Recording History With Cameras

I joined the PLA when I was 15 years old. I followed the PLA 18th Army into Tibet. This gave me a chance to pursue a career as a cameraman. When we reached Lhasa, some other Tibetans and I were sent to study photography in the Beijing Film Studio for two years.
We encountered great difficulties along the way. For example, we brought with us 19 mules, but only one survived. We were given a horse to carry our photo-graphic equipment. But the horse refused to move further in a snowstorm with no food to be had. We lagged far behind.
We went wild when we saw a tent, which was the only one of its kind we had encountered for several days. We chatted with an old couple in Tibetan; and they were surprised to find Tibetans among the PLA soldiers.
"Do you have parents?"
"Why do you join the PLA?"
"Oh, boys, I hope you will stay put here."
We explained things to them, and they cooked hot food for us. After this, they sent three of their children to escort us to the area where our troops had camped.
My colleagues and I belonged to the first generation of cameramen cultivated by the Party. We have produced some 100 newsreels and hundreds of documentaries.
Carrying cameras on our shoulders, we once followed General Zhang Guohua, General Tan Guansan and some other PLA commanders crossing mountains and rivers. Our Marching to Liberate Tibet, and The Sun Shines Over Tibet record how the PLA troops marched into Tibet, and how Tibet was peacefully liberated.
From 1951 to 1959, efforts were made to implement the 17-Article Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. During that period, we produced Conquering the Nujiang River, and Construction and Opening to Traffic of the Xikang- Tibet Highway We followed the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni to Beijing, where they attended the First National People's Congress, and produced Visits by the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni to Inland China. When Marshal Chen Yi visited Tibet at the head of the Government Delegation, we produced the Central Government Delegation in Tibet. During this period, we followed the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni to India for the 2,500th anniversary of Sakyamuni's nirvana. We recorded what we saw for half a year in India.
During the Democratic Reform that lasted from 1959 to 1960, my colleagues and I shared the happiness of the Tibetans. During the period of social change, we produced The Suppression of Armed Rebellion in Tibet, By the Lhasa River, Tibet in Jubilation, and The Million Serfs and Slaves Stand Up. They include historical scenes showing the cruel of old Tibet and the Tibetans who reaped and owned their first harvests.
Following the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region, we produced Tibet Today and Celebrat-ing the Founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region. During the ongoing reform and opening that started at the end of 1978, we produced a dozen newsreels, including Sunshine City A Trip Back to the Hometown, Green Medog and Potala Palace, which was duplicated in eight foreign languages for distribution worldwide.
In 1985, when the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region was celebrated, the Central Newsreel Studio conferred certificates of honor on me, Cering, Jigmei Dengzhub and Cedain to mark the achievements we had made over the past 35 years in Tibet.
The films we have produced enjoy popularity. Our The Million Serfs and Slaves Stand Up won the Outstanding Newsreel Award in China; our Tibet in Jubilation won an award in Yugoslavia; our Tibet: Our Hometown (Vol.4) won an award from the Ministry of Radio Broadcasting and Television; our Grand Summons Ceremony in Lhasa won an award from our studio. They are also held as historical archives.
On January 26,1989, the 10th Panchen Erdeni received us in his residence in Xigaze. He in-quired into our work and advised us to do a better job. Though the master has passed away, what he said is still fresh in our mind. We have produced The Last Period of Time in the Life of Panchen Erdeni, which records his demeanor, his remains and how the Tibetans mourned him when he passed away.
In 1993, the Qomolangmo Literary Fund of the Tibet Autonomous Region awarded me the Qomolangmo Literary Award, and I cherished this honor dearly. I vow to work harder to record further changes taking place in Tibet with cameras in my hands.

(Recorded by Wan gdui)