Exhibition shows tenacious Scott's 150-year-old glimpse of China

Striking images of Asia, offering a glimpse of the way people lived more than 150 years ago, are on display at a new exhibition in London.

The pictures were taken between 1862 and 1872 by Scottish photographer and travel writer John Thomson, during his travels to several Asian countries, including what was then called Siam, Cambodia, Vietnam, and many parts of China.

The first London exhibition of the photographs, called China and Siam through the Lens of John Thomson, can be seen at the Brunei Gallery within the School of Oriental and African Studies. It offers views of everyday life during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), at a time when foreigners were rarely seen in the country.

Betty Yao, the exhibition’s curator, said Thomson, who was born in 1837 and who died in 1921, was unlike most of the people who traveled to the Far East at the time.

“Cameramen at the same period were either missionaries or foreign government officials,” Yao said. “He only documented China with a photographer’s eyes, respecting and loving the country.”

Because many people Thomson encountered had never seen a camera or a Westerner before, Yao said it was exceptional that he was able to gain access and take photographs, especially images of the women of the time.

“He must have been an incredible communicator, it was beyond language, he didn’t know Chinese but that he treated people with respect and he made people relax and respond and not be scared of the camera,” Yao said.