Pierre Joseph Rossier was a Swiss photographer who worked for a British photo company. He came to Guangzhou from Hong Kong in 1858 and used his camera to record the cultural relics, city gates, city walls, street landscape and other scenes in Guangzhou at that time. He returned to England in April 1859, and a month later, these images appeared in the form of stereoscopic photographs.
All the photos in this group were taken at the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi at that time. In order to facilitate the shooting, Rosier persuaded the officials and their wives in the yamen to be models, and recorded their life in the yamen at that time in a special way.
Officials drinking tea
Original note of the picture: "Governor A group of officials and officials in the Yamen". Pay attention to the man with a mustache who is third from the right. He is the male protagonist of this group of pictures and appears several times in the photos.
Woman in front of the door
Compared with the previous photo, the scene remains the same, except that all male officials have been replaced by female family members. It has been impossible to verify whether these women came from the same family or were actors put together by several members of the yamen. Original note: A group of Chinese women are drinking tea.
The scene changed
The exquisite wooden round table was moved indoors near the door. For the sake of beauty, a huge vase was placed on the table. The flower pot on the left side of the picture is placed on a round stone. It looks very unstable and may fall and break if you are not careful.
receiving guests
Original note: A group of Chinese ladies receive visitors. A new character appears in this picture, a woman with a conch-like bun in the middle of her head. She plays the role of a guest. Rossier used this picture to show the way the Chinese received guests at that time.
Conversation between host and guest
Photo original note: A group of Chinese ladies in evening gowns. The "guests and hosts" were seated in two rows, with the little maid waiting quietly beside them. Most of the people looked very nervous in the camera with their eyebrows lowered and their eyes lowered. The old woman sitting in the foreground on the left couldn't help but glanced at the camera, which happened to be recorded. Note that the flower pot on the stone beside her was obviously crooked and in danger.
为女精品
Original note: The props in front of the door have been removed, leaving only two adults and two children. The old woman who was looking at the camera just now appears again, and the woman with the "conch bun" has changed from the "guest" just now to the host sitting in front of the house. Wife.
Two ladies
Original note: Lady and servant. The camera moves from the outdoors to the indoor living room. The scene shows the scene in the living room of an official family. The woman sitting on the right is domineering and domineering. The young woman on the left seems to be more reserved. The three commoner women standing next to her are the maids of the family.
Reception time
Original note: Discussion by first-class officials. The scene in the picture is still in the living room. This time the photo shows "Mustache" and a colleague discussing something. situation. The two people were placed on both sides of the Eight Immortals table, with two straw hats placed symmetrically on the hat tubes, and two tureens symmetrically placed in front of them, which gave people a very dull feeling.
Family photo
This photo continues the scene in the living room. The woman on the right is still sitting, and the young woman who was sitting just now is standing neatly behind her. This also shows from one aspect that the woman sitting on the seat has a high status, and the two may be wives and concubines. What's interesting is that the two senior officials who were still discussing the matter just stood aside with their hands down, and their hats were still on the hat tube. Original note: Family members in the living room staff and servants.
Inner room scene
These three photos were taken by Rosier in the inner room, where the ladies of the government gather. The woman who looked timid just now seemed to be a different person now, holding a folding fan in her hand and looking very elegant. Rossier's caption for this photo is: Two women of prominent status.
Inner room scene two
It is still the scene in the inner room, but two people have changed. The carpets underneath, the exquisite furniture, and the surrounding splendid furnishings all exude luxury.
A group photo of four women
A group photo of four official wives. In this photo, you can see the furniture behind them more clearly. The original note states that these women are an integral part of China's senior official class.
Back Garden
This photo was taken in the back garden of the Governor's Mansion, with stone pavement, rockery and stone . Several officials were standing or sitting chatting in the garden. The flower window building next to it was the residence of Huang Zonghan, the then Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Playing chess
The scene of officials in the yamen playing Go. Pay attention to the door and window behind the bamboo, they look familiar. They are the places where the ladies of the government performed and took pictures. Friends who know history know that as the first place where the Second Opium War took place, Guangzhou was suffering from internal and external troubles and the people were in dire straits. However, these officials were still drinking tea and playing chess so leisurely that they could only sigh.
