在19世纪下半叶，照相机在中国还很罕见，流传至今的照片非常少。在今天看来，它们都是极为珍贵的历史资料。
Photos of China in the 19th century
by Oscar Holland
Before the arrival of photography, the Western imagination of China was based on paintings, written travelogues（游记） and dispatches from a seemingly far-off land. From the 1850s, however, a band of pioneering Western photographers sought to capture the country's landscapes, cities and people, captivating audiences back home and sparking a homegrown photography movement in the process.
photography /fəˈtɒɡrəfi/ n. 摄影
imagination /ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 想象（由imagine加后缀-ation变成名词）
dispatch /dɪˈspætʃ/ n. 新闻报道
seemingly /ˈsiːmɪŋli/ adv. 看上去、看起来
far-off 遥远的
band /bænd/ n. 一帮人
pioneering /paɪəˈnɪərɪŋ/ adj. 开拓性的、先驱的
photographer /fəˈtɒɡrəfə(r)/ n. 摄影师
seek /siːk/ v. 寻求（sought是过去式）
capture /ˈkæptʃə(r)/ v. 拍照
landscape /ˈlændskeɪp/ n. 风景
captivate /ˈkæptɪveɪt/ v. 吸引注意力、使着迷
audience /ˈɔːdiəns/ n. 观众、读者
spark /spɑːk/ v. 点燃、引发
homegrown /həʊmˈɡrəʊn/ adj. 国产的（由home和grown组成）
movement /ˈmuːvmənt/ n. 运动、社会运动（由move加后缀-ment变成名词）
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 过程
Some of those works feature in a 15,000-strong photo collection amassed by New York antiquarian（古董商） and collector Stephan Loewentheil. His 19th-century images span street scenes, tradespeople, rural life and architecture, showing everything from blind beggars to camel caravans（大篷车） on the Silk Road.
work /wɜːk/ n. 作品
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ in 做为…的特征
strong /strɒŋ/ adj. （用在数字之后）多达
amass /əˈmæs/ v. 积累、积聚
collector /kəˈlektə(r)/ n. 收藏家（由collect加上表示人的后缀-or）
image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ n. 图片
span /spæn/ v. 涵盖
street scene /siːn/ 街景
tradesperson /ˈtreɪdzˌpɜːs(ə)n/ n. 生意人、手艺人（tradespeople是复数）
rural /ˈrʊərəl/ adj. 乡村的
architecture /ˈɑːkɪtektʃə(r)/ n. 建筑风格
beggar /ˈbeɡə(r)/ n. 乞丐（由beg加上表示人的后缀-ar）
camel /ˈkæm(ə)l/ n. 骆驼
A rare book dealer by trade, Loewentheil has spent the last three decades acquiring the pictures from auctions and collectors, both in and outside China. They form what he claims to be the world's largest private collection of early Chinese photography. Now, he has put 120 of the prints on display in Beijing for the first time.
dealer /ˈdiːlə(r)/ n. 贸易商
by trade 就职业而言
decade /ˈdekeɪd/ n. 十年
acquire /əˈkwaɪə(r)/ v. 获得、购得
auction /ˈɔːkʃ(ə)n/ n. 拍卖
form /fɔːm/ v. 形成
claim /kleɪm/ v. 声称
print /prɪnt/ n. 翻拍的照片
Despite the prominent role of foreigners in early Chinese photography, the exhibition – and Loewentheil's collection at large – also aims to honor the achievement of the country's own practitioners.
prominent /ˈprɒmɪnənt/ adj. 重要的
role /rəʊl/ n. 角色、作用
exhibition /ˌeksɪˈbɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 展览
at large 总体而言
honor /ˈɒnə(r)/ v. 致敬
achievement /əˈtʃiːvmənt/ n. 成就（由achieve加后缀-ment变成名词）
practitioner /prækˈtɪʃ(ə)nə(r)/ n. 从业人员
Having first arrived in port cities, photography spread throughout China in the latter half of the 19th century. This led to the creation of commercial studios specializing in portraits of individuals and families, with many of the pictures later hand-colored by trained painters.
spread /spred/ v. 传播、扩散
throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep. 遍及
latter /ˈlætə(r)/ adj. 后期的
lead to 导致、造成
creation /kriːˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 创建（由create加后缀-ion变成名词）
commercial /kəˈmɜːʃ(ə)l/ adj. 商业的
studio /ˈstjuːdiəʊ/ n. 工作室
specialize /ˈspeʃ(ə)laɪz/ v. 专门从事（由special加后缀-ize变成动词）
portrait /ˈpɔːtreɪt/ n. 肖像、半身画像
individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ n. 个人
hand-color 手工上色
Instead of copying their foreign forebears, China's photographers were often inspired by their own artistic traditions. Portraits, for instance, were treated more like paintings in their composition and use of light, Loewentheil said. Sitters were often pictured facing the camera, straight on and wearing little or no expression, with early portraits appearing to "simulate painted Chinese ancestor portraits."
forebear /ˈfɔːbeə(r)/ n. 祖先（这里指前辈）
inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(r)/ v. 启发、给予灵感
artistic /ɑːˈtɪstɪk/ adj. 艺术的
tradition /trəˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 传统
treat /triːt/ v. 对待
composition /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 构图
sitter /ˈsɪtə(r)/ n. 让人画像的人（这里指让人拍肖像的人）
picture /ˈpɪktʃə(r)/ v. 画、拍
face /feɪs/ v. 面对
wear /weə(r)/ v. 面带（某种表情）
expression /ɪkˈspreʃ(ə)n/ n. 表情（由express加后缀-ion变成名词）
simulate /ˈsɪmjəleɪt/ v. 模拟
ancestor /ˈænsestə(r)/ n. 祖先
Images of architecture, meanwhile, embraced the surrounding nature rather than focusing on the buildings in isolation, another divergence from the Western tradition. "Very often, when we have an unidentified photographer, we have a pretty good idea of whether they're Chinese or Western," Loewentheil added.
meanwhile /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ adv. 与此同时
embrace /ɪmˈbreɪs/ v. 欣然接受
surrounding /səˈraʊndɪŋ/ adj. 周围的
focus /ˈfəʊkəs/ on 专注于
isolation /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 孤立
divergence /daɪˈvɜːdʒ(ə)ns/ n. 分化、差异
unidentified /ˌʌnaɪˈdentɪfaɪd/ adj. 身份不明的（由identify的过去分词加上表示否定的前缀un-）
"Photography is the greatest preserver of history," Loewentheil said. "For many **hundreds of **years, the written word was the way that history was transmitted. But the earliest photography preserves culture in China, and elsewhere, as it had been for many years because it was simultaneous with the technological revolutions that were to change everything."
preserver /prɪˈzɜːvə(r)/ n. 保存者（由preserve加上表示人或物的后缀-er）
transmit /trænzˈmɪt/ v. 传送、传播
preserve /prɪˈzɜːv/ v. 保存
elsewhere /elsˈweə(r)/ pron. 其他地方
simultaneous /ˌsɪm(ə)lˈteɪniəs/ adj. 同时发生的
technological /ˌteknəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/ adj. 技术的、科技的（由technology加后缀-ical变成形容词）
revolution /ˌrevəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ n. 革命
Loewentheil maintains that the images have been brought together for posterity's sake. He sees himself as the custodian（守护者） of a historical archive – one that should eventually return to its birthplace – and he is currently digitizing the collection with a view to creating an online repository for historians and researchers.
maintain /meɪnˈteɪn/ v. 坚决主张
for one's sake 为了某人好、为了某人的利益
posterity /pɒsˈterəti/ n. 子孙后代
archive /ˈɑːkaɪv/ n. 档案
eventually /ɪˈventʃuəli/ adv. 最终
birthplace /ˈbɜːθpleɪs/ n. 诞生地（由birth和place组成）
currently /ˈkʌr(ə)ntli/ adv. 现在、目前（由current加后缀-ly变成副词）
digitize /ˈdɪdʒɪtaɪz/ v. 数字化（由digit加后缀-ize变成动词；指变成计算机能够处理的信息）
repository /rɪˈpɒzɪt(ə)ri/ n. 储藏室（这里指资料库）
historian /hɪˈstɔːriən/ n. 历史学家
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
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