Looking back in time

One morning in the 1970s, the librarian at London's Wellcome Collection, founded by pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry Wellcome, received a note asking that he dispose of three crates of broken glass.迷你倉西貢 But those seemingly worthless items turned out to be hundreds of glass negatives created by photography pioneer John Thomson during his trip to China and Southeast Asia in the late 1860s and early 1870s. "Had [the librarian] not checked those crates but disposed of them right away, these amazing records of history would have vanished forever," says Betty Yao, curator of an ongoing exhibition showcasing these photographs on glass that uncover a piece of history. Titled Through the Lens of John Thomson: Hong Kong and Coastal China, 1868-1872, the photography exhibition runs until February 16 at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum - at Central Ferry Pier No 8. Photography was not invented until the 1840s, but by the 1860s Thomson had already managed to travel abroad as a professional photographer. Born in Edinburgh in 1837, the Scotsman trained as a lensmaker at the age of 14. And then, like many youngsters of his time, Thomson headed east to explore and broaden his horizons. In 1868, after he had visited Singapore and Malaya, Thomson decided to go to Hong Kong and coastal China. During his four-year stay in China, Thomson traveled to places such as Tianjin, Beijing, Fujian and Guangzhou, as well as Hong Kong. When he first arrived in town, he immediately set up a studio on Queen's Road and it did not take him long to establish a good reputation. He was soon invited to take photographs of the commemorative book created for the first visit of Prince Albert, the Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria. In 1872, Thomson headed back home to London, bringing with him 600 glass plates created during his stay. "We consider him the precursor of today's photojournalist, even though he might not have had this particular concept in his mind when he made these images," Yao says. "From his works, you can tell that he was interested in documenting what was around him and the livelihood of the local people." The collection of glass negatives is not only a photo diary of Thomson's journey during his China trip, but also a documentary album of Hong Kong as a colony and China after the Second Opium War. Among the 81 photographs featured in the exhibition, 22 were taken in Hong Kong, 33 in Guangdong and the rest were created further north. In those days, people were not too familiar with photographic technology. "Most people in villages believe迷你倉將軍澳 that cameras would suck your soul away, and many would beg not to be photographed," Yao says. "Also, the Chinese back then had had limited contact with foreigners. Thomson, who was the ultimate communicator, was able to befriend people despite the language barrier." Although many Victorian photographers captured scenes from China, their doing so in the context of the Opium War made the lives of the Chinese presented through their lenses appear quite unpleasant. Thomson, however, was very different. His photographs - and also his writings about his journey to the East - indicate his focus was not on the aftermath of the Opium War, but rather the true state of Chinese society and its people. Very few studio photographers would have done the same, Yao says. "Because they could earn much better money by selling their studio shots." But for Thomson, uppermost on his mind was to capture images that would best describe to the Victorian public who knew nothing about China that it was not this alien place with weird inhabitants. Before Thomson traveled to China, he was the first person to photograph King Mongkut of Siam, today's Thailand, and the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia. After Thomson returned to London, he had a thriving career and was commissioned to be a royal photographer. "Him taking photographs of the rich and famous and then of the common people was a fascinating juxtaposition," Yao says. "It showed that this young man retained that genuine spirit and interest in people's lives, in humanity." Another fascinating aspect Yao noticed in Thomson's photo documentary was his interest in the appearance and livelihoods of Chinese women. Two photographs particularly stand out from the rest, each portraying a different woman. "One of the pictures is that of a Manchu bride, dressed in a beautiful embroidered robe and fine jewelry before the ceremony. The other depicts a Cantonese boatwoman with a very simple outfit, nothing fancy," Yao says. "But if you put the two images side by side, Thomson really captured the subtle emotions in the women's eyes. The rich bride has a tint of sadness in her eyes, whereas the boatlady shows much confidence and joy in hers." Photography today seems almost too easy compared with 150 years ago, when you needed a heavy, clumsy machine that took a good 15 seconds of exposure time. This exhibition not only allows viewers to get a sense of what photography was like in those days, it should also inspire one to love the best of what Hong Kong has and preserve that before it is too late. mercy.lo@singtaonewscorp.com 迷你倉尖沙咀