Although late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976) had never cruised in person across the Taiwan Straits, his photos made a landmark debut at the island province Sunday afternoon, allowing the local people to glimpse at the reality of the historical political personage.

At a photography art exhibition unveiled at the Taiwan International Visual Arts Center (TIVAC) in Taipei on Sunday afternoon, 31 photos taken by noted mainland photographer Hou Bo were put on show, featuring Mao in various scenes in the late 1940s and 1960s.

Hou, one of the first generation of mainland women photojournalists, told Xinhua in Beijing on Monday morning that all the exhibits had been published on the mainland and she was really happy that Mao's images could finally made their way into Taiwan.

"It is really not easy to launch such an exhibition in Taiwan," commented the 81-year-old Hou, China's "court photographer" for 12years from the late 1940s to early 1960s.

The softly-speaking Hou became the image recorder of Mao and other top Chinese leaders upon catching Mao declaring the founding of the People's Republic of China on Beijing's Tiananmen Rostrum on October 1, 1949.

Hou, together with her family, subsequently moved into Zhongnanhai, the central nerve of the government, to record Mao's public and private life until 1961.

Among Hou's 31 pictures shown at the TIVAC exhibition titled "Mao Zedong's Age", the leader's much neglected human side was revealed in images featuring Mao, bare-footed, in contemplation by the seaside, swimming in rivers and playing with kids, in sharp contrast with the leader's imposing manners commonly seen in his political agency.

"In addition to being the national leader and a charismatic political figure, Mao is also shown to be a loving father and a commonly tempered individual," said a Taiwan photography critic surnamed Ge while commenting on Hou's works.

While being vigorous and high-spirited, Mao was seen in the photos as being "a somewhat lonely political giant," rated Ge in an article.

The political barriers between the mainland and Taiwan had made it very difficult for the general public at both sides of the Taiwan straits to access political images and materials from the opposite side since 1949.

However, as the cross-Straits economic and cultural ties were continuously strengthened in recent years, people from photographic circles at both sides started to realize the importance of retracing the lost historical memories through images and reached a consensus on working to serve the purpose.

According to Zeng Huang, a senior mainland photojournalist and council member of the Chinese Photographers Association, the just launched TIVAC exhibition symbolized that cross-Straits photographic professionals had "successfully materialize the consensus".

"We should just treat images as what they are and leave the interpretation of history at relevant professional hands," observed Zeng in a telephone interview with Xinhua on Monday morning.

Also presented at the Taiwan-based exhibition are 20 photos shot by Hou's husband Xu Xiaobing, 89, depicting the CPC (Communist Party of China)'s performance in the war against the Japanese aggression in the 1930s and 1940s.

A panel forum themed as "photographic value determination of Mao Zedong" will also be held on the sideline of the exhibition, scheduled to close on July 6.

The photographer couple have held similar exhibitions in countries such as France, Britain and Japan, causing quite a sensation.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2005)