These old photos from the Qing Dynasty are rare picture witnesses, allowing us to get a glimpse of life a hundred years ago.
The characters in the film are destined to pass away.
Their expressions, voices, and figures have all melted into the dirt and become dust in the long river of history.
However, in these old photos, there is a real breath of life.
But let future generations travel through time and space, as if they were in the past.
What we see is not a broken image, but a warm life, a leaping youth, and a simple land.
More than 100 spring and autumn have passed, and several generations of new generations have grown old.
And this moment of truth is forever frozen in the film.
Wedding photo of the Manchu couple
In a modest studio, a Manchu couple stood in front of a rustic curtain with the only prop in the background, for wedding photography.
The groom was dressed in a black riding coat and a pair of leather shoes, standing upright, and there seemed to be some kind of unwillingness in his demeanor.
The bride's eyes and lips were closed, and it seemed as if she could only accept the arrangement of fate.
The tall clogs make her figure even more erect.
However, what is surprising is that they do not have the same eyebrows and happy faces as the usual newcomers.
相反，这对“新人”紧紧阖上双眼。
The face was expressionless, stiff like two sculptures.
Taking wedding photos, which should record the sweetest moments of their lives, is like they are forced to complete a task.
After hurriedly shooting under the direction of the photographer, you can be freed.
This abnormal behavior seems to imply some reason why it cannot be humanized by outsiders.
Smiling prisoner
The man, kneeling on a rudimentary wooden tripod.
The hands and feet were bound, and the whole person hung out in a large shape.
He was dressed in tattered clothes, his hair was disheveled, and his face was gray, but his demeanor was calm, and there was a smile of contempt in his eyes.
There was no one around, and the tripod stood firmly on the ground.
There were no obvious injuries on the man's body, but this posture of completely unable to move his hands and feet was obviously extremely painful.
However, the man's face did not change, and he did not show a painful expression.
On the contrary, there is a hint of sneer on his face, which is really puzzling.
As a prisoner, he deserves to be humbled and miserable.
But the mocking smile on his face proclaimed to the world as if in a demonstration—he was numb to any external pain.
The calmness in his eyes made it feel as if his consciousness had left the prison he was in and floated somewhere else.
Or, years in prison.
has turned him into a walking dead with no normal emotions.
Whatever the man had done to be imprisoned here, the mockery in his eyes was clearly defiant.
The rebellion in his eyes seemed to indicate that the long prison life had not yet exhausted his will.
Tomike Senkin
In the photo, a little girl about ten years old sits on a mahogany chair.
The expression was bleak, without a hint of a smile.
She wears a long satin jacket with a carved crown of flowers, which is elegant and elegant.
It can be seen from the luxurious clothing that the girl's family background is extraordinary.
But this young lady who is canonized in fame and fortune is clearly an unstained orchid.
Her eyebrows and eyes are picturesque, but her expression is graceful, only faintly revealing a trace of melancholy and helplessness.
Those jade feet have been repeatedly strangled.
A pair of godless eyes looked at the camera blankly, how could there be half a bit of liveliness and innocence.
It's like a flower that is just about to bloom, withering ahead of time under the binding of red tape.
This is exactly the portrayal of thousands of families under the feudal system of the late Qing Dynasty.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the wind and rain were shaky, and the beautiful face and brocade clothes were just extravagance built on the mud and sand.
In the strict Gangchang Ritual Religion, there is more repression, bondage and helplessness.
We can't help but lament the fate of the mirror for thousands of years.
Fortunately, the rise of New China put an end to these feudal pedantry and allowed more girls to grow up freely.
Green battalion soldiers, all with scimitars hanging from their waists
Several Qing soldiers in the photo stand upright, all with scimitars hanging from their waists and spears on their shoulders.
The expression is grim and the pace is straight.
This seems to symbolize that under the Westernization Movement, the army carried out equipment reform in the late Qing Dynasty.
However, it was too late - these green battalion warriors armed with cold weapons were no match for foreign guns and artillery in terms of firepower and tactics.
And the new army in the suit eventually evolved into the revolutionary vanguard of the diggers.
The dynasty fell, and they, who were once proud of their slaughtering divisions, fell silent in the long river of history.
The frozen scene of the photo has become a microcosm of the transformation and vicissitudes of the dynasty.
What we see is that tradition and change are intertwined, and the momentum of change is unstoppable after all.
These fierce and warlike warriors of the Green Battalion.
In the end, it can only be washed away by the years and reduced to a still life under the lens of history.
Children who have lost their childhood
This is a photograph taken in the late Qing Dynasty of two children about seven or eight years old, standing in front of the door of a simple house.
It is located on either side of a stone mill.
There is a large bamboo basket placed under the stone mill.
Both children were small, thinly dressed, and their eyes were helpless and confused.
Judging by the menial work they are doing, it may be the labor of poor families who make their children work in order to feed and clothe.
The dilapidated houses and the emaciated appearance of the two children reveal that they live in desperate poverty.
At the same time, the loyal princes of the Qing Dynasty are likely to still enjoy a luxurious life in the mansion.
Those former princes and nobles may have no worries about food and clothing.
You can leisurely read the family classics that have been passed down for hundreds of years.
may also have sold the collection of the old mansion and relied on the money to spend a profligate old age.
And the ordinary people outside the land of fireworks are still struggling with the fate of poverty.
Mr. and student of the Qing Dynasty private school
In the photo is a humble room.
A middle-aged scholar sat on a bamboo chair, dressed in a robe and a horse coat, with a serious expression.
There were seven or eight young students standing in the room.
They are all dressed in neat robes, with hats representing their status on their heads, and they seem to have a decent family.
In the photo, it was the end of the school day, and several students were bowing deeply to the teacher one by one, making a gesture of farewell.
This etiquette shows their respect and respect for their teachers.
The rest of the students were also in the room, tidying up their things and preparing to say goodbye.
Judging from the utensils and personnel composition in the room, this is likely to be a private school opened by ordinary people in the Qing Dynasty.
A traditional educational place, mainly to disseminate the knowledge of Confucian classics.
This photo confirms the teaching method of the private school that focused on enlightenment and etiquette education back then.
The Qing Dynasty celebrated the New Year in the countryside of Yunnan
This is a precious old photo, recording the lively scene of the Yunnan countryside a hundred years ago.
Villagers dressed in costumes and holding colorful flags lined up in a neat line.
A joyous gathering in a wide open space in the center of the village is taking place to celebrate the traditional New Year.
In the photo, the faces of the boys and girls are full of bright smiles.
And the old man's eyes were full of kindness.
Together with the women dressed in simple peasant costumes, they make up the whole family of the village.
Although the time is gone, the picture is blurry and silent.
But you can feel the festive atmosphere, which jumps on the paper and is directly transmitted to the hearts of today's people through time and space.
Through the past hundred years, this photo is a rare physical witness, giving future generations a glimpse of the hard and rustic rural New Year.
There was a big scene of officials going to the countryside
The red-roofed sedan chair in the photo is grand and solemn.
In the sedan chair sat an official in court uniform, who was being carried by eight strong men.
Dozens of people lined up in the honor guard procession, and on the hillside in the distance, dense villagers watched, and it was very lively.
This official may only be a small magistrate, but in such a remote and barren situation, he has become the object of people's jealousy and want to curry.
Behind such pomp is the reality that the government decree of the late Qing Dynasty does not go out of the state and county.
The imperial court was rotten, and local officials could do whatever they wanted.
They exploit coolies and accumulate money, but they do not think about the hardships of the people. This gave soil to such an exaggerated honor guard, showing the mediocrity and incompetence of the government at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
The dense and fearful villagers are a portrayal of this dark feudal era.
Behind an old photo is the tragic fate of countless peasants under the dual oppression of landlord hegemony and court tyranny.
Looking at the past now, people can feel the blood and tears under the iron hooves.
Thankfully, the new regime has put an end to these bad Xi, and the people have taken ownership of their own affairs and are running towards the light.
Write at the end
These images bear witness to the transmission of the flame of life and let us feel the eternal lead of history.
People come and go, the village is still the same, and the spring breeze does not change.
This beautiful glimpse is the most precious gift left to us by this set of photos.
We see the beauty of life, and we also see the beauty of time.
Generations of newcomers, don't forget to replace the old.
History reflects life, and life makes history.