Early Urban Photographs And Films In Beijing And Visual Modernity(1860-1921)

Beijing is the birthplace of Chinese film.As early as in the middle and late 19 th century,Westerners began to carry the newly invented camera into the capital for shooting.The modern media and the imperial capital of Beijing developed an uninterrupted symbiotic relationship.Modern video technology is closely linked with the development process of Beijing City,providing a new way of perception for urban people.This paper begins with the earliest photo "Tong Zhou Lighthouse" in Beijing in 1860 and ends with the appearance of the feature film in 1921.The prehistory of film is brought into the research field,This paper analyzes the collision between the capital and the camera in historical images.Through the lens,the West completed the process of Beijing from urban imagination to construction,as well as the visual modernity of Beijing’s urban life and landscape architecture.In terms of content,it combs the early photographs and films of Beijing and the construction of Beijing urban space in the images.On the basis of historical data and literature,this paper focuses on the analysis of the impact of western vision and modern civilization on the collision and influence of Beijing urban photographs and films with public space,material civilization and daily life practice.From the perspective of history and visual modernity,this paper explores and improves the image history of early Beijing.This paper makes a detailed analysis from four dimensions: development evolution,urban landscape,visual politics and daily life.The first part mainly expounds the theoretical breakthrough point "visual modernity" and the historical background of the text,and combs the development process of early Beijing photographs and films from the perspective of history.The second part analyzes how Beijing’s urban landscape becomes a visual colonial way and consumer goods under the Western lens,focusing on the analysis of Beijing’s landscape architecture and urban space photographed by Westerners.Taking the landmark buildings frequently appearing in photos and early documentaries as examples,this paper analyzes the visual symbols in the image text.The third part focuses on the documentary photos and movies,analyzes the power and politics under the visual images,including the royal family and nobles,important social events,and war turbulence,and discusses the acceptance and confrontation of modern viewing between people and people in Beijing.The fourth part focuses on the modern practice of daily life of Beijing people,such as clothing,food,housing and transportation.Focusing on the image of Beijing people in the urban photographs and films,it analyzes the transformation of modern life of urban residents,how to combine their own life experience with the image,and how the way of life of modern city changes the visual viewing.Although the camera selectively records and reproduces the architectural landscape,cultural scenery and social conditions of the city,it is not difficult to see the subjectivity of Beijing city and people in their modern visual experience.