The years are flying, time is passing, and the history of the last years of the Qing Dynasty is gradually blurred, but those old photos that have been colored in the later period pull us back to that era. Although the colors may be distorted, the pictures still vividly show the social landscape of the time.
In those days, an old couple went out on a donkey. The old man thoughtfully let his wife sit on the donkey, while he led the cattle tightly and walked step by step to the market. It is an ordinary and warm scene that reflects the way people lived at that time.
Meanwhile, an old lady smiles at the door of her house and binds her little granddaughter's feet. She gently wrapped her child's little feet, a bad habit that was considered a virtue by traditional aesthetics, however, over time, this habit also deeply afflicted many women.
In another image, a female Western missionary over half a hundred years old rides on a palanquin with the aim of spreading her religious beliefs. In order to facilitate living, she specially hired several local residents as servants. These women missionaries are not only religious messengers, but also actively participate in the local community and are welcomed by the population.
And in noble families, a young heir rode on a tall horse. Although some people mistakenly believe that this is a childhood photograph of the Guangxu Emperor, it was actually taken around 1880, when the Guangxu Emperor was over nine years old, and the child may have been the son of a prince and nobleman, not the emperor himself.
The Qing Dynasty also had its own unique armed forces, with a group of Qing artillerymen and their artillery preserved in a photograph. These officers and men stood in front of an artillery piece, their postures tall and solemn faces. Western artillery was also copied during the Qing Dynasty, and this photograph may show a movable wheeled 37mm 2-pounder breech gun copied by the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau in 1884.
At the bottom of society, the lives of wealthy families are also notable for their uniqueness. In one photo, four concubines laugh and play in a rich man's house. With the exception of one concubine, who may have been distinguished by having large feet, the other three all wrapped their feet tightly around their ankles to meet the aesthetic standards of the time.
However, society was not limited to aristocrats and wealthy families. In one photo, two farmers struggle to carry two baskets of radishes onto a donkey to sell at the market. Children watch the efforts of the adults curiously, and the scene is full of simplicity and labor.
In another photo, people enjoy breakfast in front of street vendors. The stall owner is barefoot, and the two customers are also wearing simple straw shoes, which is a breakfast scene of poor people, showing the difference in social class.
In the last photo, an old man carries a flat stretcher and struggles through the cold winter streets, selling his persimmons. Under his feet is the snow-covered earth, but he walks tenaciously, for a living, for a living.
At that time, Manchu women also chose to travel in horse-drawn carriages. However, these carriages did not have a shock-absorbing design, so they were bumpy on uneven roads. This image shows the limitations of people's means of transportation, in contrast to modern and convenient modes of travel.
Time has passed, and the scenery of that era has become history, but these old photographs still record the life of the past, giving us a glimpse into all aspects of society in the late Qing dynasty. Although these photos have been colored, they carry the imprint of time, taking us back in time and feeling the style of that era. Perhaps the colors have faded over the years, but these images are still testimonies of history, connecting us to the people of that era and giving us a deeper understanding of their lives, emotions and struggles.