said this photo is very elegant and can reflect the characteristics of our Jiangnan water town. But now Sipo Bridge, except for the river under the bridge, is still the original appearance, and the front and rear sides have become shops, which is completely different from before.

A former colleague of mine was in the Suzhou Photographers Association. I found him and said that I wanted to learn to take pictures. He gave me more than 100 photos of Suzhou taken by him. I took all the photos for almost a yearOnce again, it’s like tracing scarlet letters with a brush when I was young.

I posted the photo and asked him if it would work. He replied to me for a long time: “Okay, don’t follow me, you can take pictures of what you want according to your own ideas.”

Pingjiang Road early in the morning, the elderly exercise while walking the birds

Supai bonsai is very famous. The old Suzhou people go out in the morning, sit on the side of the road, make a cup of tea, and put a small bonsai on the concrete pier. It feels like showing off. The passing old man bent down and looked at

The Pingjiang Road in front of the house is not long, but it has the taste of Suzhou’s “small bridges and flowing water, white walls and black tiles”. There are also various bridges, east-west, north-south, arch bridge, slab bridge, and so on.

I like the morning on Pingjiang Road. The residents here still maintain a slow-paced life. Some people go out to buy food early in the morning, some take a leisurely stroll on the street with a birdcage, some go fishing, and some people find a cool place to exercise.

Old Suzhou people have their interests and their lives. They never seem to have anything to fight for. For example, when you eat, you don’t eat at home on a hot day. Instead, you move to an alley where you can enjoy the cool, chat and eat at the same time. A meal can last two or three hours.

They are also particular about what solar terms and what to eat. For example, on the second day of the second day of February, I have to eat glutinous rice cakes, buy Dongpo meat in spring, Qingming Festival, and there is also a food called fried meat dumplings in Suzhou. Fried meat, fungus, etc. are hidden in every dough. ,delicious.

Elderly Suzhou people will go to the teahouse in the morning for a cup of tea and bowl of noodles. The noodles in Suzhou are also very famous. The noodle soup is very particular, all made with fish bones or pork bones. A bowl of accessories is separated from the noodles. There are fried fish, shrimp, shredded chicken, eel, etc., also known as “crossing bridge noodles”.

In the summer, Suzhou people love to eat “Fengzhen Big Noodles”. The noodles are filled with fermented rice, which is fragrant and fragrant. There is also a piece of stewed meat, which is fat but not greasy, especially refreshing.

two

I hope I can understand the current situation of ordinary people in Suzhou, especially thoseThe more nostalgic, slow-paced, and different aspects from other cities are recorded. An old Suzhou friend told me that because I am a foreigner, I came to shoot Suzhou, to a certain extent, to be more objective, in order to capture some of the folk customs in Suzhou well.

For example, in an old house in Suzhou, there is a patio after entering, and then there is a guest hall. There are usually many traditional furnishings, photos of ancestors and some old objects. The wing rooms are on both sides of the guest hall, divided into left wing and right wing. The wing itself is also divided into front wing and back wing. The front wing room is the place of daily living, just like the living room, the back wing room is usually the bedroom.

If the other party is very cooperative, I can not only shoot the front wing, but also the back wing, which is their most secret place.

This is a double-sided embroidery in Suzhou, very elegant, and the outside of the house is the alley in the south of the Yangtze River

A grandma’s front room. People in Suzhou love flowers and plants, and they will put some at home, mostly flowers, sometimes they also have fake flowers

Many old people in Suzhou hang old things from their home life on the wall or from the ceiling.

There are many watch shops in Suzhou, which can not only repair watches, but also many antique watches. Every time I go in, I feel like traveling through time and space.

This old antique shop on Shantang Street has persisted for many years, and the wall clock behind it has also become “aged”. Although there are not many people who wear watches or those who hang watches at home, they are still passed on from generation to generation.

This is a “Guanyin Pavilion” in Shantang Street. Although it is called “Guanyin Pavilion”, it is actually an old man who provides a Guanyin Bodhisattva in a room. The Bodhisattva is handed down from the ancestors, and local residents come to him to burn incense. For many elderly people, this is very convenient, and other larger temples in Suzhou are too far away.

The surrounding residents think the Bodhisattva offered by this old man is very effective. I photographed him for 10 years and learned last month that the old man had already left.

Taking photos of them made me understand that people have a variety of ways to live, and every family has a story. This story may be a difficult book to read, or it may be a very smooth story.

three

There are still some young people living in the old house. They are “new Suzhou people” who come to Suzhou from other places to work hard.

This guy is the owner of the food stall, and the big red pot at the back is used to wash the skewers. He has a tattoo on his chest, and an arrow passes through two red hearts. I asked him if he fell in love? He said he just broke up with his girlfriend. He also said that he must work hard to make money and stay in Suzhou.

This guy graduated from high school and has not found a job after arriving in Suzhou. He is unwilling to do physical work and is worrying about what to do.

This girl works in an electronics factory and works in three shifts. She feels that the life of working with everyone is stable and good.

The children in Suzhou are also very interesting. While living in a very traditional environment, they also receive modern education. When they grow up and go to other places, they will retain some of the characteristics of Suzhou people.

The place where these two little boys played since childhood is actually a temple with a long history and a lot of space.

Sometimes when I see them, I think of my parents. They also went to work in Shanghai from their hometown in Zhejiang when they were young. Everyone is the same, moving for a living.

Sometimes I also think that for me, my age is more important because I can take pictures with my old face and enter the house. Some younger photographers see what I’m shooting and want to enter. I went to someone’s house to see, but was often declined by the owner.

But the most important thing is the attitude of taking pictures. I hope to find fun in taking pictures and find my own feelings about life.

Most old people in Suzhou have their own hobbies. This old man played the saxophone in the courtyard every day, rain or shine. It snowed that day and he was playing ” Welcome song”


This article is from WeChat official account:Guyu Image-Tencent News (ID: ihuozhe), Photography & Oral: Lu Chengde, Author: Xia Tiantian, Editor: Jia Muzi, Zhou An, Production: Tencent News Guyu Studio p>