"Century-old Changsha Old Photo Series" Preface to "Changsha Wanxiang"
This article is the collection of old photos published in 2000 in "Changsha Wanxiang" Preface to "Changsha Wanxiang"
Preface to "Changsha Wanxiang"
Chen Xianshu
After compiling "Changsha Wanxiang" and " Changsha Celebrity ", there is always a feeling of not being satisfied. More than 800 photos of "Changsha's Hundred Years" basically involve all major events that have occurred in Changsha since the Reform Movement of 1898. More than 800 photos of "Celebrity in Changsha" have also collected a complete collection of important historical figures in Changsha in modern times. However, in the long river of human history, in addition to the historical events of wind and thunder and powerful historical figures, there are also contents covering a very wide range of social production and life development processes. Although "Changsha Centennials" and "Changsha Celebrity" have also included some photos that reflect Changsha's modern social and economic and social life, the number is very sporadic and cannot fully reflect the style and changes of modern Changsha society.
, and photos in this aspect are much harder to find than photos of historical events and historical figures. This is because in past historical research, people often focus on the study of major events and important historical figures, while research on social history has long been a weak link. Therefore, among the historical works published in the past 50 years, there are relatively few historical photos that reflect the social changes in modern China. Since the reform and opening up, a consensus has been formed: the economic and social development situation composed of social economy, culture and education, clan family, community class, etiquette and customs, provides the necessary stage and conditions for human historical activities, and human historical activities in turn play a role in promoting or hindering the development of the economy and society, and this role has become one of the criteria for judging historical events and figures.
Therefore, when studying history, we should also attach great importance to the study of economic and social development and changes, reveal its rich connotations, and explore the laws of its development. Only in this way can a human history be complete, colorful, flesh and blood. As Marx said: "The economic production of every historical era and the social structure that inevitably arises are the basis of the political and spiritual history of the era."
Based on this thinking, the "Century-old Changsha Old Photo Series" cannot be without a picture collection that mainly reflects the economic and social changes of Changsha over the past century. We name it "Changsha Wanxiang", which is the foundation of Changsha's century-long "political and spiritual history." However, it is not easy to obtain historical photos that reflect the social changes in Changsha for a century, especially in the first 50 years. During the editing process, there are almost no ready-made picture albums for extraction and reference, and even the compiled text materials are minimal. So we took a different approach, one is to go deep into the people to search for treasures; the other is to hunt for a wide range of books and go to find gold.
First of all, we published a notice to collect old photos of Changsha in newspapers and magazines such as Changsha, and visited some "old Changsha" in a targeted manner. Many local geniuses showed great enthusiasm for this. They rummaged through boxes and cabinets and brought photos that they had collected for many years. Although some photos have turned yellow, the images are still very clear, and the scenery more than half a century ago seems to be right in front of you. Like a photo of an old wharf, the sesame-sized words "State-owned Investment and Merchants Changsha Wharf" on barge are still clearly visible.
Then, we flew to Nanjing China Second Historical Archives and began to search hard. Looking for old photos of Changsha in the vast sea of historical archives is like looking for a needle in a haystack. After dozens of days and nights, with the strong support and efforts of the museum's department, nearly a hundred precious photos were finally found in more than 5,000 Hunan files.
Then we went to some museums and libraries. On the bookshelf that no one visited for many years, we flipped out books and magazines from the early to the middle of the 20th century, and opened them page by page. The social scene of Changsha 50 years ago was once again in front of us.This also includes some foreign-printed books and magazines, such as the photo collection "Changsha Grand View" published in Japan in 1916, the monthly magazine "Asian Photo Grand View" published in 1924-1932, and the memoir "Wartime Chinese Teaching Career" published in the United States.
The editor also took a look at a lot of old remains and scenes, some of which no longer exist and have become veritable old photos. Therefore, this book has more than 160 special topics including the municipal talk, the society and industry, the cultural capital, charity and disaster relief, the history and sea of searches, the city style, visits to ancient cities in Hunan, the old streets of searches, celebrities and Changsha, the spring and autumn of Liyuan, the past of the Republic, the city and people, and more than 160 special topics such as "Old Wharf", "Old Post", "Old Advertising", and "Old Trademark", which is truly all-encompassing.
In the long feudal society, China's economic structure was relatively fixed and its social development was extremely slow. Although it had glory in the early and mid-term, it lagged behind in the later period. The ideas and systems of feudal 新方新方新方新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新� As history enters modern times, the social structure has undergone profound and rapid changes, causing China's "changes that have not been seen in thousands of years" ( Li Hongzhang words). But how did these changes start? What are the regularities? Today, when we look at these old photos, we will find that modern social history is different from general political history, military history and ideological history. Many old photos of social industries and social life included in this book are closer to the lower class and the lives of ordinary people, and are loved by people of all classes. Just as Mencius said, "When the mouth is in taste, there are the same kind of liking; when the ear is in sound, there are the same kind of listeners; when the eyes are in color, there are the same kind of beauty."
The process of social change in modern Changsha is the same as the changes in the entire China. In essence, it is the process of transition from traditional society to modern society. At that time, the conservative forces gradually declined, and new forces stood out. The "Iron Gate City" was broken, forming a new political pattern and new economic demand. The general trend is that the feudality, closedness, stagnation and backwardness inherent in traditional society are gradually being broken, while the factors such as democratization, scientificization, openness and civilized progress in modern society are gradually growing.
This book breaks the convention of time arrangement, and 826 photos are appropriately edited according to different contents that constitute the economy and society, just like a "Changsha Social Grand View". The text description is inconsistent, either outlining historical facts, tracing the evolution, reflecting on history, praising the beauty, looking back on the present and pursuing the past, and empathizing with it. These photos are archives, history, homesickness, and old dreams. Some are as vast as smoke, some are still fresh in memory, some are endless aftertaste, and some are unbearable to look back on. Today, I am reappreciating the world. I hope that in addition to appreciation, I can give people inspiration and teaching.
