See China

An original photographic exhibition composed of 62 pictures is open for bid for international tour. The theme of the exhibition: portrait of a Chinese for 62 years, faithfully records the life of a Chinese businessman from 1907 to 1968, spanning three historical eras (Qing Dynasty, Republic of China, the People’s Republic of China) and two World Wars, the exhibition can be accompanied by English captions recording the details of the life of the protagonist  Ye Jinglv (叶景吕), and an English book to be published in the coming month. Curator of this exhibition, Mr. Tong Bingxue (仝冰雪), can give lectures on this exhibition and can be directly reached via email tongbingxue@yahoo.com, or through the contacts of See China Team, who are experienced in going through necessary procedures for the tour if it needs the coordination of overseas Chinese embassies or consulates, contact: seechina10@gmail.com.

 1909 Age 29  1932 Age 52    1965 Age 84

With permission of Mr. Tong Bingxue, source from http://tongbingxue.blshe.com/post/6673/291216

A 62-Year Photobiography of A Chinese
 
 Ye Jinglu was descended from Zhu Yujian, who in turn was descended from the twenty-third son of Zhu Yuanzhang,  the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In 1645, Zhu Yujian established a regime in Foochow to resist the Qing expansion across northern China. But he was defeated the following year by the Qing forces. Zhu committed suicide in prison, but not before he had ordered his children to change their surname from Zhu to Ye to avoid reprisals by the Qing forces.

Ye Jinglu was born in Foochow on October 6, 1881, to a family of minor entrepreneurs. His mother came from the family of Luo Fenglu. Luo was an important Mandarin official during the late Qing Dynasty who, in 1896, was appointed Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Belgium and Italy. Ye Jinglu accompanied his relative to the UK, serving in the capacity of assistant. For five years, he worked at the Chinese embassy in London.

Ye Jinglu sat for his first photographic portrait in a studio in London in 1901. Later that year he returned to Foochow, accompanying Luo Fenglu. Luo Fenglu died in 1903, His widow appointed Ye Jinglu manger of the family business, consisting of a pawnshop and a teashop. Both were located in Foochow, which had been established as one of five open cities in China after the first Opium War of 1840.

Ye Jinglu sat for a second studio portrait in 1907, a year after his marriage. Thus began the process of chronicling his life through annual portraits. 

Ye lived in relative comfort in Foochow as manager of the Luo Family business, until 1937.

We do not know the reason for Ye’s passion for photography. There is, however, an indication in the photographs that the time he spent in the UK had an influence.

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China was established. Ye Jinglu’s long braid, seen in previous portraits, disappeared. His father died in 1914. By that time Ye was himself the father of a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. From 1915 to 1940, Ye’s photographs alternated between sitting and standing portraits. Prior to the 1940s, the portraits are typically cabinet photograph taken full length. 

Ye Jinglu’s second son was born in 1919. During the Republic of China Period, Ye became a member of the Christian Association of Foochow. He often visited the association’s headquarters, accompanied by his daughter. Together they attended social events, and saw films in the building’s cinema.

Ye Jinglu became a collector during this period. Stamp collecting became one of his passions. He often wrote to friends, asking them to send stamps back to him on return envelopes. His love of collecting didn’t end with stamps. He collected coins, ink-stones and jade. He kept
detailed records of his collections, including the purchase price of each item.

Beginning in the early Republican period, Ye Jinglu also began to keep a diary. His eldest grandson, Ye Yi, says that his grandfather recorded events that happened in the family, in the city, in the country and around the world. Evidently, Ye Jinglu was intent on creating a personal history of his life. Sadly, those diaries did not survive. They were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976.

Before the 1960s,Ye Jinglu lived in wood-built houses on Xianta Street, in central Foochow. He designed much of the furniture in the family homes, and the Luo’s family businesses prospered under his management, in part thanks to the long-term international relations he had established in the tea export business.

Ye evidently found happiness and satisfaction in his family life. His daughter and sons completed middle school in the city, then attended a missionary university in Hangzhou.

On April 21, 1941, the Japanese army entered Foochow. The city remained under occupation for more than four months. His portraits show a significant change in Ye Jinglu’s life during the occupation. The portrait from 1941 was taken after the Chinese army had recovered Foochow in September. The head and shoulders perspective marks the first deviation in 34 years from the full length portrait. He persisted with these closer portraits for five years, until 1945.

After Foochow was finally liberated from the Japanese in 1945, Ye Jinglu returned to his earlier practice of having full-length portraits taken. On the day when the People’s Republic of China was founded Ye Jinglu had another portrait taken. The beginning of the new era in China coincided with a major change in his life, as he entered retirement.

In 1960, Ye moved back to the “Three Lanes and Seven Alleys”. He became well known among his neigbours in the alley. He gave freely of his expertise as a collector and connoisseur of antiques, offering free valuations of pieces his neighbours brought to him. Whenever Chinese Lunar
New Year approached, he prepared gifts of food for expectant mothers. And in the heat of summer, he greeted neighbours with a warm smile, and a hand offering a cup of herbal tea.

On June 28, 1968, after a long battle with diabetes, Ye Jinglu died from a heart attack. Ye Jinglv’s daughter Ye Guiying (叶圭英), now 101, is dwelling in Hangzhou, another daughter Ye Deshu (叶德澍), now 91, is dwelling in Taiwan. His two grandsons and a granddaughter are living in Fuchou.