曉涓的寧波人家

夏真

王曉涓打來電話說，《寧波人家》出版了，請我參加首發式，我一口答應：一定！

這本書，是她人生的又一次出發！

曉涓是我大學里的同事，她在學報編輯部當編輯，這工作有點清閑。我教寫作，隔三差五拿了學生習作跑進那寂寞的房間。我倆很談得來。她思維活潑，待人真誠，而且挺有才華。我當時就估摸著，這樣的人，是不可能久困于此的。

果然，上世紀90年代末她下海去開辦了一個廣告公司。聽說經營有方，公司風生水起盈利不少。原以為，她就這樣朝著企業家的路順風順水走下去了，說不準，一不小心，就上了福布斯富豪榜。誰知，命運卻與她開了個嚴酷的玩笑……她的丈夫林洪在一次參加電視臺航拍任務時出事了！林洪命大，在直升機爆炸的最后一刻被人拖了出來。

當我得知這個消息急急打電話過去時，她的聲音是嘶啞的。除了蒼白的安慰，所有的外人其實無法再做什么，煉獄般的精神痛苦都得由她扛著。

正是這場災難徹底改變了她以往的生活。一年后，丈夫重新回到工作崗位，她卻無意再打理她的公司，原本快樂無憂的她，突然開始嚴肅地思考人生的價值與意義。那段日子，我聽說她經常拿著個照相機出國，在一個陌生的地方住下來，一個月，甚至更長的日子。大家誰也不知她在想什么。

三年前的一天，她突然給我打來了電話，說想做一件有意義的事，要“通過一本書凝固寧波人流動著的家庭生活，定格寧波這座城市在歷史長河中的一個表情瞬間”，要“留一些記憶給未來”。

原來，這就是她思考了這么多日子后的一個決定！

這個決定跟名利無關，但是跟一個城市有關，跟心靈有關，跟歷史有關。這就是放在面前的這本《寧波人家》。

《寧波人家》的價值在哪兒？

在攝影本身嗎？書中的攝影，沒有《時代廣場的勝利日》那樣海軍士兵激吻陌生護士的瘋狂喜悅，沒有《她叫瑪格麗特馬瑟》那樣風姿綽約的人體的動容情懷，更沒有《槍》那樣的11歲紐約小男孩的震撼猙獰，有的只是很隨意、很自由、很家常的鏡頭。那么是勝在圖片的講解說明嗎？不，除了個別的被采訪者的文字很嚴謹很文藝外，大多數的文字直白、樸素、口語，甚至有些不通。

但是，恰恰是這率真的兩者的結合，構成了《寧波人家》獨特的價值—坦誠、自信、不做作，讓我們看到了這個城市生活著的人們林林總總的生存狀態與心情，告訴你：人們都在奔向什么？什么是他們值得為之奔波的命運？

請看：“不談理想，只談生活”—你會認為這是誰的話？是兩位知識精英，我想只有真正讀懂了生命的人才能概括出這句話。

“害怕的事情是有一天突然變成窮光蛋”—這是一位全職太太的真實心聲，就像是夜半私語，被攝影者敏銳地捕捉到。

“這些年一個人在外面很寂寞”—這是一位新寧波人的糾結，因為他是一個發型師，每天工作的時間長達12小時，枯燥乏味的兩點一線，上班和回家睡覺。

“生活就是把冷水變成熱水做成飯，只要夠吃就好了”—這是一個清潔工的大白話，很簡樸也很無奈。攝影者說服了他好久，這個蘇北漢子才愿意摟著小孫子讓她在寒酸的家中拍下了那張照片。

—令人怦然心動的是，即使某些文字里透著憂傷與無奈，所有畫面則無一例外是溫暖的、寧靜的，包括一對瞎子老夫妻，哪怕他們看不見光亮，天黑了，卻一定要亮燈。這就是曉涓的美學追求：可以憂傷，可以艱難，可以失敗，但一定要明亮。這就是她帶著問題走遍大街小巷聽到的真實的心聲；這也是攝影者自己對生活對內心本真的解讀；這是這部作品打動人的最根本的原因。

形式，是她成功的又一因素。在這部攝影集中，你很難說清你更喜歡的是文字還是照片。我們可以肯定，如果沒有這些豐富的、放松的、剖露內心真實的文字，照片可能就沒有強烈的沖擊力；相反，如果沒有這些觀照主人公生存狀態的照片，文字也就失去了情感直觀的依托。正在于作者運用了超越傳統的攝影方法，巧妙地讓兩者取長補短相輔相成，才成就了這么一件獨特的作品。它使這本攝影作品成了138個活動著的故事，成了我們時代的一面面明鏡。

獨特的作品必然有著獨特的魅力。作者大膽洞察外界與捕捉內心的敏銳表現，不僅留下許多寶貴的記憶給未來，不僅會因她的價值標準在現實世界中留下應有的地位，而且，她更為今天的寧波提供了真實的社會調查，任何一個有興趣或有必要了解寧波民生的人，任何一個有志于文學創作的人，都可以從中得到啟發。

（本文攝影：王曉涓）

Photos Mirror Everyday Life of People in Ningbo

By Xia Zhen

The other day Wang Xiaojuan phoned me and invited me to attend the launching ceremony of her newly published collection of photographs entitled People of Ningbo， I did not hesitate to say yes， as I knew the book marked a new beginning of her life.

Xiaojuan used to be my colleague at the university， working as an editor for the universitys academic journal. As a teacher of creative writing， I often visited her at her office， bringing students assignments to her office to discuss these essays with her. I enjoyed discussions with her and I was deeply impressed by her sincerity and insights. I thought to myself that such a talented woman would not stay long in the position as the job posed no challenge to her.

I was right. In the late 1990s， she resigned and started an advertising business. After learning that her business was flourishing， I thought that her future was guaranteed and that her name might eventually be on a fortune list one day. However， her husband， a photographer， was seriously injured in a helicopter accident. He was pulled out just before the helicopter exploded. When I heard of the accident， I called her immediately. Her voice sounded coarse. I knew I could do nothing to ease her suffering. Fortunately her husband pulled through.

The accident changed her life forever. A year later， her husband went back to work as a photographer again， but she was unable to find fun in business. She traveled and photographed a lot and stayed away from us. For a long while， friends scarcely heard from her and knew almost nothing about what was going on inside her heart.

About three years ago， she telephoned me all of a sudden， saying that she was going to do a book of photographs that would focus on the everyday life of the residents in Ningbo. She wanted to capture facial expressions of the city in this moment of history and to leave some memories for future. I concluded that it was a decision after soul-searching over such a long time.

Three years later the book is on my desk， a book about a city， hearts， and history.

Each of the 138 photographs in the collection relates a story. Judging from the art and aesthetics of these photographs， none can be compared with the celebrated photographic masterpieces I have seen somewhere else and the people and events in most of the photographs look even casual and ordinary. However， brief notes to these photographs offer very good accounts， but the way they were written isnt exciting either. Most notes are straightforward， simple and colloquial in style. Some may need editing and correction grammatically. However， the photos and notes combine to create a special visual-literary value， reflecting frankness， confidence， and simplicity. The combination of photos and notes is the secret formula behind the success of the book. The moments Xiaojuan captured on her camera truthfully portray peoples everyday and attitudes. Through those photographs， Xiaojuan shows what people in Ningbo are willing to pay for a life they want.

In a brief note， two intellectuals talk about life and they abstain from talking about ideals. A homemaker says she fears to lose everything in her life one day. A hairdresser， working 12 hours a day， says he leads an extremely lonely life away from home all these years. This is probably a life he intensely dislikes but has to lead in order to have a future. A street sweeper defines his life this way： life is a process of turning cold water to hot water and cooking a meal and it is a good life if one has enough to eat. He was one of the most reluctant to pose for Xiaojuan. After a long persuasion， he agreed to let her photograph him and his grandson in the shabby room where they lived.

Though many notes pulsate with sadness and despair， the photographs are generally tranquil and heart-warming. An old couple are both blind， but they still use lights in the evening. That reflects Xiaojuans aesthetics： sorrow， hardship and defeat are probably unavoidable in everyday life， but the heart needs light. The photographs answer the questions she has after her endless meandering through the city.

With the collection， Wang Xiaojuan has finished what she started. The photographs provide a special perspective and express her heart and soul. The precious memories are results of her interesting investigation into present-day Ningbo.