Soldier’s Son – Chungking and rural China

“The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.” — George S. Patton

NOTE: You can read the introduction to this series HERE:


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This is an interesting series of photographs that are small in size, but represent the period of history in World War II China circa 1944. I will indicate the approximate size: width x height


A scene in Chungking, China circa 1944
A scene in Chungking, China circa 1944
size – 2.25 x 2.52 square including white space

The photograph above is simply labeled, “some scene in China – Chungking.” It has a stamp indicating that it was passed by US Army Examiner, 23150.


A Chinese peasant working with his Ox in a field
A Chinese peasant working with his Ox in a field.
size – 3 x 2.5 including white space

The picture above had no annotation, but simply shows a peasant farmer working in the field with his ox.


A Miao Tribesman in China, circa 1944
A Miao Tribesman in China, circa 1944
size – 3 x 2.25 including white space

I have to admit that reviewing these pictures gives me pause. It is almost as if I am watching something that should be kept secret; that I am intruding in the lives of others even though they have most likely passed on. The photo above is labeled on the back as one of a “Miow Tribesman” [This is most likely a misspelling and the correct spelling is Miao Tribesman].

The man in this photograph looks as though he was young-ish, but has had a hard life. Who knows what happened to him or how he spent the years after the war? Perhaps he is somewhat bewildered by a non-Asian person with a camera.

Today the Miao ethnic group lives in southern China among other ethnic groups. The Miao generally live in mountainous areas away from urban centers. Apparently they have also migrated to other Asian nations such as Thailand and Vietnam. Read more about the Miao at — The Miao Minority

Interesting fact — The Hmong are actually a subgroup of the Miao and although China recognizes the Hmong as Miao, they are not technically the same. REFERENCE

A picture of the Miao constructing a runway surface in 1945 can be seen HERE


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NOTE — All photographs are “for sale.” Anyone interested in purchasing photographs should contact me via the JBRish.com contact email, i.e. JBRish [dot]com [at] gmail[dot]]com

 
DISCLAIMER — Many of the photographs presented as part of this series are very small and/or very old. In order to enable proper viewing, I scan the images and enhance them to the extent possible using Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop software. These images are not manipulated to remove or modify the content. The enhancements are strictly to provide contrast, bring out details and to render black and white areas in more natural tones. Nothing has been removed or added. I will provide measurements of the actual photographs as they may seem larger than actual size because of the digital presentation.


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