Typical Political Gathering, China, ca. 1905-1914

Tinted lantern slide capturing a political meeting in a building courtyard in early twentieth century China. Both women and men appear in the courtyard. Some groups carry banners featuring the Chinese character for 'woman / women' (nu), suggesting that this was either a meeting focusing upon further emancipation of women in China or was a pro-revolutionary women's party. Men wear white arm bands, whilst two figures in the foreground are wearing white flowers, which could possibly be a symbol of mourning. The group may have been linked with the Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmenhui), a secret society with the aim of overthrowing the Qing. The further independence of women within social and family spheres was seen as a key sign of more Western style political progress for Chinese reformers. Some women resisted the binding of their feet, and men pledged to only marry women with the 'large feet' that had previously seen as unattractive, for example. The slide was developed by the Photo Department, Tientsin Hui Wen Academy, Tientsin, China