Brush and Shutter

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.