Old Photographs of Qing Dynasty Women

Photo: Library of Congress

Yohani Kamarudin and Michele Collet at Environmental Graffiti have composed a collection of photographs of Chinese women in the 19th century, documenting the impact of foot-binding and Manchu influence.

In the words of Yohani,

"At home or abroad, in holiday robes or in plain clothing, the heart of a Chinese female seems to be at all times ready to overflow with mirth and good humor.” This description comes from a Western observer’s account of life in China, and the character of its people, during the 19th century. Its focus: the painful process of foot binding. 

Such a quote may suggest a positive take on womanhood during the 1800s, and the account positions itself as compassionate towards those it describes. However, the author presumes to see women as the helpless victims of Chinese males and Confucianism in general. He has a clear bias against many of the cultural practices observed by the women he seems to praise. 

Westerners' letters and stories from this era appear to paint a rather negative picture of life for Chinese women. Many of those who wrote them were, after all, missionaries, doubtless hoping to convince others of the necessity of ‘saving’ these women from the perceived barbaric practices of their culture. 

Looking back at Chinese culture with the eyes of people living in a completely different time, it’s hard to know exactly what life would have been like for women during those years. However, perhaps by examining these vintage photographs, we can gain a glimmer of insight.

See the entire gallery here, as well as the one on foot-binding here.

I thought she had iPod headphones on at first.

Chunyun

Chunyun (春運) literally "the springtime pilgrimage", is the annual journey of Chinese people to the village of their birth in celebration of the Lunar New Year. It is somewhat comprable to the Muslim Hajj and is regarded as the largest annual human migration in the world. It is tradition for Chinese families to have a reunion dinner where the entire family comes to their home village for food and celebration. In the old days people did not wander far from home, but as new economic opportunities emerged in the cities, most families have become separated, sometimes by thousands of miles. Think of the Christmas travel season, but on a much larger scale. Within a period of 15 days, over 1.3 billion people travel to and within China. Most of China's transportation infrastructure can barely keep up with the demand. Most Chinese travel home by train, as many cannot afford to fly. Ticket prices can often double or triple during Chunyun, and people will frequently fight over train tickets. Scalping and pocket picking are common among the chaos.


Chunyun is a very important trip, not going is showing disrespect to your family and ancestors. Some people too poor to take the train actually walk over 200 miles to get home. One man, He Puxian even created a song dedicated to the millions of migrant workers who make the journey. He called it "Afraid to go home for the New Year"



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Translation of the lyrics:

The sound of trains outside of the window keeps me awake at night

Looking at the shabby room, another year has passed

Not many days till the Spring Festival

But who can hear the sadness in my heart?

Every time I light up a cigarette at this time

Thinking about home town and mother, as if they are in front my eyes

So want to go home for the New Year, but also afraid to go home for the New Year

It is so tough to make a living away from home

Afraid to go home for the New Year

Not because the distance is too far

Only because I have no money in my pocket

Not going home for the New Year

Not that I don’t want to reunite with family

So many hard years, it is so difficult to find a job

The greetings from the phone make me uneasy

I feel sad listening to my parents’ encouragement

How far am I from the day of success?

But who will share the pressure on my heart

Every time I weep alone

Thinking about already a leftover man or leftover woman

So want to go home for the New Year, but also afraid to go home for the New Year

How many people will finish singing this song?

Afraid to go home for the New Year

Not that I don’t miss my home

Only because income of the ants in the city is so pitiful

Not that I don’t want to reunite with family

Roaming with no money no house and no career

How can I go home to face the loved ones and ancestors?

Chinese new Year p1

CNY series.

Since I wasn't even editor last year here is a day by day run down of CNY according to how Chinese Chinese do it, i.e. people who live in China. People who live overseas, like me and my sister tend to not do many of these things. But hey even Christmas to the Christians is seriously devalued... I mean how many Christians (in the UK as I do not know about the USA) actually go to Church? Heh Sundays are shopping days now and it seems Church is the ubiquitous mall. I will probably maybe run a series on Westernised Chinese new year so you can compare and contrast the difference (it will be a short post!)

Anyway enough ramble and BS.

The week before CNY (i.e. NOW since this year CNY falls on the 3rd of Feb)

Already millions of migrant workers in China have gone off home. Although the people who own the factories would much like the workers to keep on working the CCP does not look kindly on this. Thus right now and a few days ago there is a mad rush to get on the trains. Long range sleeper buses, or on your motorbikes to go home to your village where you were born.

This means you spend the week before complaining in the ticket offices of wherever it is you are working demanding a ticket to go home. 2008 China turned into an ice ball and nobody could get home there were massive crowds of people camping out in the train stations unable to get anywhere.


Once they get home they clean their homes. To the southerners this is uber important, (clean what's cleaning, TCG has not washed his motorbike in 4 years it has a protective layer of crud covering it). This is one of those superstitions again in that if you've had a shitty year you clean away the bad luck of the old year. Which hopefully means good luck takes it's place.

Do you feel lucky punk do you?



If you really really want to go the whole hog, you paint your door frames and window frames red also. Not quite like this

Most definitely NOT like this

You then put around paper gods, lanterns and decor all red of course around your home. You then treat yourself to some new clothes, shoes and a hair cut. TCG again had a hard time about this because quite simply I used to have long hair and managed to get out of cutting it for nearly a decade. Chikan fingers (warning potentially offensive) were a problem though.

In Chinese homes in China also you get little altars and statues of the gods of longetivity, wealth and erm.... knowledge. In cleaning you remove all of the decor from last year and burn it and replace them with new often red decorations. IIRC it is sort of like a telegram to Santa. Whereby in burning the old stuff the gods are informed of your good deeds. Much like leaving out cookies /cocaine/vodka out for Santa, it can act as a bribe.