Today, with the rate of camera ownership on Taiwan reaching 92 percent and annual expenses on color film development exceeding NT$3 billion (US$75 million), one may well ask--Who took the first photographs on Taiwan? What kind of camera was used? What was the subject of the pictures? And how has photography developed since then?
A group of young photographers are now seeking answers to these questions. Under the auspices of the Council for Cultural Planning and Development, they have just completed the first, collection phase of their work. Numerous questions about the history of Taiwan photography await answers from specialists engaged in the second, analytical phase of research, but we can form a preliminary idea of the relevant background to this history from a first look at these early photographs.
The first photographs on Taiwan, it is generally considered, must have been taken during the period shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858, which made Taiwan a foreign trading port and opened up a flood of western missionaries and traders. The foreigners' cameras focused quite naturally on the cultural differences, eager as they were to explore the political, commercial, and religious features of the Manchu officials, the Han masses, and the native aborigines they encountered.
After the occupation of the island by the Japanese in 1895, photographic records, mostly appearing in official publications or on postcards, increased rapidly. Pictured here we find aborigines, a "centipede" procession to welcome a town guardian god, a widened road, newly constructed buildings, and rural scenery. The viewpoint is that of colonialists; the purpose, to introduce strange customs and publicize colonial development.
Private possession of cameras and the opening of photo studios in the cities sprang up in the latter years of the occupation. From this period, we come across family portraits, souvenirs of ceremonial occasions, and a picture of a beautiful woman with a gold tooth.
After retrocession in 1945, freed from the shadows of colonialism, Taiwan took on a new look as it appeared in the eyes of the Chinese themselves. From the exotic to the everyday, from the primitive to the refined, the history of photography on Taiwan, like the procession of Miss China contestants from the 1950's shown here, marches on into the future, healthy, confident, and full of hope.
(Translated by Peter Eberly)
[Picture Caption]
During the latter period of the Japanese Occupation, Taipei was not without Chinese-operated photo studios. This photo, taken in the early 1940s, is from the studio of Chang Ts'ai.
A Ching official, Hsiao Tsan-shao, from Chiatung, photographed in 1885, ten years before the Sino-Japanese War and the Japanese annexation of Taiwan.
The Chinese-language newspaper, The Taiwan Daily News, as it appeared in 1905, with an exotic topic for the foreign reader --aborigines.
The first British printer was imported into Taiwan in 1884. This photo was found in a missionary center.
Kueiyang Street in Taipei, 1901. In the early years of the Japanese Occupation, city dwellers still dressed in traditional Chinese fashion.
The subject, now 78 years old, became a pioneer in Taiwan photography, Li Tiao-lun. Portraits like this, taken when Li was only four, at the time were only affordable by the wealthy.
Language class for girls. During the colonial period, the language was Japanese. Education for girls at the time stressed the arts and crafts.
50 years ago Liao Wen-yuan of Tainan went to Japan to study developing techniques After returning to Taiwan, he produced this photo, airbrushing in the then-popular double eyelid.
This mildewed collotype, predecessor of the slide, was brought to Taiwan over 80 years ago by an American missionary to assist him in soul-saving efforts.
The South Gate of Taipei seventy years ago. At left stands a sentry ready to check passers-by.
Ch'ingnien Street in Tainan sixty years ago was called "Dog Dung Lane," but this picture yields no clues as to how it earned that epithet.
Taken during the Japanese Occupation, this photo shows a procession in Taipei welcoming the city god. Pictures illustrating folk religious ceremonies found a large audience overseas.
Hsinpu during the Japanese Occupation.
Rickshaws were an important mode of transportation in Taipei during the colonial period. By the middle of the Occupation, Japanese-style dress was already prevalent, as can be seen in the child's attire.
During the latter period of the Occupation, ethnic Chinese moved to Miaoli and started to intermarry with local aborigines, which lessened intergroup friction significantly.
This mountain trolley was used to transport both goods and people.
This hurly-burly morning scene of stands and pushcarts could rival the present-day Wanhua night market.
The ophthalmologist's office at the Changhua Presbyterian Hospital.
A tug-of-war contest sponsored by the Changhua Presbyterian Church.
Steel refining in Kaohsiung in the late 1940s, after Retrocession.
Before the harbor was built at Hualien, boats could only moor offshore, and then send smaller craft to land. This photo was taken during the Occupation.
Father Fu Liang-p'u took this picture in 1953 of farmers taking a pig to market.
In 1959, the first Miss China Pageant was held in Taipei. Where are these beauties now?
A Ching official, Hsiao Tsan-shao, from Chiatung, photographed in 1885, ten years before the Sino-Japanese War and the Japanese annexation of Taiwan.
The Chinese-language newspaper, The Taiwan Daily News, as it appeared in 1905, with an exotic topic for the foreign reader --aborigines.
The first British printer was imported into Taiwan in 1884. This photo was found in a missionary center.
Kueiyang Street in Taipei, 1901. In the early years of the Japanese Occupation, city dwellers still dressed in traditional Chinese fashion.
The subject, now 78 years old, became a pioneer in Taiwan photography, Li Tiao-lun. Portraits like this, taken when Li was only four, at the time were only affordable by the wealthy.
Language class for girls. During the colonial period, the language was Japanese. Education for girls at the time stressed the arts and crafts.
This mildewed collotype, predecessor of the slide, was brought to Taiwan over 80 years ago by an American missionary to assist him in soul-saving efforts.
50 years ago Liao Wen-yuan of Tainan went to Japan to study developing techniques After returning to Taiwan, he produced this photo, airbrushing in the then-popular double eyelid.
The South Gate of Taipei seventy years ago. At left stands a sentry ready to check passers-by.
Taken during the Japanese Occupation, this photo shows a procession in Taipei welcoming the city god. Pictures illustrating folk religious ceremonies found a large audience overseas.
Ch'ingnien Street in Tainan sixty years ago was called "Dog Dung Lane," but this picture yields no clues as to how it earned that epithet.
Hsinpu during the Japanese Occupation.
Rickshaws were an important mode of transportation in Taipei during the colonial period. By the middle of the Occupation, Japanese-style dress was already prevalent, as can be seen in the child's attire.
During the latter period of the Occupation, ethnic Chinese moved to Miaoli and started to intermarry with local aborigines, which lessened intergroup friction significantly.
This mountain trolley was used to transport both goods and people.
The ophthalmologist's office at the Changhua Presbyterian Hospital.
This hurly-burly morning scene of stands and pushcarts could rival the present-day Wanhua night market.
A tug-of-war contest sponsored by the Changhua Presbyterian Church.
Steel refining in Kaohsiung in the late 1940s, after Retrocession.
Before the harbor was built at Hualien, boats could only moor offshore, and then send smaller craft to land. This photo was taken during the Occupation.
Father Fu Liang-p'u took this picture in 1953 of farmers taking a pig to market.
In 1959, the first Miss China Pageant was held in Taipei. Where are these beauties now?
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