China: Manchuria, 1897-1898

Extent:

337 prints

Scope and content:

The Manchuria prints form the largest group in the China series, reflecting in part the amount of time Shockley spent in this important mining region. Manchuria has a complex history of occupation by the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Russians, and is now represented by several provinces (Liaoning, Jilin, Inner Mongolia); even today the region around the city of Shenyang ("Moukden") is known for its international population. Because of this, locations and ethnicities in Shockley's images can be difficult to decipher.

The landscapes of Shockley's Manchuria trip feature mountainous terrain, remote mountain valleys, the Yalu river, and cultivated fields. Captions often document geological features. Places include the Yalu and Hun Rivers; Liao Yang; Willow Palisades; a Manchu emperor's tomb (now in Shenyang's Beiling Park); a Korean house; pagodas, shrines, and temples; a Christian church; and a school. Shockley also photographed the families of Dr. Westwater, a physician and missionary who resided in Liaoyang for many years, and Dr. John Ross, a Scottish Presbyterian physician and missionary living in Shenyang. There is also a portrait of Shockley's servant, Kuei To, and many images of his travel caravan.

Travel scenes include boat traffic on a river, gravel and lead mining, an iron furnace, a camel train carrying coal, and paying for a fur coat in Shenyang. There are many photographs, casual and portrait, of villagers, workers (both Chinese and Korean), Korean immigrants of all ages, women nursing babies, Chinese soldiers, French priests, and members of Shockley's travel party, as well as the pack animals. There are also numerous images of inns where the travelers stayed. Shockley appears in at least one image, P-0402, on a horse.

There are many duplicate prints in this series; as with other series, these are indicated by an extension of ".2" after the print identifier.

Processing information:

Titles have been transcribed as they appear in original captions on the backs of prints. Descriptive captions and Chinese translations of titles were supplied by library staff. Duplicate prints are indicated by an extension ".2" after the image identifier.

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