Amazing China in 1917 in color [AI enhanced and colorized]

[@Rick88888888]

*This video is here for HISTORIC purposes and NOT to discuss present day China-related (CCP) politics* ! *Also this comments section is now closed to comments about the dark skin color. It has nothing to do with the AI* . Just scroll down in the comments section to understand why this topic is now off-limits because It has already been discussed to the dry bone" You may find this additional information provided by @tianming4964 interesting: "Phenotypes in different parts of China vary by region and ethnic background. Beijing in the early 1900s still had a sizeable Manchu population (at one point only Manchus could live in the inner parts of the city), as well as other minority groups such as Hui, Uyghurs, Mongols, etc. Hui are Chinese Muslims who ethnically and culturally aren't much different from the majority population, but many have ancestry from Arab and Persian settlers who arrived in China between the 7th and 14th centuries, hence why people of Hui descent tend to have more Central Asian looking features. Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group from the far western part of China more ethnically and culturally similar to Uzbeks and Turks than to Han Chinese. But even among Han Chinese there are variations in facial features (skin colour, eye shape, nose shape, face shape, etc.) between north and south China. Most Chinese in the diaspora (Southeast Asia, Europe, Americas, Oceania) come from southern parts of China like Fujian and Guangdong and have features that more resemble people from Southeast Asia like Vietnam for example. Most Chinese people you'll encounter abroad will be from southern China, and so those are the features most foreigners associate with being Chinese. Northern Chinese are known to have different facial shapes from southern Chinese and its usually possible for a Chinese person to tell whether another Chinese person comes from northern or southern China just by looking at them. Also when it comes to skin tone, it might not just have to do with the colourization process. My grandpa has ancestry from northern China and has similar features to most of the people in the video, including eye shape, nose shape, face shape, etc. This also includes skin tone, to the point that when many people meet him they mistake him for being Indian. His skin isn't naturally dark, but because he was forced to work out in the fields when he was young it became tanned. His siblings similarly have relatively darker skin than what most people would expect for Chinese. The reason why most Chinese people today don't have skin that dark is because they aren't working out in the rice fields anymore and can keep their skin pale and light with an office job indoors. Chinese culture is like most other Asian countries where they value pale skin because its a symbol of being wealthy and upper class and not having to work out in the fields. And as most Chinese today no longer have to work in the fields, they no longer have such tanned skin compared to the past, though among older generations like my grandpa many still do. A lot of people who have met my family will say things like my mom and grandpa "don't look Chinese," even though their ancestry is 100% from China (and we've done DNA tests to confirm). Even other Chinese people will say this, but almost always its southern Chinese people. They never say that my grandma doesn't look Chinese, because my grandma is also from southern China like they are. But because most aren't used to seeing as many northern Chinese in the diaspora, northern Chinese don't look as Chinese to them. I can say that of the northern Chinese I know--friends, neighbours, acquaintances, etc., most share similar features to those in the video. I often watch a lot of Chinese dramas, where actors are more likely to be of northern Chinese descent, and on many instances people have commented to me how some of the actors don't look Chinese at all. In some cases its because they are not ethnically Han Chinese but are from one of the ethnic minorities in China, and in other cases its just they have different features than what people normally associate with Chinese. For some examples search up names like: Lu Taichong, Song Ya Gang, Wang Kang, Eldos Faruk." PS: This video is here for *historic purposes* and *not to discuss present day China-related politics* So please think of this before making your comment!

[@andreas7136]

Perhaps the used b/w film stock was not panchromatic. This may have contributed to dark skin colours.

[@andanssas]

@@andreas7136 darker skins were also due to sunlight exposure. Nowadays many Chinese & Japanese still avoid it like the plague, since the stigma of a farm/field worker is still attached to it. Unlike Nordic skins that just get burned, most if not all races skins in Asia get tanned.

[@JeeryAltkins]

22:10 The hands are black, which is obviously unreasonable! Your face will tan, but have you ever seen your hands tan? It’s about light!

[@Rick88888888]

@@JeeryAltkins The back of hands tan just as much as faces! It's the inside that stays lighter. I repeat: do not blame the A.I. Watch the original B&W footage on Archive.org It is amazing to note that viewers are not able to accept that the population of Peking had a different composition a century ago. There are more videos about old China around 1910 on KZbin. They all show the same darker skin tones. Also look at present day pictures/footage of people from Mongolia.

[@Rick88888888]

PS: Watch this about Manchuria: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIappKOXfLqUrMU

[@deborahmantha1080]

Thank you so much! My great-grandparents were American missionaries in China from 1904-1919. They loved the Chinese people so much...this really gives me an idea of all the things they saw while there.

[@_Meng_Lan]

​@sandponicsno they were no doubt martyred. Read John and Betty Stam. These were real missionaries not the ywam or false maga Christians

[@1nePercentJuice]

Your great-grandparents were kind of wack for trying to force their religion upon others.

[@deborahmantha1080]

Yes, they would have been "wack" if they were forcing their religion upon others, but they weren't. Religion is a matter of the heart. @@1nePercentJuice

[@joseh3564]

1ndpercent: You're confused. It's the leftists (Communists) who demand to force control over everything from cradle to grave. Research it because you're deeply lost.

[@MrCowabungaa]

@@deborahmantha1080 Many consider the converting missionaries sought out to do as a type of "forcing". Since it's a matter of the heart one could argue it's none of other people's business, and one should well leave other people alone when it comes to religion. Missionary work of various religions has sadly caused untold damage on all kinds of cultures throughout the ages, regularly being a part of an imperialist mindset and system seeking to eradicate as much cultural uniqueness and independence as it could. Especially in the era when this film was made. I'm sure your great-great grandparents meant well though.

[@mn7486]

This kind of video is what makes KZbin and the internet in general worth it.

[@meyojimbo]

Absolutely amazing trip back in time, each scene is fantastic, like an old painting - but moving! Please do more fragments, if not the whole ten reels :-)

[@Rick88888888]

I wish I could find the full 10 reels. I searched a long time for them, but they are nowhere to be found. There is only one (poor quality) film by the same maker about Japan in 1918 on Archive.org

[@tommywang8752]

As a Chinese, it was my first time to watching this kind of footage of my country, this is amazing, thank u❤

[@Rick88888888]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ranjittyagi9354]

I think you remain very busy in life. There are tons of similar videos available on tube. I watched quite a few.

[@tommywang8752]

@@ranjittyagi9354 I’m only 14 years old

[@loganstroganoff1284]

My great granddad sailed all over Asia in the early 1900s as a USN sailor. He had a tattoo on his forearm from Hong Kong. Would love to have seen the world back then before globalism made every place so similar.

[@protectorh9167]

Yes all countries do like imitating the west unless their comments on it.

[@knife-wieldingspidergod5059]

A China sailor. On a gun boat, I assume?

[@FrenulemEnjoyer]

@@protectorh9167yeah its because they copy the west. Definatly not because of the wests colonialism and imperialism…

[@realMoMoPuFF]

​@@FrenulemEnjoyer Countries whom were not colonized by the West want to be like the West.

[@realMoMoPuFF]

What a legend!

[@smallbusinesssuccesswithni7339]

it's over 100 years since these images were recorded and the people in the images are all long dead. I wonder if those who looked on at the funny man winding a handle on a box realised that people in countries far away would be watching them over 100 years later. Providing these films are never lost, the people in them will live for an eternity.

[@rchristie5401]

This is a rare sight indeed!! Awesome coloration! Thanks

[@Rick88888888]

Thank you too!

[@TheOneUnforgivenLuna]

For those saying this is fake/AI generated, it's not. Technology currently is not capable of creating something like this, and any signs of Ai is because it's upscaled from a poorer quality

[@Rick88888888]

Ah, finally someone who understands A.I. The heaps of nonsense viewers have proclaimed under this video about A.I. is staggering...

[@heidimiller5475]

I have seen some fake antique black and white film. Some of this looks just like the fake ones. It's really hard to tell the difference. Either way, it's really enjoyable to watch this.

[@nc01sadh]

I think it's looking like fake because the camera quality at the time wasn't that great. Also, the color and lighting is skewed when you distort the picture from its original black and white.

[@heidimiller5475]

@@nc01sadh Probably we would have to take a class from a professional photographer to tell the difference. Either way, it was pleasant to watch.

[@heidimiller5475]

I think maybe because it is colorized, some of it looks like C.G. or fake black and white. There are some shadows around the figures that make it look like they faked it. Either way, it was pleasant to watch. I hope we do not get to obsessed with this issue, because the whole point of watching the video is to keep us interested in China, and in history. I read Pearl Buck's accounts of her childhood in China, but I did not have any accompanying video of her life then. Since she was alive and in China around the turn of the last century, I really appreciate the opportunity to watch this film of what China was like when Pearl Buck lived there. Ms. Pearl Buck made her life in China sound like heaven. She felt so safe in her neighborhood, she could walk five miles away from home at the age of five, and feel no fear, as everyone knew and loved her. She recounted how they had no sugar in her house. But always by the front door was a tray full of peanuts and oranges, so you could grab a bite to eat any time of the day.

[@mirtikaschultz3282]

This was such a gem of a video. Just felt transported to another time/place, seeing how others dressed, worked, lived. Thank you.

[@sinistercrusader4981]

Its honestly fascinating how much China has changed in the past century, this feels completely different from modern China.

[@Alan331-c5p]

exactly

[@mafuyu1380]

Thanks to the communist party

[@huandrew3874]

This was filmed at the lowest point that China has been in 300 years until it got rebuilt. China 150 years before this would look much more glorious.

[@生菜蔡]

感谢外国友人整理上传，和平是最重要的了

[@LiquidTurbo]

This is the closest thing we have to a Time Machine.

[@orthodoxpilgrimofficial]

a nice selection of music you have made

[@hover-eb1hx]

I have taken several courses in modern China at my university. This time period is very interesting, and this video brought it to life in a way that is hard to capture through textual sources. Thank you for this!

[@LookDeepWithin]

Life is just a dream. Whatever you think belongs to you become someone else's in a century. So just chill, let go of whatever negativities, forgive, do as much good as possible and live happily.

[@kedsforkids668]

streets are so clean, remarkable architecture, thanks for posting!

[@joshgee8714]

No disposable products back then

[@eamo106]

Utterly amazed. Such Chinese History. The incredible leap made from 1917 til today is astounding. Thank you for the History and the work put into this post. I was lucky enough to visit China many times in the 2004 - 8 recent times, and was amazed.

[@Rick88888888]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@magnusspas7732]

Leap from 1917 ? Between 1917 and 1949 China was ruled by warlords who where protected by the KMT The leap forward came after Mao kicked the foreign occupiers out

[@megeek727]

The colorization makes this video absolutely stunning and better than a movie set! It is definitely worth a second and third look. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. 🙏

[@Rick88888888]

Thank you very much

[@Peter-pe6pp]

It is inaccurate though in terms of colour

[@megeek727]

@@Peter-pe6pp Agreed. I was in China a few years ago and the buildings and roof tiles were closer to a grey clay in color. The colorization does make it look better.

[@edwardschneider7385]

Chinese Music Is Absolutely Magical! I Loved Chinese Stuff Ever Since I Was A Kid And Still Do.

[@zoey1994]

Thank you for your love❤谢谢你喜欢我们的东西Welcome to China😉

[@uphett2379]

When you see this kind of poverty in China. We who are living now, have to appreciate all the sacrifices our ancestors have made.

[@rossgai8630]

As a Chinese who works in Beijing, this is quite precious. My nation has developed so much.

[@gissyb1]

I actually do not call it development. you have lost the essence of china.. this old days is lovely...now china is just like usa

[@user-ty1on7dy7n]

It certainly has, Beijing architecture is quite impressive.

[@yoiashi]

i dont like china but i have to admit that it is progressing in a faster rate than western countries, at least in terms of infrastructure.

[@aglis_]

@@gissyb1 "Essence of China" as you call it while living in New Zealand and likely don't know extensively a single Chinese person. You're a special one.

[@零星-n1k]

@@gissyb1 中国的精髓不是愚昧和落后

[@BuzziMuzzi]

This video is the most incredible, elaborate historical video I have seen so far. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with many stupid comments, genuinely worrying how there are so many ignorant and uneducated people. But you should know that the majority of people who watched this video are amazed by it and don’t leave that comment, so I want to say thank you so much for the effort of making it. Majorly only ignorant people feel compelled to write down their ignorant thoughts in comment sections! so don’t pay too much attention to it.

[@wesandy22]

China has come a long way through their hard work and suffering and perseverance. A true testament to it's enduring ambitions and determination to succeed.

[@Anonymous-ip4qx]

What are you talking about. China has been ruined thanks to the people in charge that destroyed true Chinese culture and traditions.

[@Dannysince1985]

They have come a long way, to mass counterfeit goods, shoddy building work, mass cheap inferior manufacturing, appalling human rights, terrible prison like living conditions for a lot of its citizens, nanny state control. For the mega rich yeah it's great, but just like everywhere else the common people suffer.

[@Golo1949]

This must be the best historic film of China I have ever watched and Ive seen a few. Thank you.

[@Golo1949]

My wife is from HK and is a Hakka, we still have a few relatives that have a darker complexion.

[@blondepaprika]

Thank you for showing us these wonderful pictures from a land far away and a time long ago. Its like looking through a time machines window.

[@NessaRossini...]

Amazing! To have a glimpse back in time is something one can only dream of yet here we are watching real 1917 China. I remember, in San Francisco, the Chinese men still wore their braid when I was young. We had an elderly father and his son living next door and the father wore a braid. I loved the style. I was in love with the old Chinese culture growing up. I am still fond of the old culture that made an impression on my life.

[@davidkennedy8929]

Quin dynasty is pronounced ching! Love the videos you produce, especially this one as I traveled for business during the 1990s when they were ripping up all the old Chinese houses and building roads etc. keep up the good work.

[@Worlds_to_Explore]

Most all cultures have variations in skin color. No one should be surprised by this. We are so programmed to be stuck on someone's complexion. Nice work and excellent share! Thank you.

[@xellos5110]

cleaner than india 2024

[@z_amir]

@@xellos5110 💀

[@ぴるぐりむ-c2w]

東京のシェアハウスでインド人と住んでた私は簡単にそれが想像できる

[@dallsham5083]

Cleaner than china 2024

[@guoxiye5996]

@@dallsham5083 fooler than chinese in 1804

[@的馬風馳]

🤣

[@carolinebennett5615]

Wow. That was a rare treat. It was like time travel. Completely absorbing. Fantastic footage. I smiled back at some of those smiling at the camera over a century ago.

[@lawsonsimon8400]

Quite amazing that you know all of these people are dead but their presence on earth were captured, and they would not know how great the future of the country turned out to be.

[@gangliu8468]

imaging we will also be the people like them

[@onearth5279]

I am Chinese, but not from Beijing or Shanghai... the capital of China. With the unprecedented development of modern societal change in China, I cannot see the old city anymore, what a pity, yet it is amazing to see this from KZbin, and in color...come from a very small village in China, I only can catch up the memories, which is old and rural Chinese city...

[@jaydouglas5847]

What part of China is your home village in. When and where did you learn to write English so well ?

[@manoman0]

My mum grew up in similar conditions, quite poor, outside all the time, happy and well. I can so relate to these folks. Don't we all see how similar we all are?

[@20001born]

Thank you so much for the footage. The music was soothing, it was lovely to see the architecture and the people of back then. The music just made this 10x better , thank youuu

[@davidnewkirk2438]

Wow what a treasure this is!! Absolutely riveting. The funeral procession was stunning. Wonderful music too! 🙏

[@RogerCooley]

Wonderfu job, as usual. Thanks for taking us back in the history of mankind. If not for your amazing work we wouldn't have seen and enjoy them. Thanks again.

[@motonegros]

Rickshaw man was a tough job.

[@otisarmyalso]

He still going many Asian places

[@DawnDavidson]

Fascinating video. The colorization really makes it feel more immediate. Wonderful to see!

[@allenwood9967]

It's impressive how upscaling and colour brings the footage to life, in black and white you become a little disconnected from what you're viewing until the quality is raised like this.

[@alfred535]

It's unblievable even for Z generation Chinese. This ground has been changed dramaticly.

[@0animalproductworld558]

Looked quite similar to when I was young. I was born in 1990 in a small chinese village in vietnam. They had houses that were made of woods and dry leaves. Children running around playing. We made chinese cakes wrapped in leaves and boiled in water for the ~whole day and the cakes last for days without refrigeration. My sister and I would play with the fire using sticks with plastics wrapped around the sticks then placed in the fire and I got burnt from the melting plastic falling on my leg. I was around only 5 and I still remember.

[@christanaujok4319]

Hallo Rick, vielen Dank für diesen interessanten Film. Ich habe noch nie original Filmaufnahmen aus dieser Zeit von China gesehen. Viele Grüße aus Rheinhessen 🍷😀

[@andredoracle6326]

I wonder what type of cameras were used to film these scenes? It certainly was a major source of intrigue and fascination to those who were being filmed. Great video, by the way.

[@Rick88888888]

Probably a hand cranked camera on a heavy wooden tripod like this one: cinemaantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DSC08552-600x743.jpg

[@mrblock1318]

I love how in the 1890s- 1920s the all cities of Earth had an distinct yet near modern flavor. A mix of both the old and the new in great proportions.

[@waverider227]

Amazing footage and even more amazing is the addition of color and image stabilization of the old film Many thanks for sharing.

[@Rick88888888]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@WarLionsofGesar]

As for th argument why Chinese look dark in old videos, I offer an explanation: Don't use imagination. Use reality. We Chinese households all have several old photos taken at the beginning of the last century, and our great grandparents are all so black. But in my grandfather's generation, my father's generation, it's not like this anymore. I have met my grandfather and my maternal grandfather. My grandfather was a teacher, fair looking, white skin, and my maternal grandfather was a farmer with a dark skin. This is our personal experience, much more reliable than any so-called expert's explanation. So since ancient times, Chinese people have admired white skin because it is a manifestation of identity, indicating that this person has separated from physical labor and become a wealthy class. The army guys are also labor in the sun. Here I will repeat why Chinese people looked black in the image materials a hundred years ago: 1. working under the scorching sun, 2. poor hygiene conditions (not taking a shower or washing face), 3. poor shooting hardware and technology. In addition, we Chinese prefer white skin, not because of the influence of the westerners. Since very very old books written in the centuries B.C, the appreciation of the beauty has been there. In the history of contemporary Chinese art, a famous oil painting called "Father" was created by Luo Zhongli in 1980 (I offered a KZbin link in comments). This is all because he is not someone's father, but represents the typical image of a Chinese farmer, with dark and rough skin, and a bewildered and numb deep gaze. If you Westerners don't understand history, you will think he is a low caste Indian or African. But this is the Chinese farmers of the past few thousand years. It has only been in recent decades that Chinese farmers have become fair. No need to use a hoe to cultivate land under the scorching sun, we have switched to using machinery.

[@krisaaron8180]

Did use of coal stoves for have something to do with it? It's hard to tell but some people look like their faces are blackened, like coal miners.

[@Rick88888888]

Thank you for your thoughtful comment

[@WarLionsofGesar]

@@krisaaron8180 Coal workers are another matter, they only have two white eyes and the rest are black. Haha. The black skin of farmers has nothing to do with coal. In ancient times, poor families used to burn firewood, which was a dry branch of a tree. Families who could afford coal were all landlords.

[@junaplantbased9093]

Why is the world ashamed of its dark heritage lol sun burn and melanin are two different things these dark Chinese are clearly melaninated people.

[@BalboaBaggins]

tlngr

[@heidimiller5475]

Thank you for showing this film to us. I really enjoyed watching it.

[@Thunder_warrior]

Not a single phone in the sight, just people living in a moment and communicating to eachother

[@АдептаСороритас]

На 7.57 айфон 3д 5 турбо

[@alejandraparker7272]

AFTER MY MEXICAN GRANMAMA PASSED AWAY I FOUND OUT THAT MY GRANDFATHER WAS CHINESE WHO MIGRATED WITH HIS PARENTS TO VENEZUELA TO ESCAPE HUNGER THEN THEY SETTLED IN MEXICO ACTUALLY LINARES N.L. MEXICO. THAT EXPLAINED WHY LOVE CHINOISERIE OVER MEXICAN POTTERY AND FURNITURE SINCE YOUNG. I WATCH CHINESE DRAMAS 24/7 TRYING TO CAPTURE IN MY MIND HOW MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS WOULD HAVE LIVED IN CHINA. CHINA VIDEOS ..THEY MAKE ME HAPPY.. I AM A FIRST BORN TEXAN OF MEXICAN AND CHINESE DESCENT. THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO. DO YOU BY ANY CHANCE HAVE VIDEOS WHERE THEY ARE BUILDING PAGODAS?.

[@junxu7588]

Love how open-minded you are. I guess when people have mixed heritage, they're naturally more open and less judgemental?

[@haniahannslew4108]

@@junxu7588 Duh. They’re open minded because they are mixed and they don’t have a choice. Those mixed race people are either loved by both sides. or discriminated by both sides.

[@haniahannslew4108]

@@junxu7588 not all mixed heritage people are open minded. Also people with mixed heritages are open minded because of their situation. Otherwise they will be criticized by others.

[@haniahannslew4108]

@@junxu7588 they can’t be too much judgmental because of their mixed races. Otherwise other people will criticize and laugh at them

[@zixianjia376]

The traditional, beautiful, peaceful China. I love it.

[@hanslee5666]

Thank you so much. Wow… very kind of you to show us the real life Chinese in the past 100 over years ago. Very precious video. Once again, thank you.

[@frumpdanold4992]

Chaos, poor, civil wars, nothing good happend during that period of our country. Thanks for uploading this, I will watch it again with my sons, they are kind of taking the good life they're having now for granted.

[@Mrfrontrow]

Absolutely fascinating!!! Hope you do more like this. A look back into history!

[@Rick88888888]

Please check out my channel: there are over 300 historic videos already there!

[@tobystamps2920]

One of the more fascinating historical films I’ve seen. Very noticeable was the absence of automobiles which had become common in the west at this time. But also equally interesting was that there were very few horses and carriages. The Chinese immigrants who came over in the 19th century must have found America fascinating especially San Francisco where many settled.

[@lyrand6408]

Very rare, but not absent. You can see one at about 2:48, and 7:55 passing by quickly.

[@mollydooker9636]

Fascinating stuff! I see lots of comments on the skin colour, to me it looks like a side effect of the colourisation process. Thanks for posting, this is gold.

[@Rick88888888]

It has nothing to do with the A.I. colorizer. The B&W footage is just as dark.

[@chicawhappa]

@@Rick88888888 So what happened to all these round-faced dark-skinned chinese? Now, if you see anyone in China, they got pale skin and thinner faces. Was there some demographic change that nobody heard about? Not putting you on the spot, just wondering if you know anything about it...

[@ccdsds3221]

@@chicawhappa yes, in less than 100 years more than 1billion people changed their skin color...

[@siewpoh1319]

Looking at the footages it’s hard to not notice how tough life was for the average chinese in those times, and appreciate how difficult it must be for China to become what it is today. My father left China as a child and never live to see how China rise to stand on its feet, from kneeling for over a hundred years. I hope young Chinese in China and all over the world can understand and appreciate their ancestors’ history, and are proud, that they are descendants of a hard-working, peace-loving people.

[@haniahannslew4108]

Totally agree 👍 very well said

[@snowfumes]

@@siewpoh1319 probably very difficult

[@user-uh6xc1wg1e]

😢😢 ❤ I'm very happy that I seen this old videos ❤ I don't know why I'm feel emotionally attached by this video. ❤ Its very peaceful and simple living ❤ I love it so much😢😭😭 My heart is very happy to see this old videos. I'm in my 30's now and this video it was hundred years old. Thanks so much and I subscribed to your channel

[@AkumaNoZ]

1:45 Qianmen Railway Station 前门火车站 (Now a museum) 2:20 Tiananmen Square 天安门广场 3:00 Qianmen Street 前门大街 12:30 Jianguomen 建国门 13:20 Beihai Park 北海公园

[@jubian8645]

太兴奋了，可以看到100多年前的北京城，感谢视频的提供者，作为一个北京人感到非常高兴。希望大家有机会也可以来北京看看，视频里大部分的建筑现在都还在。已经成为世界文化遗产的一部分。再次感谢大家。😊

[@slashsaussier]

I have been in china 8 times last past 13 years, amazing country, awesome people❤

[@berklia]

are they still black like in the film?

[@georgewilder7423]

@@berklia ..if you've got enough money, go see for yourself?

[@LeviDoek15]

Its incredible how fast the world has changed since WW1. This has been the standard of living for over centuries and look at what we have now.

[@kdegraa]

The Chinese in China were poor and backwards till around 1979.

[@norikunny]

Thank you for posting this very historic and valuable video.

[@jeanprice2514]

Great footage! My respect for the camera man

[@vw8961]

very good video for documantory. This kind of video is kind of precious.

[@luisvi92]

Beautiful combination of music and video

[@Harmannus14]

Hallo Rick, dit historisch filmmateriaal is geweldig, perfect gerestaureerd en ingekleurd. Ben bezig met mijn privé-China-reisverhaal en toevallig tegen deze filmbeelden aangelopen. Ik zal mijn lezers er graag naar verwijzen voor verdieping van mijn geschreven teksten over China's keizerlijke verleden. Hoop dat dit filmmateriaal nog lang ter beschikking blijft! Hartelijke groet uit Groningen 🙂

[@Rick88888888]

Dank je wel. Veel succes met je reisverhaal

[@Rick88888888]

PS Al mijn materiaal staat ook op archive.org archive.org/details/@ricks_film_restoration

[@user-qwertyuiopasdfghj]

This video is so precious for many Chinese who are obsessed with republican era like me. Its a short, chaotic but fascinating period, similar to warring states and three kingdoms, but with extra western influence. I read novels and watch movies about that period all the time since young. Now watching this video is like literal time travel. Thanks!

[@smith9808]

Reflecting on past footage can be unsettling, as it forces us to confront our own mortality. Billions of individuals who preceded us experienced life's worries, fears, joys, love, and laughter, only for their stories to be erased in an instant. Countless intriguing narratives and fascinating individuals remain unknown to us. The way future generations will perceive us, with our lives documented through vlogs and interviews, contrasts sharply with the loss of 5000+ years of digital undocumented history It’s why rare early footage like this will always be viewed more than our modern versions, because there’s so much mystery in it as there’s so little of it.

[@theobserver2309]

I was completely absorbed by every moment of this footage. Absolutely fascinating! I took notice of the various footwear in particular, very interesting. Also, not many women were out on the streets, such a change from modern life. Thank you for showing this.

[@user-tu5un8jc9v]

Film from this era made people look darker than they actually were, so to be accurate their faces should have been lighter skinned. It actually has nothing to do with darker skinned people in China but just with the way shadows on films from the 1900s to the 1920s were extremely black and dark, so it made people's faces sometimes look very dark. I have an example of this in my family on my father's side, their ancestors were white redheads but on the old pictures from the 1920s their skin look really dark and they appear to have brown/black hair. I hope you'll appreciate the explanation. 🙏 Thanks for this video.

[@WorldlyBudget]

We wuz kangz!

[@nightcrawler2937]

It’s not because of skin lighteners and being out of the sun as to why the Chinese have lighter skin tone nowadays That’s like saying the negritos and siddis aren’t the modern day Filipino and asian Indian. We have been genetically modified and cloned in the past hence the incubator babies and orphanages all around the globe some few hundred years ago. We have been gradually divided as a people so that our past appears erased. We no longer know where we came from or who we are as a people anymore

[@sunjourney3723]

Not! The lighter skin ones you see now are hybrids. .

[@torhildsvendsen9424]

Nå i 2024 har vi lært at kineserne stammer fra Afrika. Det er vel en naturlig tanke at etter istiden vandret Afrikanere nordover, Asiaterne vandret vel også nordover helt til Finnmark i Norge og til Grønland. Vi er EN STOR FAMILIE ❤ Vi er alle litt i slekt. Men snart kommer robottmennesket, DET er ikke i slekt med mennesket nei...

[@onemightyandstrong8293]

Yes

[@gammaknife9933]

This is the period of "warlords" in Chinese history before Nationalists Party (KMT) unified the country. Thank you for processing and sharing these precious films. What a difference a hundred year makes in China. From no automobiles on the streets in the film to the largest auto export country in the world today.

[@theterminator3779]

There was one automobile in the video , it was at 7.56 in the video

[@rosejanet80]

Things really got changed rapidly in 100 years.

[@haniahannslew4108]

I heard that the KMT didn’t unify China but the communist party unified China. There would be no communism if KMT unified the country

[@junxu7588]

Thank you for posting such amazing footages and the painstaking work! It really transported me to a different place, a different time. What a trip. I am so moved just watching the manual labor alone, pondering what the collective must've been like, their bodies so much more connected with the lives they led; the sheer energy of the city, the activity, is endlessly fascinating to think about. To think that those streets have been walked on with the same kind of liveliness for like a 1000 years, without much fundamental change in the lifestyle for generations back then. That's actually really moving to think about. Bouncing back and forth between that thought and the thought that within a century human technology has advanced so quickly that it has become so self-destructive. If advancement is leading to less life on earth, is it really advancement? Gosh, what a very heavy feeling in my chest right now.

[@richardhart8121]

The manual labor was blowing my mind, everyone involved, except maybe those fortunate enough to be carted around by the less fortunate runners. The eight or ten guys packing down a road base with a 400 ib. weight suspended on ropes slung across their shoulders; a particular moment for me. I slowed the playback speed down to .25, just to catch all the characters whizzing by; all the old souls. Without all the distractions of modern day, I imagine they spent a lot more time thinking about each other and their relationships

[@anahata2009]

What a fascinating view into a different time and place. Thank you for posting this.

[@范咏熙]

Thanks for the contribution of each generation of Chinese people , as a Chinese I feel proud to my country🙏🙏👍

[@slashsaussier]

Yes u should be very proud❤

[@DancingShiva788]

As an American commentator, there is a lot to be proud of.

[@김영준-t1j4w]

중국은 근세에 너무큰 핍박과 혼란을 격어서 그렇지 결코 수준낮은 나라가아닙니다. 수천년간 아시아 최선진국이어습니다. 다시한번 일어서길 바랍니다.

[@beilinliu4532]

谢谢

[@amnesiaaj492]

谢谢

[@LinaLiu-ek2zc]

Already

[@puresunlight3804]

我们这一代人会见证这一切！

[@旧街凉风]

谢谢

[@requispw]

It's a strange thing about humans on Earth. Billions humans passed through here and went somewhere. We don't know why they came and why they went

[@bisonkambaine5628]

Thank you for uploading this. Humanity has come along way.

[@noren3117]

Une très grande nostalgie de ce qui fut le monde autrefois...et en même temps vraiment magnifique de voir,ou bien de revoir ces belles images !!.. - Merci infiniment pour le partage 🙏👍

[@wendyqallab6906]

I love to see these old films. I can not believe how many rickshaws there were. Those men worked so hard.

[@juliefaulkner5497]

Those poor men running along pulling carts with people in, imagine doing that all day.

[@CC-si1fi]

This is fantastic ! What a great way to archive film that will likely crumble soon, if it hasn't already. Digitized it could potentially last forever (relatively). There is toil but also lots of humour. The pet birds, the freakishly tall gentleman, the contortionist. I wouldn't want to be "sailing" up the Yangtze, though. Exceptional.

[@Rick88888888]

Many thanks!

[@litog888]

Thank you for the interesting video. Now seeing China from my father's 10-year old eyes.

[@lindodeyi1538]

Amazing what a people can do if they put their mind to it. Sad how some countries are still stuck in this era

[@beangobernador]

crazy to think my grandparents lived through this era

[@Thomas-vh9th]

Thoroughly enjoyed the video seeing aspects of life in China as it was over 100 years ago. It's funny how I see modern parallels in rural Vietnam today, which has some roots to China. Only one constructive criticism; numerous misspellings that detract from a wonderful video presentation.

[@Rick88888888]

There are 3 small misspellings in the text cards, not "numerous".

[@adeelliaqat5899]

Many people today criticise and down grade China saying so much negative about them but I don't see much examples in history that a nation with in 3 or 4 decades changed it's status from struggling to manage 3 meals a day to a super power. Always pay respect where it is due, no matter who is on the opposite side.

[@FootballJunky-r6h]

Well said 👏

[@heavenlysonshine]

At what price? Total loss of all personal rigthts and freedom? A 'superpower' of government, maybe.

[@qingmingyang1093]

@@heavenlysonshine 没有你说的那么不堪，“所有个人权利和自由”？你说的权利是骂政府、选举？维护人权的最终的方式是法治，把应该做的和不应该做的进行规范，从而形成法律。而这正是中国政府正在做的

[@低能儿]

@@qingmingyang1093支言支语，支性难改

[@dougmungoven4315]

a fabulous insight into Chinese culture back then

[@SaadMughal-ko5fw]

Great music selection

[@skane3109]

Fascinating video. Thank you for making it available. China of this era was not a unified country with a common Mandarin language. Even today the variety of ethnic backgrounds and local dialects is surprising to many.

[@刘东刘-r7s]

您错了，我国有上下几千年的历史，很多朝代，大部分时间都是统一的，视频中的年代，军事和经济很弱，但是国家是统一的。

[@NoNo-Please]

官方语言在不同时期发音有差异，但文字是统一的

[@litog888]

​@@NoNo-PleaseGo tell that to a linguist.

[@Donknowww]

Absolutely amazing if you compare it with nowadays. China evolved at Lightspeed! Impressive!

[@theflyingscott1]

Looks more civilised than London in 2024

[@Jaskharo]

London in 2024, it's an islamic shithole

[@pinklin5116]

[@enzos711]

Got to be the most amazing video I've ever watched ..

[@cathleenwitt2790]

Thank you for the wonderful film! I lived in China for 3 years in the mid 1990's. I spent one year in Beijing. I found China to be a fascinating place!

[@PutItAway101]

Lot of comments from people who are somehow mystified by the concept of a suntan. These people living in China in 1917 spent far more time in the sun they would in modern times, and they had no sunscreen. No cars = walk everywhere, in the sun. Or if you can afford it, take a rickshaw, also open to the sun. Very few could afford to travel in covered carriages. Also many of these people had outdoor jobs, like the barber, the street peddler, the workers building the road. Markets were typically outdoors, you did most of your shopping in the sun, not indoors in a supermarket. People just spent a lot more time outdoors. Obviously they're going to get a darker tan than is usual today. Add to that the effects of the limited dynamic range of the film - if you open the shutter so that the bright parts of the image aren't over-exposed, the darker parts are going to be underexposed, that adds something to the darkness of the faces. People blaming the AI colorisation don't know what colorisation is. It doesn't change the lightness, it keeps that the same and makes a guess at the hue and saturation. Not a very good guess, this AI thinks every dark colour is purple, which is pretty silly when you consider how uncommon purple actually is in real life.

[@majorstack7214]

That’s a natural color of their skin just like most of Asia at that time. Quit making excuses for their dark skin.

[@PutItAway101]

@@majorstack7214 OK then genius, what do you think the reason is their skin is much lighter today? There has been very little interbreeding with foreigners, genetically the people of China today are the same as they were in 1917, how do you think their skin is lighter? I'm expecting some prime lunacy from you Mr Flat Earth Playlist, don't disappoint!

[@hadessahf3549]

@@PutItAway101His explanation is just as good as yours. 😂

[@PutItAway101]

@@hadessahf3549 What are you talking about fool, he didn't explain anything. You can't just say they were that colour "at the time", that explains nothing. Why were they that colour at that time? Why did it change? I offered an explanation, he offered nothing.

[@kazoko6628]

@@majorstack7214 Absolutely so many excuses (again) most Asians are descendants of the so called negritos...if people really studied and not just read what the schools tell you to read, the world would be in shock ... His story is not History

[@macho8330]

Just imagine the people in this video are long gone, that's mind blowing

[@LeMouvementNZ]

was just thinking that

[@russe19642]

Even the youngest,life

[@paulohagan3309]

We are dust blowing in the wind ...

[@Mithras444]

Could you imagine how hard it would be to pull a rick shaw all day long? Its looks exhausting pulling that around!!!

[@pekingdragon]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWi4kIh3rsiXd9k..... There is that interesting movie "Richshaw Boy" a famous novel written by Lao She. It tells the stoy of a hard working richshaw men during the 1920s in Beijing who at least cannot escape poverty.

[@sunnyboy4553]

This was just so incredible. Amazing to see how similar they were to people today. Lovely, evocative music. Just fascinating. Thank you. Subbed and liked.

[@Rick88888888]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Jon-mh9lk]

So much history... This was 6 years after the Xinhai revolution (1911-1912) that had swepped away the Qing dynasty and had lead to the foundation of the Republic of China. At this time China had plunged into the Warlord Era (1916-1928) after the dictator Yuan Shikai had passed away. In the following years Beijing was ruled by the Beiyang government and Yuan Shikai was succeded by Li Yuanhong and Feng Guozhang. In September 1917 Sun Yat-sen, the primary leader of the Chinese revolution, set up a rival Nationalist government in Guangzhou. During the Northern Expedition (1926-1928) the Nationalist government would attack the Beiyang government and would unify China for a short time. But already during the expedition the United Front between the Nationalists and the Communist Party (founded in 1921, 102 years ago, at that time lead by Chen Duxiu and later Xiang Zhongfa) was ended by the anti-communist Shanghai massacre, which lead to the Chinese civil war (1927-1949). At the same time the Northern Expedition also was a proxy war between the Soviet Union (that supported the Nationalist/Communist United Front) and the Japanese Empire (which supported the Beiyang government). The Japanese would invade Manchuria in 1931. China was in age of chaos and transformation that culminated in the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. But these would be historical events in the far future. At this time the people might have still felt a strong disappointment with the "failed" revolution, but would still have been eager to "learn from the west" (i.e. Western Europe). It was the time of the "New Culture Movement" that rejected Chinese tradition (including the Classical Chinese language) and looked up to alternative western models of culture, society and statehood I really like some of the European style buildings shown in this video (for example at 1:42). I wonder what kind of architecture that is. Art nuoveau? I also wonder how the average Chinese thought about the westernization of Chinese society. What did this kind of "new" architecture mean for them? "Modernization" had already started in the Qing dynasty, but only the Chinese revolution lead to a very evident discontinuity in Chinese culture. Chinese society had been in decline since the the Christian Taiping rebellion (1850-1864) and the Muslim Dungan Revolt (1862-1877). The Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860) were minor events in comparision. The Chinese answer to these inner and outer threats was Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895), the unsuccesful Hundred Days' Reform (1898) and the Late Qing reforms (1901-1911) which were lead by Confucian reformers. The event that was most humiliating for the Dynasty and the Chinese people was the Eight-Nation Alliance (1900) that lead to the destruction of a great part of Beijing. Therefore, even though there might be some remnants of the earlier imperial era still visible, this video mostly shows the following: - The advances of around 50 years of modernization based on western technology. - Signs of rapid westernization and loss or active rejection of traditional culture. - A city that still bears the signs of war and revolution. - Wretched and poor people whose ancestors only 100 years earlier would have been richer than most Europeans at that time. China would enter World War I in 1917 in support of the Entente Powers even though they were not able to send any soldiers to Europe. On the other hand, Chinese laborers comprised the largest non-European workforce during World War I. After the war the Chinese people would be bitterly disappointed by the western powers as they would allow Japan to keep the German colonies on Chinese territories. After the Treaty of Versailles (1918) this disappointment would lead to the May Fourth Movement (1919) that also was influenced by the October Revolution (1917). The leaders of this movement were people like Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, who had been part of the New Culture Movement and would go on to become the founders of the Chinese Communist Party. These were fundamentally modern thinkers that would reject Chinese tradition, and they would become more influential than Confucian reformers like Kang Youwei, anarchist like Liu Shipei, Wu Zhihui, Li Shizeng and Zhang Renjie, liberals like Hu Shih and neo-Buddhists and new Confucians like Liang Shuming and Xiong Shili, most of whom tried to defend Chinese culture against westernization. On the other hand, they were all influenced by thinkers like Hobbes, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Spencer, Huxley, Haeckel, Katō Hiroyuki, Nietzsche, Kroptkin, Bakunin, Bergson, Euken, Marx, Engels and Lenin. The westernization of thought was quite inevitable. Even though a lot of the scenes shown here are meant to show "traditional" China, this kind of selection goes against the spirit of the time: These were mere remnants, and they would become exceptions even long before the Communists took power.

[@jean-pierrelanhingkwong7852]

Greetings! We must thank you for your profound detailed written lecture you just gave us. Very informative & useful narrative of our past Chinese history. After so many tragic suffering & humiliation, at long last, we can be presently very proud of our China at the dawn of this 21st century.

[@jjescorpiso21]

Very insightful! You have taught me many things about China that would be hard to find now. Thank you for taking the time to share your expertise. Cheers 🎉