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Bringing the past back to life
By Shao Lingwei |
February 27, 2012, Monday
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IN the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), groups of missionaries came to China. Some were enthusiastic amateur photographers. They took millions of photos, leaving an invaluable record behind.
Shen Hong, professor of English at Zhejiang University, was so taken by these old photographs that he studied them keenly, choosing some to publish in a couple of books.
Shen began studying old photographs when he worked for Peking University in the early 1990s. He was invited to sort old Western books during the 90th anniversary celebration of Peking University Library. Many pictures in these books showed what life was like in China around 100 years ago.
When the library celebrated its 100th anniversary of establishment, Shen advised library officials to preserve the old photographs. He was invited to help with the project and he started scanning the old pictures.
Shen specializes in Medieval and Renaissance English literature, but he is also fond of history. "Photos can be irrefutable evidence of past events," he says. "They can help us avoid many controversies. The discussion of a controversial issue is easily a fruitless debate if scholars only use words."
When Shen moved back to Hangzhou, he switched his focus to the old photos of the city. Born and raised here, he still remembers what the city was like in the 1950s and 1960s. The old photos, in some ways, remind him of his childhood.
In 2010, Shen published two old photo collections. "West Lake 100" features pictures taken by American missionary Sidney D. Gamble from 1917 to 1919. A graduate of Princeton University, Gamble was a sociologist, renowned China scholar and avid amateur photographer. From 1908 to 1932, he visited China four times, traveling around the country to collect data for social-economic surveys and to photograph urban and rural life, public events, architecture, religious statues and the countryside.
"Of all the Westerners who took photographs of old Hangzhou, Gamble is one of the most unique," Shen writes in the preface of the book. "His chief interest was people - young and old, male and female, people who belonged to different levels of society and professions."
He also recorded the traditional arts and handicrafts of Hangzhou. There is a group of photos showing the shops on Royal Street of the Southern Song Dynasty.
"It is a rare perspective," Shen says. "You can find humanitarian feelings in Gamble's photography."
The other book, "Tin Shing Memory," includes more than 160 photos taken by missionary Robert Ferris Fitch in the early 20th century. Fitch lived and worked for nearly 40 years in Hangzhou. He wrote a book called "Hangchow Itineraries," which introduced the attractions around West Lake. He took the photos and they were used as illustrations in the book. Most of the photos in this collection feature West Lake and its scenery.
In 2007, Roy Sewell, Fitch's grandson and the co-author of "Tin Shing Memory," visited China. He inherited his grandfather's interest in photography. Sewell brought his best camera and toured China, as his grandfather did.
He stopped in Beijing, Xi'an, Sichuan and took a Yangtze River cruise to Shanghai.
Shen was his tour guide in Hangzhou, where he saw Lingyin Temple, West Lake and Zhijiang campus of Zhejiang University.
Sewell's mother once lived at Zhijiang campus and his parents were married in the church there, thus these were important places on Sewell's itinerary.
Old photos have immense value as they accurately capture moments in time. They are useful in helping us understand history.
As time marches on, people and places change. Old photos show how dramatic, in many cases, these changes can be. One example is the Royal Street.
"Although Royal Street was revamped years ago so that it would retain a sense of the past, the present version is still quite different from the street that appears in Gamble's photos," Shen says. "In this sense, the old photos represent the city faithfully and significantly. They help us realize what life was like in the early 20th century."
Shen's hard work has also been noticed by others. He has cooperated with CCTV and Phoenix TV to produce documentaries about old photographs. Several exhibitions have also been held. Now he plans to help West Lake Museum collect old photos of Hangzhou in foreign countries.
Shen Hong, professor of English at Zhejiang University, was so taken by these old photographs that he studied them keenly, choosing some to publish in a couple of books.
Shen began studying old photographs when he worked for Peking University in the early 1990s. He was invited to sort old Western books during the 90th anniversary celebration of Peking University Library. Many pictures in these books showed what life was like in China around 100 years ago.
When the library celebrated its 100th anniversary of establishment, Shen advised library officials to preserve the old photographs. He was invited to help with the project and he started scanning the old pictures.
Shen specializes in Medieval and Renaissance English literature, but he is also fond of history. "Photos can be irrefutable evidence of past events," he says. "They can help us avoid many controversies. The discussion of a controversial issue is easily a fruitless debate if scholars only use words."
When Shen moved back to Hangzhou, he switched his focus to the old photos of the city. Born and raised here, he still remembers what the city was like in the 1950s and 1960s. The old photos, in some ways, remind him of his childhood.
In 2010, Shen published two old photo collections. "West Lake 100" features pictures taken by American missionary Sidney D. Gamble from 1917 to 1919. A graduate of Princeton University, Gamble was a sociologist, renowned China scholar and avid amateur photographer. From 1908 to 1932, he visited China four times, traveling around the country to collect data for social-economic surveys and to photograph urban and rural life, public events, architecture, religious statues and the countryside.
"Of all the Westerners who took photographs of old Hangzhou, Gamble is one of the most unique," Shen writes in the preface of the book. "His chief interest was people - young and old, male and female, people who belonged to different levels of society and professions."
He also recorded the traditional arts and handicrafts of Hangzhou. There is a group of photos showing the shops on Royal Street of the Southern Song Dynasty.
"It is a rare perspective," Shen says. "You can find humanitarian feelings in Gamble's photography."
The other book, "Tin Shing Memory," includes more than 160 photos taken by missionary Robert Ferris Fitch in the early 20th century. Fitch lived and worked for nearly 40 years in Hangzhou. He wrote a book called "Hangchow Itineraries," which introduced the attractions around West Lake. He took the photos and they were used as illustrations in the book. Most of the photos in this collection feature West Lake and its scenery.
In 2007, Roy Sewell, Fitch's grandson and the co-author of "Tin Shing Memory," visited China. He inherited his grandfather's interest in photography. Sewell brought his best camera and toured China, as his grandfather did.
He stopped in Beijing, Xi'an, Sichuan and took a Yangtze River cruise to Shanghai.
Shen was his tour guide in Hangzhou, where he saw Lingyin Temple, West Lake and Zhijiang campus of Zhejiang University.
Sewell's mother once lived at Zhijiang campus and his parents were married in the church there, thus these were important places on Sewell's itinerary.
Old photos have immense value as they accurately capture moments in time. They are useful in helping us understand history.
As time marches on, people and places change. Old photos show how dramatic, in many cases, these changes can be. One example is the Royal Street.
"Although Royal Street was revamped years ago so that it would retain a sense of the past, the present version is still quite different from the street that appears in Gamble's photos," Shen says. "In this sense, the old photos represent the city faithfully and significantly. They help us realize what life was like in the early 20th century."
Shen's hard work has also been noticed by others. He has cooperated with CCTV and Phoenix TV to produce documentaries about old photographs. Several exhibitions have also been held. Now he plans to help West Lake Museum collect old photos of Hangzhou in foreign countries.
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