【AI Colorized】A Life in Portraits 1907-1968 Ye Jinglu's 62 annual portraits

Ye Jinglu was born in 1881, Fuzhou, China. For 62 years, Mr.Ye took a self-portrait every year from 1907 until 1968. His portraits compiled a series of personal autobiography that across 3 eras of China: late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and the People’s Republic of China.
In 2007, the portraits of Mr.Ye were rediscovered by Beijing collector Tong Bingxue. Since 2011, the portraits have been on a travel exhibit around the world. It went viral in China and until now.
Hello this is DGSpitzer! This work basically took me 1 month to finish. Hope you like it!
I played the piano and composed the rest of the music in this video (except the first one composed by Chopin)
The opening is made by @Vivy Has A Dream
Original photos from the historian & collector @Tongbingxue
Those photos are at first colorized by DeOldify + Topaz Labs upscaling，and some background & details are redrawn and fixed by me.
中文版地址为： www.bilibili.com/video/BV1of4...

[@cindychen8421]

He was a handsome man, lived a long life in this turmoil Chinese history, he must have a kind, and humble heart in order to survive that.

[@tycoon99999]

Just like so many in Europe who have survived the two world wars.

[@wyfcph]

@@tycoon99999 The difference is: in world wars, one was tortured by invaders, by those of different races; whereas in certain country, despite torture by its OWN leader for decades, most citizens still took those evil things as granted and were never aware of the need to resist.

[@tycoon99999]

@@wyfcph In Germany under Hitler?

[@user-je5ue9xm4r]

@@wyfcph 煞笔，离开意识形态争论就不能活一样，张嘴闭嘴攻击政体

[@wyfcph]

@@user-je5ue9xm4r 以上一堆字正顯示過去七十年某政權對中華文化搉殘得不忍卒睹 民國或以前的優雅文風，盡被殺氣黱黱的堆砌代替 每一粒字又粗暴地遭剝皮拆骨變殘廢 幸好仍有勇於反省的國民，縱使鄙人從未點名提哪一政權，你已撲出對號入座承認 知恥近乎勇，抵讚 !

[@whatif8408]

I feel as if I got to know him quite well and was sad at the end when he died.

[@marciahodali921]

Same thing here.

[@shanjia2001]

don't know why but couldn't help crying while watching his beautiful mini documentary of Mr. Ye

[@brendakayyy]

The BGM is beautiful

[@newuserxj]

You can see the effect of the great Chinese famine of 1959 and 1961. Even for a relatively abundant coastal city of Fuzhou, a well-to-do person like Ye became much thinner between 1958 and 1961 in the photographs. We are truly the embodiment of history.

[@user-fd2wc8et4m]

That is the tragedy of our history! It is wrong to choose communism

[@navingotbaitedbyd6591]

@@user-fd2wc8et4m yes continue to blame the ideology, just appreciate the photos and stop with the political bullshit thanks.

[@user-nd5xl3us8o]

@@user-fd2wc8et4m But the Chinese realize that communism without the support of strong productive forces is fragile

[@ratstsew]

这场因毛泽东错误政策下的人为灾难造成了近3000万人饿死，为了推脱责任，中国政府把灾难说成是天气原因造成，而这种说法在中国国内一直延续至今。

[@banamai]

A very touching record of a man's life. He led a good life, despite the ups and downs of his time. Thank you DGSpitzer. And thank you, Mr. Ye.

[@gabriellejosef-marie2980]

I wish I could see all the portraits together...to better view the age progression. He certainly aged very gracefully. Even in his later years, he still retained a youthfulness.

[@dgspitzer4771]

No problem!~ Here is the pic version: www.bilibili.com/read/cv6953476

[@harumatsu7490]

とても上品で容姿端麗、そしてお洒落な方ですね。 激動の時代を生きた６２枚のポートレートは感動的でした。

[@mikey-fi4cw]

The thing that interested me was how the look of his age was mostly affected by the circumstances of his life rather than his age itself. What I take from this is to keep a strong feeling of joy, no matter the circumstances, and to also eat healthy. Nice work Mr DGSpitzer, thanks!

[@buyannemekhchimeddorj]

What a handsome man! He looked so fresh and young till age 80 almost. Really enjoyed this watching, thank you!

[@wylderwynd]

Thank you for sharing this. I am grateful that Ye Jinglu was diligent in taking his photo each year. The portraits tell his story and that of China - fascinating. Also, Ye Jinglu looked amazingly young for someone in his 80's! Well done, Ye Jinglu!

[@HugoBrown]

Very Beautiful , thanks for shring Mr Ye life in photo's... May he rest in eternal peace

[@partrickzhang8441]

人是时代巨浪下的一粒浮萍，谁也摆脱不了时代的束缚。非常感谢DGSpitzer的分享。

[@happylife7542]

I don’t know this grandpa. But for some reason his pictures make me wanna cry. What a life he had lived and thank you so much for these pictures.

[@renaoh]

I admired his dedication in recording his growth annually, never missing a year.

[@lisahinton9682]

I don't know why this showed up in my recommendations, but I'm glad it did.

[@eunake]

very impressive !! love the portraits of Ye Jinglu.

[@SiWang95]

This is so beautiful and kind of sad for some reason.

[@user-sj4li9bn1t]

岁月啊！只能感叹，我们只是尘土而已

[@lizhang2849]

沧海一粟。 有空也去拍照吧

[@simonchen8376]

大家都到一個地方去，都出於塵土，也都歸回塵土。（All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Ecclesiastes 3:20)

[@Air-Striegler]

Very touching. Wonderful work.

[@lowengkok1201]

They are the same, just like us in everyday life, only the dress or their attire is different. That all. This is good stuff. HOLIO.

[@cao6496]

well, he is an exception. view other videos to see the real life of old time China people. tribe brightness again may not what you really like. old china Han tribe people had very hard time at that time. go and watch those videos at youtube now.

[@rebeccatsai778]

Incredible! A man who lives in the very turmoil era of modern China is still able to take annual portraits for 62 years. He does look kind and peaceful in every single portrait.

[@johndelacruz8505]

Very heart warming. Thank u for posting

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Very interesting and worthwhile video of a man that saw great changes in China.

[@rukiachanbleach]

China has a amazing story. Love this country

[@graham1958]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photographic journal of Ye Jinglu's life. Amazing and touching.

[@No-jb6fy]

Lots of effort went into this and it shows. It was a demanding watch, but I really liked having the history and picture description with every image, very stimulating and insightful work. Thank you!

[@thetruthandnobs2]

Fabulous. He had a very eventful life, struggled mightily thru adverse conditions. Managed to take these photos is absolutely brilliant. And thank you for restoring the pics too. 🙏🎯💯👏💖

[@wisecanadianwoman]

What a beautiful exposé of one man's life. The change to colour also added an almost 3d effect to the photo. Thank you for this.

[@wuztherebinthere]

Thanks for this DGSpitzer. The captions of the personal and the historical time frames made for a great sense of the individual and the national journeys. But it was how you artfully expressed Ye JingLu's that made him come to life. I felt as I came to know the person that looked out over time and years . I thoroughly enjoyed the piano accompaniment ...I tried to shazam and Soundhound to no avail..hah...because it was your own compositions...Well Done!!

[@MrSmoovefan1231]

This helps me to understand much more on Life and History than anything else, thanks DGSpitzer.

[@paecpc]

This footage is very precious indeed! Thanks

[@cynthiachan8028]

i literally cried and my family was from fuzhou too

[@haverleys]

This Video is so stunning and historically worthy i really love it. Thank you so much for sharing the past to the future.

[@alppyoolbm]

Amazing work!

[@hongxu7348]

Very touching video... so many things behind those photos...a real man with an ordinary but wonderful life. Thank you for sharing!

[@samzhang5698]

so rich guy and very lucky to be taken pictures !3 eras ,cool!

[@MrIlgenis]

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for uploading.

[@jtech1089]

Beautiful as it is touching. Keep up the good work!

[@zeewin]

A wonderful data repository. Thank you for your sharing and works.

[@NYC1]

Very interesting. Thanks for uploading

[@yanzi4555]

Precious memories to depict history of modern China. Thanks for sharing!

[@user-vf2td7wr9j]

Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed watching.

[@meanwhileinjapan2265]

It's amazing to see Mr Ye life in pictures as so much change was happening in the world he lived a long and adventurous life.

[@huiinchiangmai5244]

很美，很喜欢这首钢琴曲，谢谢分享。

[@hrobert745]

Great work! I enjoyed this very much.

[@ghostofsolomon237]

thank you so much for the elaborate notes.

[@cmfsobl]

What a good looking man! So crazy to see this! it seemed like such a long time ago.

[@JJLiu-xc3kg]

This is so incredibly touching. I feel I got to know a man.

[@SuejoJohnsonWildGooseQigong]

A great personal story of China during this time. So interesting to see his clothing styles . These photos are a great historical document.

[@joanleaming6684]

Thanks - this is wonderful

[@mollyg4749]

That was so moving & beautiful..like slow dance. I wept for this man, I wept for myself.. I wept for us all.

[@jinjun-blowmoldingmachiner1835]

Thank you, It's so benefitful.

[@alextann100]

I came across this video by chance. I found it touching. It's like our very own story for all of us as we go through this life. Watching it I feel a sense of melancholia but not the negative type.

[@sariel1207]

Great work, more touch me than any history books

[@ahjumma8351]

I learned a lot about Chinese history, thank you

[@lightli9354]

세월이 느껴집니다. 좋은 영상 고마워요

[@kevinwu4907]

不容易啊!生在動蕩的時代，還能夠留下一年一照，是要多大的毅力。 雖然是私人個人照(1952年可惜了)，但我覺得值得當文物保存。

[@ruoguu]

对的， 因为这种例子真的很少见，应该当做文物保存起来。

[@xuanli3876]

This is truly amazing

[@davidyuan9790]

帅哥真是穿越时空也是帅啊

[@breezyisland3364]

This is one of the most memorable clips in the KZbin

[@concernedhermit7153]

他的一生也是中国的缩影，越往后看越不敢看，时间就这样匆匆逝去，我们的生命也是在不知不觉中这样流逝，祝愿所有人过有意义的生活

[@concernedhermit7153]

shimizu_natsuki 你写的这段话同样的话也送给你，你知道我真正说的是什么意思吗？

[@Blindswordsman1994]

Wow. Kinda like the last emperor Puyi, this man lived through the final days of the Qing Dynasty, the founding of the Republic of China, China under Japanese rule, the founding of the People’s Republic, then the Cultural Revolution. That is some life experience !!

[@nothingistrue1023]

看了莫名感动 ! ~

[@jellyfishh5223]

didn't expect this video to make me cry ToT

[@jessiicah98]

This is so interesting. Also it's nice to know that he didn't seem as affected by the cultural revolution as many others with his social status (appears to be at least middle class) did.

[@angelinabetty8036]

Потрясающая работа !!!

[@markeddowes1467]

Absolutely wonderful, his photographic records stands as an image of China as a whole through those turbulent times. I can only feel for such a man a his life passed from a time of emperors, to presidents, warlords, occupation and then dictatorship. Evidently a wonderfully cultivated, educated and patriotic man. Bless his memory and may China again see better days.

[@danchou9756]

非常感動！！

[@angahkau1583]

Age 70++ still look young n handsome

[@catsareetuc7022]

I don’t know why, but he looks like a very kind man. I am also from Fuzhou😭❤️

[@kingpeter909]

请说中文，不然看不懂

[@Carat538]

​@@kingpeter909 那你可以学点英语？这样中文英语都看得懂。楼主意思是 “我不知道为什么 他看起来是一个非常善良的人。我也来自福州”

[@YichenCao]

太赞了！

[@hithere4321]

I am crying! I am so moved, he was a good man! I hope that he is very happy and very loved wherever he is now🙏🌈

[@letisriva8581]

I Respect this youtuber

[@user-yw8jp6dk9x]

每一張照，都是生命，備嚐艱辛！ 每增一照，儘屬回味，也係無奈！

[@nicoletan1361]

令人震撼的影像志！钢琴曲很好听，大谷真是多才多艺👍

[@Alusnovalotus]

This was very touching.

[@kinjack6472]

每次看到辫子，耳边不自觉响起一句话：洋装虽然穿在身，但辫子依然心中藏···

[@coold8d]

1968年後投胎到台灣，目前53歲，前世照相習慣還有，照片都放在FB上，正學著用IG。

[@OldSchoolLad]

even in his late 80s, he looks younger than my father who is in his late 70s. this man had a really great life.

[@coffeelatte5274]

I like the background music

[@user-fz7xs2xl8s]

谢谢你 ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 他好cool呀 哈哈哈😂 你也很cool ：）

[@daniellew.292]

what's special about the photos is that they span over six decades through three eras with completely different ideologies. It documents one man's life but also the history of a country. During the past 1 - 2 centuries my family has changed registered ethnicity from Manchu to Han following the fall of Qing dynasty, lost family wealth after the establishment of PRC, been through the dark ages where the family was torn apart, and thrived after the Reform and Open. I believe all Chinese have a story to tell about their families, and this man got his documented, told and studied by so many.

[@milaxu3912]

thank you for sharing this. what does recording memories to you guys?

[@jojotwice8918]

Can't believe this grandson betrayed him in 1952. Also very impressive the photo studio managed to stay open through the turmoil

[@slomo4672]

That's a thing in the 50's and 60's in China. Family members and even couples reported each other.

[@sourdurian2839]

wow what a really gd looking man! RIP Mr Ye!

[@devisualage]

very impressive.. as human

[@simonau7800]

Wow this hits hard

[@seg5820]

Genius channel

[@user-ke3uh4el4q]

คุณยีเท่ย์มาก ถ่ายภาพทุกปี อายุแต่ละปี หล่อสมวัยในทุกช่วงอายุ

[@qingyerenping5371]

非常感动，希望我们能记住自己的每一年。

[@milanterzic859]

A moving testimony.

[@siyi2793]

给大谷子狂点赞。 👍 👍👍👍

[@wilfredchew539]

A life well-lived....with courage and kindness!!

[@mr.entezaee]

Amazing 🤩 what kind of software do you use ?

[@qiuqiu863]

I cried out He is a good man

[@jorgexue5502]

Its very interesting to see him adopt western hairstyles even before the fall of the qing dynasty, even though the law was very explicit on such regards...i wonder if he had a sort of mixed hairstyle (like a western hairstyle matched with a queue) for a while before shaving the fron and sides of his head again

[@scottshao3517]

感叹时间一点一点过去

[@gordonchoi3158]

good video

[@james-huang]

Mr. Ye and his portrait witness the modern Chinese history.

[@fishou3080]

感谢分享