PHOTOS: One man's portraits over 60 years show how much China has changed

By Ryan Kilpatrick, December 5, 2014

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Since the day he turned 27, Fuzhou businessman Ye Jinglu had a portrait taken of himself every year until his death in 1968. 

The collection of photographs, recently acquired by collector Tong Bingxue, reflect one man's life against the backdrop of a constantly changing China. 

From his first picture replete with the mandatory Manchu braid, the subject dons Western garb, cuts his queue after the Qing Dynasty is overthrown, and goes through the tumultuous journey of Republican China wearing scholar's robes and Tang jackets before putting on a Lenin cap to fit into Mao's 'New China.'

1907

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1968

[Images via Hyperallergic

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