The clues from Zhou Yan on Vimeo.

Memory and history, far from being synonymous, appear now to be in fundamental opposition. Memory and life, borne by living societies founded in its name. It remains in permanent evolution, open to the deformations, vulnerable to manipulation and appropriation, susceptible to being long dormant and periodically revived. History, on the other hand, is the reconstruction always problematic and incomplete, of what is no longer. Memory is a perpetually actual phenomenon, a bond trying us to the eternal present; history is a representation of the past. Memory, insofar as it is affective and magical, only accommodates those facts that suit it; it nourishes recollections that may be out of focus or telescopic, global or detached, particular or symbolic - responsive to each avenue of conveyance or phenomenal screen, to every censorship or projection. History, because it is an intellectual and secular production, calls for analysis and criticism.-Wu hong




记忆与历史远非同义,其实是背道而驰。记忆是生命,由活着的社会产生,而社会也因记忆之名而建立。记忆永恒演变,受制于铭记与遗忘的辩证关系,无法意识到自己逐次的蜕变,易受操纵侵犯,并容易长期沉眠,定期复苏。而历史则永远是对逝水流年的重构,既疑惑重重又总是挂一漏万。记忆是时时刻刻实在发生的现象,把我们与不息的现实纽结在一起;而历史则是对过往的再现。只要是动人心魄又充满魔力的记忆,都只按自己的口味对事实挑肥拣瘦;它所酝酿的往事,既可能模糊不清,也可能历历在目,既可能包含有方方面面,也可能只是孤立无援的一角,既可能有所特指,也可能象征其他——记忆对每一种传送带或显示屏都反应敏感,会为每一次审查或放映调整自己。而历史,因为是一种知识和世俗的生产,需要加以分析和批评。