陈曦的这批作品，主要的图像是一个电视机，以及电视机里面出现的主要跟中央台“新闻联播”节目相关联的画面，这些画面以成为我们集体的历史记忆。在这样的“电视机-新闻联播-集体历史记忆”的关系中，我们似乎在一种“仪式化”的过程中完成我们的日常行为和记忆；在播与看的过程中，围绕着播什么与看什么，以怎么播与怎么看，一种规约和被规约的关系在“仪式化”的过程中被稳定地建立起来。

　　“新闻联播”式的电视图像传播，以“仪式化”的方式呈现于中国的民众日常生活之中，通过种种“仪式化”的场面，强化为集体性的“历史记忆”。而一定历史时期的中国百姓生活，也被这样的“新闻联播”而具有了“仪式化”的特点和意义，以仪式化的生活方式接受着相关的“公共事件”及社会文化传播。“新闻联播”是一种仪式化的表意方式和民众仪式化的接受行为的共同产物。这种种的“仪式化”包括：

　　时间：中国人生活方式中的黄金时间19：00-19：30，这种被选择和规定的“黄金时段”最终被赋予了中国民众生活中主要日常仪式的内容，围绕着这样的时间和可能的中国社会政治的内容发布，民众产生着日复一日的期待心理，中国民众的晚饭或晚饭前后，关系着中国社会、政治、思想、行为的“官方”传播，是大家每一天绕不开的“仪式”。

　　形象、面孔、声调、语速、音乐、表情、服装：这是一种高度稳定性和规定性的仪式化呈现，民众在熟悉的声调、语速、音乐、表情、服装、形象、面孔中感受着一种被深深赋予的国家、政权的威严和权力。作为官方形象的代表，“新闻联播”对主持人形象的选择十分严格：形象端庄，正襟危坐，表情严肃、平静，语调低沉，语速缓慢，这种模式长期以来被格式化了。所有这些处理，其实都在制造一种仪式感，以强化我们对重要历史事件的记忆。

　　内容发布：被规整化了的国家事务发布体现为一种仪式化传播方式，中国民众在这样的仪式化过程中与这样的内容构成了一种仪式化认同和仪式化解读的关系。一种不容置疑的发布，形成了波浪传导式的传播，形成了一层层的扩散式仪式的影响力。渐渐地，我们发现，某些历史片段、某个时代镜头，已深深刻在我们脑子里，成为我们挥之不去的记忆。慢慢被塑造而成的这些记忆，已不属于我们自己的，而是属于集体的、时代的、历史的记忆。

　　电视机：电视机往往是中国民众家庭中的视觉中心，在特定的历史时段里，甚至到现在，电视机都是很多家庭的一个最中心的地方——“现代化”、“财富”、“身份地位”的象征，甚至可以说电视机像家里的一个“神龛”。围绕着电视机及由它“发布”出来的社会政治、国家事物等的内容，成为民众生活重要的日常仪式。

　　我们的日常生活就这样地被仪式化，我们的历史记忆也是这样地被仪式化。

　　陈曦的十八个历史阶段及事件的十八件作品，就是这样通过不同历史时期的电视机所呈现出来的“新闻联播”的历史图像，成为了我们仪式化的记忆。

2011/4/10

Memory in Ritual Practice

WANG Huangsheng

　　This current series of Chenxi's work features a television set showing nightly news broadcast of China's state broadcaster CCTV, Xin Wen Lian Bo (新闻联播，sometimes known in English as News Network Broadcast). Watching Xin Wen Lian Bo fulfills a daily ritual for Chinese people and helps form a memory of what's happening for each day, thus constructing a collective memory of our history. It practices a strict programming "ritual" concerning what to broadcast and how. By watching this program, the audience follows the ritual of what to see and how. So in this process, the relationship of "constraining and being constrained" has been created in a stable manner.

　　The transmitted images on Xin Wen Lian Bo are presented to Chinese people in a ritual of set form and hierarchy, and these images, through day-to-day repetition, construct the collective memory of history. And in turn, life in a certain period of history for Chinese people was marked with features and meanings of such rituals in the way of receiving public events and social culture dissemination. In a word, Xin Wen Lian Bo is featured with ritual both in the way of information dissemination on the part of the media, and information reception on the part of the audience. Such ritual can be reflected in the following:

　　Time: 19:00 to 19:30, known as Golden Time in China. During this set of time slot, Chinese people fulfill a major ritual in a day by watching Xin Wen Lian Bo. Day by day, they have developed a certain expectation towards the possible social and political events. At around dinner time, the Chinese people practice a ritual to receive the "authoritative" information about China's society, politics, major thinking and behavior.

　　Images, faces, tones, pace, music, expressions and costumes: highly stable and prescribed. People can feel deeply the authority and power of the country and the Party through the familiar images, faces, tones, pace, music, expression and costumes. As the official representative, anchors of Xin Wen Lian Bo have to meet very strict requirements. They should wear a dignified look and speak in deep and slow tones with calm and composed manners, which has, for a long time been prescribed patterns. These patterns help create a sense of ritual, thus enhancing the memory of major historical events.

　　News release: national affairs are broadcasted in a set ritual programming with set format and hierarchy. Chinese people, in watching the news, gradually recognize this ritual and are able to interpret its meaning. The news release is official and powerful in a way that it is not to be doubted and can spread, like a wave, to a mass audience with far-reaching influence. Day by day, we find that some fragments of history and certain scenes of a time are imprinted in our mind and becomes a lingering memory for us all. Such memory, settled down in a long time gradually, does not construct memory of individuals, but rather, a collective memory of the history and the time.

　　Television: the visual center for a household. In a certain period of history, even for now, television and its surrounding area stay in the center of many houses since it's the symbol for modernization, wealth and status. It can be even seen as something holy (usually place on the home shine). Sitting in front of the television and watching news events about the society and politics serves as an important ritual in the daily life for Chinese people.

　　In this way, our daily life is ritualized, so does our memory of the history.

　　The 18 pieces of Chen Xi's work depict 18 historical periods and events through images showed on the television, constituting a part of our memory in ritual practice.