After People Claimed That This Smiling Man Photo From 1901 Was Fake, Tumblr User Explained That Rural Chinese People Didn’t Know How To Pose
One thing that comes to mind when thinking about early photography is probably the lack of smiles. Today we instinctively put a big grin on our faces when someone with the camera approaches, however it was rather uncommon in the early 1800’s. So it’s probably not that surprising that when a photo of a Chinese man with a big toothy grin, which was taken in the early 1900’s, has surfaced people began doubting its authenticity.
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The American Museum of Natural History confirmed, that the photo titled “Eating rice, China” and taken between 1901-1904 is authentic
The photo was taken during Jacob H. Schiff Chinese expedition when a young German scholar Berthold Laufer was sent to China to investigate the foreign culture. During the 3 years long expedition Laufer gathered 143 photographs, however, there is no information on how he acquired them because there is no evidence that he took the photos himself. There is also no explanation who is the Chinese man in the photo and why he decided to strike a pose like that. However, some people speculate that when a man was asked to pose for a photo, he wasn’t aware of a western tradition to keep s serious face during the process.
Tumblr user explains why it was so rare for people to smile in photos, and why this Chinese man is an exception
For around 100 years since the photography was invented, smiling was a rare occurrence. It only started to become the norm In the late 1920s. You may wonder how this sort of tradition was born. Well, there several explanations. Some people argue that poor dental hygiene led people to smile less. And while most people could afford to have their photo taken probably once per lifetime, they didn’t want to go down in history by showing a toothless grin.
Other’s say that the time it took to take a picture is to blame. However, it’s only partly true. While the very first cameras did, in fact, had a very long exposure time, some of which lasted around 8 hours, things swiftly changed. By the 1850’s and 60’s the exposure time was shortened from hours to seconds, so people didn’t have to stay in the same position for hours and capturing smiles became easier.
But probably the most plausible reason is that people early photographers followed the footsteps of painters. Back in the day, many portraits didn’t show smiling people, so it didn’t felt natural to allow people to smile in the photos too.
While a lot of people loved the photo
Others couldn’t believe it is real
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Share on FacebookThat picture could be totally used in advertising "BUY HAPPY RICE BRAND"
This photo made me smile. Such a fun looking man, told to strike a pose, so he just did what he wanted to & looked happy :)
maybe it was just spontaneous, by both photographer and subject.
Load More Replies...Do we see young healthy animals in the wild running around with rotting teeth? Do we see old photos of hunter-gatherers where young healthy people all had rotting teeth? It isn't natural for our teeth to rot out of our faces.
Rotting teeth is often because of a lot of sugar. Also, while "hunter-gatherers" might not have rotting teeth, people through history, especially poorer people, might have worn-down teeth.
Load More Replies...great smile. the photo's 'real'. we are just not used to people of that era smiling in pics. read article.
Regarding the teeth. Recently they dug up a poor's people graveyard in downtown Bucharest. The skeletons showed signs of multiple ailments but they all had perfect teeth. It was stated that especially since their diet didn't contain any sugar (a luxury poor people couldn't afford).
Perhaps the rural Chinese diet at the time didn't consist of much refined sugar. Refined sugar is the main culprit for rotten teeth.
Look at that Happy mother f****r, dude is just happy the world is about to see how cool he is.
Well, that's the problem with the internet: some people once read something about something as a child, and now they act like specialists of the whole thing. Someone who has no idea whatsoever of photography will think: "it's a funny nice picture, I guess". A specialist will say: "what a lovely picture, really interesting indeed". And the one who once read that peoples don't smile on old pictures will scream: "THIS IS FAKE PEOPLES DIDN'T SMILE BACK IN THAT TIME THEY'RE LYING TO US WAKE UP"
they did not have fast exposure photography until flashbulbs & fast emulsions for development...a smile would have had to be held exactly still for 3-5 seconds....to easy to move a smile a twitch, easier to get a picture without a blur if they closed their mouths & looked grim.... pro photographers in the 1860s actually used a hidden metal brace behind the head to help people stay still...otherwise, blurred shots...
to be honest, he know how to pose but its just an unusual pose for western during that time and its pretty good actually.
If you wondering about teeth, they chew some leaves that makes their teeth white and shiny. Google it.
He had healthy teeth, because he did not eat sugar and other garbage we eat today... Those were different times, different health issues etc.
absolutely! look up photos of theodore roosevelt! snapshot cameras (kodak photos) were available to the masses by this time. studio photos barely needed a touch up from an artist, and many times not at all.
Load More Replies...I hope you're joking, (but it's hard to tell over the internet) because humans have looked pretty much the same as we do now since ancient history barring changes due to hygiene and nutrition.
Load More Replies...That picture could be totally used in advertising "BUY HAPPY RICE BRAND"
This photo made me smile. Such a fun looking man, told to strike a pose, so he just did what he wanted to & looked happy :)
maybe it was just spontaneous, by both photographer and subject.
Load More Replies...Do we see young healthy animals in the wild running around with rotting teeth? Do we see old photos of hunter-gatherers where young healthy people all had rotting teeth? It isn't natural for our teeth to rot out of our faces.
Rotting teeth is often because of a lot of sugar. Also, while "hunter-gatherers" might not have rotting teeth, people through history, especially poorer people, might have worn-down teeth.
Load More Replies...great smile. the photo's 'real'. we are just not used to people of that era smiling in pics. read article.
Regarding the teeth. Recently they dug up a poor's people graveyard in downtown Bucharest. The skeletons showed signs of multiple ailments but they all had perfect teeth. It was stated that especially since their diet didn't contain any sugar (a luxury poor people couldn't afford).
Perhaps the rural Chinese diet at the time didn't consist of much refined sugar. Refined sugar is the main culprit for rotten teeth.
Look at that Happy mother f****r, dude is just happy the world is about to see how cool he is.
Well, that's the problem with the internet: some people once read something about something as a child, and now they act like specialists of the whole thing. Someone who has no idea whatsoever of photography will think: "it's a funny nice picture, I guess". A specialist will say: "what a lovely picture, really interesting indeed". And the one who once read that peoples don't smile on old pictures will scream: "THIS IS FAKE PEOPLES DIDN'T SMILE BACK IN THAT TIME THEY'RE LYING TO US WAKE UP"
they did not have fast exposure photography until flashbulbs & fast emulsions for development...a smile would have had to be held exactly still for 3-5 seconds....to easy to move a smile a twitch, easier to get a picture without a blur if they closed their mouths & looked grim.... pro photographers in the 1860s actually used a hidden metal brace behind the head to help people stay still...otherwise, blurred shots...
to be honest, he know how to pose but its just an unusual pose for western during that time and its pretty good actually.
If you wondering about teeth, they chew some leaves that makes their teeth white and shiny. Google it.
He had healthy teeth, because he did not eat sugar and other garbage we eat today... Those were different times, different health issues etc.
absolutely! look up photos of theodore roosevelt! snapshot cameras (kodak photos) were available to the masses by this time. studio photos barely needed a touch up from an artist, and many times not at all.
Load More Replies...I hope you're joking, (but it's hard to tell over the internet) because humans have looked pretty much the same as we do now since ancient history barring changes due to hygiene and nutrition.
Load More Replies...
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