D is for Dalny, Dairen だいれん, Dalian, 大連

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Robert Bickers

History made this former Liaodong Peninsular fishing village a transational city, as it was taken from Russian control (1898-1905), to become a Japanese leased territory (1905-45), then a USSR-controlled zone in the People’s Republic of China until the end of the Soviet occupation in 1955. ‘One of the most rapidly growing and modern cities in the Far East’ wrote Carl Crow in his 1921 Handbook for China. Apparently, our British photographers did not find much of interest, focusing instead on either photographing the port’s impressive jetties, or the Russian buildings in the city streets.

Street in Dalian, 1923/4, Swire collection, Sw06-128

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A scene from a theatrical performance

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
A scene from a theatrical performance

A scene from a theatrical performance, Armstrong collection, Ar02-070

This enigmatic photograph (Ar02-070) did not have a caption for it in the album owned by the Shanghai policeman William Armstrong (1867-1931, served SMP 1893-1927).  It surely depicts a scene from a theatrical performance?  Whilst the character with the fan discretely pours a drink for the soldier, who sits comfortably in a modern Western-style armchair, the gorgeously costumed performer seems to threaten to cut off his queue.

If this interpretation is about right, the photograph can be tentatively dated to the early Republic era, when queues were suddenly old fashioned.  An amusing and stylish mise en scène of old and new China.

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Juniors at Mr Large's school, c.1908

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
Juniors at Mr Large's school, c.1908

Juniors at Mr Large's school, c.1908, Elliott collection, El01-28

A class of solemn schoolchildren, c.1908, with, it is presumed, their missionary teacher, Mr Large, at the back of the room (El01-28).  Both the foreign teacher and the children have their hair in the Manchu style.  This hairstyle was imposed on the Han Chinese during the Qing dynasty and not abolished until the coming of the Republic in 1912.  The hair on the front of the head was shaved off above the temples every ten days, and the rest of the hair braided into a long ponytail, or queue.

Albert W. Large had arrived in China in December 1903 with the China Inland Mission. This is presumably the Pao-Ning Boy’s School. There 54 pupils, according to his report in the August 1908 Chinese Recorder: ” (A.) The senior primary with twelve boys, (B.) the junior primary with twenty-four boys, and (C.) the preparatory school with eighteen boys.” By 1921 he and his fellow-missionary wife were based at Sintientze (新店子), near Paoning 保宁, in Sichuan province, a small mission station that had opened in 1892.

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Another modern, smoking

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Robert Bickers

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.

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The flood-damaged 'Short Bridge', Foochow, 1900

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
The flood damaged ‘Short Bridge’, Foochow, 1900

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.

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Model Prison, Kweilin Fu, c.1900

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
Model Prison, Kweilin Fu, c.1900

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.

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Chongqing 1920 重庆老照片

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Robert Bickers

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.

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S.S. Shu Tung on Yangtze River

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
S.S. Shu Tung on Yangtze River

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.

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Sun Ke reading on a wooden chaise longue

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
Sun Ke reading on a wooden chaise longue

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.

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Boy with silk animal face hat, Kunming, 1945

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Jamie Carstairs
Boy with silk animal face hat, Kunming, 1945

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.

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