The Forbidden City in view - The photographic activity of foreign photographers of the Late Qing Dynasty in China

Liyui Sya Graduate, Department of Photography and Folk Art Culture, St. Petersburg State Institute of Cinema and Television 192241, Russia, Saint Petersburg, ul. Prague, 14, of. 14 Prague,14 854348246@qq.com

In the process of China's modernization, the changing functions of the Forbidden City and the cultural practices of photographic technologies interacted, influencing the creation of the cultural attributes of the Forbidden City. The photographic practices of foreign photographers in response to colonial activities on the one hand demystified the Forbidden City, and on the other demonstrated how colonial aggression destroyed the image of power representing the Forbidden City as the center of imperial power in Qing China. The relevance of this research lies in the study of how the photographic activity of foreign photographers during the modernization of China was involved in the process of colonial domination and the formation of the meaning of a new spatial culture. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that photographic studies considering the Forbidden City as a visual symbol and referring to sacred spaces in China have been relatively little discussed in the context of photography. This work reveals the cultural image of the Forbidden City in the context of China's modernization transformations. 

   Among the various interpretations of the origin of photography, historians rightly consider the date of its birth to be 1839, when Heydar first made the technique of fixing an image on a silver plate known to the general public. At the same time, the Opium War of 1840 is considered the beginning of modern China. Photographic equipment came to China along with soldiers, merchants and missionaries when the Qing government was losing its position and was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. This treaty lifted trade restrictions and opened five ports to foreign traders. First the British, and then the French, Americans and traders from other countries began to benefit from the new market. At this time, most of the photographs taken in China were recordings of colonial landscapes, ports and some imperial capitals, characters or important events.In the XIX century, photography did not yet serve as a means of experiential knowledge for Chinese culture itself.

    Mastering the photographic technique was a long process of understanding the Western scientific and technical paradigm through a difficult rethinking of traditional national ideas. For foreign photographers who practiced in China, the geography, cultural traditions and social structure of the country were also completely unusual.

Their activities also assumed an understanding of Chinese social paradigms accessible to their own experience of cognition, since when a Chinese person came into contact with a foreign photographer, the situation turned out to be far unbalanced. If a "foreign photographer" is placed in an unusual context, a Chinese photographer may face a similar problem. then, according to E. Levinas ^[4], "Any experience about the world" becomes knowledge of one's own capabilities, one's ability to go beyond, "absorb, digest and rethink" reality. Levinas' theory contributes to the development of a new perspective on the activities of a foreign photographer in China.

In the dialectic of mutual relations, the Chinese Qing Dynasty and a foreign photographer act as "Subject" and "Other". The first is completely exposed to the paradigm of the second, which uses the power and discourse given by fire to forcibly dismantle the paradigm of the "subject".

  The photographic activity of foreign photographers, which can be seen as looking at and enslaving Another with the help of their own rational paradigms, was demonstrated in the Forbidden City, the center of imperial power during the Qing Dynasty. On the one hand, the imperial family resisted photography during the late Qing period. It was not officially recognized in the Closed City until 1903. Cameras of foreigners arrived in the Forbidden City along with cannons and documented the triumphs of foreign armies in their colonial conquest campaigns, as well as the conquest and humiliation of the Forbidden City.Before Entering the Forbidden City: The Cultural Context of Photography in China.

Until 1860, most of the photographic activity was organized by foreigners.

When the Chinese began to study this scientific technology from the West, there was inevitably a need to evaluate the attributes of photography through an empirical approach - that is, using the experience of traditional Chinese art of painting to perceive and create images. Unlike most Western photographers, Chinese photographers believed that the realistic nature of photography could replace the role of portraiture, rather than being a separate art. Their historical roots go back to the veneration of literary painting and contempt for realistic painting since the Song Dynasty. As a result, most of the first Chinese photographers were engaged in portrait photography ^{[1, p.5]}. Unlike Chinese artists who had a narrow understanding of photography, foreign photographers in China used it as a tool to document the exotic, capturing images of local customs and people across the country and showing the world the mysterious Chinese empire.

  From a political point of view, the photographic activity carried out by foreign photographers in China cannot be attributed to a pure documentary study of Chinese society at that time. It should be noted that the technology of photography came to China along with the Opium Wars and the colonial activities of foreign powers. Photography was accepted passively in the context of colonialism, not as a collaboration. After that, the Western powers were determined to punish and give lessons to the Chinese government and people for their attack on "civilization”. As John-Tag said, in this major project, the photo complex served as a means of observation, documenting the "reality" of China during the "Insurgency" period, and also served as a tool for punishment and teaching lessons ^[2].

   During the strengthening of foreign control over the weakened Qing Dynasty and, at the same time, the "recognition" of China by the world, photographic images of China form the image of the country. When the last dynasty of China was nearing its end, photographic collages became abroad the main means of getting acquainted with its historical culture ^{[3, p.62]}. From the Opium Wars to the beginning of the 20th century, probably the most significant photographs were taken in one of the most sacred places - the Forbidden City, the mysterious place where Chinese emperors lived.

  The camera's journey to the Forbidden City was not smooth. From 1851 to 1874, the Chinese Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) was ruled by the Xiangfeng Emperor (1831-1861), and then his son Tongzi (1856-1875). They preferred painting, considering photography as heresy, banning it in a Closed City. It depends on two important reasons.  Photography in the Chinese cultural context has a double metaphor of "life" and "death".

Gu Yi, an art researcher, claims that the early names of photography in the late Qing - "Ying Xiang", "Xiao Xiang," and "Xiao Zhao," are taken from the terminology of traditional Chinese painting. In the late Qing Dynasty, the term "Xiao Zhao" was used to depict a portrait of a living person, and "Ying Xiang" was used to depict a portrait of a dead person ^{[5, p.120]}. "Photograph /?" comes from the words "Xiao Zhao ?" and "Ying Xiang /?".

Another important circumstance is that in the history of China, images of rulers and the places where they lived were hidden from the public eye not only to ensure security, but also to create a mystical and sublime image of the imperial family. However, in 1903-1908, the Dowager Empress Cixi (1835-1908) broke a thousand-year taboo by allowing the creation and publication of portraits of Chinese rulers in order to improve her personal image at the international level ^{[1, p.5]}.

  With the invasion of foreign powers, the rulers showed even greater fear and hostility. British photographer John Thomson (1837-1921), who published a book of photographs of China in New York, wrote that "the Chinese often perceive the photographer as a prophet of death and when he tries to photograph them, they kneel and beg not to fix them in the "fatal frame" ^[19].It is clear that the main reasons for the rejection of photography in China were deeply rooted traditional ideas in society.

    Modern instruments with their unknown allegories could not overcome pedantic and backward thinking. Even the imperial court remained convinced of China-centric fantasies so much that the photograph did not receive the approval of the imperial authorities for forty years after its appearance in China. However, it should be noted that since photography came to China along with a foreign colonial invasion, people had the right to make incorrect associations with photography, often associating it with colonial activities.

In addition, modern technology has completely destroyed the old dream of the Qing Dynasty as a "Heavenly Kingdom". Remaining at the mercy of such fantasies, the imperial family could not accept the fact that China lagged behind the West, and taking into account internal and external contradictions, its resistance to photographic art was obvious.

  Of course, not all members of the royal family were opposed to photography as a new Western technology, but in the conditions of feudal absolutism, the imperial power represented the most authoritative paradigm in society. Therefore, even after the Second Opium War of 1860, when countless missionaries, soldiers, and merchants used cameras to capture all aspects of China, and even though some members of the imperial family accepted photography, the penetration of photography into the Forbidden City was difficult.Beyond the Forbidden City: from Sight to Conquest.

It is important to note that the resistance of the Qing Dynasty royal family did not stop the photo.

    When the Second Opium War began in 1860, photographer Felice Beato (1832-1909) accompanied British and French allied troops to Hong Kong, demonstrating his vocation as an army photographer. He is known for his photographs documenting the war. George Allgood (1827-1907), deputy Quartermaster General of the 1st Division, wrote to his mother in 1860 that "Mr. Beato is with us and is busy photographing" ^{[7, p.39]}. This confirms that Beato is completely passionate about military photography and is happy with his work.Until Hong Kong and Canton came under fire, Beato used his camera to capture this war that had begun ^{[6, p.75]}. But, in addition to military photographs, he also took several panoramic pictures of Hong Kong and other subjects.Figure 1. Panoramic view of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.

By Beato. 1860 ^{[6, p.79]}

  Immediately after that, he moved to Guangzhou, where he became interested in shooting historical monuments, focusing on majestic classical buildings, never seen anywhere else with their delicate contours, sensitively capturing their unique cultural attributes. [6?c.81].

Figure 2. Administrator's office in Guangzhou. By Beato. April 1860 ^{[6, p.83]}.

As the British army approached Beijing, the interests of this famous photographer changed. Historical monuments and monumental buildings began to attract him as the main object of shooting. Although he still had to follow the army, documenting its operations, photographing and buildings with accompanying text to show British military activity (in Figures 3 and 4), avoiding showing the fields of fierce battles.

Figure 3. The Summer Palace after the fire. Author Beato, 1860 ^{[6, p.100]}.

Figure 4. Handwritten instructions from Beato. 1860 ^{[6, p.100]}.

  When British and French troops entered the northwestern part of Beijing, they discovered two artistic treasures - Yuanmingyuan and the Summer Palace. The precious works of art in these two places were so stunning that the Allies started looting. As stated in the official French account of the battle, "you cannot imagine the splendor of the residences or the enormous damage caused by the French"^[8].

  It is obvious that Beato took a contradictory position at that time. His photographs reflect the unique aesthetics of architecture. He took many photos of Yuanmingyuan before it was destroyed. However, the army he worked for destroyed these important cultural monuments. Beato's photographs expressed his unique view of architecture and at the same time recorded the destruction caused by the Allies to culturally important monuments. 

  Subsequently, the Qing government, faced with the threat of military action, reluctantly transferred control over Andingmen to the British and French. Beato became interested in this massive structure connecting walls up to 25 meters thick on both sides. Photographing the gates from inside and outside, as well as climbing the walls to view Beijing, Beato documents not only the magnificent majestic buildings, but also the key event of the aggression. According to the latest edition of the "Beijing Treaty", the guns finally opened the gates to the imperial city of Beijing for the camera.

In addition to its forbidden part (the territory of the palace), this city is now open and "... officers can freely walk around the city" ^{[8, p.352]}. Beato took advantage of diplomatic privileges to film during this unique period. To fix the location of architectural objects in Beijing, he used valuable material - a military map of the city provided by the Russian emissary to the British and French allies. General Grant noted this transfer of the map in his diary. "General Ignatiev showed us a map of Beijing, which he was instructed to make, with the designations of every important street and building. He kindly lent me a copy of this map, only asking me not to make it public, since it has not yet been sent to St. Petersburg" ^{[9, p.120]}.

  Beato left his mark in Beijing, photographing many sights and iconic architectural monuments of the fallen country, which the conqueror could now admire with a mixture of admiration and complacency ^{[6, p.106]}. Finally, Beato turned to the Forbidden City, where the imperial family lived, taking a panoramic photo. At that time, the Forbidden City retained the last remnants of the dignity of the Qing Dynasty, the power of the ruling class concentrated inside these walls. The eyes of the colonial West stared intently from the outside at this center of power as the remnants of Chinese sovereignty.

Figure 5. Forbidden City, Beijing. By Beato.1860 The entrance to the Forbidden City: from conquest to profanation.

As buildings with rich significance, architectural structures have material and symbolic possibilities.

They not only perform practical functions, but also claim to form a number of public perceptions ^{[10, p.62]}. However, the Forbidden City, which survived the Ming and Qing dynasties, has a more complex nature.

  When the camera penetrated to the gates of the Forbidden City and knocked on them, the ruling class was forced to accept this technical Western means. Although photography was not yet popular inside the Forbidden City, the ministers were intrigued by the "vivid and convincing portraits" that the diplomats were making, and quickly adopted this "fashion". Traditional portraiture gradually gave way to photography and the first Chinese photographs of Qing dynasty ministers appeared. There has been a sharp shift in the Qing court's attitude towards photography. It was no longer regarded as a dubious foreign invention, but rather as an acceptable artistic medium. The main argument supporting this is a catalog of 60 photographs created by Liang Shitai before 1888 ^[3]. One of them (Fig. 6) depicts Prince Chun , whose calm expression fully confirms the attitude to photography as a means of image.

Figure 6. Portrait of Prince Chun and his children. Author Liang Shitai, 1888 ^{[3, p.34]}

  The change in the attitude of the ruling class to new technologies in late Qing China, as well as the rapid development of the Qing court reforms, was a step in the assimilation of foreign approaches to development. More importantly, it was a vivid manifestation of the attitude of the ruling class of the late Qing to modernity in which traditional Chinese values combined with modern Western thought.

  However, since the Qing Dynasty was defeated again in the Sino-Japanese war, and the Western powers fragmented its sphere of influence, many missionaries managed to spread Christian religious ideas in China, which led to frequent religious conflicts. As they intensified, the Boxing Movement developed. This aggressive anti-Christian civil society group, with the connivance of Cixi, lynched and executed a large number of Christians and Western invaders. When the Boxer Rebellion gained strength in 1900, the allied forces of the eight powers launched an offensive against Beijing under the pretext of suppressing boxers and to punish Empress Dowager Cixi for using boxers as a weapon. From the moment the Allied troops landed at the Tianjin port, cameras recorded the campaign from Tianjin to the capital. Hundreds of photographs by the American military photographer Cornelius Francis O'Keefe (1865-1939) in 1900-1901, cover almost the entire period of the conquest and punishment of the Forbidden City by the allied forces of the eight powers, Documented in "The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration." Title "China Relief Expedition Photographs, 1900-1901"). As the American General Chaffee put it, it was "a record of our occupation of Beijing" (Ibid. Title "Records of United States Army Overseas Operations and Commands, 1898-1942").

  The Forbidden City was a particularly popular target for photographers, both military and civilian. The photographs were both documentary in nature and served as a demonstration of power. Photographers often recorded spectacular events, such as the "triumphal procession" through the Forbidden City and the execution of alleged boxers. When photographic equipment entered China, thousands of amateur photographers aimed their lenses at the Forbidden City. The French even launched a camera-equipped balloon into it. All kinds of equipment were used for photographic documentation and this turned the Forbidden City, previously considered a sacred space of the empire, into a spectacle for the whole world ^[11]. During the occupation of Beijing, all eight Allied countries attached great importance to the preservation of visual evidence. Their photo archives complemented each other and interactively referred to each other ^{[12, p.287]}. Collectively, this made it possible to holistically document the magnificent city of Beijing, which opened up to the photographer's vision.

  The victory parade of the Allied troops took place on August 28, 1900, with each of the Allied columns passing through the palace territory along its central axis ^[13]. The camera captures every moment, revealing the Forbidden City - a sacred place that embodies the centralized power of Chinese absolutism, for all to see. On November 3, 1900, Leslies Weekly published a series of photographs of an event related to the inspection of the sacred site by representatives of the Allies. These, the first photographs ever taken (Fig. 6), not only recorded the humiliation of the Chinese emperor and his court, but also captured and revealed the reality of the inner spaces of the Forbidden City.

Figure 7. The cover of Leslies Weekly (November 1900) with the image of "Mandarins in the courtyard of the palace" of Qing officials discouraged by the presence of the Allied military in the Forbidden City. (Documented in the Internet Archive. Title "The Amazing Forbidden City of China-the first ever photographs-in this issue // Leslie's Illustrated Weekly 1900-11-03. Vol. 91.")By signing the final protocol of 1901, China's statehood was reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal level.

   The political influence of the Qing Dynasty was reduced to zero by the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion and the Forbidden City, which had never been entered by outsiders before, was completely open to cameras. Japanese photographer Ogawa Issin (1860-1929) became the most famous photographer of the Forbidden City after visiting Beijing in 1901, when the city was captured by the allied forces of eight powers.

His subjects featured a variety of objects, such as the architectural landscape of the Forbidden City, the north-south axis, the Western Garden, the Three Seas, the Summer Palace, the Altar, the Temple and much more ^{[14, p.103]}. Ogawa Isshin's photographic practice developed under the guidance of the Japanese architect Ito Chuta (1867-1954) and influenced by his knowledge of Chinese architecture.

One of the most striking examples of such architecture, according to Ito Tyuta, is the Imperial palace in Beijing ^{[17, p.103]}. The grandiose complex with its symmetrical axial layout is fully reflected in these photographs. At the same time, he focused on the interior details of the Forbidden City and shot them in close-up. This is the throne of the Qianqing Palace, ceiling decoration, bedroom doors, wardrobes and much more.Figure 8. Taihe Temple, Ogawa Issin. 1901 ^{[18, p.37]}.

Figure 9. The throne of the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace, Ogawa Isshin. 1901 ^{[18, p.84]}.

   While the first photograph, taken from a height, demonstrates the greatness of the center of imperial power in a medially symmetrical photographic approach (see Figure 8), the second focuses on the emperor's seat, and Ogawa Isshin's careless action reveals an offensive view of the emperor's throne - profanation of imperial power, even greed (see Figure 9).

  In Figure 8, about the photographer's lens, a human figure is placed in the center of the frame and he often organizes his photographs so that Chinese people are present against the background of architectural compositions, and not eunuchs or officials who did not have time to escape, but often ordinary citizens and children. In his photographic concept, the people in these images become the object of the colonialists' attention as subjects of the defeated Qing Dynasty. His Chinese photographic works can serve, on the one hand, as a visual record for studying the "structure, architecture and decor" of the Forbidden City and other palace territories, and, at the same time, reflect the process of deconstruction of the imperial power of the Forbidden City, captured by the Allies in 1900 ^{[15, p.25]}.The Forbidden City, a symbol of Chinese cultural pride, became a place of profanation, as the photographer did not hesitate to take a close-up of every object in the owner's room, belittling the imperial image.

   As a result, the entire Forbidden City was humiliated by being captured in widely circulated photographs.

Between the moment the camera arrived at the gates of the Forbidden City and the official entrance to it, these shaky photos raise a deep question about the relationship between new technology and the power of the state. The camera as a witness to the decline of Qing sovereignty and as an aesthetic object and political tool, a constant demonstration of the colonial power of the victor, foreign photographers through European and American books and magazines clearly demonstrated their conquest of the Forbidden City, the mysterious and sacred center of imperial power, undermining the authority of the Qing dynasty with punitive measures. Conclusion 

  The photograph penetrated the Forbidden City during the destruction of the center of imperial power of the Qing Dynasty.

An important role in demonstrating these events and the colonial plunder belongs to foreign photographers. In a broad cultural context, photographic technique has documented the ethical and moral problems that arise when one civilization comes into contact with another and, in particular, the reaction of Chinese society, which was experiencing upheavals. The photograph demonstrates the hegemony of the empire in a violent form, however, looking back at China, the process of revealing the Forbidden City through the cameras is also a process of exploring Chinese modernization. In the Qing Dynasty's contact with foreign countries, the photographic practice of foreign photographers ultimately points to the gap and nihilism that the Qing Dynasty faced in the process of modernization. The relationship between image and reality is successfully reinterpreted, as foreign viewers are amazed to discover real images of a distant empire. As Walter Benjamin stated: "Eliminates the unique presence of this place" ^{[16, p. 253]}. Photography has conquered China, and photography has conquered the world audience.