The scene of the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima, Japan before and after the nuclear explosion.

Mountain view Jonathan Schell

1On August 9, 945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the photographer Yosuke Yamaha, who served in the Japanese army, was sent to the destroyed city.

About 100 photos he took the next day constitute the most complete photographic record of nuclear destruction in existence. Hiroshima was destroyed three days ago, but on the first day after the bombing, most photos did not enter the camera lens.

Therefore, methodically recording-coincidentally, in a great and simple artistic way-the impact of nuclear weapons on human beings after a few hours of use is left to Yamamoto.

Some photos of Yamahata show the charred bodies in a special way that nuclear fireballs scorch the victims.

They have been burned by light-technically, they have been burned by "heat pulse"-and their bodies are often branded with patterns of clothes, and the colors of clothes absorb light to varying degrees.

One photo shows a horse twisted under the car it pulled, and another photo shows a bunch of things that used to be people hanging on a protrusion and falling into a ditch.

The third picture shows a girl who somehow survived unscathed. She stood at the opening of a bomb shelter with an incredible smile and shocked us with the scene of ordinary life. Otherwise, this scene seems to be forgotten forever in the scene we witnessed.

In the distance, there are rubble fields dotted with fires. In the background, there are mountains. We can see mountains because the city has disappeared. This disappearance even contains the core of the problem more than the wreckage.

The real significance of this event lies not in what is left behind, but in what has disappeared. It?

It took only a few seconds for the United States to destroy Nagasaki with the world's second atomic bomb, but it took 50 years for the photos taken by Yamahata to be sent back to the United States from Nagasaki.

They were first exhibited in 1995 at the International Photography Center in new york, USA. Although they were half a century late, they were still news.

These photos show the fate of a city, but their significance is universal, because in our nuclear weapons age, what happened in Nagasaki can happen in any city in the world in an instant.

Nagasaki has been in the shadow of Hiroshima, as if human imagination was exhausted in the wreckage of the first destroyed city, and it did not even reach the suburbs of the second city.

However, the bombing of Nagasaki is in some ways a more appropriate symbol of the nuclear danger still hanging over us, which proves that once nuclear weapons are used, we can use them again.

It puts forward a series of ideas-this series continues to threaten everyone while thousands of nuclear weapons still exist.

The fact that the second atomic bomb was originally intended to be dropped on Ogura City, which survived the fate of Nagasaki only because of the bad weather to protect it from being seen shows this series of unpredictable and open features.

Therefore, each photo is not so much an image of what happened half a century ago as a window on the wall of the photography center, showing what will happen soon in new york.

In addition, no matter where the exhibition goes, the threatened future seen from these "windows" will be roughly accurate, because although every intact city is different, all the cities that suffered nuclear destruction look similar.

Photos of mountain leaves provide a glimpse of the end of the world.

However, in our time, when the challenge is not only to understand the nuclear danger, but to seize the opportunity given by God to eliminate it once and for all, we seem to need some other pictures to counter the destroyed Nagasaki-a picture that shows what we will gain from success instead of what we will lose from failure.

What kind of picture would it be? How do you show the opposite of the end of the world? Should it be Nagasaki, which was intact before the atomic bomb exploded, or Ogura, which survived?

Should it be a child, a mother and son, or perhaps the earth itself? No word is appropriate, because how can we give a definite form to those things that can take on infinite forms, that is, all human lives now and in the future?

In the face of the end or continuation of the world, imagination must remain intact and only action can satisfy it.

At one time, the arrival of a new generation was a natural thing, but now, only through our faith and collective will, can they exist. ?

Performing this behavior is the greatest responsibility of contemporary people. The gift of time is the gift of life, forever, if we know how to accept it.

The translation is as follows:

Wangyuanshan

My dear is a foreigner.

1on August 9, 945, Nagasaki was dropped with an atomic bomb. On the same day, Yosuke Yamamoto, a photographer who served in the Japanese army, was sent to this ruined city. The hundreds of photos she took the next day can be described as the most complete image record of the nuclear destructive force.

Hiroshima, which was also destroyed three days ago, was basically not photographed by the camera on the first day of the bombing. Yamauchi happened to record the impact on human beings in just a few hours after the explosion of nuclear weapons in an orderly way with great and concise artistic techniques. Some photos at the end of the mountain show bodies charred by nuclear fireballs in a unique way.

They are burned by light-in technical terms, by "heat pulse"-and corpses are usually branded with patterns of clothes, because different colors absorb different light. A photo shows a twisted horse curled up under the cart it pulled.

The other shows a pile of things hanging on the protrusion and reaching into the ditch. It can be seen that this is also the remains of a person. In the third photo, a little girl stood at the door of the bomb shelter. Somehow, although she experienced a disaster, she was unscathed. There is a strange smile on her face, which is shocking. If it weren't for this photo, in the scene we are witnessing now, the original daily life is gone forever.

A large area of ruins and rubble has been stretched into the distance, and residual fires are scattered in it, and the background of this scene is the rolling mountains. We can see the mountains in the distance because the whole city has been burned to the ground. The destruction of the city can better explain the core essence of the problem than the broken wall The real impact of this incident is not what is left in the city, but what has disappeared.

It took only a few seconds for the United States to level Nagasaki with the world's second atomic bomb. However, it took 50 years for Yamauchi to travel from Nagasaki to the United States to take photos of this incident. The photo was first exhibited in the United States at 1995 new york International Photography Center. Half a century later, these photos still have news effect.

These photos show the fate of a single city, but they are of universal significance, because in our nuclear weapons era, the disaster that happened in Nagasaki could happen in any city in the world in the blink of an eye.

Through these photos, Nagasaki cleared its name. It has always existed in the shadow of Hiroshima, because it seems that human imagination stopped and disappeared after reaching the ruins of Hiroshima, the first destroyed city, and even the edge of Nagasaki could not be reached. However, in some ways, the disaster in Nagasaki is just a more powerful symbol of the nuclear threat cloud hanging over our heads.

It proves that once human beings kill people with nuclear weapons, they will repeat the same mistakes. It brings the concept of serial destruction, that is, thousands of nuclear weapons continue to exist, and each of us may be threatened. The second atomic bomb was originally intended to be dropped on Kokura, but later, due to the bad weather and poor aerial view, Kokura was saved from Nagasaki's bad luck.

This shows the unpredictability and unpredictability of the threat of nuclear weapons series. Therefore, rather than recording what happened half a century ago, every photo is a window embedded in the wall of the photography center, through which people can easily see what may happen in new york soon.

Moreover, no matter where these exhibits go, these "windows" show the threatened future almost accurately, because although every intact city is very different from other cities, any city that has suffered nuclear destruction looks almost the same.

The photos at the end of the mountain give people a glimpse of the end of the world. However, in this era, our challenge is not only to recognize the existence of the nuclear threat, but also to seize this godsend opportunity to completely eliminate the nuclear threat.

Therefore, in addition to these photos, we need other photos to offset the negative feelings brought by the destroyed Nagasaki. The photos we need are not to show what we will lose because of failure, but to show what we will gain because of success. But it is, what kind of photo should this be? How do you show the opposite of the end of the world?

Is it a complete and vibrant picture of Nagasaki before the bombing? Or is it just a small warehouse that escaped? Or a child, or a mother and her child, or the earth itself?

None of them can fully achieve their goals. The reason lies in how we can show the colorful life of all mankind at present and in the future in a limited form. Facing the end of the world or the future of the world, imagination is really insufficient. Only action can be satisfactory.

In the past, it was natural for a new generation to come into this world. Now, they can only be realized through the actions and collective will of today's people full of faith, and we must guarantee their right to exist. The greatest responsibility in today's world is to take such actions. The gift of time will always be the gift of life, as long as we know how to accept such a gift.

Brief introduction of the author

Jonathan Schell (English: Jonathan Edward Schell, 65438+August 2 1, 0943-20 14) is an American writer.

He is a visiting scholar at Yale University and is famous for opposing nuclear weapons activities. He was born in new york. He is an alumnus of Harvard University. He wrote Mountain View with Hiroshima in Japan as the background.

On March 25th, 20 14, he died of cancer at his home in new york at the age of 70.