"But first, ...thirty stokes with the big paddle!!!" is often heard on Chinese period dramas, ostensibly depicting how the Qing courts of yesteryear meted out punishment, or how judges "encourage" a criminal to confess. Bastinado (also Bastinade) is the whipping, flogging, paddling, or caning of a person's feet, legs, or buttocks while they're held supine on the ground, or face down across a punishment rack. This was but one of the many corporal punishment techniques that the Qing routinely dealt out in order to maintain civil obedience. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled Chinese punishment whipping a lawbreaker [c1900] Attribution Unknown [RESTORED]. The photograph was cleaned of defects, and had contrast and tone adjusted. The original is behind the spoiler. It was found on Corbis, one of the commerical stock house online catalogs that has been hoarding history. The Bastinadoist (ie the one who delivers the repeated blows) is someone who is specially trained to inflict slow but grinding punishment, even up to the point of death after many hours of torturous paddling. The technique was readily described and amply pictured in various prints that detailed Chinese culture to Europeans. Examples are behind the second spoiler: Spoiler: Examples in Print... The first picture appeared in a book entitled The Punishments of China, a book of 22 engravings printed in 1804; the second is entitled Punishment of the Bastinado and appeared in Thomas Allom's China, Its Scenery, Architecture, Social Habits &c Illustrated, published in 1859
Emil Rusfeldt was considered a member of the second wave of western photographers whose photographs of China have been said to represent the embodiment of that era (his compatriots were William Saunders and John Thomson). Working out of a studio called the Hong Kong Photographic Rooms (a sort of historic way station for many of those noteworthy China photographers), Rusfeldt produced a wide ranging record of those times. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled Flower Boats Canton [c1871-1874] E Rusfeldt [RESTORED] I did the usual spot and defect removal, tonal and contrast adjustments, with a final Sepia tone. The original is behind the spoiler. I found this pic on a personal Flickr page. The page owner, someone named Etherflyer, had apparently scanned the image from a book called Imperial China: Photographs 1850 - 1912. The picture shows several of the many Flower Boats that had stationed themselves in the waters of old Canton. A euphemistic term for bordello, these were essentially floating houses of prostitution that offered up dinner, music, and carnal entertainment along the banks of the many rivers that coursed through Canton. At one point thousands of these ornate, palatial boats prospered in that busy port city. Other works that documents the trade are behind the second spoiler: Spoiler: The Sampan Sellers & other items of note... Source: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/rise_fall_canton_03/cw_essay02.html
Here's another John Thomson classic (albeit with extensive restoration), found again within Wellcome's fantastic collection of his work. Thomson has continued to enthrall people after a century; his work has recently returned to China, where many Chinese for the first time are seeing the essence of their forebears through his eternal artistry. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled (Front View) Example Of A Coiffure On A Tartar Or Manchu Female, who is wearing a long sleeved quilted garment. The hair is wrapped around a flat strip of wood. Peking, Pechili Province, China [1869] JThomson [RESTORED] Extensive repair work to the sleeves and face, the background was simply stripped, adjustments in contrast and tonality. This girl actually appeared in several of Thomson's pictures. It was apparent that he spent some time in photographing a team of Manchu models both in their natural surrounds and in front of a portable backdrop. In essence my personal suspicion is that his process was remarkably similar to a modern day photo shoot. Of course, he didn't have electronic flashes or digital film, but instead had to look under a dark cloth at an upside down reversed image on dim matte glass plate. Photography in those days was genuinely a monumental undertaking.
Larry Burrows was a Life Magazine photographer who quite literally gave his life to his work. While on assignment covering the south east Asian conflict, his helicopter was shot down in Laos in 1971 and he (along with several other journalists) was killed. In 2008 scant remains found at the crash site (discovered in 1998 by a US remains recovery team working in Laos) were collectively interred at the Newseum in Washington DC. It is uncertain whether the remains actually belonged to Burrows, his companions, or to the seven South Vietnamese soldiers or crew of the ARVN helicopter (see first spoiler). Spoiler: Four Photojournalists Had Been Shot Down... Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled Wretched shacks of refugees from Red China, on a hillside above Hong Kong China [1962] L Burrows [RESTORED] Very clean image, contrast and tonal adjustments, lightening the upper tier houses to create perceptual distance, and elimination of the bottom right logo. The original is behind the second spoiler or can be see at Life's Google link by clicking on the title. A previous picture I had posted [ame="http://www.dramasian.com/forum/showpost.php?p=745740&postcount=46"](link)[/ame] in this thread attested to the human misery brought on by uncaring governments on both sides of the border during the April 1962 exodus from the PRC into Hong Kong. In this image, taken one month later, Life Magazine's Larry Burrows continued to follow and chronicle the lives of those refugees lucky enough not to have been turned back into China (which was undergoing a state induced famine at the time) but were consigned to a life of squalor at the margins of Hong Kong society.
thank you thank you. I have scan thru the pictures and the descriptions. I feel sad and happy at the same time looking at the pictures. Sad because Chinese ppl had gone thru so much and not enough information was there to tell our generation of the history behind China. Happy because I feel proud to be a Chinese and I can feel for the pictures as if I am there with them, pain or joy I can feel it with them. Thank you very much. Thumbs up to you and keep it up. I really like the Chang Moo Gow story, 6 languages!!! really!?!?? I can't even handle 2
From a [ame="http://www.dramasian.com/forum/showpost.php?p=741347&postcount=40"]previously noted[/ame] private collection discovered on Picassa Web Albums (Google's free picture gallery) as hosted by generous netizen Joe. He has a collection of images that (from what information I could gather on his gallery), seems to have been taken by one I.E. Oberholtzer in or around the Liao Chow area of Shansi, (I suspect this may be modern day Liaozhou, Shanxi Province, but I'm having a bit of difficulty getting cross referenced confirmation), China, during the 1920-1930s. Once again, it is due to the dedication of private citizens that images which would otherwise be lost to history, is instead seen by all. This validates and burnishes that part (in this case, of a part of China), and makes indelible an isolated stitch in the fabric of time. Woven together with the contributions of others, that fabric becomes a tapestry that testifies to our collective history in a vital visual record. We all hold a debt of gratitude to the generosity of such net contributors. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled Militarism in China. Here are specimens of the Soldiery who protect the people by dominating them, who protect property by looting it Liao Chow, Shansi, China [c1925] IE Oberholtzer (probable) [RESTORED] I did light scratch and spot repair, adjusted tone, contrast, added a sepia coloration, and cropped away the partial view of the individual on the far right edge. The original is behind the spoiler, and can also be seen by clicking on the very long descriptive title. Most people consider the China of today as a nation that has 5000 years of continuous unbroken history as one political entity; that is not so. As recent as a century ago, China was politically fractured akin to a nation say, like Pakistan, where the central government held political sway in name only. Genuine authority outside central urban areas resided in the hands of well financed individuals, called warlords, each armed with their own personal army. Spoiler: Map of War Lord Political Spheres of influence, China 1925... Source: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlord_era"]The Warlord Era[/ame] Warlords held their positions by strength of the sword, and areas under their control were effective fiefdoms that the Chinese central government had little or no control over. At times, even central government commerce movement needed to tender road tariffs to these local governments before being allowed passage. These regional governments functioned by their own rules, often created at the whim of their leader. They fought not only with the government but with each other. Between the years of 1912 and the second world war, most people understand and remember the national struggle between the communists and the nationalists in China. In fact, the nationalist government was only in nominal control, with the communists being but one external factor, along with a variety of warlord cliques and subordinate factions that competed for overall supremacy in 8 major geographic areas. Opportunistic coalitions often formed to work either against, or with the Nationalist government; though allegiances were well acknowledged to be something ephemeral as parties easily traded loyalties according to their individual needs of the moment. Regional armies with fidelity to a local leader instead of a national government wasn't an entirely new concept to the Chinese of the times. In fact this was business as usual as far as Chinese history was concerned. During the monarchy, Qing standing regional Bannermen armies could likewise have been a template for the Warlord phenomenon. Each Banner was separate and distinct from the others and only loyal to themselves, and not to any idea of national government, per se. They fought for the throne because they were paid to. Thus, they were similar to mercenary armies at the service of the government Spoiler: ***Sidebar*** The Qing Bannermen... The Qing Bannermen standing armies, in theory, is not at all unlike present day Blackwell industries, which has deployed private armed fighters in combat zones around the world in their work for the US government. One has to wonder if the Talib or Al Qaeda paid better, would they then turn their guns on their flag? But that's a question for another day and another forum. During this period of national crisis, Outer Mongolia, long a part of the Qing empire, (under strong Soviet influence) successfully broke free and became, de facto, independent from China in 1921 . The Chinese nationalists successfully kept Xinjiang and Xizang (aka Tibet) from breaking away, and were also successful in keeping most other nations from further colonizing what was essentially a broken and defenseless China. The Warlord private armies in essence were regionally raised military militias that were privately trained. They were armed with a variety of western equipment and in one battle alone (Central Plains Battle of 1930, in which three warlords allied against the central Nationalist government), involved an estimated one million troops. These troops rode roughshod over the populace with impunity. They were notorious for robbing, raping, and pillaging everywhere they went. If they didn't have enough men to perform support functions (like build fortifications or carry away loot), they would gang impress local manpower as slave labor. They would often take whatever crops there were, and allowed the local population to subsist on starvation rations. As patronage mills, they allowed men of affluence to buy officer postings either for themselves or their sons, to serve as midlevel leaders within a warlord's army. The situation was so socially severe and dire that the populace hungered for relief and easily bought into the communist message of land ownership reform, equality of treatment, shared burden, and national defense. This helped set the stage for the mass support that Mao needed to overthrow the nationalists and take the country by force of arms.
Afong Lai was one of the rare breed of Chinese photographer whom was recognized by his European contemporaries as a professional equal. He was well thought of by the legendary John Thomson, who rated Afong's work of a caliber that would be successful even if offered to the English in London. As a Chinese working in what was then considered to be a strictly European field, Afong established and fostered contacts with many foreigners, allowing his work to be brought home by Europeans and thus to be seen abroad. For this reason, historic examples of his work survives to this day. He was active in and around the Guangdong area (then called Kwangtung), particularly in Hong Kong, where he ran one of the colony's longest working photographic studios, reportedly from 1859 through 1900. Entitled Group Of Chinese Women With Fans, Canton China [c1880] Afong Lai [RESTORED] I evened out the background, darkened the entire print, added contrast and a sepia. The original is behind the spoiler. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Professionally, Afong Lai specialized in portraiture and landscapes, and was well known for his stitched panoramic views. Unfortunately, other than his technical and artistic achievements, little of his personal life was ever recorded. In fact, there is even question over his proper name; that is, was his surname Fong or Afong, or Ah Fong? I suspect that this arose from the lack of western linguistic appreciation for the Cantonese dialect. Cantonese speaking Chinese would immediately recognize the "Ah" preceding Fong as just a colloquialism (denoting intimacy or familiarity). This is similar to the "Lil" (a truncation of Little, in this case, used as a term of endearment or affection) that may precede a typical American name like Joe. However, most non Chinese observers of Fong's times did not intuitively understand this distinction, and mistakenly assumed his proper name to be Mister Ahfong. An English version of this mistake would be referring to someone as Mister Liljoe. Despite this mistake of not having his real name remembered, it nonetheless burnished Fong's undeniable place in history as one of the great photographers of late Qing China. Spoiler: For example, one well known site dealing with historic photographs laments... On the stationary, it is clear that the printed name in English is AFONG. However, what is often lost to the English reader is the Chinese text, which reads Fong Wah, likely an amalgam of the proprietor's own name into the title of his business enterprise. In this case, that would mean that the owner's surname is simply Fong. The letter "A" (for "ah") placed in front of the surname Fong (a typical Cantonese surname), likely reflected the Chinese colloquial term of affection or endearment, but more importantly, also the title that Europeans normally knew Mr Fong as. Hence, Mr Fong probably kept that in his official English title as it was how he was best known to his foreign customers. Had Mr Fong been European say, with a name like Thomson, local Chinese may have then referred to him as Ah Thomson. It would have then been obvious that the colloquial "ah" was not a part of Thomson's name.
In probably one of the most celebrated unsolved crime mysteries of the early 1900's, a suspicion of murder centered around a Chinese immigrant who then disappeared from New York City during the summer of 1909. What made the case a national sensation was the revelation that a white woman of solid upbringing and class background had an active romantic relationship with not just one, but two separate Chinese men. Law enforcement officials surmised that one had apparently become angry over his lover's attention to the other, and had strangled the girl in a fit of jealous rage. The woman, Elsie Sigel, had been involved in missionary work and also taught at a Sunday school which was attended by many Chinese. Entitled House In Which Miss Sigel Was Killed New York City, USA [c1909] Attribution Unknown. There were so many defects with this picture that I didn't even bother to make any corrections. I added a sepia tone and left the rest as is. The murder of young Elsie Sigel during the summer of 1909 captivated the country. Police departments throughout the Unites States joined the manhunt for her killer and subsequently saw guilt on every Chinese face they encountered. In the days that followed, newspapers from various cities across the nation repeatedly announced, "we got him" only to have their statements retracted when it was ultimately revealed that their police were holding the wrong man. An untold number of innocent Asian (both Chinese and Japanese) men were thus hauled in and subjected to sometimes brutal interrogation on the suspicion of being the hunted man, Leon Ling. Due to the Anti-Miscegenation laws of the time, it was considered illegal for a "Chinaman"1 to marry a white woman. Of course, white women who willingly chose to do that were generally suspected of being low in social bearing themselves (ie prostitutes, criminals, or backward, uneducated European immigrants). What made this case such a sensational spectacle was that Elsie Sigel was from a good, well off family with impeccable social credentials (her grandfather was a decorated Union general and war hero). Moreover, not only was she dallying with one immigrant "miscreant," but two. If that wasn't politically incorrect enough, it was revealed that the suspected murderer, Leon Ling (who had gone by several similar sounding names), wasn't the pig tailed asexual "celestial" coolie that was often depicted in racist anti-Chinese cartoons; he was shown to be a handsome Americanized smooth talking, English speaking, dapper paramour that also had a bevy of other white women easily at his beck and call. This was considered to be the height of social impropriety which, for that era, nearly akin to beastiality. Social researchers at the time ascribed the phenomena to many different reasons, all of which centered on the self harm that girls like Sigel unknowingly or unwittingly brought upon themselves. In other words, they were as much innocent and blameless as they were naive, and hence did not realize the danger that they put themselves in while generously doing the Lord's work in attempting to Christianize the Chinese. The Chinaman was often described as an experienced, sly and cunning opportunist, only too happy to have one of purity, a white woman, thus fall into his dirty lecherous hands (British author Sax Rohmer later capitalized on this anti-Chinese hysteria with his 1912 creation of the Fu Manchu character, which was rich in negative racial stereotype). Ling was never caught. After reportedly sending a deceptive telegram and being seen attempting to dispose of a large trunk (in which Miss Sigel's body was to be later found), Ling vanished without a trace despite an extensive national search for him. Subsequently it was suggested that Ling escaped back to China, having been reportedly seen disembarking from a tramp steamer in Hong Kong. Thereafter, he supposedly returned to a life of farming but there was never any conclusive evidence for that. The case remains unresolved to this day. Spoiler: Excerpts from various sources that details the murder... Note: The above lists Elsie Sigel's age as 22 at the time of her murder. Review of most other historical sources states that she was 19 at the time of her death. Spoiler: And in a piece of... ...what could only be described as ghoulish commercialism; bordering on the macabre and tasteless at best, the cycle store (Tiger Cycle Works Company) seen in the picture on the ground floor, actually takes out advertising using the murder's notoriety in attempting to shill for business: Source: Motorcycle Illustrated Volume 4, Number 15, August 01, 1909, Pg 46 (Download Link: PDF) Interestingly, the Chinese Empire Reform Association (of which Ling was a member), at the time was one of the most politically powerful overseas Chinese organizations with chapters in just about every major city around the world where there were Chinese in any large numbers. My personal suspicion is that Ling used his contacts within that organization to ultimately engineer an escape back to China. 1. Now generally viewed as an anti-Chinese or racist derogatory term, but at the turn of the 20th century was not considered to be insulting.
Another offering from Herbert George Ponting, whose iconic photographs of late Qing China were often uncredited or attributed (under work for hire rules) instead to his various employers. Ponting eventually gained fame when he undertook a 1910 trip to the Antarctic as expedition photographer for the famed explorer Robert F. Scott compiling in excess of an amazing 1700 glass photographic plates. Ponting narrowly escaped doom as he returned from the Antarctic a few months before Scott's party met with a horrible end; weak from starvation with no way to get supplies, they were ultimately found frozen to death. Curiously, Ponting, a British transplant to America in his twenties, had only taken up free lance photography after an unsuccessful venture in California fruit ranching threatened financial ruin. He traveled through Asia, and was later credited with an extensive amount of image work during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria. Entitled The Great Wall of China at the Nankou Pass, 50 miles from Peking, China [1907] H Ponting. [RESTORED] I repaired spots and small defects, adjusted contrast, tonality, and adding a sepia tone. The original is behind the spoiler. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Ponting's placement of a person (or in this case, persons) somewhere in the foreground was a de rigueur photographic technique of the day. It was done primarily to add a human element and to provide a sense of scale to the scene. Additionally, this is only the right half of the picture. The entire photograph, which is almost twice the size (and twice as good) of what is shown can only be see by giving money to one of those "keepers of history" organizations. The real picture is unfortunately hoarded and kept by the Royal Geographical Society in the UK. Spoiler: Original as kept by the Royal Geographical Society... The Great Wall of China 萬里長城 is a misnomer (at least in its English translation, the Chinese meaning is more along the lines of "ten thousand Li long city"). It would be more accurate to describe it as the Great Walls of China, as they are the remnants from a historic series of stone and earthen barriers. Erected throughout northern China, they were mostly built and revised over two thousand years between the 5th century BC and the 16th century. Origins of each wall section from various times were contingent upon their political and military needs in accordance to their dynastic periods. Spoiler: A map that shows the various wall instances during different time periods... Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China The oldest, original walls were constructed for the purposes of protecting against Xiongnu nomadic incursions into the areas occupied by the various disparate states that were to later form China. After the Qin consolidation, these separate structures were then integrated into an almost continuous whole, mostly using rammed earth structures. Unfortunately, little of that wall actually exists today. The majority of the wall that still remains (ie the one that we have generally come to know) was built during the Ming dynasty, which relied more heavily on integration of brick and masonry work. History, legends and myths about the Great Wall abound. In the last hundred year or so, industrialization and modernization of the areas which the wall passes through has endangered it as entire sections were destroyed to reclaim construction materials. Other sections were refurbished, in some cases rebuilt using modern engineering, and have seen heavy use as tourist attractions; still others have been entirely overgrown or reclaimed by nature. Reportedly, less than 30 percent of the wall remains intact. Nevertheless, it is considered to be one of the most important historic constructions of man and specific parts of it was listed since 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The present wall starts from Shanhaiguan, dipping into the Bohai Sea in the east, and ends at Xinjiang's Lop Nur in the west, following along the southern border of the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive survey to date has determined that the wall as currently recognized covers a distance of 8,851.8 km (or 5,500.3 miles), consisting of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 miles) actual wall, combined with various other structures like trenches and natural defensive barriers of impassable hills and rivers. Contrary to popular myth, you cannot see the wall from outer space or the moon. Spoiler: My favorite Great Wall Legend is... ...The story of the faithful wife whose loving devotion to her husband so moved the Heavens that the wall itself was forced to give up his dead body for her to properly mourn: I love how Chinese poems can rhyme equally well in English too, LOL... But seriously, there are plenty of published variations to this story and I won't belabor artistic license. However, all remember the monumental cruelty that was used to build the wall. With this in mind, many people regard the wall as simply the world's largest Chinese cemetery. Legend has it that tens of thousands of dead are entombed within it, buried where they fell from the harsh inhuman slave labor that was forced upon them. Many people celebrate Qin ShiHuang as the First Emperor and laud his accomplishments like his consolidation of the Great Wall. I personally tend to think of the millions of nameless, forgotten people that died because of him during his reign. Chinese history unfortunately, isn't always very nice. *** Sidebar *** The Great Wall varies from tourist trap (like the section at Badaling, near Beijing) to extreme, off the beaten path wilderness. Certain sections are so dangerous that it would be suicidal to attempt ascending unless one has special climbing equipment with a technical and advanced mountaineering support team. Try as I might, I was not able to gather any real statistics on Great Wall related accidents or deaths, which is unusual as every tourist location has accidents. In any case, I suspect that the PRC government doesn't really want to keep such statistics to begin with. In another forum dedicated to just information about the Great Wall, one writer told of how one tourist was killed, and offered some safety tips.
For whatever reason, someone has issues with this thread and had "Page Stacked" it. That is, someone had tagged one of the images (specifically the Thomson Island Temple on River Min picture) so that it was artificially accessed 12,115 times over a short period (average of about 300 hits for the other pictures during the same time frame). This was what triggered the excess bandwith usage stop in service. -what? I have since deleted that picture and reloaded it. When the monthly quota at Photobucket rolls over again (as per their site, on the 4th of the month; ie tomorrow, as I type this) it should start a new bandwidth tally and release access to the pictures again. Hopefully that should solve the problem. If admin can look into just blocking out access from Phlap.net servers, that may also help prevent these kinds of childish manipulations. -madsign1 And again, thanks to all who love Chinese history. -blush2
Another beautiful picture from the Benjamin West Kilburn Company. Benjamin West Kilburn was an American photographer and stereoscopic view publisher primarily of US and Canadian landscape. However, his company also produced a significant amount of far international images, including the far east and China. Many of the images credited to his company were actually taken by "work for hire" free lance photographers. Entitled: Singing Girls, Hong Kong, China [c1901] BW Kilburn [RESTORED] I repaired a few spots and scratches, added contrast, adjusted tone with a final sepia treatment. I also added a shadow to better define the outline of the bound foot of the girl on the right. The Original is behind the spoiler and can also be seen at the US LOC digital collection where I found this beautiful image Reproduction Number LC-USZ62-118904. Spoiler: Original Photograph... This has always been one of my favorite despite the posed nature of it. This picture was one of a set of several artificially propped shots that purportedly showed a slice of Chinese life during the turn of the 20th Century. Most of these posed situational images were insanely ridiculous but nevertheless, sold to ignorant and gullible western viewers as an intimate look into Chinese culture.
Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) a native Bronx New Yorker, photographed the Great Depression through the aegis of the Farm Security Administration (FSA, a federal agency that was established in 1935 by Franklin D. Roosevelt to help keep a starving United States from dying). The FSA used photography to not only record and document the dust bowl conditions but to galvanize a nation's sentiments into providing political and financial assistance, in order to get American farmers back into productivity again. A legion of who's who in American photography (eg. Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, Carl Mydans, Dorothea Lange, etc.) got their start in the FSA. [COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][COLOR=#000000]Rothstein likewise fell into that group, taking a classic picture of a man with his two young sons, running from a coming storm. [/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][COLOR=Red][COLOR=Black]The photograph, entitled [/COLOR][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fleeing a Dust Storm[/FONT][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black],[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][COLOR=Black][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][COLOR=Red][COLOR=Black] became one that helped to define the poverty and destitution of an era[COLOR=#000000]. [/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]During WW2 Rothstein was employ again by the FSA (which by the time had been subordinated into the US Office of War Information). This sent him to various parts of the China, Burma and Indian theater, where he helped to document US efforts in assisting the locals fight the Japanese. Returning from the war, Rothstein became Director of Photography for Look Magazine (a sister publication of Life Magazine) until it's closing in 1971. He went on to be photo director for Parade Magazine. Entitled: A Boat On A River With Rolling Hills In The Background, In The Kiangsu Province Or Yunnan Province In China [1946] A Rothstein [RESTORED] I cleaned up a few spots, made minor adjustments to contrast, and added a sepia. The original image was found in the US Library of Congress, where it was digitized from a gelatin silver print. It is listed under Reproduction Number LC-DIG-ppmsca-07797. Spoiler: Original Photograph...
William Purdom (1880-1921) was another explorer botanist that surveyed and collected northern Chinese flora along the Yellow River for three years, from 1909-1911; and in Tibet and Gansu, from 1914-1915. If anything, China fascinated the west and even its flora and fauna enthralled European and American academics. Many universities sent researchers to the Chinese interior in order to map and record the biodiversity of the Chinese hinterland. In addition to the wide variety of plant life that they recorded, they were also witness to the differences in culture and ethnicity of the region. Entitled: Six Strongmen In Traditional Dress, China [1909] W Purdom [RESTORED] Spot corrections, contrast and tonal adjustments; I also more clearly defined the faint mountain line in the background, and increased (doubled) the image size as the original was very small. This of course introduced a lot of jpeg magnification artifact that I then blended with uniform random noise. Spoiler: Original Photograph... The original was discovered in Harvard University's Library Collection using their VIA (Visual Information Access) Search engine. It is listed under Record Identifier: olvwork270371. Other information included stated: "...Strong men at August games (Mongol). Photo by Wm. Purdom, 1909-1911. Weichang Xian, Hebei Sheng, China" Spoiler: From Wiki page... Wow... I thought they only dressed like this in old Chinese movies. I wouldn't want to meet these guys in a dark alley (...or even a well lit one either).
Edward Bangs Drew was a Harvard graduate that was hired and worked for the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Service near the end of the Qing Dynasty. His papers, with some photographs of various or unknown attribution, were purchased from Lucy Drew (his daughter ) in 1949. They are currently on repository at the Edward Bangs Drew Collection of the Harvard-Yenching Library at Harvard University. Entitled: Kidnapped Girls, Foochow, China [1904] Attribution Unk [RESTORED] I did simple spot corrections, contrast and tonal adjustments and added a cool tone, similar to the old selenium toner effect on bromide paper (original is behind the spoiler). Spoiler: Original Photograph & more... From China: a history of the laws, manners, and customs of the people, Volume 1, John Henry Gray, 1878, MacMillan & Co., London, pgs 246-247: Source and Download links: PDF or ePub This picture was found in the Edward Bangs Drew Collection held in the Harvard-Yenching Library of Harvard University. The accompanying information stated: "Kidnapped girls, Foochow, Found hidden in a junk by customs inspector. These girls would have been sold for slaves. Chinese characters on mount, left of image." The information further stated that the scene was in "Fuzhou, Fujian Sheng, China." However, those Chinese characters (seen in the original) printed on the mount tell a slightly different story: (As far as I can make out) "Kidnapped male and female children, totaling forty one, being held in foster homes, Lam Hing Lan Company, Customs detention of 23 kidnappers." If one examines the photograph closely, it become rather evident that several of the children are indeed, boys (by their clothing and hair styles). Only 27 of the supposed 41 child victims appear in the picture. Behind the spoiler is also a second picture, that seemed to be of boys who were old enough to at least be able to remember their own names. It seemed that the authorities then photographed the boys each holding a paper printed with their names. However, the exposure was too bright to render the written text clearly. Hence, it looks like someone then took the time to individually rewrite and reinforce each name on top of the photographic print. However, it seems that the one boy's name of the far left was unfortunately so obscured that it couldn't be read, and does not bear a rewritten name. This allows us to know that the picture with each child's name affixed was likely passed around or posted somewhere, attesting to at least some official effort by the government to reunite these kidnapping victims with their parents. The selling of children into a life of servitude was not uncommon in China, as slaves were owned by many wealthy families. Poor families often looked upon it with a benign fatalism as a child sold into slavery was still better than a child starving to death. However, quite a few unscrupulous people kidnapped their neighbor's children, or even just random kids off the street, to fuel this sad economy. The kidnapping and selling of children (and even adults) continues to be a despicable, yet lucrative business in China, to this day.
I recently found a private trove of Boxer era images that have been scanned and generously posted to Flickr by member P.Parison. It seems that they were taken by one of his forebears, one Lieutenant Rene Parison, and the images are of museum or auction house quality. Please take the time to see his extensive collection, but with a bit of warning; his images do contain several photographs of capital punishment. At any rate, any budding Sinologist would know that that means heads rolling. If graphic images such as those upset you, then avoid his album #4. The rest are relatively safe. http://www.flickr.com/photos/31778725@N08/sets/ Entitled: Jeunes Filles Chinoises (Young Chinese Girls) [c1901] R Parison [RESTORED] I spotted small defects, adjusted contrast, tone, and did some edge repair and corner reconstruction (original is behind the spoiler). Spoiler: Original Photograph... The above picture was from Parison's China album #4, with several others on the adjoining pages depicting brothels. I suspect that the young girls above were likely prostitutes (one obviously frighteningly young), several of which have bound feet. This image provides ample resonance to the previous image (by Edward Bangs Drew that was posted immediately before this one). Young girls were kidnapped and then sold to brothel owners, with some often knowing nothing else from early childhood except for the flesh trade; a profoundly sad bit of history.
Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884-1962), is probably the most well known Asian botanist of his era. From 1908-1962, he was literally a driving force for the discovery and research of Asian flora. Arriving to Hawaii in 1907, he largely self taught himself the indigenous plant life to a point that he quickly became a recognized authority, and was hired on as the US Territory (Hawaii was not yet a US state) of Hawaii's first official botanist, and joined the University of Hawaii's faculty in 1911. Embarking on a series of trips from 1922 to 1949, he discovered and researched new botanical material from the Chinese southwest (Yunnan, Sichuan, southwest Gansu and eastern Tibet). Many of the plants species that he collected are now housed and can be seen in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. As a keen scientific observer, he also took scrupulous notes of the people, culture and customs of the areas that he traversed, compiling and contributing a wealth of knowledge to our current understanding of those societies and times. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled: Bowl Shaped Objects Scattered Outside A Building, Yunnan, China [1922] JFC Rock [RESTORED] I did light spot and scratch retouching, adjusted contrasted and tones, and added a false gradation to the sky. The original can be found using Harvard's VIA (Visual Information Access) search engine under Record Identifier olvwork286140, or can be seen behind the spoiler. Salt is probably one of the most under appreciated commodities of the present day. Years ago, throughout the world, it was almost as valued as gold or silver, with special government departments devoted to the full time control of production, distribution and sales. In China, for hundreds of years, the salt trade was controlled by the imperial government. Illegal production or trade of salt was punishable by death. Salt smuggling or the illegal manufacture of it, entailed the participation of criminal gangs who would control territory; people would be murdered or killed for the needs of the activity, similar to the harsh and cutthroat nature of the cocaine or heroin trade of today. Rock's picture of the salt processing building was likely of a government approved or licensed operation; else he probably would not have survived the encounter. The picture above is of a salt drying house (notice the open slat walls to allow good air flow). Typically, salt is either taken from the sea or an underground mine as brine (salt in solution), and then recovered by the boiling off of the water, leaving the dried mineral residual (as seen in the above photo). The salt "cake" then takes the shape of the vessel in which it was dried in.
Another Ernest H. Wilson image. For those that don't remember from my previous annotations; Wilson was an explorer botanist who traveled extensively to the far east between 1899 and 1918, collecting seed specimens and recording with both journals and camera. About sixty Asian plant species bear his name. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled: Ching Yang Temple, Chentu [1908] EH Wilson [RESTORED] I corrected for the minor spots and scratches. It appears to me that the original negative plate suffered from too little agitation whilst undergoing development and was left with a variety of uneven developer streaks. I made corrections as best as I could, then boosted overall contrast, added a warm sepia, and whited out the sky. The original was found in Harvard's University's Arnold Arboretum/Horticulture Library collection, and can be accessed with Record Identifier: olvwork288700, or seen behind the spoiler. Other information that was included on the page is as follows: "West Szechuan. Pavilion with ornate stone pillars. Ching Yang Temple, Chentu. Altitude 1700 ft" A simple yet stunning architectural study of a small, but beautiful structure; this is a classic example of the kind of superb art that is imbued into functional forms throughout old China.
Frank Nicholas Meyer (1875-1918), worked for the US Department of Agriculture. Starting from 1905, he undertook several trips to China with a USDA mission to seek out plant life that may have economic value. Among the many edible and noteworthy crops that he introduced to the west were soybeans, bamboos, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts. Forced to curtail his explorations because of civil unrest, he and his guide were traveling the Yangtze, accordingly with Meyer's plan to return to the US. While on the steamer, he either fell, jumped, or maybe was pushed off the boat into the Yangtze, where his body was later found. Frank Meyer was buried in Shanghai, and his death remains a mystery. Spoiler: Original Photograph... Entitled: Cake Of Millet & Jujubes, Peking, China [1915] Frank N. Meyer [RESTORED] I retouched out a few spots, added contrast, and a sepia tone. The image was found in Harvard University's Library Collection, using their VIA (Visual Information Access) Search Engine, under Record Identifier: olvwork282583. According to the image page: "Zizyphus sativa. Peking, China. A cake of proso (Panicum miliaceum) and jujubes, boiled together, a delicacy for the peasants and coolie classes of China. For 2 or 3 coppers one gets a nice fat slice. April 27, 1915"
