Time flies, and more than 100 years of time are just a flash in the long river of history. But for the real world, it is a drastic change. Those great figures have long been ancient, those earth-shattering events have long been lost, and those golden and brilliant buildings have long been turned into smoke and dust... Today, through a set of old photos, we look for clues to the society of the late Qing Dynasty.
Prisoners wearing shackles on the streets of Hangzhou.
The words on the shackles show that the Hangzhou Shangcheng Police Department sentenced him to half a month's sentence of wearing shackles. The note on the left also bears his name and the crime committed, but unfortunately the handwriting is blurred and illegible.
The door of the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs.
The Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs was a diplomatic agency of the Qing court, established in 1861 and renamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1901. The four characters of the plaque "Chinese and Foreign Zen Fu" are from the "Book of Han, Sima Xiangru Biography": "The unity of the Chinese and foreign, the Chinese and foreign Yu Fu, is not also kang? That is, praying for peace and no trouble.
The Tongzhi Emperor met with diplomatic representatives of Britain, France, the United States, Russia, and other countries.
On June 29, 1873, Prince Gong Yixun led diplomatic representatives from various countries into the Purple Light Pavilion in Xiyuan, where the Tongzhi Emperor met with them. Thomas Child, a foreign customs clerk of the Qing Dynasty, photographed the scene, but the photograph no longer exists, and the British Archives preserves a replica based on his photograph.
Thin young man smoking opium smoke.
We have learned in our middle school history class that opium deeply poisoned the society of the late Qing Dynasty and aggravated the situation of poverty and weakness, and this picture is a microcosm. A young man was lying on a wooden bed, surrounded by smoke lamps, smoking guns and other tools, his eyes were confused, and he seemed to have just finished his addiction. According to data provided by the book "Late Qing China through the Eyes of Muyard", in the 1880s, the number of opium smokers in the Qing Dynasty peaked at about 8 million.
Teachers and students of Guangxi Qinzhou School for the Blind.
In the traditional education system of the Qing Dynasty, there were no schools for people with disabilities, and these marginalized people had no opportunity and ability to integrate into society. As Western missionaries and educators bring new ideas and new methods, the cultivation of the productive life ability of people with disabilities has received widespread attention.
Precious images of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Empress Dowager Cixi in the photo is exquisitely dressed and dressed, her face is not smiling, her face is gloomy and fierce, and she may be angry at any time. She had an eccentric and moody temperament, and the eunuchs and palace ladies around her often suffered heavy punishments if they made mistakes.
Scenes of ice mining in winter.
Ice mining is a tradition that has been practiced in all dynasties and is generally carried out during the coldest days of December and The First Lunar Month. Workers use T-shaped ice hammers to chisel out square ice cubes on the frozen river surface bit by bit, and then pull them out with hooks. The collected ice is immediately sent to the ice cellar for storage, and then sold to the rich and noble in the next summer to cool down.
Crowded queues on the streets of Shandong.
There were "Qingdao" flags in the queue, yellow dragon flags, and canopys, and it was likely that the official masters were on patrol.
A "family portrait" of a family.
Looking at their attire, it is not a family of great wealth and nobility, and even the clothes of several children are dirty and torn. It is not easy for them to take a "family portrait" and pass it down.
Smiling young woman.
This woman wears "big pulled wings" on her head and gowns on her upper body, which is the typical style of a flag lady. However, she wears a horse-faced skirt on her lower part, which is obviously the costume of a Han Chinese woman. She embodies the characteristics of manchu and Han fusion that prevailed in the late Qing Dynasty.