Brush & Shutter: Early Photography in China

　　Brush and Shutter: Early Photography in China explores the introduction of photography to China and the cultural shifts that heralded the technology’s arrival. The essays examine photography’s reception by indigenous Chinese reformers and the dissemination of photography’s appeal throughout the Middle Kingdom while scrutinizing visual data in unprecedented ways. This volume looks below the surface of the exposed photographic print to consider the often-obscured realities associated with portraiture, landscapes, and panoramas. And as never before, Brush and Shutter places the first Chinese photographers within a historical context. Enjoyable, thought provoking essays by Jeffrey W. Cody and Frances Terpak, Sarah Fraser, Edwin Lai, Wu Hung, and Wen-hsin Yeh offer some surprising conclusions.

　　作為一門於19世紀40年代初期由歐洲旅行者傳入亞洲的技藝，攝影既見證了19世紀下半葉中國社會所發生的巨大變化，也促進了中國其後的現代化過程。《Brush & Shutter》中的攝影作品涉及不同的題材和拍攝年代：從1859年攝於上海附近的一幅中國家庭肖像攝影，到1911年一名法國傳教士在山西省拍攝的一組關於革命軍的獨特幻燈片。本書通過百餘幅的作品展示出中國攝影實踐者是如何?熟地將攝影這一新技術與中國傳統美學相結合的。除一批罕見的中國攝影家作品之外，本書還載有一些引人注目的油畫及水粉畫；透過這些由中國藝術家創作並出口到西方的畫作，讀者可以看到，攝影在當時是眾多媒介之一種，形塑了西方對中國的感知。