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| Keywords: Qing Court Return, The Emperess Dowerger 1902 George E. Morrison (RESTORED).jpg Entitled Qing Court Return 1902 The Empress Dowager 1902 GE Morrison I did the usual spotting contrast adjustment and sepia tone George Ernest Morrison was certainly not the only western photographer of imperial China but he was definitely one of the most remembered The bulk of his extensive body of work in albums and photographs have survived to this day One of his best works An Australian In China can be easily net accessed and remains a delightful invitation to late 1800's China Additionally his personal library holdings of books that he collected in China subsequently became the basis of the Oriental Library of Tokyo otherwise known as Tōyō Bunko 洋文庫 one the world's five largest and premiere libraries on Chinese culture What is even more important and perhaps lesser appreciated is that Morrison a trained medical doctor but then working as a journalist also happened to be in the right place at the right time He personally witnessed and recorded many of the images of the tumult during the Boxer Rebellion as he too was trapped within the Peking foreign legations during their nearly two month holdout Though he had begun the siege as only a correspondent for the Times newspaper; by his directness force of personality and natural leadership ability Morrison became an active and commanding participant in the defense of the legation quarter Wounded in battle had he been officially in uniform his bravery and actions would have certainly merited commendation or military award This is a fascinating and perhaps rare and unique photograph For those that don't remember the story of the Boxer Rebellion; suffice it to say that the Qing court in 1900 after it's defeat by foreign troops fled Beijing then called Peking into the interior of China Once it was firmly established that the foreign governments were willing to allow the Manchu emperor to return without fear of reprisal as the foreign powers needed someone local but servile to be in charge of the populace the Qing court re-ensconced itself back into the Imperial city with pompous celebration Morrison was on hand to record the parade of Qing royals and their triumphant return into the Chinese capital from their supposed 'inspection tour' of the countryside In accordance with ceremonial pomp all militaries around the world have traditional postures or stances to signal their respect for an honored dignitary or a high official In this case the imperial soldiers were saluting the passing of the Empress Dowager's sedan chair What is so interesting about this photograph then is the western military posture of 'present arms' holding a rifle in front of one's self in the vertical position combined with the typical Chinese or Asian posture of genuflection at the bended knee displayed by the Qing troops lining the road The soldier in the foreground whose legs are concealed does not readily reveal this however if one examines more closely the troops across the road beyond the haze of road dust one can clearly see saluting Chinese soldiers on their knees This curious amalgam of Western and Eastern military etiquette was probably short lived and in many ways was perhaps emblematic of the dilemma and indecisiveness of Qing China That is they were eager to adopt the many new things of the west but were still reluctant to discard the trappings and traditions of the old In all my years of looking at military images I can't recall ever having seen another instance where soldiers presented a salute with both western style and eastern style honors combined A remarkable and striking photograph http //www flickr com/photos/ralphrepo_photolog/4073177101/ Qing Court Return The Emperess Dowerger 1902 George E Morrison RESTORED 1902 George Ernest Morrison 4 February 1862 30 May 1920 http //www flickr com/people/34607376 N08 ralph repo PD-old cc-by-2 0 Materialscientist 2012-09-22 George Ernest Morrison Empress Dowager Cixi | ||||
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