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according to the anhui daily, comrade zhang chongxiu, winner of the china federation of literary and art circles lifetime achievement award, famous war photographer, and retired cadre of the anhui federation of literary and art circles, died suddenly in hefei at 21:00 on september 6 due to illness. he was 95 years old.

zhang chongxiu (photo source: anhui daily)

according to the report, zhang chongxiu was born in chao county, anhui province in 1929. he joined the new fourth army at the age of 13 and experienced the anti-japanese war and the war of liberation. in 1948, he was transferred to the news training class of the political department of the eastern front corps and assigned to the xinhua news agency's branch in the ninth corps to do photography work. from then on, he began his career as a battlefield photographer. he participated in the huaihai campaign, the crossing the yangtze river campaign, etc., and was awarded the "liberation medal" and the "independence and freedom medal".

in 1950, zhang chongxiu participated in the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea and served as the photography team leader of the propaganda department of the political department of the ninth corps of the chinese people's volunteer army. in addition to being a photojournalist, he also directed the photography work of the three armies.

on november 27 of the same year, the battle of changjin lake started, and zhang chongxiu rushed to the front line. as a witness and recorder of the battle of changjin lake, he used a camera and three rolls of film to record the real battle of changjin lake.

among them, the photographic work "the chinese and north korean armies meet on the east coast" reflects the victory of the chinese and north korean armies meeting in the battle of changjin lake in the cold winter of 1950. it is also the prototype of the fourth stamp "victory meeting" of the "second anniversary of the chinese people's volunteer army's overseas operations" stamp.

in the winter of 1950, the chinese people's volunteer army and the korean people's army successfully joined forces on the east coast (source: anhui daily)

"when foreign journalists came to china to take pictures, i learned a lot from them. i knew that after the victory of the battle of chosin lake, there might be a scene of 'victorious meeting', so i made a special trip to hamhung port." zhang chongxiu ventured alone and walked forty or fifty kilometers in the snow, from morning to afternoon, before he arrived at the edge of hamhung port and caught up with the vanguard.

"i didn't know what dangers were ahead, and i was determined to go there without returning." zhang chongxiu's prediction of a "victorious meeting" was correct. when he saw the chinese and north korean forces approaching and meeting in victory, he took photos of everyone excitedly despite his fatigue, recording this precious and historically valuable scene. this film and photo are also collected by the military museum of the chinese people's revolution.

during the more than two years of fighting in north korea, zhang chongxiu carried a camera and dozens of rolls of film, and took more than 2,000 battlefield photos, recording precious historical moments of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea.

the political department and command headquarters of the 58th division of the 20th army of the chinese people's volunteer army awarded the "yang gensi company" pennant to the 3rd company of the 172nd regiment (photo source: anhui federation of literary and art circles)

in december 1951, the headquarters of the chinese people's volunteer army awarded the "yang gensi company" banner to the 3rd company of the 172nd regiment of the 58th mechanized infantry division of the 20th group army, and this precious moment was also recorded by zhang chongxiu with his camera.

in the spring of 1958, zhang chongxiu transferred back to hefei, anhui, and served as deputy group leader of the photography group of anhui pictorial, deputy group leader of the photography group of anhui daily, and deputy director of the office of anhui federation of literary and art circles.

in november 2021, zhang chongxiu donated 80 photographs that he had collected for more than 70 years to the anhui provincial archives, and at the same time unveiled the "documentary of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea" exhibition in the archives.

in 2023, zhang chongxiu won the lifetime achievement award (photography) of the china federation of literary and art circles. in july of the same year, the "on-site and presence - zhang chongxiu's photo exhibition of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea" opened at the military museum of the chinese people's revolution. the exhibition displayed more than 120 battlefield photographs he took on the battlefield of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea and some physical exhibits.

in december 1950, the chinese and north korean people's troops launched a siege against the 1st marine division and the 7th infantry division, which were known as the trump cards of the us military (photo source: anhui federation of literary and art circles)

"my photography really matured on the battlefield of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea. despite the hail of bullets, i knew where to go after the three years of training in the war of liberation, so i was very optimistic. to be a photographer, you must be brave. i was very brave. i would go wherever there was gunfire. as long as you were careful, you can dodge the bullets." zhang chongxiu said in an interview before his death that he recorded all his desire for victory, his respect, pride and honor for the chinese soldiers who participated in this war with his camera.

in the early morning of september 7, xu guo, chairman of the anhui provincial photographers association, wrote an article to commemorate mr. zhang chongxiu: he was a recorder in the war, using his camera as a weapon to shuttle through the hail of bullets. every photo he took is a witness to history and an immortal mark of that heroic era. those shocking pictures freeze the soldiers' bravery and bravery, allowing future generations to glimpse the cruelty and magnificence of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea. although he has left, his legend will be recorded in history forever, and his spirit will shine brightly in the long river of time.

jimu news compiled from anhui daily, changan street governor, da'an news, and anhui federation of literary and art circles wechat official account