Old photo: This is the social outlook in the late Qing Dynasty. Is it really an unbearable scene of national subjugation?

190510125 October, a fruit vendor in Tangshan. 1905, 30-year-old botanist Frank? Nicholas? Meyer (1875- 19 18) came to China from the United States to explore. During the trip, as an amateur photographer, he took many photos to record the customs of China. He stayed in China for three years until 1908.

190565438+February 3rd, an inn in Shanhaiguan. Meyer's works recorded the social features of many places in the late Qing Dynasty and showed the backward and poor living conditions. A few years after he returned to America, the Qing Dynasty collapsed. It can be said that he photographed the national subjugation of the Great Qing Dynasty. In addition, the photos taken by Meyer have a clear time and place, which is especially valuable.

On March 6th, 1906, a poor man doing small business in the streets of Hangzhou. At the end of the Qing dynasty, the whole society was very depressed and lifeless, and the lives of ordinary people were even more difficult. The exorbitant taxes collected by the court are a dime a dozen. Revolutionaries, constitutionalists, conservatives and other factions are struggling fiercely, but the balance of history has tilted towards revolution.

February 27th, 1906, a ship on a canal in Zhejiang. There are many water systems in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, including natural rivers and artificial canals, showing a typical water town scenery. In the dense river network, both cargo transportation and personnel exchanges are very fast and convenient. The economy of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is better than other regions, which should be related to this.

May 26th 1906, the wall of Fengtian (now Shenyang). This section of the city wall is deserted, and the gatehouse not far away is in disrepair, which seems to be a metaphor for the fate of the Qing Dynasty.

On May 29th, 1906, the tea stall at the gate of Qingbeiling in Fengtian. The Northern Mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty is Zhao Mausoleum, where Huang Taiji, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and Empress Xiao were buried. There is a stall selling tea at the door, which shows that it is busy and crowded.

1On June 24th, 906, farmers in Potago (place name) in the northeast raised cattle. The man's yard looks very shabby, so it can be speculated that the most valuable property of his family is this stocky ox. Raising cattle can help him earn food at home. There was a hard and fast rule in Qing dynasty that cattle should not be hurt or slaughtered at will, otherwise it would be severely punished by Qing law.

September 29, 1907, Qinghe, Hebei, roadside vegetable seller. How many kinds of fruits and vegetables can you recognize near the camera? Bian Xiao can only say that there are green onions. Is that round thing a watermelon? These dishes are probably just picked from their own farmland, with the smell of earth, very fresh.