The little one watched me and the lens，curiosity written all 0ver his tiny face—a face. not yet cleaned that was covered with thread．Like blood Camera in hand，and full of reverence，I was starting to record mv cute son whilst also compensating for the lack of images of my own life’s journey．That year I was already a collector of photographs，but had found the oldest photographic record of myself was a group picture taken at my graduation from junior high．

There once was a man who had his image photographed by photo studios every year from 1907 to 1968. Those years saw the end of dynastic rule， the early Republic of China and the turbulence and wars that followed， the foun-dation of the People's Republic of China and the early days of the “Cultural Revolution. ”The man arranged the total 62 photographs in an album. The recent fortuitous discovery of that article triggered quite a sensation.

In each picture he wears the clothing and accessories fashionable that year，sometimes with olojects specific to the particular time. Either sitting or stand-ing， from youthful vigor to lar:er wisdom and depth， his expressions are almost invariably serious and peaceful， his eyes calm. Worry makes only rare appearances. Behind each photograph are texts， simple or complex descrip-tions about his major events in that year. His persistence was never really dis-rupted: the serial images record the passage and changes of life and form a vivid archive about his life.

He had no choice about the era he would encounter. But he chose to respect life and tried his best to retain the dignity of a man， which had nothing to do with wealth， poverty， glory and disgrace.

This dignity could， of course， never be granted by anyone else. It certainly sprang from independence of personality， resoluteness of heart and a radiant humanity undimmed by the passage of time.

Author's Preface

It All Started with the Web

Opportunity

Appreciation

Research

A Lifetime of Portraiture

Life Overseas

The Late Qing Years

Early Years of the Republic of China

The War Years

The Days of New China

The Ye Family

A Life Portrayed in Standing and Sitting

1901， 1906

1907-1911

1912-1940

1941-1948

1949-1951

1952

1953-1968

Ye Jinglu， the Righteous Man in My Eyes

Thoughts on Ye Jinglu's Portrait Photographsa Discussion on Conceptual Art

Acknowledgements

Author's Profile