Have you ever seen death? What do you think of death?

In the past five years, Xin Yang has photographed more than 2,000 rural elderly people. Some of them are lonely old people and live a poor life. Old people are open to death, not taboo, and even a little happy-photos will be the only proof that they have been to this world.

tears

In the winter of 20 18, Yang Xin came to Hengcun Village, Xie Yang Town with photos and handed the framed photos to an old man in his seventies. The old man was wearing a thin black coat and a hat, his whole body was gray, his beard was messy and his front teeth were almost gone.

Xin Yang asked him, "Do you like it? Are you happy? " The old man said, "I like it, I am happy." She said, "It's good to be happy, and I'm happy to get it back." The old man burst into tears.

Figure | The old man burst into tears

A villager quickly pulled her aside and told her that this was a lonely old man with no children. She realized that she had said something wrong.

Xin Yang is a journalist, born in 1985. Five years ago, she founded Rainbow Public Welfare Center in Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province, and taking photos of the local rural elderly is one of her public welfare projects. Most of the people who come to take pictures are empty nesters, either their children are working outside the home or they have no children or daughters all their lives. Over the years, Xin Yang has taken more than 2,000 photos, using a red background and Phnom Penh to freeze the twilight of the elderly.

The old man is not afraid of taking pictures, and he is very self-motivated. Some grandmothers dressed up at home and stood in line early with Mazar, some missed it, some put down their farm tools and ran out of the field. Most people are facing the camera for the second time and taking their ID photos for the last time.

Shooting locations are mostly on the Little Square in rural areas, or in the yard of the elderly. Xin Yang hangs red background cloth with volunteers, chats with them, combs their hair and arranges their clothes. The atmosphere was very lively. "They used to be calm lake water, and we were like stones thrown in, making many small circles." Xin Yang said.

In June this year, Xin Yang went to Beichengzi Village to take photos. Two old people came hand in hand. Grandpa is 88 years old and grandma is 87 years old. Grandpa's legs and feet are not very good, and he needs grandma's help. Grandma stood by and laughed all the time when it was taken for grandpa. It was grandma's turn, and grandpa stood by and watched. After filming, the two men sat hand in hand on the flower bed next to them. It belongs to the purity and love of the rural elderly.

Figure | An elderly couple took a group photo together.

Some old people can only come alone. Some are unmarried and childless because of poor family conditions; Some people have lost their loved ones and need to face them day and night. Loneliness is an unavoidable problem.

Xin Yang observed that lonely old people talk a lot when they see young volunteers.

Once in Hengcun, an old woman named Dong Rong wore a red down jacket, a scarf and gloves, and her pale short hair was neatly pinned behind her ears. Xin Yang had seen her before and sent her rice noodles, grain and oil and down jackets. Seeing that Grandma Dong's gloves were broken, she showed a few fingers and took out a pair of new gloves from the car and handed them to her. The old man lived frugally and bought new gloves. He didn't want to throw away his old gloves, but put them away carefully.

After taking her picture, Xin Yang called the next one. A few hours later, the activity ended. I didn't expect grandma Dong Rong to stay by. She went over to say hello, took Xin Yang and said, "Kill all your babies and come to my house to drink water."

Figure | Grandma Dong Rong

Killing people means trouble, and drinking water means inviting people to your home. But it was a long way, so Yang Xin had to hurry back, chat with the old man for a while and take a group photo with her. Finally, watching her back slowly walk away.

miss

The photos should be real and beautiful.

Xin Yang University is a photography major. After taking pictures of the elderly, she will make some post-adjustments, mainly dimming, but will not remove wrinkles. She wants to keep the old man's truest appearance. There are exceptions, such as crooked mouth and eyes or scars, which will be removed when retouching.

Once I took a photo of an old man in his 70s, whose eyeball was removed and his eyes were different in color. Xin Yang wanted his photos to look better, so he adjusted his eyes to the same color later.

Figure | The old man came to pick up the framed photos.

In Shangluo, Shaanxi, old people are not afraid of death. They were calm when they took pictures, and even joked with each other. "You old coward, smile better today, and your son will put you on the cupboard then."

Death after the age of 60 is called funeral, and 90% of the elderly will have their coffins ready before they die. On the contrary, it is a trivial matter, on the one hand, it is easy to be ignored, on the other hand, children will escape this matter. "Photos are much more powerful than coffins, which makes people face death." Xin Yang said.

After the photo was sent to the door, the old man was very happy and immediately put it on the cabinet opposite the door, which surprised Xin Yang. She quickly asked the old man to withdraw, fearing that the old man's son would scold him when he saw it.

Sometimes when taking pictures, Xin Yang can feel the psychological changes of the old people. At first, when faced with a photo that satisfied them, the old people felt heavy at the thought of their age, but when they found that they could leave a photo for their children, they smiled again.

If you are a lonely old man, there will be a trace of bitterness in this smile.

After the death of an old man with a partner and children, someone will hold him in front of him and behind him, and his photo will be placed in the most conspicuous position at home for children and grandchildren to worship during the Chinese New Year holiday. The lonely old man was not only lonely before his death, but also unknown soon after his death. Having a photo is also a luxury.

Yang Xin once heard that an old man who lived alone died. The funeral was very simple, not to mention a photo, not even a photo of his life.

In another old man's house, she saw a vertical corrugated board memorial tablet with a white paper and a name written on it. This is a local custom. After the old man is buried, write a memorial tablet. Some families use wooden boards, while others use cardboard. After a while, the memorial tablet was removed and replaced with photos to continue offering. But many rural families don't have this photo, only this plaque with words on it.

The following year, Xin Yang and volunteers took some living materials to visit Dong Rong's grandmother's home. Her family lives on the mountain, and the mountain road is very narrow. Only motorcycles and tricycles can pass, but cars can't run. Xin Yang parked his car at the foot of the mountain, and a group of people climbed up with dried noodles and instant noodles. On the way, they borrowed a basket from the villagers.

At the sight of them, Grandma Dong Rong was happy and nervous, constantly wiping her hands and giving them walnuts to eat. I just know that her wife has been dead for more than ten years, and her son is injured because of working, and he has some mental problems, so he can't live without her care on weekdays. Xin Yang walked around the room and didn't see any photos of grandma's wife.

There have never been so many people in the family. Grandma Dong is very happy. She took the volunteers to talk one by one, stuffed walnuts into their pockets and stayed at home for dinner at noon. After Xin Yang shirked, it wasn't long before the old man came out with a plate of leek cake with a smile, and the volunteers had to eat one by themselves.

At the end of the conversation, grandma said that this photo would be the most precious thing she left her son after her death. "People can't take anything with them all their lives, and they can't keep anything. The photo is to leave a thought for people who know themselves. "

Don't forget.

Once, an old man looked at his photo and said with a smile, "If I stay here, I may be thrown away." This scene made Xin Yang feel sad. She knows that the old man is most afraid of being forgotten by his family.

Lonely old people have no family, and photos are the only evidence that they have been to this world. I don't know who to leave it to, but they will keep it safe before they die.

In Hengcun Village, Xie Yang Town, there are 688 households with 2,000 people, 270 elderly people over 60, and five-guarantee households 14 households. Some five-guarantee households live in the village's nursing homes for free, enjoy government benefits, and eat and drink here. Some five-guarantee households like freedom and don't want to be locked up in nursing homes. They prefer to live alone and plant a few acres of land like ordinary villagers.

Sun Xingmin, 68, is a five-guarantee household and lives in his own three earthen houses. He usually likes to walk around the village, go back when he should eat, and never go to other people's homes for dinner.

On May 20 19, Xin Yang visited his home. As soon as I entered the yard, I saw a white kitten, dirty, with yellow eyes and blue eyes, hiding in the corner of the yard. Grandpa went to meet Xin Yang, pushed open two wooden doors and brought Yang Xin into the house. There is an unopened LCD TV in the room, which was also sent by a non-profit organization. In addition, there is a handmade wooden cabinet, 90 cm high.

Xin Yang gave him a down jacket last year and asked him where he put it. Grandpa went to the cupboard, which was locked by a big lock. He took out a bunch of keys from his waist, tried for a long time before opening them, and the whole person got in, and finally took out a neatly folded blue down jacket. "I keep it for the New Year." Grandpa said with a smile.

Lonely old people don't have many things at home, such as household appliances, which are all non-profit organizations. They usually have a cupboard at home, which not only contains clothes, but also treasures their most precious things.

For example, they will seal the photos in plastic bags, put them in the cupboard and take them out when they have time.

Li Suoying is also a five-guarantee household in Hengcun. He is 65 years old and lives alone. He has a nephew who works in the city and is his closest relative. He comes back to see him occasionally.

Last Spring Festival, Xin Yang and volunteers gave him a warm package. Before it arrived, the old man was waiting at the door. He is a diligent person. His house is hard and clean, and there are ropes to hang clothes in the room. He prepared new year's buns and rolls for volunteers to eat.

Figure | Li Suoying, the old man

The most conspicuous thing in the room is a red cabinet with a picture of his brother on it.

Xin Yang asked him where he had put the photos, so he took them out of the cupboard and wrapped them in plastic film. He carefully uncovered the plastic film layer by layer, and the photo was as clean as new.

His greatest wish is to leave his photo to his nephew in the future so that he can put it with his brother's photo.

The real death of a person is forgotten by all the people in the world. For lonely old people, in their later years, they have long lived in the shadow of being forgotten and neglected.

At present, China's population aged 60 and above has reached 264 million, of which the number of elderly people who are lonely exceeds1.65,438+0.8 billion. Only in Hengcun, Shangluo City, there are 270 elderly people over 60 years old, with five-guarantee households 14 households, mostly empty nesters and widowed elderly people. It is very important to chat with Xin Yang and the volunteers to relieve their inner loneliness while taking photos and delivering materials.