Illustrations from the Soviet magazine "Red Star"

Author: Yu Hong Deng Ke Wu
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Features: What people are willing to remember and cherish, but often easily forget or become vague, is the past history. If people want to navigate a small boat through the long river of history, they need a continuous source of living water. This source of living water is the rich and diverse kinds of documents. China has been a civilization that has always attached great importance to documents since ancient times. Although the "He Tu Luo Shu" is heavily mythical, it is the earliest generalization of the classification of documents, indicating that documents mainly include text and images. Without documents or insufficient documents, it is very difficult to explain history. Even Confucius, the revered sage for over two thousand years, would sigh in helplessness. In the "Analects·Bai Yi" chapter, it records the following passage: "I can speak of the Xia rituals, but there is insufficient evidence. I can speak of the Yin rituals, but there is insufficient evidence from Song. It is because of insufficient documents that I cannot verify them. If there were enough, I could verify them." Since the Qin and Han dynasties, each dynasty, at the beginning of their rule or even during the process of seizing power, attached great importance to collecting documents, which were then generally referred to as "tu ji," including both images and textual records. Those who destroyed documents would inevitably face severe condemnation, referred to as "misfortune." Therefore, preserving documents has become an excellent cultural tradition in China. In recent years, as people have gradually corrected their attitude toward traditional culture, valuing the collection, organization, and promotion of historical documents, as well as the publication of historical archives and old photographs, has become a trend. In particular, the search for old photographs has been highly valued. As a result, scholars in the fields of literature, publishing, and collecting have actively dug up, organized, and explained them, publishing them for readers. To meet social demand, Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House organized efforts, extensively searched in museums, libraries, and among collectors, gathering a considerable amount of material, which was then compiled into ten thematic series and combined into a set of books, named "Old Documents Series" based on its primary function.
The "Old Documents Series" is structured around four pillars: celebrities, nostalgia, tradition, and collecting, with ten subseries: "Photographs of Modern Figures," "Women of the 1930s," "Swimsuit Human Figures of the 1930s," "Western Female Bodies of the 1930s," "Shanghai Skyscrapers and Folk Customs of the 1930s," "Scenic Spots Along the Yangtze River of the 1930s," "Photographs of Centennial Bridges Around the World," "Illustrations from the Soviet magazine 'Zvezda'," "Ming Dynasty Carved Images of a Hundred Beauties Through the Ages," and "Ming Dynasty Carved Images of Emperors and Sages Through the Ages." In addition to the old carvings from the Ming Dynasty, the main time frame is from the early to mid-20th century, with the 1930s being the most prominent. At that time, China was in an upward period of modern and contemporary historical development, with surging cultural trends and a nationwide high tide of resistance to invasion. Coastal cities were trending toward becoming metropolises, leaving behind numerous photographs and images. Social and historical conditions are vividly presented through these visuals. The value of compiling and publishing this "Old Documents Series" lies in this.
The publication of the "Old Documents Series" can serve as a nostalgic reminder for the elderly who experienced those social conditions, allowing them to reflect on the past and appreciate the present even more. For the younger generation, it not only satisfies their curiosity about historical events but also provides inspiration and motivation for progress. The historical information provided by these photographs and images not only offers valuable reference materials for studying and exploring the social dynamics and landscapes of the early 20th century but also offers direct visual experiences, especially for those engaged in arts, providing important material for creation. The significance of this work lies in this.
The compilation of the "Old Documents Series" adopts a format of text and images, featuring fluent and readable arguments, as well as relatively complete images for readers to appreciate, deepening the impression of the text. The combination of text and images is a major feature of this book. The compilation and publication of this series is only a part of the plan by the organizers—Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House. If it is well-received by society and achieves the desired effect, then the second and third sets of similar series will be published in a timely manner.
I had the honor of reviewing the preliminary draft of this series and, from the perspectives of preserving materials, passing them down to future generations, providing references, and being of value, I believe it will be a book with dual benefits. Therefore, at the request of Ms. Dai Jianhong, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the publishing house, I have written this preface, wishing the publication of this series success.