Rare old photos: Are people’s lives in Beijing and Zhili at the end of Cixi’s reign dilapidated?

A man smoking a cigarette leisurely. At the end of the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty, British photographer Herbert George Ponting took a large number of photos in Beijing and Zhili (now Hebei), recording the living conditions of the local people, and also depicting the society before the fall of the Qing Dynasty. picture. These old photos have an additional dimension that helps us understand history and have high historical value. ?

Landscape near the corner tower of the Beijing city wall. This photo reveals how dilapidated society was in the late Qing Dynasty! The city walls and turrets are important defense facilities in the capital and also a display of the imperial court's image. However, in the photo, the top of the turret has completely collapsed, and no one cares about it. This is not only a manifestation of the financial difficulties of the imperial court, but also a manifestation of the lack of responsibility of the relevant officials. ?

An old farmer picking up manure on the roadside. Seeing this old photo reminds me of my childhood. In the early 1990s, when I was in elementary school in my hometown in southwestern Shandong, I would pick up cow dung and sheep dung on the road every weekend and holiday, and save them to fertilize crops. In the late Qing Dynasty when there were no chemical fertilizers, human and animal excrement was even more important to farming. ?

A man burning incense in Dongyue Temple. Dongyue Temple in Beijing is one of the famous Taoist temples. It worships Emperor Dongyue and is large-scale and spectacular. The scene in the photo is located in front of the Zengyanfu Sushi and the Sinner's Identification Department. You can see the couplet: "The Tao and the Dharma will last forever, Yao and Shun will not die for thousands of years, and the sages will still live on for the ages."; "Look up to the blue sky and the bright sun will shine brightly. , It’s hard to return to the underworld after being reborn in the dark prison. ?

An eagle trader from Mongolia. Raising eagles was originally a custom of the banner people. Later, it gradually expanded to the private sector and was sought after by many children from wealthy families. It is a kind of luxury consumption. Due to the stable demand, an industry has been formed for catching, selling and training falcons. If you catch a rare species called "Haiqing" and present it to the palace eagle, you can exchange it for thirty taels of silver. In addition, you can get a reward of ten taels of silver and twenty pieces of green cloth.