How was photography first introduced to China?

After photography was introduced into China, some books and publications introduced photography, introduced systematic photography theory and technology to people, and promoted the spread of photography in China.

First, "Shu Ge cloth" and "tools of photography"

During the period of 1844, Zou, a Guangdong scholar, successively completed two works on photographic optics-Addendum to Shu Ge and Records of Photographic Instruments.

Shu Ge Supplement is an optical monograph, which inherits the optical research achievements of ancient scholars in China and further discusses the definition of optics. Among them, it pays special attention to the discussion of various lens principles, and lists the formula of lens calculation, which provides a design basis for photographers' production. In addition, the book also talks about how to make telescopes and microscopes.

The Tool of Photography is a note recording Zou's process of making black box paintings. Zou said in his book that he was inspired by the optical knowledge in Meng Qian Bi Tan and made a wooden box with a hole in the front and a lens in the hole according to the optical principle of "there is a hole in the front wall and a shadow in the back wall", which is called "the camera".

"Geshubu" and "Photographic Instruments" are both very rigorous academic papers. When they were published in the world, photography technology had been further developed, and some books introducing the latest photography methods began to appear in China. Therefore, these two works did not play their due role at that time. But they are still of great value in the history of photography in China.

Second, "the wonders outside the painting"

1873, China published the first photography monograph "Wonders Outside the Painting". The author of this book, De Zhen (1837 ~ 190 1), is a British doctor who loves photography and is familiar with Chinese and western arts.

Dezhen came to China in 1860 and worked as a physician in the British Embassy in China. She was employed by Wentong Museum, a school run by the Qing government to train translators, to teach physiology and medicine. Later, he served as the dean of Kyoto Stone Hospital. During this period, he constantly published some translations of photography knowledge in a chinese magazine Chinese and Western News. People know that he is proficient in photography, so they ask him to take pictures or ask how to take pictures. Therefore, Dezhen decided to write a book by photography after practicing medicine.

Wonder beyond the Shadow is a woodcut print. The book is divided into three volumes, four in total. When teaching photography, the book strives to be practical and comprehensive to meet the needs of readers in China. The book introduces some early photography methods, such as Daguerre photography, Carlo photography, wet printing photography, etc., for readers to compare and choose, with some related illustrations. The most prominent thing is that the names of drugs are both in Chinese and English, which is convenient for readers to understand and apply. With the continuous updating of photographic materials and methods, Dezhen also printed a "sequel" volume.

Wonders Beyond Painting is a complete reference book of photography technology, which reveals the mystery of photography and plays the role of a textbook, enabling people to master photography technology through self-study. Therefore, it is welcomed by readers.

Third, "the hue is divorced from the truth"

After Miracle Off Screen, China modern chemist Xu Shou (18 18 ~ 1884) collaborated with Englishman Fu Yalan to translate a book about photography, Hue Leave Truth.

Liu Zhen in Hue is the first photo album translated by Chinese and foreign scholars. The book is divided into scraping glass, washing glass, painting protein, straight light, mirror box, darkroom development, developing medicine, shadow protection medicine, printing paper, dry photo, transparent photo, porcelain photo, Yin He, paper edge printing, game development, scenery and other sections. The book also talked about the newly developed gelatin dry printing method. However, because this method is still in the experimental stage, the book introduces that all the good landscape films sold in shops are shot by wet method, and the pictures stored in European museums rarely use dry method, or because photographers like to use the old method, they suspect that the new method or dry method is not as stable as wet method.

After being translated, Liu Zhen in Hue was serialized in Gezhi Compilation, a magazine introducing natural science, in 1880 with the title of A Brief History of Photography, which became a masterpiece of19th century "Western Learning". When 1887 was reprinted, two more paragraphs were added in the book, one introduced the method of photo enlargement and the other introduced the lithography technology.