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The Great Wall Revisited: From the Jade Gate to Old Dragon's Head
A journey along the Great Wall in the past and present, this landmark volume offers an extraordinary portrait of perhaps the world’s most famous structure. Carrying his camera and a file of vintage photographs—the earliest dating from 1871—author-photographer William Lindesay traveled across Northern China for three years, searching for settings where the Great Wall could be examined in the past and present, side by side. The result, The Great Wall Revisited , presents seventy-two of the most elucidating then- and-now comparisons. This glossy dossier opens out as an extraordinary journey from the Jade Gate in northwest China’s Gobi Desert to Old Dragon’s Head on the Yellow Sea. Far more than a romantic look at the Great Wall of yesteryear, this stunning, artfully crafted volume also contains concise histories of the sites that Lindesay’s images revisit. Colorful literary impressions composed by earlier visitors, juxtaposed with contemporary eyewitness accounts of change traced along the Wall, afford a sense of history unfolding and time inexorably creeping along the contours of this enduring monument to human ingenuity.
292 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
William Lindesay
16 books10 followersEnglishman William Lindesay studied geography and geology at Liverpool University and in 1987 made what China's official Xinhua News Agency described as "the most successful foreign exploration of the Great Wall" in a 2,470 km solo adventure. Since 1994 he has primarily been engaged in systematic research of the Great Wall in the Beijing region and has organized two major "Great Wall Clean Ups".
--from the author's website
--from the author's website
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2024
Absolutely brilliant book, and an auspicious coincidence that it marks my 2500th book on GR.
Unlike most photographic books on the topic, Lindesay didn't set out to take a bunch of beautiful pictures of the Great Wall* (although many of them certainly are); his goal was one of "rephotography," a relatively new discipline aimed at recreating/rephotographing as closely as possible images from the past, and an important tool in the fields of cultural, historical architectural and landscape preservation. To that end, the author/photographer/adventurer first went about collecting as many photographs of the wall as he could find—and not surprisingly, between the late 19th century introduction of "mobile" photographic equipment (which brought an end to the centuries-old tradition of explorer/illustrators) and then China's messy early 20th century history, there really weren't that many—and then spending several years traveling the length of the Wall and accurately recreating those photos; in the process documenting the many changes—some good, most bad—that have taken place over the past 100+ years. As many of the photos were poorly documented to begin with, and so much of the landscape and Wall itself has changed, actually finding the spots from where those photos were taken—many in the middle of empty deserts or other wilderness areas—often required the combined skills of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones, as Lindesay spent days interviewing nearby inhabitants, hiking from hill/mountain/dune to hill/mountain/dune, taking two steps to the left and then two steps to the right…truly an epic undertaking.
The book is divided into seven major geographic sections, running from Dunhuang in the western Gobi to where the wall ultimately meets the Pacific at Shanhaiguan. Before that, however, Lindesay offers a fascinating overall history of the wall and its construction (or walls and their constructions, as he correctly explains), "discovery" of the wall by the West, appearance and incorporation of the wall in early maps, history of photography in China (including a nice shout-out to "Hartung's Photo Shop" and Hedda Morrison, author/photographer of the fascinating A Photographer in Old Peking), etc. And then scattered throughout the book, he includes brief biographies of those early explorers and photographers of the wall, such as Aurel Stein, William Geil, Robert Clark** and Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Sha Fei and others; (note to self: definitely time to reread Hopkirk's Foreign Devils on the Silk Road). And so while you may originally think you came to this book for the photos, you will ultimately stay for the informative and addictive text.
Anyway…just an overall outstanding enterprise here—both in Lindesay's initial project and the end product—with my only caveat being that since this is a large and horizontal book, the binding is once again too weak for the weight of the pages; and so this is best read flat on a table, rather than propped up on your lap.
PROVENANCE: I can't believe that someone actually surrendered this to "McKay Used Books" - obviously in unread condition—to be resold for just a few bucks; everlasting shame on that idiot, but great for me!
ALL THE STARS.
___________________________________
* There are obviously many picture books available on the wall, although the only one I currently own is the "buy-it-in-the-giftshop-before-you-get-back-on-the-bus- tourist-book" 長城 The Great Wall, which I have reviewed separately.
** SYNCHRONICITY! I love synchronicity: I had never heard of Clark—an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune—before, but literally on the same day I was reading about him here, I also came across his name in Bob Eckstein's Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums, where he lists the "Clark Art Institute" in Massachusetts. Apparently, however, that's just another boring painting museum, and not a repository of cool Great Wall artifacts collected on his China trips, much to my disappointment.
Unlike most photographic books on the topic, Lindesay didn't set out to take a bunch of beautiful pictures of the Great Wall* (although many of them certainly are); his goal was one of "rephotography," a relatively new discipline aimed at recreating/rephotographing as closely as possible images from the past, and an important tool in the fields of cultural, historical architectural and landscape preservation. To that end, the author/photographer/adventurer first went about collecting as many photographs of the wall as he could find—and not surprisingly, between the late 19th century introduction of "mobile" photographic equipment (which brought an end to the centuries-old tradition of explorer/illustrators) and then China's messy early 20th century history, there really weren't that many—and then spending several years traveling the length of the Wall and accurately recreating those photos; in the process documenting the many changes—some good, most bad—that have taken place over the past 100+ years. As many of the photos were poorly documented to begin with, and so much of the landscape and Wall itself has changed, actually finding the spots from where those photos were taken—many in the middle of empty deserts or other wilderness areas—often required the combined skills of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones, as Lindesay spent days interviewing nearby inhabitants, hiking from hill/mountain/dune to hill/mountain/dune, taking two steps to the left and then two steps to the right…truly an epic undertaking.
The book is divided into seven major geographic sections, running from Dunhuang in the western Gobi to where the wall ultimately meets the Pacific at Shanhaiguan. Before that, however, Lindesay offers a fascinating overall history of the wall and its construction (or walls and their constructions, as he correctly explains), "discovery" of the wall by the West, appearance and incorporation of the wall in early maps, history of photography in China (including a nice shout-out to "Hartung's Photo Shop" and Hedda Morrison, author/photographer of the fascinating A Photographer in Old Peking), etc. And then scattered throughout the book, he includes brief biographies of those early explorers and photographers of the wall, such as Aurel Stein, William Geil, Robert Clark** and Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Sha Fei and others; (note to self: definitely time to reread Hopkirk's Foreign Devils on the Silk Road). And so while you may originally think you came to this book for the photos, you will ultimately stay for the informative and addictive text.
Anyway…just an overall outstanding enterprise here—both in Lindesay's initial project and the end product—with my only caveat being that since this is a large and horizontal book, the binding is once again too weak for the weight of the pages; and so this is best read flat on a table, rather than propped up on your lap.
PROVENANCE: I can't believe that someone actually surrendered this to "McKay Used Books" - obviously in unread condition—to be resold for just a few bucks; everlasting shame on that idiot, but great for me!
ALL THE STARS.
___________________________________
* There are obviously many picture books available on the wall, although the only one I currently own is the "buy-it-in-the-giftshop-before-you-get-back-on-the-bus- tourist-book" 長城 The Great Wall, which I have reviewed separately.
** SYNCHRONICITY! I love synchronicity: I had never heard of Clark—an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune—before, but literally on the same day I was reading about him here, I also came across his name in Bob Eckstein's Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums, where he lists the "Clark Art Institute" in Massachusetts. Apparently, however, that's just another boring painting museum, and not a repository of cool Great Wall artifacts collected on his China trips, much to my disappointment.
March 5, 2021
This book is a photographic tour of China's Great Wall. I visited the most well known stretch at Badaling north of Beijing twenty years ago, and saw the western end at the Jade Gate in Gansu recently. Now I will need to go to where the Old Dragon Head meets the Yellow Sea in Hebei. William Lindesay approached this project as a labor of love, and it is lucky we are able to enjoy it's publication. The book was released in China in 2007, and was re-issued by Harvard University Press in 2008. Earlier he had founded Friends of the Wall, a preservation initiative.
Lindesay walked the length of the wall in the late 1980's for nearly three years, one of the first foreigners to do so since WWII. He returned in the mid 2000's to research and rephotograph the views of early adventurers and explorers, beginning in the 17th century, but mainly from the 19th century forward once photography had come into existence. He tried to stand in the same spot as prior photographers (as best as can be determined) and compare the remains of the last century and a half. In many cases time and development have taken their toll.
Lindesay is a bit of a compulsive obsessive. He seems to have discovered every available postcard, picture and travelogue from Victorian sources, many of which are reproduced in the book. There are synopses of the people who came before him, describing their intineraries and photographic equipment. He also includes information from local experts who helped him along the way. It is a synthesis of history, geography and photography, and there is much to be learned about the past expeditions and techniques. The quality and the process of this book is rare.
Lindesay walked the length of the wall in the late 1980's for nearly three years, one of the first foreigners to do so since WWII. He returned in the mid 2000's to research and rephotograph the views of early adventurers and explorers, beginning in the 17th century, but mainly from the 19th century forward once photography had come into existence. He tried to stand in the same spot as prior photographers (as best as can be determined) and compare the remains of the last century and a half. In many cases time and development have taken their toll.
Lindesay is a bit of a compulsive obsessive. He seems to have discovered every available postcard, picture and travelogue from Victorian sources, many of which are reproduced in the book. There are synopses of the people who came before him, describing their intineraries and photographic equipment. He also includes information from local experts who helped him along the way. It is a synthesis of history, geography and photography, and there is much to be learned about the past expeditions and techniques. The quality and the process of this book is rare.
February 3, 2014
I took this book as research on what I consider amazing feats of the ancient world, not realizing the truth about the Great Wall of China. It appears that each dynasty, going back to ancient days, had built a great wall; pieces of some of the walls apparently remain. What I would learn is that there have been many Great Walls, but the wall shown on television, is considered the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, work on this wall continued for 300 years ending at approximately 1644. Although it took the Chinese 300 years, it may be true that the Ming Dynasty Great Wall went from desert to sea.
This book not only had a great history of the wall, it also had pieces of a journal kept by the first explorer credited with exploring the great wall and side-by side photographs taken in 1909 and roughly 2005. This is the first book that I have seen photos taken over a 100 year era where you can actually tell that the area that was originally photographed was what the new photo entailed.
Although I learned immediately that the Great Wall had gone through many transitions, I found myself captivated by this book, spending far more time then I would have anticipated, reading it. Due to the interesting history and the side-by-side photos, I believe this deserves a 5 star rating.
This book not only had a great history of the wall, it also had pieces of a journal kept by the first explorer credited with exploring the great wall and side-by side photographs taken in 1909 and roughly 2005. This is the first book that I have seen photos taken over a 100 year era where you can actually tell that the area that was originally photographed was what the new photo entailed.
Although I learned immediately that the Great Wall had gone through many transitions, I found myself captivated by this book, spending far more time then I would have anticipated, reading it. Due to the interesting history and the side-by-side photos, I believe this deserves a 5 star rating.
February 20, 2023
If you relish history, biographies, and before-after style photography, then you will certainly enjoy this work of massive undertaking; a work filled with illustrations, historic artwork, photographs, ancient maps, foldouts, historical information, and more. Far more than a tale of history, the pages of this work will all but turn themselves for the reader. William Lindesay is in his fifth decade at the Great wall as of 2022. Built over much time, the Wall, or 'walls' if you wish, remain a fascinating study.
History and descriptive language are no strangers to this work. Our author's childhood fascination with a map featuring this 'Great Wall' of wonder, sparked into flames his quest of a lifetime; we are much the richer in our knowledge of this magnificent wall of China because of that youthful spark of fascination.
- A few of my other reads from this author:
1. Alone on the Great Wall
2. The Great Wall Explained
3. The Great Wall in 50 Objects
4. The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China
5. Wild Wall-The Foundation Years
6. Wild Wall-The Jiankou Years
History and descriptive language are no strangers to this work. Our author's childhood fascination with a map featuring this 'Great Wall' of wonder, sparked into flames his quest of a lifetime; we are much the richer in our knowledge of this magnificent wall of China because of that youthful spark of fascination.
- A few of my other reads from this author:
1. Alone on the Great Wall
2. The Great Wall Explained
3. The Great Wall in 50 Objects
4. The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China
5. Wild Wall-The Foundation Years
6. Wild Wall-The Jiankou Years
August 7, 2011
Lindesay retraces routes taken by early 20th century explorers of the Great Wall and uses the technique of rephotography to show how the Wall has changed in the past 100 years due to erosion, war, Communism, and tourism.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews