10 historical moments frozen by the camera, showing some aspects of late Qing society. Those distant characters and landscapes, separated by more than 100 years of time and space, are once again face to face with us. Looking back on the past, these photos make people feel the vicissitudes of history, but also give people an unbearable sense of heaviness.
Kunming South Gate Urn City.
Kunming's Great South Gate is named Lizheng Gate, and its urn city is surrounded by city towers, arrow towers and city walls. Located on the north-south axis of the old city, this gate is a landmark building in Kunming like the Golden Horse and BijiFang and the East and West Pagodas.
The coachman clashed with passers-by.
This photo was posed in the photo studio. Under the director of the photographer, the rickshaw driver and the passerby waved their fists, the passengers in the car advised and mediated, and the umbrella passers-by in the background looked at it coldly, which was very dramatic, and the scene was very funny and interesting.
Fujian Craft Institute.
The institution of the Craft Transmission Institute was similar to a vocational and technical school, and was widely established in various provinces during the implementation of the "Ten Year New Deal" by the imperial court. There are dyeing and weaving, carpentry, soap, kiln industry, drawing, jacquard and other majors. While studying, the apprentices practiced in the factory attached to the training center, working part-time and studying half-time. The graduation period is variable, and the maximum is not more than 2 years.
Young men use printing machinery.
This printing machinery belongs to imported goods, compared with the traditional engraving printing, it has higher efficiency, printed books are of high quality and low price, and promote the advent of the era of mass publishing.
Women's little feet.
This photo compares a woman's small feet with two objects (a leather shoe for an American woman on the left and a teacup on the right) and is truly shocking. Han women in the Qing Dynasty generally wrapped their feet, wrapped them into so-called "three-inch golden lotuses", and then put on "bow shoes" with high heels, which were praised by men as "beautiful". In fact, foot binding brings great physical and mental pain to women, and men think that "beauty" is a deformed and low-level aesthetic taste.
Seated portrait of a woman.
The woman had a good face and was very richly dressed. What really caught my attention was her feet, she didn't wrap her feet, and she didn't have to suffer that sin in her life, which was really thankful.
Empress Dowager Cixi wore a dragon robe.
Empress Dowager Cixi, dressed in a dragon robe, was very domineering and showed her queen's demeanor. Although she was nearly 70 years old when she took the photo, her aura was still strong. At that time, she firmly controlled the power of the imperial court, and those old and treacherous princes and ministers were always obedient in front of her, and did not dare to make a mistake. At the same time, she vigorously suppressed the authority of the Guangxu Emperor and made him a marionette, living in a gloomy atmosphere all her life.
The Qing army conducted military gymnastics training.
The daily training subjects of Qing soldiers included horseback riding, archery, knife dance, stone lifting, and so on. In the late Qing Dynasty, the imperial court focused on the training of new troops, and the traditional training methods became obsolete, and gymnastics training was introduced with reference to the German japanese military system to improve the quality of individual soldiers.
Group photo of lepers.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacillus leprosy, causing great damage to a person's skin and nerves. In ancient times, there was a lack of effective treatment for this disease, and once it was found that someone was infected, the patient was often driven out of the village and left to the inaccessible place, leaving it to fend for itself. In the late Qing Dynasty, Western medicine was introduced, and specialized diagnosis and treatment of leprosy began to give patients hope of survival.
Military Minister Wang Wenshao and grandson.
Wang Wenshao was an important minister of the imperial court, serving as a viceroy directly under him, a military minister, a Hubu Shangshu, and an official to the Wuyingdian University. Looking at this photo, I don't understand why his grandson is so young that he wears a patch that only officials can wear.