How to evaluate the old photos of the late Qing Dynasty?

Authorized by the official account of "Yuan's" WeChat.

When facing the beautiful scenery of West Lake in Hangzhou, Su Shi once said: The water is bright and sunny, and the mountains are empty and rainy. If you want to compare the West Lake to the West Lake, heavy makeup and light makeup are always appropriate. Hangzhou is the most beautiful scenery in the world and the "paradise on earth" in ancient poetry.

Today, we go back to Hangzhou 100 years ago through the lens of William Edgar Gail, a famous American traveler, before it was commercialized.

Fengshanmen

Fengshanmen in the late Qing Dynasty seemed a little careless, and the walls were overgrown with weeds. At the same time, the houses in front of the gate are very shabby and not exquisite at all. Fortunately, however, the Fengshanmen section of the city wall has been preserved so far, and it is known as the only real ancient city wall and ancient city gate in Hangzhou.

Street view of Hangzhou

Although the streets in Hangzhou look a little small, they are not low in prosperity. There are many shops on both sides of the street, and there are many bustling people. Only in the face of the novelty of the camera, that kind of dullness is very obvious.

Hangzhou gongjiang

A craftsman is concentrating on making a trumpet-shaped lamp ball. From his firm eyes, it is not difficult to see the awe-inspiring craftsman spirit.

In ancient China, from emperors and princes, princes and nobles to ordinary people, there was a custom of hanging lanterns on holidays, which meant wealth and splendor.

Hangzhou Heping bridge

The photographer called it Hangzhou Peace Bridge in his notes, but I searched through the names of ancient bridges that still exist in Hangzhou, but I couldn't find them. I don't know if the photographer made a mistake or if the bridge was already dead.

Lingyin Temple provides a pavilion for monks to rest.

Lingyin Temple, backed by Beifeng and facing Feilai Peak, is the most important landmark in Hangzhou. It was built in the first year of Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (326). The master who started the mountain is an Indian. He is regarded as a wise monk. When swimming to Lingyin Mountain, he sighed: "I don't know when this Tianzhu Lu Lingfeng is a small ridge." When the Buddha was alive, he was mostly hidden by fairies. "

So I stayed and began to build a temple, which is today's Lingyin Temple. And his behavior, also got the strong support of the court at that time, Liang Wudi personally delivered the fields and expanded the scale of the temple in the Southern Dynasties. By the time the temple developed to the Song Dynasty, it was already one of the "Five Mountains" of Zen in the south of the Yangtze River.

Lingyin Temple Stone Pagoda

In addition to the Buddha statue, the most famous pagodas in Lingyin Temple are the Twin Stone Pagoda built in the first year of Stegosaurus in the Northern Song Dynasty (960), the Venerable Pagoda built in the second year of Kaibao in the Northern Song Dynasty (969) and the Great Freedom Pagoda built in the second year of Kaibao in the Northern Song Dynasty (969). Each of them is a national treasure. I can only go to Lingyin Temple to worship Buddha, keep safe and ask for some money.

Ok, that's all for today's sharing. All the pictures involved in this paper are from William Edgar Gale's Eighteen Capitals of China (the 18th capital of China).