China plans to publish rare pictures taken by a US photographer who recorded historical events during the 1911 Revolution.
Francis Eugene Stafford, a US photographer, came to Shanghai in 1909 with his wife and took a number of pictures about the revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, which overthrew China's last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Experts at the Shanghai Museum of History said that the pictures are highly valuable in studying modern Chinese history and culture in the early 20th century.
Stafford died in 1938 and his pictures were not known to the outside world until three years ago, when his daughter decided to hand over the pictures to her son, Ronald Anderson, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota.
Stafford was born into a family of clergyman in Colorado State. He became a photographer of a publishing house in California and then came to China, continuing his career at the Commercial Press in Shanghai.
Using a camera, which was rarely seen in China at that time, Stafford took a lot of well-known pictures, some of which had already been published.
One of the published pictures shows Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, who was elected Provisional President of the Republic of China, leaving the Shanghai railway station in December of 1911 for Nanjing to assume office.
These sepia pictures were preserved for nearly a century at Stafford's home. As a grandson of Stafford, Prof. Anderson, said he would share the history with the Chinese people.
Recently, Prof. Anderson was in Shanghai to discuss publishing the pictures.
The Shanghai Museum of History, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the Commercial Press have decided to publish a book next year which will mark the 90th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution.
"It is not only the wish of my grandfather, but also my wish, to share the photos with the Chinese people," Anderson said.
Stafford, who loved Chinese culture, also brought advanced printing technology to the Shanghai Commercial Press.
The couple left Shanghai in 1915. Stafford returned again to Shanghai twice, but each time he did not stay long because of health problems. In 1938, Stafford died from tuberculosis at 44.
(People's Daily)
