People were familiar with Xiao Quan’s portrait photography, particularly his depictions of renowned figures from the cultural and artistic circles of the 1980s and 1990s. These historical
portraits are far more than mere images of "celebrities"—they carry within them the stories of the past and the essence of an era. Phrases like "Time flee like an arrow" or "Years rolling like a
stream" are often used to describe the passage of time and the hazy nostalgia for bygone days. Yet, these "portraits of history," faces captured by Xiao Quan’s lens, still vividly present to us a living cultural landscape. Those pioneers’ photographs in the 1990s and earlier compose a historical panorama of civilization.
What is fascinating is that many of the figures once captured by Xiao Quan’s camera—Chen Danqing, Wang Anyi, Zhou Xun, Fan Jingzhong, Su Tong—lived and worked in the Jiangnan region (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai), a place deeply intertwined with the historical context of Moganshan. When we revisit these familiar faces today, it is easy to connect them to broader historical reflections—their pasts, their stories, their lingering aura.
Xiao Quan’s visual documentation is never static. He has always observed people, society, and the changing corners of life within the flow of history, which naturally led him to record the evolving faces and events across different periods. Whether in urban streets, mountainous landscapes, or among figures inseparable from society—such as Joan Chen, Marc Riboud, Wang
Shu, Jin Yucheng, Xu Zhiyuan, and many others—they remain close to us, not merely in time but as imprints of an era.
Moganshan’s modern history is astonishing, from the traces of missionaries to the tales of the Republican era and the events of China’s reform and opening-up, all of which have preserved its
enduring cultural essence and historical vitality. To present a visual history here, one must inevitably seek out the spiritual temperament of today’s Moganshan and document the richer countenances of our time. This is precisely why we are seizing the opportunity of this exhibition at the Moganshan Art Museum to incorporate portraits of Mogan’s contemporary residents. These portraits, capturing today’s spirit, are themselves portraits of the era—a defining and invaluable feature of Mogan’s Memoir: The Story of Jiangzhehu under Xiaoquan’s lens.