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Captured Glimpses of Modernity and War in Late Qing China

  • Aglaia De Angeli

This chapter evaluates the role of photography in witnessing the modernising process in China during the late Qing period and conflicts which stemmed from it. The camera, introduced in China during the First Opium War (1839–1842), allowed Western eyes to record the establishment of trade routes and associated facilities. The photos examined here were taken immediately before and during the Russo-Japanese War. The photographs appear to have been focusing on technological developments in trade infrastructure, but they also captured the conspicuous Japanese and Russian military presence. Consequently, the photographs reveal the Western role in the “development” of China by its incorporation into global trading networks and violent conflicts fought over control of this infrastructure.

  • Keywords:
  • Photography; China; Russo-Japanese War; Infrastructure; Trade,
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Aglaia De Angeli

Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0003-3948-3612

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  • Publication Year: 2023
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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Captured Glimpses of Modernity and War in Late Qing China

Authors

Aglaia De Angeli

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0242-8.11

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

East and West Entangled (17th-21st Centuries)

Editors

Rolando Minuti, Giovanni Tarantino

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

228

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0242-8

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0241-1

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0242-8

eISBN (epub)

979-12-215-0243-5

Series Title

Connessioni. Studies in Transcultural History

Series ISSN

2975-0393

Series E-ISSN

2975-0261

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