Happy Children's Day! (June 1)

[Randy W]

from the Global Times on Facebook

 

Happy Children's Day! American investor Jim Rogers and his daughters Happy Rogers and Bee Rogers greet children worldwide. “Hope all the children of the world in their lifetimes have prosperity,” said Jim Rogers.

 

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=563902377656737&id=115591005188475

 

https://www.facebook.com/115591005188475/posts/563902377656737/

 

[Randy W]

from China Daily on Facebook

 

https://www.facebook.com/191347651290/posts/10158500437741291/?substory_index=0

 

President Xi Jinping called on children to study hard, firm up their ideals and convictions and develop strong bodies and minds to get prepared for realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. #XiJinping #ChildrensDay

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/191347651290/posts/10158500437741291/?substory_index=0

[Randy W]

"Hello, Little Friends" from the Sixth Tone

 

Snapshots From Another Age: China’s ’80s Kids on Film

In 1981, a Japanese photographer traveled China, capturing the everyday lives of local children. Nearly 40 years later, the project’s getting another edition.

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A GIF shows children painting in Chengdu, Sichuan province, 1981-1982. Courtesy of Ryoji Akiyama via Seisodo

 

“Hello, Little Friends” quickly faded into obscurity, but in 2015 a Chinese netizen discovered an old copy of the book and posted some of the images to social media. The photos went viral, with many users praising Akiyama’s ability to vividly capture the emotions of his subjects.

The buzz eventually convinced the Kyoto-based publisher Seisodo to reissue the 1983 book. The new edition was published last year, with Akiyama traveling back to China 38 years after his first trip to promote it.

“Kids love taking photos: They’d gather to watch whenever they saw my camera,” the photographer told readers at a book signing in Shanghai. “They just forgot the camera existed when they started to play games.”

This original book project, funded by the Japanese camera maker Konica Minolta, was essentially a marketing tool to popularize the company’s Sakura color film in the country.

. . .

Following the success of the reissued “Hello, Little Friends,” Seisodo is publishing a sequel to the book June 1, celebrated as Children’s Day in China. The new collection is made up of photos that Akiyama found in a dusty box in his attic, none of which have been published before.

A Chinese media outlet even managed to track down 10 of the children that featured in Akiyama’s original photobook, after appealing to readers for information last year.

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Children pose for a photo at a zoo in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, 1981-1982. Courtesy of Ryoji Akiyama via Seisodo

 

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A girl from a dance school in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, 1981-1982. Courtesy of Ryoji Akiyama via Seisodo