关于标语景观“关键词——发展”与“关键词——和谐”的阐释
倪卫华
在中国，标语是伴随着时代演进的一个最重要的视觉景观，作者对标语景观直接的拍摄记录起始于一九九八年底对城市标志性因素的分类搜寻，这是作者与另一位建筑师兼艺术家王家浩一起合作的城市研究课题“线性城市”的一个研究环节——即对商业、交通、人口等城市各因素密集程度排序的采样统计。在搜寻中，作者发现，“发展是硬道理”这一条标语充斥着上海这座城市的许多公共空间，于是作者将其作为城市因素的“地址”概念之一进行统计，同时作为标语题材本身进行“景观的记录”而展开重点拍摄。
（一）、关于《关键词——发展》
事实上，在拍摄标语“发展”之前，作者已经深深感受到，标语很早以来就是中国人日常生活的重要内容之一。印象最深的是儿时的情景，那时候的标语可以用“铺天盖地”来形容，标语的关键词汇可能是“革命”、“万岁”或“专政”一类的，而出现的密集程度则远远超过当今这个时代。这是这一时期以政治为中心的社会活动最显著的特征。改革开放以后，政治性标语尽管也一度作为标志性“话语”主宰着整个标语景观的半壁江山，但迅速取而代之占据主导地位的是“广告的话语”，由于经济迅速膨胀的社会变化伴随着拜金主义思潮填补了刚刚被政治狂热洗劫过的中国人的灵魂，于是，从“走私”到“倒爷”，从个体户到全民经商，从促销到传销，从假冒伪劣商品到“忽悠行骗”，中国人仿佛一夜间经历了资本主义社会上百年才走过的商品化、物欲化道路，而作为最鲜明外化特征的便是大大小小广告标语的出现与泛澜。“广告的话语”同样以复制、蔓延、渗透的方式硬性侵占着优美有序的自然景观，也侵占着建筑物、公共设施、文化媒体等人文景观，并构成人们日常生活不可分割的一道风景线。
九十年代末期，也许是对过于空洞性政治生活的厌倦和厌恶，也许是对改革开放以来生活方式的某种认同，也许是对创建强国之路民族主义情节的迷恋，也许是对总设计师睿智务实的人格魅力的敬佩，整个社会忽然之间接受了一个光灿灿的、“十分体面”的话语——“发展是硬道理”。于是，全国各地，特别是受惠改革开放最多的深圳、上海、广州等大城市像雨后春笋般涌现出了这一最具中国时代特征的标语。它像是一个简明扼要的经济宣言，也像是政策性的行政命令，又像是集体无意识的一个提示性点拨，当然，最为词切意达的是：它更像一个人们似乎熟悉已久的“广告的话语”——即“××是什么”这一典型广告语结构的陈述句式，它似乎直截了当地在诱导消费者认同某一个商品品牌。而巧合的是，“发展是硬道理”这一标语在更多的场合下，正是放置或占据于大大小小广告牌的突出位置的。这是户外媒体招租前的一种临时性替补策略。对于广告商而言，大多数情况下，展示和宣传“发展是硬道理”不会使经济运营成本上升，这里所发生的只是“沉没成本”，是本来就需要等待的成本（当一旦有商家购买后，就会换上“可口可乐”等商品品牌的广告语），相反，由于所选择的替代内容“发展是硬道理”，因为十分“得体”、“合适”、“吉利”而颇受大众的认同，当然最为重要的是，它由于受到掌握了商业资源的政府部门青睐，因而还会带来意想不到的经济增值效应。
作为景观，“发展”这一关键词像是镶嵌于城市里拔地而起的高楼大厦的注释性“标签”，是中国沿海开放城市经济建设速度的最具概括性的印证。而一旦有了“发展”的掩护，仿佛所有经济的、政治的、社会的和文化的冲突性问题都解决了。因为不管快与慢，不管贫富差异有多大，至少每一个群体乃至个人都在“发展”，这才是放之四海而皆准的“硬道理”，因而它是毋容置疑的，是人们习以为常的集体主义和平均主义意识形态的一个最为巧妙的、策略的延续。此时摆在各个经济利益体面前的财富“蛋糕”依然很大，只要你勤劳或拥有其他“门道”，就可以稳稳地切上一块。“让一部分人先富裕起来”正是在这样的背景下登上历史舞台的。“发展”于是作为一种时尚精神的引领，带来了城市的爆炸性膨胀：城市边界迅速地扩张，卫星城市和小城市相继形成，各种流通环节交织成网，商业设施如雨后春笋般涌现。而随着竞争的加剧，经营模式也在不断地升级，先后呈现了大型百货商店、个体商业一条街、精品专卖店、跳蚤市场、连锁超市、大卖场等商业业态及经营模式。伴随而来的是，跨国公司的商业巨无霸、国际化商品品牌和全新理念的服务也大规模地在中国驻扎生根。以上海为例，在市中心，各种世界品牌的专卖店及精致的购物中心星罗棋布；稍微偏离中心一些的城区，编织着纵横交错的商业街群落，在城郊结合部，镶嵌着一个个巨无霸式的超级大卖场，及其为大大小小商场进行配送服务的物流仓储设施等；另外，商业的繁荣也带来工业景气度的直线上升，在城郊，随着城环和郊环线通向各个卫星城区，制造加工业不断地涌现与扩展，世界500强的OEM定制工厂安顿在上海郊区及昆山、苏州等外围城市，从而拖动了这一地区的商业繁荣。这样的发展，对于大多数中国人来说是新鲜的、刺激的。因而，在相当长一段时间内人们似乎忘记了意识形态对生活的干预，忘记了经济利益体之间，特别是强势群体和弱势群体之间财富差距的扩大和矛盾冲突的日益升级，忘记了过度发展给人的生存环境造成的不可逆转的破坏。人、景、物以及适合于这个发展中特定时期的拼贴式视觉样式，在“发展”标签的衬映下看起来既严肃又滑稽，既合乎情理又不甚协调，既商业化又夹带着政治的图腾，成为一种集历时性与共时性为一体的典型的“标语景观”。
（二）、关于《关键词——和谐》
西方马克思主义的代表之一亨利·勒斐伏尔（H·Lefebvre）认为，人类生活空间“不仅是各种历史和自然因素的产物，而且是一个社会的产物，是意识形态的产物，是一种由社会和物质实践所组成的社会结构”。在中国，改革开放后由于经历了较长期的短缺经济时代，因而“发展”一直是这一历史时期不可替代的关键词（由“发展”引出的标语景观同样成为该类型的主导性景观），其他的所有当下社会问题都应服从或依附于这个“中心”议题。但是，由于技术与管理水平相对落后，加上法律法规的滞后性，“发展”过程往往呈现出初放型的、资源消耗型的特征。“发展”仿佛是一辆快速行进的、无法停顿或减速下来的内燃机车，而它令人炫耀的行进速度的衡量标志便是GDP。GDP一直以来都是政府重点追求的“发展”硬指标，GDP让中国的城市扩张起来，亮堂起来，繁荣起来。一座座与“政绩工程”有着千丝万缕瓜葛的，富丽堂皇的楼宇建筑在城市空间昂首矗立，仿佛在炫耀着、诉说着“中国式发展”的巨大成就。
然而，一种令人震惊的负面力量也正缠绕着“发展”扑面而来，那就是：过度的发展与竞争造成资源的无节制消耗和污染的超标排放，并且已经逐步影响着生态平衡，影响着可持续发展的生存空间和民众的生活质量；社会价值观普遍忽视政治、文化、艺术等发展的软指标，而是单向度地聚焦经济发展，反而违背了经济发展的初衷，民众的“幸福指数”似乎正呈下降趋势；日益扩大的贫富差距激化了主流社会“精英”群体与下层弱势群体之间的矛盾与冲突，引发出越来越多的社会问题……于是，近二、三年来，在新一届政府的极力倡导和推动下，一个恰当的词汇正渐渐地取代“发展”，成为中国社会新的关键词，成为城市空间里的标语新景观，它就是“和谐”。
作为词语，“和谐”源自于中国古代的“天人合一”思想，强调人类不能一味地向自然界（社会）索取，而要尊重和回报于自然（社会）。道家创始人老子提出：人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。说的是，人要以尊重自然规律为最高准则，以崇尚自然、效法天地作为人生行为的基本依归。而“构建社会主义和谐社会”的政治诉求，正是在这艘充满着“发展”惯性的中国式巨轮面临触礁的紧要关头，领航人以古为鉴，向全体“船员”尤其是强势利益群体亮出的一盏具有警示意味的“航标灯”。
可以肯定的是，关键词“和谐”所传递出的讯息，已经远远超出作为关键词“发展”时代所涉及的宏观经济“N年”规划蓝本中粗黑箭头的简单指向，超出了后冷战时代国际冲突带来的那些棘手的应对问题，超出了改革派与保守派之间关于“姓资”、“姓社”的那场旷日持久的“原则立场”之争。它所涉及的是：社会诚信的缺失、滥用能源及超标排放引发的气候异常、涨价、城乡之间的敌视、毒品、医患关系的紧张、金融动荡等一系列纠葛不清的百姓视点，是新一届务实型政府经常拿到最高权力中心作为一号或二号工程予以研究和解决的“民生话题”。关键词“和谐”于是乎像要承载起唤醒中国传统文化价值观回归的历史重任，承载起正处于失控边缘、潘多拉魔盒式的中国经济乃至社会拉回健康发展轨道的重大使命。
关键词——“和谐”，这个由汉字构成的视觉符号，如今可能耸立于某个大城市的某座摩天大楼楼顶的巨大广告牌上，广告牌以清山绿水的喷绘摄影图像作为背景，透现出雄峻、壮美、气派的风采；可能以一长串公益宣传的大幅标语形式，环绕装饰于一跨房地产开发区的临时围墙上，在黄昏时分金黄色的余晖中，伴随着川流不息的下班人群，组合出一段中国式的“后现代生活”视频；可能精心布置于新城区某个“高尚住宅小区”绿化带前的橱窗里，一位老人正在它的面前颤颤巍巍地经过；可能浮现于闹市区交通要道拱型电子屏幕的滚动字幕中，时而闪过的发光二极管灯光阵列在夜空中分外耀眼，仿佛昭示“词”与物之间的意义互动……
而关键词“和谐”，作为一个个的标语景观，忽然间在快门“咔嚓”作响的一刹那，那些三三两两成群结队或者偶尔擦肩而过的男人和女人，或者独自晃过的落单身影，或者溜着宠物狗的休闲组合，在记实镜头里，留下了时而清晰、时而模糊的脸部表情的定格画面：有的悠闲自得，有的心满意足，有的焦躁不安，有的表现出那种无可名状的尴尬。
当“和谐”——这一饱蘸历史文化积淀，又直面当下意识形态语境的关键词，与波普艺术样式的街景拼贴组合时，与蓝天白云融合一色时，与人的千奇百怪的表情互为衬映时，与时尚元素碰擦闪光时，作者惊讶地发现：作为词语的景观影像与其意义逻辑之间原来是错位的、分割的甚至是冲突的。是一种貌似熟悉，实际非常陌生的并置关系，是生活中某些强行捆绑的舞台布景摆设。而我作为一名拿着镜头的观察者，在记录“真实”景物与事件的过程中，渐渐地陷入了一种“虚构现实”的视界，并且正不由自主地被卷入“意义的黑洞”。
【编辑：贾娴静】
The Interpretations of Key Words "Development" and "Harmony" in Slogan Views
Ni Weihua
In China, slogans are one of the most important scenic sights that evolve with time. My capturing of such sights started at the end of 1998 when I was doing a research named “Linear Cities” by seeking and sorting typical metropolitan indicators. such as commercialization, transportation and population with an architect and artist Wang Jiahao. During the research, I found that the slogan “Development is the most important principle” had occupied many public spaces in Shanghai. So I decided to count it as an element under the category “address” among all metropolitan indicators and in the meanwhile, started photographing them to "make a scenic documentary”.
I. On Keyword “Development”
In fact, long before the shooting of the “development” slogan, I had deeply felt that slogans have long played an important role in Chinese people’s daily lives. In the vivid memory of my childhood, the abundance of slogans could be described as “all over the world”. The intensity of keywords like “Revolution”, “Vive”, “Dictatorship” was far more than today, which was obviously one of the most distinctive features in the time when everything centered around politics. After China’s adoption of “Reform and Opening- up” policy, it wasn’t long before the political slogans that had dominated half the landscape of slogan sights as symbolic "words” replaced by “advertising words”. Due to the drastic social changes characterized by booming economies and the rising of Mammonism which almost “enriched” every Chinese soul in the wake of a political craze, it seemed as if just overnight, China had gone through the path of commercialization and materialization which had taken western countries hundreds of years . Such social changes gave birth to many byproducts–--“contrabands" and “profiteer”, private business and national business rush, commercial campaign and pyramid selling, counterfeit and fraud----and among which the advent and flooding of all kinds of advertising slogans, is the most obvious external feature. Through repeating, spreading and infiltrating, “advertising words” forcibly took over beautiful and orderly natural landscape as well as human landscape such as architecture, public facilities and media and thus formed an indispensable scenery in people’s daily life.
At the end of 1990s, maybe due to the weariness and repulsion of an insubstantial political life, or due to certain agreement on the lifestyle since the reform and opening up, or due to the attachment to a national complex in building up a powerful country, or simply due to the respect for the wisdom, pragmatism and charisma of "chief designer” Deng Xiaoping, the whole Chinese society suddenly embraced a shining and decent saying, “development is the most important principle". As a result, this slogan that is the epitome of China’s historical characteristic was springing like mushrooms in every part of the country, especially in big cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou which benefited most from the "reform and opening up”. This slogan can be interpreted as a clear and concise economy manifesto, a policy-related administrative order, or a suggestive clue of collective unconsciousness, and of course, the most appropriate explanation would be that it is like a long known “advertising pattern”, i.e. “XX is YY”, a typical statement structure in advertising wording, which works by guiding the consumers to accept a certain brand. To make things more interesting, in many cases, slogan “development is the most important principle” is placed on advertisement banners in various sizes as temporary alternatives before the outdoor ad space are sold out . For advertising companies, under most circumstances, displaying and promoting the “development” slogan will not cause the rise of operational costs as what incurred here is just “sunk cost” which involves only waiting cost (once the space is sold, it’ll be replaced by ads like “Coca Cola” b). In fact, since the alternative “development is the absolute principle” is “decent”, “appropriate” and “propitious” in public eyes and most importantly, it is favored by government bodies that control commercial resources, unexpected economic incremental results have come out.
Being a scenic sight, keyword “development” is like an explanatory “tag” embedded among soaring metropolitan skyscrapers, serving as the most epitomized evidence of the economic construction speed of China’s coastal open cities. With “development” as the main theme, all conflicting economic, political, social and cultural problems seem to be solved already because all social groups and every individual is “developing”, despite their pace and disparity in wealth, and that is the “most important principle” with universal application. Thus the slogan is undoubtedly correct and extends the mindset of collectivism and egalitarianism that people are used to in a most delicate and strategic manner. And in this situation, the wealth “cake” in front of all economic interest groups is still quite big so that with some diligence or other “means”, one can sure cut a good slice. It is with such background that “allowing some people to prosper first before others” made its historical debut. Therefore, “development”, as the pioneering spiritual guide leads to the explosive expansion of cities: city borders quickly expanding, satellite cities and small cities taking shape, various circulation links forming large webs and commercial facilities springing up like bamboo shoots. As competition intensifies, business models are also undergoing continuous upgrading, with the successive appearance of various commercial operations and modes such as large department stores, shopping streets lined with private stores, boutiques, flea markets, chain supermarkets and shopping malls. Accompanying such changes is the arrival of multinational business giants, international brands and services of brand-new concept, which are settling down in China on a massive scale. Take Shanghai for example, the downtown area is dotted with franchised stores of almost every international brand as well as well-designed shopping centers; a bit farther away from downtown are urban areas interwoven with crisscrossed complexes of business streets; at the junction of urban areas and suburbs are situated gigantic GMS’ and their logistic facilities that supply for shops of all sizes. Besides, the prosperity of commerce has also stimulated a straight climb in industries. At the outskirts of the city, manufacturing and processing businesses are constantly emerging and expanding along the city ring and suburb ring roads into neighboring satellite cities. Many OEM factories from global 500 companies are settling down in Shanghai suburbs and outlying cities such as Kunshan and Suzhou, driving the business prosperity of these areas. Such developments are fresh and exciting to most Chinese. As a consequence, for a rather long time, people seemed to have overlooked the impact of ideology on lives, the widening wealth disparity and escalating conflicts between various economic interest groups, especially those between advantaged and disadvantaged groups, and the irreversible damage on living environment caused by over-development. Under the label of “development”, people, sceneries, objects and the collage visual style that fit this particular phase of development have taken on a look that is serious and comical at the same time, rational but unmatchable, commercialized yet still decorated with political totems, turning into a typical “slogan sight” that has incorporated both diachronism and synchronism.
II. On “Keyword Harmony”
Henri Lefebvre, a representative Neo-Marxist, holds that human living space "Not only results from various historical and natural factors, but also society & ideology it is a social structure composed of social and materialistic practices.” After the reform and opening up, China experienced a rather long-lasting deficient economy, and thus “development” had been the irreplaceable keyword during that historical period (similarly, slogan sights derived from “development” became the dominant type), and any other social issues at the moment should comply with or adhere to this key issue. However, because technology and management level as well as laws and regulations lagged far behind, the course of “development” was frequently characterized as extensive and resource-consuming. “Development” can be compared to a fast-moving diesel locomotive that could neither stop nor slow down and the indicator of its fascinating speed is GDP. GDP has always been the absolute standard government pursues; GDP makes China’s cities expand, brighten and prosper. Magnificent buildings and architecture, exquisitely linked to “administrative feats” more or less, are proudly erected in city space one after another, seemingly depicting and boasting the huge achievement of “the Chinese-style development”.
However, shocking side-effects entangled with “development” come straightforward: excessive development and competition leads to unrestrained consumption of resources and excessive emission of pollutants, impairing ecological balance as well as people’s sustainable living space and living standard; social value unidirectionally focus on economic development, largely neglecting the development of humanity, e.g. politics, culture and art, resulting in the deviation from the original purpose of economic development and people’s “wellbeing index” indicates a declining trend; growing wealth gap intensifies the frictions and conflicts between the “elite group” from the mainstream society and the disadvantaged at the foot of the social ladder, igniting more and more social problems. Consequently, with the new administration’s advocation and promotion in recent two years, a proper substitute is gradually replacing “development” as the new keyword of the Chinese society and becoming the new slogan sight in city space. That word is “harmony”.
“Harmony” as a word itself originated from the ancient Chinese concept “the harmony between the heaven and the human”, which emphasizes that human can’t just ask from Nature but should respect and compensate Nature in return. Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism, once said: “human follow the earth, the earth follows the heaven, the heaven follows Taoism,Taoism follows nature” . And these sentences hold the idea that human should respect natural as the guidance and all human behavior should stick to the principle of “honoring the nature” and “learning from the heaven and the earth”. It was right for the pilot to learn from history and pointed to a warning “beacon” for all the crew at the critical moment when the Chinese aircraft carrier under the full inertia of “development” was about to hit the rock.
Undoubtedly, the message conveyed by keyword “harmony” is way beyond the simple direction specified by the blueprint of the “N year” macro economy plan bundled with the “development” era, beyond the tough problems imposed by the international conflicts in the post-cold-war world, and also beyond the chronic “principle-related” debate between the reformists and conservatives about the distinction of what is socialist and what is capitalist. The new keyword covers a series of complicated and unsettled issues that reflect all civilians’ concerns, such as the absence of social trustworthiness, abuse of energy resources, climate anomalies triggered by excessive pollution emissions, inflation of prices, hostility between city and countryside, drug problems, intense relationship between doctors and patients, financial turbulence as well as those “subjects affecting people’s livelihood” which the new administration usually study and solve as their 1st or 2nd priority at the center of supreme authority. Keyword “harmony”, with the historical responsibility of awakening the return of traditional Chinese cultural values on its shoulder, seems to have undertaken a great commission, which is to move the nearly breaking down Chinese economy, an opened Pandora box, back on the healthy track.
“Harmony”, a visual sign composed of Chinese characters, can be seen in many different places. It may be printed on a huge advertisement banner on the top of a skyscraper in a big city, with pictures of beautiful mountains and waters as the background, making a magnificent presence; it may be put on large posters decorating the temporary fences surrounding a real estate under construction, which, along with the flame of the sunset at dusk and the constant flow of people getting off work, would make perfect video clips of the typical Chinese “post-modern life”; it may be well displayed in a show window beside the green area of a refined residence community, where an old man totters past it; it may appear among the rolling titles on an arched electronic screen installed at communication hubs in the downtown area, and the flickering and dazzling LED arrays against the dark sky symbolizing the interaction between the keyword and its carrier.
After just a few clicks of camera shutters, with keyword “harmony” as slogan sights in the background, men and women traveling in crowds, stranger brushing against you, lonely soul swiftly passing by or leisurely couple walking dogs, they’re all captured by the lens as still images in a documentary way, their faces being clear sharp or out of focus, some showing ease and leisure, some displaying contentment, some fidgeting, and some suggesting an air of indescribable embarrassment.
“Harmony”, the keyword saturated with historic and cultural significance and yet challenged by the ideology of current situations, when it is pieced together with pop-art style street views, when it is blended into the blue sky and white clouds, when it is matched with people’s numerous facial expressions, when it bursts sparkles by mixing with fashion elements, I am surprised to find that the relationship between the visual sight of words and their logic meanings is actually misplaced, dissected and even conflicted. That relationship is a seemingly familiar but actually quite strange juxtaposition, almost like certain settings of stage scenery forced upon life. And I, an observer behind the lens, while recording “real” sights and events, is gradually sinking into the vision field of a “virtual reality” and involuntarily being drawn into the “black hole of semantics”.
倪卫华
在中国，标语是伴随着时代演进的一个最重要的视觉景观，作者对标语景观直接的拍摄记录起始于一九九八年底对城市标志性因素的分类搜寻，这是作者与另一位建筑师兼艺术家王家浩一起合作的城市研究课题“线性城市”的一个研究环节——即对商业、交通、人口等城市各因素密集程度排序的采样统计。在搜寻中，作者发现，“发展是硬道理”这一条标语充斥着上海这座城市的许多公共空间，于是作者将其作为城市因素的“地址”概念之一进行统计，同时作为标语题材本身进行“景观的记录”而展开重点拍摄。
（一）、关于《关键词——发展》
事实上，在拍摄标语“发展”之前，作者已经深深感受到，标语很早以来就是中国人日常生活的重要内容之一。印象最深的是儿时的情景，那时候的标语可以用“铺天盖地”来形容，标语的关键词汇可能是“革命”、“万岁”或“专政”一类的，而出现的密集程度则远远超过当今这个时代。这是这一时期以政治为中心的社会活动最显著的特征。改革开放以后，政治性标语尽管也一度作为标志性“话语”主宰着整个标语景观的半壁江山，但迅速取而代之占据主导地位的是“广告的话语”，由于经济迅速膨胀的社会变化伴随着拜金主义思潮填补了刚刚被政治狂热洗劫过的中国人的灵魂，于是，从“走私”到“倒爷”，从个体户到全民经商，从促销到传销，从假冒伪劣商品到“忽悠行骗”，中国人仿佛一夜间经历了资本主义社会上百年才走过的商品化、物欲化道路，而作为最鲜明外化特征的便是大大小小广告标语的出现与泛澜。“广告的话语”同样以复制、蔓延、渗透的方式硬性侵占着优美有序的自然景观，也侵占着建筑物、公共设施、文化媒体等人文景观，并构成人们日常生活不可分割的一道风景线。
九十年代末期，也许是对过于空洞性政治生活的厌倦和厌恶，也许是对改革开放以来生活方式的某种认同，也许是对创建强国之路民族主义情节的迷恋，也许是对总设计师睿智务实的人格魅力的敬佩，整个社会忽然之间接受了一个光灿灿的、“十分体面”的话语——“发展是硬道理”。于是，全国各地，特别是受惠改革开放最多的深圳、上海、广州等大城市像雨后春笋般涌现出了这一最具中国时代特征的标语。它像是一个简明扼要的经济宣言，也像是政策性的行政命令，又像是集体无意识的一个提示性点拨，当然，最为词切意达的是：它更像一个人们似乎熟悉已久的“广告的话语”——即“××是什么”这一典型广告语结构的陈述句式，它似乎直截了当地在诱导消费者认同某一个商品品牌。而巧合的是，“发展是硬道理”这一标语在更多的场合下，正是放置或占据于大大小小广告牌的突出位置的。这是户外媒体招租前的一种临时性替补策略。对于广告商而言，大多数情况下，展示和宣传“发展是硬道理”不会使经济运营成本上升，这里所发生的只是“沉没成本”，是本来就需要等待的成本（当一旦有商家购买后，就会换上“可口可乐”等商品品牌的广告语），相反，由于所选择的替代内容“发展是硬道理”，因为十分“得体”、“合适”、“吉利”而颇受大众的认同，当然最为重要的是，它由于受到掌握了商业资源的政府部门青睐，因而还会带来意想不到的经济增值效应。
作为景观，“发展”这一关键词像是镶嵌于城市里拔地而起的高楼大厦的注释性“标签”，是中国沿海开放城市经济建设速度的最具概括性的印证。而一旦有了“发展”的掩护，仿佛所有经济的、政治的、社会的和文化的冲突性问题都解决了。因为不管快与慢，不管贫富差异有多大，至少每一个群体乃至个人都在“发展”，这才是放之四海而皆准的“硬道理”，因而它是毋容置疑的，是人们习以为常的集体主义和平均主义意识形态的一个最为巧妙的、策略的延续。此时摆在各个经济利益体面前的财富“蛋糕”依然很大，只要你勤劳或拥有其他“门道”，就可以稳稳地切上一块。“让一部分人先富裕起来”正是在这样的背景下登上历史舞台的。“发展”于是作为一种时尚精神的引领，带来了城市的爆炸性膨胀：城市边界迅速地扩张，卫星城市和小城市相继形成，各种流通环节交织成网，商业设施如雨后春笋般涌现。而随着竞争的加剧，经营模式也在不断地升级，先后呈现了大型百货商店、个体商业一条街、精品专卖店、跳蚤市场、连锁超市、大卖场等商业业态及经营模式。伴随而来的是，跨国公司的商业巨无霸、国际化商品品牌和全新理念的服务也大规模地在中国驻扎生根。以上海为例，在市中心，各种世界品牌的专卖店及精致的购物中心星罗棋布；稍微偏离中心一些的城区，编织着纵横交错的商业街群落，在城郊结合部，镶嵌着一个个巨无霸式的超级大卖场，及其为大大小小商场进行配送服务的物流仓储设施等；另外，商业的繁荣也带来工业景气度的直线上升，在城郊，随着城环和郊环线通向各个卫星城区，制造加工业不断地涌现与扩展，世界500强的OEM定制工厂安顿在上海郊区及昆山、苏州等外围城市，从而拖动了这一地区的商业繁荣。这样的发展，对于大多数中国人来说是新鲜的、刺激的。因而，在相当长一段时间内人们似乎忘记了意识形态对生活的干预，忘记了经济利益体之间，特别是强势群体和弱势群体之间财富差距的扩大和矛盾冲突的日益升级，忘记了过度发展给人的生存环境造成的不可逆转的破坏。人、景、物以及适合于这个发展中特定时期的拼贴式视觉样式，在“发展”标签的衬映下看起来既严肃又滑稽，既合乎情理又不甚协调，既商业化又夹带着政治的图腾，成为一种集历时性与共时性为一体的典型的“标语景观”。
（二）、关于《关键词——和谐》
西方马克思主义的代表之一亨利•勒斐伏尔（H•Lefebvre）认为，人类生活空间“不仅是各种历史和自然因素的产物，而且是一个社会的产物，是意识形态的产物，是一种由社会和物质实践所组成的社会结构”。在中国，改革开放后由于经历了较长期的短缺经济时代，因而“发展”一直是这一历史时期不可替代的关键词（由“发展”引出的标语景观同样成为该类型的主导性景观），其他的所有当下社会问题都应服从或依附于这个“中心”议题。但是，由于技术与管理水平相对落后，加上法律法规的滞后性，“发展”过程往往呈现出初放型的、资源消耗型的特征。“发展”仿佛是一辆快速行进的、无法停顿或减速下来的内燃机车，而它令人炫耀的行进速度的衡量标志便是GDP。GDP一直以来都是政府重点追求的“发展”硬指标，GDP让中国的城市扩张起来，亮堂起来，繁荣起来。一座座与“政绩工程”有着千丝万缕瓜葛的，富丽堂皇的楼宇建筑在城市空间昂首矗立，仿佛在炫耀着、诉说着“中国式发展”的巨大成就。
然而，一种令人震惊的负面力量也正缠绕着“发展”扑面而来，那就是：过度的发展与竞争造成资源的无节制消耗和污染的超标排放，并且已经逐步影响着生态平衡，影响着可持续发展的生存空间和民众的生活质量；社会价值观普遍忽视政治、文化、艺术等发展的软指标，而是单向度地聚焦经济发展，反而违背了经济发展的初衷，民众的“幸福指数”似乎正呈下降趋势；日益扩大的贫富差距激化了主流社会“精英”群体与下层弱势群体之间的矛盾与冲突，引发出越来越多的社会问题……于是，近二、三年来，在新一届政府的极力倡导和推动下，一个恰当的词汇正渐渐地取代“发展”，成为中国社会新的关键词，成为城市空间里的标语新景观，它就是“和谐”。
作为词语，“和谐”源自于中国古代的“天人合一”思想，强调人类不能一味地向自然界（社会）索取，而要尊重和回报于自然（社会）。道家创始人老子提出：人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。说的是，人要以尊重自然规律为最高准则，以崇尚自然、效法天地作为人生行为的基本依归。而“构建社会主义和谐社会”的政治诉求，正是在这艘充满着“发展”惯性的中国式巨轮面临触礁的紧要关头，领航人以古为鉴，向全体“船员”尤其是强势利益群体亮出的一盏具有警示意味的“航标灯”。
可以肯定的是，关键词“和谐”所传递出的讯息，已经远远超出作为关键词“发展”时代所涉及的宏观经济“N年”规划蓝本中粗黑箭头的简单指向，超出了后冷战时代国际冲突带来的那些棘手的应对问题，超出了改革派与保守派之间关于“姓资”、“姓社”的那场旷日持久的“原则立场”之争。它所涉及的是：社会诚信的缺失、滥用能源及超标排放引发的气候异常、涨价、城乡之间的敌视、毒品、医患关系的紧张、金融动荡等一系列纠葛不清的百姓视点，是新一届务实型政府经常拿到最高权力中心作为一号或二号工程予以研究和解决的“民生话题”。关键词“和谐”于是乎像要承载起唤醒中国传统文化价值观回归的历史重任，承载起正处于失控边缘、潘多拉魔盒式的中国经济乃至社会拉回健康发展轨道的重大使命。
关键词——“和谐”，这个由汉字构成的视觉符号，如今可能耸立于某个大城市的某座摩天大楼楼顶的巨大广告牌上，广告牌以清山绿水的喷绘摄影图像作为背景，透现出雄峻、壮美、气派的风采；可能以一长串公益宣传的大幅标语形式，环绕装饰于一跨房地产开发区的临时围墙上，在黄昏时分金黄色的余晖中，伴随着川流不息的下班人群，组合出一段中国式的“后现代生活”视频；可能精心布置于新城区某个“高尚住宅小区”绿化带前的橱窗里，一位老人正在它的面前颤颤巍巍地经过；可能浮现于闹市区交通要道拱型电子屏幕的滚动字幕中，时而闪过的发光二极管灯光阵列在夜空中分外耀眼，仿佛昭示“词”与物之间的意义互动……
而关键词“和谐”，作为一个个的标语景观，忽然间在快门“咔嚓”作响的一刹那，那些三三两两成群结队或者偶尔擦肩而过的男人和女人，或者独自晃过的落单身影，或者溜着宠物狗的休闲组合，在记实镜头里，留下了时而清晰、时而模糊的脸部表情的定格画面：有的悠闲自得，有的心满意足，有的焦躁不安，有的表现出那种无可名状的尴尬。
当“和谐”——这一饱蘸历史文化积淀，又直面当下意识形态语境的关键词，与波普艺术样式的街景拼贴组合时，与蓝天白云融合一色时，与人的千奇百怪的表情互为衬映时，与时尚元素碰擦闪光时，作者惊讶地发现：作为词语的景观影像与其意义逻辑之间原来是错位的、分割的甚至是冲突的。是一种貌似熟悉，实际非常陌生的并置关系，是生活中某些强行捆绑的舞台布景摆设。而我作为一名拿着镜头的观察者，在记录“真实”景物与事件的过程中，渐渐地陷入了一种“虚构现实”的视界，并且正不由自主地被卷入“意义的黑洞”。
The Interpretations of Key Words "Development" and "Harmony" in Slogan Views
Ni Weihua
In China, slogans are one of the most important scenic sights that evolve with time. My capturing of such sights started at the end of 1998 when I was doing a research named “Linear Cities” by seeking and sorting typical metropolitan indicators. such as commercialization, transportation and population with an architect and artist Wang Jiahao. During the research, I found that the slogan “Development is the most important principle” had occupied many public spaces in Shanghai. So I decided to count it as an element under the category “address” among all metropolitan indicators and in the meanwhile, started photographing them to "make a scenic documentary”.
I. On Keyword “Development”
In fact, long before the shooting of the “development” slogan, I had deeply felt that slogans have long played an important role in Chinese people’s daily lives. In the vivid memory of my childhood, the abundance of slogans could be described as “all over the world”. The intensity of keywords like “Revolution”, “Vive”, “Dictatorship” was far more than today, which was obviously one of the most distinctive features in the time when everything centered around politics. After China’s adoption of “Reform and Opening- up” policy, it wasn’t long before the political slogans that had dominated half the landscape of slogan sights as symbolic "words” replaced by “advertising words”. Due to the drastic social changes characterized by booming economies and the rising of Mammonism which almost “enriched” every Chinese soul in the wake of a political craze, it seemed as if just overnight, China had gone through the path of commercialization and materialization which had taken western countries hundreds of years . Such social changes gave birth to many byproducts–--“contrabands" and “profiteer”, private business and national business rush, commercial campaign and pyramid selling, counterfeit and fraud----and among which the advent and flooding of all kinds of advertising slogans, is the most obvious external feature. Through repeating, spreading and infiltrating, “advertising words” forcibly took over beautiful and orderly natural landscape as well as human landscape such as architecture, public facilities and media and thus formed an indispensable scenery in people’s daily life.
At the end of 1990s, maybe due to the weariness and repulsion of an insubstantial political life, or due to certain agreement on the lifestyle since the reform and opening up, or due to the attachment to a national complex in building up a powerful country, or simply due to the respect for the wisdom, pragmatism and charisma of "chief designer” Deng Xiaoping, the whole Chinese society suddenly embraced a shining and decent saying, “development is the most important principle". As a result, this slogan that is the epitome of China’s historical characteristic was springing like mushrooms in every part of the country, especially in big cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou which benefited most from the "reform and opening up”. This slogan can be interpreted as a clear and concise economy manifesto, a policy-related administrative order, or a suggestive clue of collective unconsciousness, and of course, the most appropriate explanation would be that it is like a long known “advertising pattern”, i.e. “XX is YY”, a typical statement structure in advertising wording, which works by guiding the consumers to accept a certain brand. To make things more interesting, in many cases, slogan “development is the most important principle” is placed on advertisement banners in various sizes as temporary alternatives before the outdoor ad space are sold out . For advertising companies, under most circumstances, displaying and promoting the “development” slogan will not cause the rise of operational costs as what incurred here is just “sunk cost” which involves only waiting cost (once the space is sold, it’ll be replaced by ads like “Coca Cola” b). In fact, since the alternative “development is the absolute principle” is “decent”, “appropriate” and “propitious” in public eyes and most importantly, it is favored by government bodies that control commercial resources, unexpected economic incremental results have come out.
Being a scenic sight, keyword “development” is like an explanatory “tag” embedded among soaring metropolitan skyscrapers, serving as the most epitomized evidence of the economic construction speed of China’s coastal open cities. With “development” as the main theme, all conflicting economic, political, social and cultural problems seem to be solved already because all social groups and every individual is “developing”, despite their pace and disparity in wealth, and that is the “most important principle” with universal application. Thus the slogan is undoubtedly correct and extends the mindset of collectivism and egalitarianism that people are used to in a most delicate and strategic manner. And in this situation, the wealth “cake” in front of all economic interest groups is still quite big so that with some diligence or other “means”, one can sure cut a good slice. It is with such background that “allowing some people to prosper first before others” made its historical debut. Therefore, “development”, as the pioneering spiritual guide leads to the explosive expansion of cities: city borders quickly expanding, satellite cities and small cities taking shape, various circulation links forming large webs and commercial facilities springing up like bamboo shoots. As competition intensifies, business models are also undergoing continuous upgrading, with the successive appearance of various commercial operations and modes such as large department stores, shopping streets lined with private stores, boutiques, flea markets, chain supermarkets and shopping malls. Accompanying such changes is the arrival of multinational business giants, international brands and services of brand-new concept, which are settling down in China on a massive scale. Take Shanghai for example, the downtown area is dotted with franchised stores of almost every international brand as well as well-designed shopping centers; a bit farther away from downtown are urban areas interwoven with crisscrossed complexes of business streets; at the junction of urban areas and suburbs are situated gigantic GMS’ and their logistic facilities that supply for shops of all sizes. Besides, the prosperity of commerce has also stimulated a straight climb in industries. At the outskirts of the city, manufacturing and processing businesses are constantly emerging and expanding along the city ring and suburb ring roads into neighboring satellite cities. Many OEM factories from global 500 companies are settling down in Shanghai suburbs and outlying cities such as Kunshan and Suzhou, driving the business prosperity of these areas. Such developments are fresh and exciting to most Chinese. As a consequence, for a rather long time, people seemed to have overlooked the impact of ideology on lives, the widening wealth disparity and escalating conflicts between various economic interest groups, especially those between advantaged and disadvantaged groups, and the irreversible damage on living environment caused by over-development. Under the label of “development”, people, sceneries, objects and the collage visual style that fit this particular phase of development have taken on a look that is serious and comical at the same time, rational but unmatchable, commercialized yet still decorated with political totems, turning into a typical “slogan sight” that has incorporated both diachronism and synchronism.
II. On “Keyword Harmony”
Henri Lefebvre, a representative Neo-Marxist, holds that human living space "Not only results from various historical and natural factors, but also society & ideology it is a social structure composed of social and materialistic practices.” After the reform and opening up, China experienced a rather long-lasting deficient economy, and thus “development” had been the irreplaceable keyword during that historical period (similarly, slogan sights derived from “development” became the dominant type), and any other social issues at the moment should comply with or adhere to this key issue. However, because technology and management level as well as laws and regulations lagged far behind, the course of “development” was frequently characterized as extensive and resource-consuming. “Development” can be compared to a fast-moving diesel locomotive that could neither stop nor slow down and the indicator of its fascinating speed is GDP. GDP has always been the absolute standard government pursues; GDP makes China’s cities expand, brighten and prosper. Magnificent buildings and architecture, exquisitely linked to “administrative feats” more or less, are proudly erected in city space one after another, seemingly depicting and boasting the huge achievement of “the Chinese-style development”.
However, shocking side-effects entangled with “development” come straightforward: excessive development and competition leads to unrestrained consumption of resources and excessive emission of pollutants, impairing ecological balance as well as people’s sustainable living space and living standard; social value unidirectionally focus on economic development, largely neglecting the development of humanity, e.g. politics, culture and art, resulting in the deviation from the original purpose of economic development and people’s “wellbeing index” indicates a declining trend; growing wealth gap intensifies the frictions and conflicts between the “elite group” from the mainstream society and the disadvantaged at the foot of the social ladder, igniting more and more social problems. Consequently, with the new administration’s advocation and promotion in recent two years, a proper substitute is gradually replacing “development” as the new keyword of the Chinese society and becoming the new slogan sight in city space. That word is “harmony”.
“Harmony” as a word itself originated from the ancient Chinese concept “the harmony between the heaven and the human”, which emphasizes that human can’t just ask from Nature but should respect and compensate Nature in return. Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism, once said: “human follow the earth, the earth follows the heaven, the heaven follows Taoism,Taoism follows nature” . And these sentences hold the idea that human should respect natural as the guidance and all human behavior should stick to the principle of “honoring the nature” and “learning from the heaven and the earth”. It was right for the pilot to learn from history and pointed to a warning “beacon” for all the crew at the critical moment when the Chinese aircraft carrier under the full inertia of “development” was about to hit the rock.
Undoubtedly, the message conveyed by keyword “harmony” is way beyond the simple direction specified by the blueprint of the “N year” macro economy plan bundled with the “development” era, beyond the tough problems imposed by the international conflicts in the post-cold-war world, and also beyond the chronic “principle-related” debate between the reformists and conservatives about the distinction of what is socialist and what is capitalist. The new keyword covers a series of complicated and unsettled issues that reflect all civilians’ concerns, such as the absence of social trustworthiness, abuse of energy resources, climate anomalies triggered by excessive pollution emissions, inflation of prices, hostility between city and countryside, drug problems, intense relationship between doctors and patients, financial turbulence as well as those “subjects affecting people’s livelihood” which the new administration usually study and solve as their 1st or 2nd priority at the center of supreme authority. Keyword “harmony”, with the historical responsibility of awakening the return of traditional Chinese cultural values on its shoulder, seems to have undertaken a great commission, which is to move the nearly breaking down Chinese economy, an opened Pandora box, back on the healthy track.
“Harmony”, a visual sign composed of Chinese characters, can be seen in many different places. It may be printed on a huge advertisement banner on the top of a skyscraper in a big city, with pictures of beautiful mountains and waters as the background, making a magnificent presence; it may be put on large posters decorating the temporary fences surrounding a real estate under construction, which, along with the flame of the sunset at dusk and the constant flow of people getting off work, would make perfect video clips of the typical Chinese “post-modern life”; it may be well displayed in a show window beside the green area of a refined residence community, where an old man totters past it; it may appear among the rolling titles on an arched electronic screen installed at communication hubs in the downtown area, and the flickering and dazzling LED arrays against the dark sky symbolizing the interaction between the keyword and its carrier.
After just a few clicks of camera shutters, with keyword “harmony” as slogan sights in the background, men and women traveling in crowds, stranger brushing against you, lonely soul swiftly passing by or leisurely couple walking dogs, they’re all captured by the lens as still images in a documentary way, their faces being clear sharp or out of focus, some showing ease and leisure, some displaying contentment, some fidgeting, and some suggesting an air of indescribable embarrassment.
“Harmony”, the keyword saturated with historic and cultural significance and yet challenged by the ideology of current situations, when it is pieced together with pop-art style street views, when it is blended into the blue sky and white clouds, when it is matched with people’s numerous facial expressions,&
