From View Of The Other To Self-centered View

This dissertation discusses the evolution of photography during 50 years after itsintroduction into China at the end of the Qing Dynasty.By focusing on extant photosand Chinese conceptualization of photography in a period that witnessed theintegration of early photographic technology with the Chinese way of viewing,itendeavors to answer the question:"which changes did occur either to thephotographic medium itself or to the Chinese people as a result of the influence thatsuch a medium exerted upon society"At the same time,this answer is substantiatedby an analysis and a description which follow the paradigm from imagination,toencroachment and to search for novelty.While unveiling both the psychology of theviewer and the Western-centric'view of the other'that typifies some images,it ispossible to discover the peculiar Chinese photographic idiom characterizing earlypictures.Moreover,the assertion of Chinese identity,native illustration of modern lifeand the shaping of the self also emerge.The significance of studying the photography of this period does not rest upon anostalgic view of the past,rather on its being beneficial to the future development ofnowadays Chinese photography.In the age of globalization,localization localexperience has implicitly become a cultural policy in developing countries(thirdworld countries).Traditional visual experience grounded on local discourse,not onlyoffers contemporary Chinese artists with more iconographic material and theoreticalsources for their photographic creativity,but even more importantly fills a void in theresearch on Chinese photography.This is the starting point of this dissertation and itsunderlying rationale.