This Man Had His Portrait Taken Frequently For 60 Years. The Results Are Moving

by N/A, 10 years ago | 1 min read

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These photos are from an anthology called A Life In Portraits, a collection of photos by a photo collector named Tong Bingxue.

Bingxe was contacted by a client looking for an appraisal on a photobook he'd found. Upon seeing it, he realized that there was more to the photos than he'd anticipated.

The series began in 1927 and are photos of a man named Ye Jinglu. He began taking portraits of himself at age 27 and continued until age 89.

His commitment to portraiture isn't what's so impressive about these photos. Ye lived through the oppressive Qing Dynasty in China and experienced many different social and political issues in his lifetime, many of which are evident in the photos.

History photos Photography Culture/Ethnicity Tradition throwback Non-Premium

1907

Here Ye wears his hair in a long braid called a queue which was a symbol of the Qing Dynasty that men were required to wear. Most men, including Ye, cut their braids when the dynasty fell.

1909