History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
In the 19th century, the United States developed rapidly in all aspects, and in less than 50 years from the Civil War to the First World War, the United States has changed from a rural republic to an urbanized country, and China was in the late Qing Dynasty, and great changes have also taken place.
After the Western powers completed the Industrial Revolution, they opened the door of the Qing Dynasty with foreign guns and cannons, and while foreigners poured into our country, they also brought their foreign gadgets, and European and American countries were full of curiosity and interest in the oriental country written by Marc Polo (a famous Italian traveler and businessman), so let's take a look at the real Qing Dynasty under the lens of the Americans.
【The End of the Boxers】
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Rebellion, was a peasant movement that took place in the late 19th century with the slogan of "Supporting the Qing Dynasty and Destroying the Yangs", but the Qing Dynasty they supported sent them to the guillotine after the failure of the movement, and in 1900, when Empress Dowager Cixi fled west in a hurry, she issued an edict to shift all the responsibility to the Boxers, and ordered the Qing forces everywhere to kill the Boxers.
The heads of several of the boxer leaders were placed in wooden frames and hung from the city walls for public display.
【Woman's Three Inches Golden Lotus】
Some scholars have researched that foot binding began in the late Northern Song Dynasty, arose in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Ming and Qing Dynasties entered its heyday, and there was a saying that "if you don't tie your feet, you can't marry out", although several emperors during the Qing Dynasty ordered the prohibition of foot binding, but the foot binding custom has not weakened at all, and the "three-inch golden lotus" is only said to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
However, from the time after the Opium War to the time of Tongzhi and Guangxu, the anti-foot binding has made great breakthroughs and developments compared with before, but many women in old-style families still have to tie their feet when they are four or five years old, and Zhu An, the original partner of Mr. Lu Xun, is a small-footed girl.
【Ragged boatman on the dock】
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the people's life was generally difficult, these dock boatmen in order to survive the wind and rain and sun, the skin was tanned and slippery, and the meals they could eat, the Americans were also difficult to swallow, and the boatmen who passed by to eat had to cover their noses, because the smell from the meals was too smelly.
According to the Americans who took the photos, the boatmen stewed the rotten vegetable roots they picked up and the fast-rotting animal offal and a little rice that they did not know where to get it, which became the food they wanted to enjoy, and they did not smell the smell, so they had to add a lot of paprika before eating.
In fact, these boatmen were lucky enough to have a subsistence job, and many people wandered the streets, dressed in rags all year round, and when they couldn't find anything to eat, they fed their hunger with Guanyin soil.
【Old Summer Palace】
As a royal garden, the Yuanmingyuan is golden and brilliant before it was robbed, and it has a collection of many rare treasures and has an endless style.
【Miss Qianjin in new clothes】
The life of the rich family and the poor family is still very different, but these rich ladies usually stay within the high wall due to the concept of "three from four virtues", although they enjoy a rich material life, they are also involuntary in the face of many things, and when they do not marry, they obey their father's arrangements, and after marriage, they become accessories to their husbands.
【Storyteller】
Storytelling, also known as storytelling, began to be popular in the Song Dynasty, is an ancient form of oral storytelling and performance art, in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the people, the storyteller sat at the table to tell the story in a colorful way, the table also has folding fans and waking wood and other props, and the storyteller in this photo is likely to be a downcast student.