Let's look at a group of photos of the late Qing Dynasty and feel the social landscape when the imperial system is about to collapse.
In 1860, the Anglo-French army burned down the Summer Palace (then called Qingyi Garden), and it was abandoned for decades. The photographs record the ruined buildings at the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain, where the original majestic Buddha Pavilion has been reduced to ashes, and the ground is full of ruins and weeds, a desolate scene. Until 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi rebuilt the Summer Palace in order to enjoy her old age.
Zhang Jing was originally the title of military attaché, and later mainly referred to civilian officials. The Qing Dynasty Military Aircraft Department, the Prime Minister's State Affairs Yamen, and the Navy Yamen all had dozens of Zhang Jing to assist the tang officials in handling documents and archives. Zhang Jing's grade is generally not high, mostly five or six products, in fact, the power is quite large, and sometimes it can affect the decision-making of the officials.
After the rice is dehulled, "brown rice" is formed, and if brown rice is used to cook rice, the taste is not good, which is not conducive to digestion, so it also needs a rice milling process to grind brown rice into smooth polished rice, so that it can be used for cooking. With the development of science and technology, this traditional way of processing has long disappeared into the depths of history, and the fan in the picture has disappeared.
The poisoning of opium on the society of the late Qing Dynasty penetrated deep into every corner. The high-ranking officials and rich merchants were caught up in it, and many of the lower-class people who lacked clothes and food became addicts. Even if you are poor and homeless, the money you get from begging will be used to buy opium, which is really hateful and pitiful.
At that time, the telegraph belonged to high technology, and the people working here had received many years of vocational education and could be called the scientific and technological elite. Of course, telegraph costs are also very expensive, and ordinary people cannot afford it. Li Hongzhang once sent a telegram back to Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, saying: "The telegram is too expensive to have two corners and four corners of each word, so don't say anything more!" "Two corners and four points is roughly equivalent to 0.4 two silver."
On the eve of the Invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Power Alliance, Li Hongzhang was appointed Governor of Beiyang and Minister of Beiyang, and in 1901 his main task was to stay in Beijing to negotiate peace with the Coalition Forces, and somehow returned to Tianjin. At this time, he was in the last stage of his life, dying of old age, plagued by diseases, unable to walk, and had to be carried when he went out.
In mid-June 1900, the Qing army, the Boxer Rebellion and the Eight-Nation Alliance launched a fierce battle around the Laolongtou Railway Station, and although the Qing army and the Boxers achieved certain results, the station was still occupied by the coalition forces. This photograph is a direct illustration of how fierce the fighting was at that time.
In 1901, the Dutong Yamen was not an institution of the Qing court, but a colonial institution established by the Eight-Power Alliance. These punished prisoners did not necessarily commit any crime, but may simply be identified as Boxers. There was a patrol under this gate to hunt down the Boxers.
The shotgun is a very backward firearm, with poor shooting accuracy, slow speed, low efficiency in loading ammunition, little improvement since the Ming Dynasty, and has not evolved into a modern rifle with the times. The rifles equipped by the late Qing army were mainly imported, and some were also imitated.
This photo should be standing on the city wall to the west to shoot in the direction of the West Lake, we can clearly see the small Yingzhou in the center of the lake and the Leifeng Pagoda on the south bank.