The Chinese Photobook: From the 1900s to the Present. Edited by Martin Parr and Wassink Lundgren

The main aim of this multi-component output was to reveal a previously unknown segment of photobook history, in particular the work of Chinese and international photographers that have documented Chinese society in the past 120 years. Based on the thematic and chronological methodology proposed in Prof. Parr’s general photobook study, this survey uncovered for the first time the complex and rich history of photobook publishing in the region. Containing a century of photobook practice, this study was able to expose the importance of the book in the circulation and utilisation of photography in China while discovering and reassessing the photographic work of numerous local photographers. Parr conducted field work in China on numerous occasions in his pursuit to uncover and develop a research archive for this genre of work. Created in collaboration with Dutch artist Ruben Lundgren and several historians and academics specialised in Chinese photographic history (Gu Zheng, Raymond Lum, Stephanie H. Tung, and Gerry Badger), this research was disseminated through a richly illustrated publication and exhibitions in the USA, Europe and China. As acknowledged by Schaefer (2016), the range, rigour and depth of the study have transformed it into a key academic tool in the development of future studies on Chinese photography and the discussion of Chinese photobook history in academic curricula dedicated to Asian photography.