A lensman's Chinese odyssey

Through his lens, viewers can catch a glimpse of the life of upper-class Manchu ladies, in their exquisite costumes, their feet unbound.

The brides that Thomson portrayed often appeared with sad eyes, reflecting a gloomy view of their relationship with stern mothers-in-law.

Back in Britain, Thomson presented the photographs to numerous publishing houses and earned the name "China" Thomson. Historians say he played a significant role in linking the East and West.

Thomson found Chinese women's coiffure fascinating. A horn-shaped hair accessory, worn by one of his subjects, Thomson thought, might as well be used as a weapon against her antagonistic husband. Besides Manchu women, Thomson also photographed minority women wearing strange hairstyles and accessories in the south.

Chinese portraiture at the time was mostly about expressionless faces and upright posture. But Thomson added his own touch. For example, he used chiaroscuro art technique in a Cantonese official's portrait. A Cantonese woman was photographed leaning on the doorway with her left hand on it, rather than the usual stiff, upright posture.

Thomson also took a great number of landscape photographs, such as the arched door of the Confucius Temple in Beijing, the ruined temple in the Summer Palace and the stone sculptures in the Ming Tombs.

"The images present a part of Chinese history whose traces are hard to find," says Shelagh Lester-Smith, who works at a courtyard hotel in Beijing, while visiting the exhibition.

Like many foreigners, Lester-Smith says she has great interest in traditional ways of life in China.

"Today's Beijing is a very modern city, similar to any Western metropolis. Thomson's photographs feature unusual and rare scenes," she says.

After the Beijing debut, the exhibition will travel to Fujian Museum, Guangzhou Museum and Dongguan Exhibition Center. A show at the Liverpool Museum, UK, is on the cards.

Time: 9 am-5 pm, until May 18

Place: Beijing World Art Museum, China Millennium Monument, A9 Fuxinglu, Haidian district, 5980-2222