《走过场——傅文俊历史观念摄影》中，其明显特征是强烈的“历史意识”。从圆明园的劫掠和烧毁到世博会的举办，正好一个半世纪，这一个半世纪，中国发生巨大的变化。而这个变化恰好是中国同西方的关系紧密相关的。
圆明园这个空间承载了太多的历史记忆——似乎中华帝国19世纪的历史命运全部寄托其中。一方面它记载帝王生活的奢华和腐朽，另一方面，三天三夜的大火，又记录了帝国的屈辱和衰败。
In Show of Formality—Fu Wenjun’s Historical Conceptual Photography, a defining feature is its intense historical consciousness. From the looting and burning of the Old Summer Palace to the hosting of the World Expo, exactly a century and a half has passed. Over this one and a half centuries, China has undergone profound transformations—changes that are closely bound up with China’s relationship with the West.
As a spatial site, the Old Summer Palace carries an overwhelming weight of historical memory, as though the entire nineteenth-century destiny of the Chinese empire were condensed within it. On the one hand, it records the extravagance and decay of imperial life; on the other, the three days and three nights of raging fire inscribe the empire’s humiliation and decline.
Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs – Dragon
这是没落的象征，也是被西方羞辱的记号。照片中的遗迹在诉说这个国家多年前的痛苦和羞愧——这种痛苦和羞愧既来自自身的夜郎自大，也来自西方的野蛮蹂躏。然而，150年后的上海世博会的建筑，则言说着完全不同的语言：西方人先前将圆明园这个巨型建筑烧毁了，现在，他们又来到了这个国度，构造自己的建筑。
先前，他们是要毁掉这里，现在，他们是要在这里推销自己和展示自己;先前，他们以武力的方式强行来到这里，现在，他们以贸易和和平的方式被邀请来到这里;先前，他们遭到这里的人民的怨恨，现在，他们遭到这里的人们的欢迎。
It is a symbol of decline, and also a mark of humiliation inflicted by the West. The ruins captured in the photographs speak of the pain and shame this nation endured many years ago—a pain and shame arising both from its own arrogant self-enclosure and from the brutal ravaging imposed by Western powers. Yet the architecture of the Shanghai World Expo, 150 years later, speaks an entirely different language. The Western powers that once burned down the colossal architectural complex of the Old Summer Palace now return to this land to construct their own buildings.
In the past, they came to destroy; now, they come to promote and present themselves. In the past, they arrived by force of arms; now, they are invited in the name of trade and peace. In the past, they were met with resentment; now, they are received with welcome.
Story of Expo Garden – Japan Pavilion
人们在前一个建筑里看到了自身的无能，在现在的建筑里则感受到了鼓舞――这两种建筑照片所展现出来的历史性变迁，似乎在暗示着中国的变化，在表达一个衰败的帝国在转变为一个新兴的大国，一个排外的帝国在转变为一个开放的国家，一个被蹂躏的国家在转变为一个自主的国家，一个全球性的边缘停滞的国家在转变为一个中心性的雄心勃勃的国家。——现在是不是一个雄心勃勃的国家，我不能肯定，但是，至少，在圆明园的照片中，我看到了一个曾经气息奄奄的国家。
In the earlier architecture, people discern their own sense of powerlessness; in the present architecture, they feel a sense of encouragement. The historical transformation revealed through these two sets of architectural photographs seems to gesture toward China’s changes: the passage from a declining empire to an emerging great power; from an exclusionary empire to an open nation; from a ravaged country to a self-determined one; from a globally marginalized and stagnant nation to one marked by centrality and ambition. Whether it is now truly an ambitious nation, I cannot say with certainty. But at the very least, in the photographs of the Old Summer Palace, I see a country that was once on the brink of exhaustion, barely clinging to life.
关于作者：汪民安，清华大学中文系教授。
About the Author: Wang Min’an is a Professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Tsinghua University.