Image Records of an Ancient City. (Part 1): Old Photos of Kunming: Old Photos of Kunming

Author: Long Donglin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Kunming is one of the first 24 historically and culturally famous cities announced by China. Unlike many other historically and culturally famous cities in China, Kunming has its own regional climate, complete ecosystem, and abundant produce. It is one of the ten recognized cradles of humankind by modern anthropologists and also one of the recognized cradles of world rice culture and the ancient Baiyue ethnic group by historians and cultural scholars. As early as 30,000 years ago, the area entered the Old Stone Age, and around 7,000 years ago, it entered the late Old Stone Age and early Neolithic Age. Archaeological findings show that rice culture traces had already emerged during that time. Around 3,000 years ago, the Dianchi region had developed a splendid bronze culture, and rice culture had also matured. These historically original cultural characteristics are distinctly different from those traced back to the Hemudu culture. It is hoped that this book will enable readers to concretely understand the history of Kunming and Kunming in history. Through this concrete history and the individual histories, readers can gain insights into Chinese history, interpret the heartstrings of their ancestors and forefathers imprinted in historical photographs, and decipher the marks left by history in these images. Over the past 7,000 years, Kunming has always been a place suitable for human habitation. In existing written records, Kunming has no real natural disasters such as vast deserts or catastrophic floods. Therefore, living in Kunming has always been a blessing pursued by the people of Kunming. And living in Kunming has its own unique joys. The old photographs of Kunming collected in this book are our examination of Kunming from the perspectives of folk culture and ecological culture.