Title: [John K. Fairbank and Edwin O. Reischauer lantern slide collection]
Authors: Fairbank, John King, 1907-1991; Reischauer, Edwin O. 1910-1990; Takagi, Teijirō,; Goodrich, E. W.,
Year: 1888
Subjects: Mao, Zedong,; Chiang, Kai-shek,; Sun, Yat-sen,; Art, Chinese; Art, Japanese; Architecture East Asia.; Buddhism East Asia.; Ethnology East Asia; Nomads China.; Agriculture East Asia.; Transportation East Asia.; Cities and towns East Asia.; China History.; China Antiquities.; China Civilization.; China Social life and customs.; Beijing (China); Tibet Autonomous Region (China); Mongolia; Japan History.; Japan Antiquities.; Japan Civilization.; Japan Social life and customs.; Korea History.; Philippines
Abstract: Lantern slides used as visual aids for an introductory undergraduate course at Harvard University on East Asian culture and history. Popularly known as the “Rice Paddies” course, it was developed and inaugurated in 1939 by John K. Fairbank and Edwin O. Reischauer, who also acquired most of the slides. The slides provide a visual record of mostly Chinese and Japanese art and architecture, ancient structures and antiquities, ethnography, urban and rural life, customs, Buddhism and other religions, agriculture, landscape, labor and industry, transportation, important figures such as Mao Tse-tung and Chiang Kai-shek, Beijing, the Great Wall, and other noteworthy sites in East Asia, including much that has been lost or destroyed. They also document the impact of the West on East Asia, wars, natural disasters, Japan’s Meiji Restoration, China’s Cultural Revolution, and other important historical events. The slides include: original photographs from lantern slide manufacturers and dealers, commercial photographers, and museums; and reproductions of photographs, works of art, maps, and text from published books and periodicals. Approximately 60 percent of the slides document China and about 25 percent document Japan. There also are images of Korea, nomadic life in Mongolia and Tibet, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. Most of the slides have caption labels with some identifying information. Many are hand colored, including: most of the slides of Japan, many of which were produced by the Kobe-based photographer Takagi Teijiro in the late Meiji era; and approximately 800 slides produced by the early Boston lantern slide manufacturer and dealer E.W. Goodrich.