Old Photos 1910-1913 by Luther Knight
From the China
The capital of southwest China 's Sichuan Province
"The city is like a never-ending construction site," she complained to China Daily.
"Almost all the buildings conform to the design dictates of modern steel-and-cement structures, as in any other Chinese city. Very often, I cannot help thinking that my city doesn't really live up to its reputation as a historically and culturally famous city."
To Li's great delight, however, she recently received a picture album from an old friend that reminded her of the city's "good old days."
Published by the Beijing-based Travel and Tourism Press, the album -- Looking Back at Chengdu through the Lens of an American Photographer in the Early 20th Century -- is bilingual, in both Chinese and English. It has a collection of 106 pictures taken by Luther Knight, a United States scholar who taught in Chengdu
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Other Resources about Luther Knight's Photos of 1910-1913:
Old Pictures--An American's Memory of China - a two-part video of China Central Television.
Old Photos 1910-1913 - a 2002 documentary by Bibo Liang for China Central Television.
Looking Back at Chengdu through the Lens of an American Photographer in the Early 20th Century published by Travel and Tourism Press in Beijing (2002).
West China Impression: An American 1910-1913 in Western China published by the Sichuan People's Publishing Agency in Chengdu (2003).
Pictures by Luther Knight (1879-6-8--1913-4-19)
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Born in 1879 in the state ofIowa , the United States , Knight obtained his Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland
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Other Resources about Luther Knight's Photos of 1910-1913:
Old Pictures--An American's Memory of China - a two-part video of China Central Television.
Old Photos 1910-1913 - a 2002 documentary by Bibo Liang for China Central Television.
Looking Back at Chengdu through the Lens of an American Photographer in the Early 20th Century published by Travel and Tourism Press in Beijing (2002).
West China Impression: An American 1910-1913 in Western China published by the Sichuan People's Publishing Agency in Chengdu (2003).
Pictures by Luther Knight (1879-6-8--1913-4-19)
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Born in 1879 in the state of
At the invitation of the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), he left Seattle in July 1910, traveling for nearly one month by boat to reach Shanghai Chengdu Sichuan University , was founded in 1902 and was Sichuan
In his spare time, Knight took many pictures of Chengdu Chengdu ," said Zhou Mengqi, director of the Chengdu
For local residents such as Li Mengqiu, these pictures remind them of many familiar and old things that no longer exist in the city. These include old buildings, streets, marketplaces, courtyards and houses typical of Chengdu
"Everybody in Chengdu
Built in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the so-called "Royal City " was the residential palace of Zhu Chun Royal City -- which was regarded as the symbol of Chengdu Royal City
The photo album displays the lives of farmers in the "land of abundance" with pictures of them working the fields, raising cattle and ducks.
During religious festivals in old Chengdu
In the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), visiting the flower fair became a local folk custom. Later, the temple fair and the flower fair were combined. In the late Qing Dynasty, the government took advantage of the fairs to exhibit and sell goods from different parts of Sichuan Province
"Chengdu
For historians such as Tan Jihe, a researcher with the Institute of History at the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Knight's pictures are exciting because they also capture the profound transformation in Sichuan
At the beginning of the 1900s, farmers and landlords in Sichuan Province Sichuan
The movement led to the founding of the Dahan military government in Chengdu Chengdu stormed into the Royal City
Luther Knight zoomed in on the event, and his photos in the album are the only pictures documenting the establishment of the military government, said Tan, who did extensive research for the album's publication.
During Knight's two years and 10 months in China , he traveled extensively along the Yangtze River . His photos of cities, towns, wharves, navigation lights and boats along the river are also included in the album.
His panorama of Diexi town -- which was taken in the summer of 1911 -- is priceless, Tan said.
It was the only one taken of the ancient town, which has long since disappeared.
With a history of more than 2,000 years, Diexi was located in Sichuan 's Maoxian County Yangtze River in its upper reaches.
The town was flooded under a lake 80 meters deep and 10 kilometers long after an earthquake registering 7.5 on the Richter scale struck at 3:50 pm on August 25, 1933. More than 3,000 civilians and soldiers died. There were only five survivors.
The Chinese Government is planning to turn the lake into a national geological park. Knight's pictures can be valuable references for the planning.
Critics speak highly of Knight's pictures not only in terms of their historical value but also in terms of photographic art. "Knight used an old xeroradiography camera. It was very difficult for users of this camera to focus properly. But his composition is first-class, and his handling of light is superb," said Wang Yulong, a photographer from the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Knight's love for photography started at the age of 15 when his father gave him a camera as a birthday gift. That was only a short time after the modern camera had been invented. With this camera, Knight shot the first photo of his father.
He showed his dedication to photography in his pictures. Many of his pictures along the Yangtze River were taken from the mountains, which he climbed while carrying his heavy photographic gear, said John E. Knight, a descendant of the photographer.
Luther Knight had planned to leave China at the end of the school year in 1913, travel through the Middle East, Egypt , Paris and London on his way back to the United States , and introduce China
Sadly, these plans never came to fruition. He contracted typhus in early April 1913 while taking some of his students on a study trip to a copper-ore refinery in a suburban county of Chengdu Canadian Mission Hospital , now known as Chengdu No 2 People's Hospital, and was buried in the suburbs of Chengdu
"Unlike many foreigners who have come to and gone from China , Luther died and was buried in Chinese soil," said John Knight, a US philanthropist and educator living in Hong Kong .
"From the information contained in Luther's writings (sent to his sister Uintah), we sense that he had a deep respect and admiration for the Chinese people, culture, language and land.
"The industriousness of the common folk, the diligence and intellectual curiosity of his students, and the beauty of the terrain are just a few of the things that seemed to constantly amaze and enthrall him," he said.
Luther Knight kept detailed records of all the photographs he had taken. But, after his death, this information was lost, including all of his diaries and a number of important photos. Wang Yulong, who is a friend of John Knight, spent two years traveling and verifying the locations and backgrounds of 90 per cent of the pictures.
Sealed away for nearly a century, Luther Knight's existing pictures were not open to public view until a photo exhibition was held in Chengdu
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