Woman smoking, Fu collection, fu-n616.
A self-conscious ‘modern’, not shy of the camera, and breaking several conventions. There is a series of shots of this woman, including the less provocative portrait below. We guess that the period is the 1920s rather than the 1930s, but are not sure.
Fu collection, fu-n605.
The flood damaged ‘Short Bridge’, Foochow, 1900, Oswald collection, Os-s091
Flooding in Foochow (Fuzhou) happened often enough. On night of 29th June 1900, the first arch of ‘The Short Bridge’ on Nantai was washed away – an event recorded in this photograph (Os-s091). Old Foochow was famous for its many hundreds of old bridges of various types, including the ‘Bridge of Ten Thousand Ages’, superbly photographed by G. Warren Swire (Sw13-135).
For damage to ‘The Long Bridge’ in 1900, see Os-s090 (with similar captioning, in the same hand as Os-s091). For the 1893 floods, see Os03-096. In fact, bridges were much favoured by photographers, and a word search for ‘bridge’ is productive.
Model Prison, Kweilin Fu, c.1900, Banister collection, Ba03-20
The caption in Bishop Banister’s photograph album for this photograph (Ba03-20) is: Model Prison. Kweilin Fu, Kwangsi. The prison is in the panopticon style, first designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham. The photograph dates from around the 1900s. It is remarkable for the contrast between the dramatic natural splendour of the famous Guilin karst outcrops and the grim human reality of a prison.
Chongqing, capital of Sichuan province is in the news at present. This photograph of a crowded narrow street there was taken in 1920 by British businessman Warren Swire. Many of our photographs of the city focus on the stunning, steep slopes and steps up to the city from the river, but here is a taste of the crowded streets.
A street in Chongqing, 1920, G.W. Swire collection, sw19-068.
S.S. Shu Tung on Yangtze River, Palmer collection, Pa01-10
The hazards and drama of steaming through rapids and gorges in the Yangtze River is evident in this picture (Pa01-10). The Shu Tung, built by Messrs. Thorneycroft and Co. in Britain in 1910, was a stalwart Upper Yangtze steamer, owned by the Szechuan Steam Navigation Co. The ship appears to have run aground.
9 August 2018.
The vessel has not run aground. Rather, it appears to be steaming normally in the left-stream in one of the gorges. Padding (an old tyre?) can be seen attached to the bows of the ‘Shu-Tung’, as a precautionary protection, in case the current should unexpectedly push them against a rock, as occasionally happened. People are watching from the river bank. The writing on the superstructure says, “Not carrying military personnel” and “Not carrying munitions.” This is in the hope that Szechuen (Sichuan) warlords would not try to stop the vessel to inspect it. The ‘Shu-Tung’ is in the foreground and the ‘Shu-Tung Flat’ is behind it. See also Sw06-156.
Sun Ke reading on a wooden chaise longue, Fu collection, Fu-n119
Sun Ke (Sun Fo) (1891-1973), was a Nationalist politician and, briefly, in 1932, Premier of the Republic of China, as well as an educational reformer. He was the son of Sun Yat-sen.
In this informal portrait (Fu-n119) by Fu Bingchang, he is relaxing on a wooden chaise longue, reading a copy of ‘Political Profiles from British Public Life’ by Herbert Sidebotham, which was published in 1921. The book contains biographies of prominent British politicians of the day, such as Lord Grey, Lloyd George, Lord Curzon, Herbert Asquith and Bonar Law.
Boy with silk animal face hat, Kunming, 1945, Booker collection, RB-t887
Traditionally, animal face hats were made by a maternal grandmother for her grandson. The animal face – especially the large teeth and eyes – would frighten evil spirits away and so protect the infant.
The fruit being sold at the stall could be tangor. This gloriously coloured photograph (RB-t887) was taken in Kunming in November 1945, on 35mm Kodacolor transparency (slide) film, by Air Vice Marshal Arthur Leonard Fiddament (1896-1976), during a round the world fact finding trip.
Bioscoping in Shanghai, c.1923, Crellin collection, DC-s05
In this East Meets West, tradition and modernity, studio tableaux, c.1923, two Chinese opera actors meet the celebrity of the day: Charlie Chaplin – or at least Tommy Crellin dressed up as Charlie Chaplin.
So, in effect, three photographers in this image: the unidentified Chinese cinematographer, Thomas Frank Crellin (1883-1949), a photographer and cinematographer who worked for Eastman Kodak in Shanghai, and the cinema legend, Charlie Chaplin.
A similar photograph to DC-s05, was published in ‘The Kodak Magazine‘ (Vol IV, No 2, July 1923).
Egg and spoon race, Chefoo, Easter 1902, Carrall collection, Ca02-052
If some things Chinese were puzzling to foreigners, some things European may have seemed most odd to the Chinese. How to explain the why and wherefore of an egg and spoon race?
In the Commissioner of Customs’s garden at ‘Hillfields’, Chefoo (Yantai), the Carrall children and friends, kilted and sailor suited in their holiday best, enact an ancient custom, amahs in attendance. This photo (Ca02-052) was taken over 110 years ago, on Easter Monday, 31st March 1902. See also Ca02-051 and Ca02-053.
Happy Easter!
Grooved rocks at a sharp turn in the Yangtze River, 1914, Elliott collection, El01-49
Close up photographs of Yangtze River trackers at work pulling boats along the river and through rapids, are scarce, perhaps because the men often worked naked. Nevertheless, decorum permitted an interesting detail (El01-49), as recorded in the caption in the album: “1914. A sharp turn on the river. Rocks grooved by centuries of wear by the tow lines of the boats going up river”.
Whilst one man oversees the rollers, another higher up is probably keeping watch on the boats and their trackers. The ropes may have been made from bamboo – see Pa01-24.
