Photography Chinese Man with a Songbird

A black-and-white photograph showing a man of the Chinese upper class with a Manchu braid. In his right hand he holds a bamboo cage with a songbird, in his left hand a fan. The domestication of songbirds in China dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) and is still current today. The practice, known as “carrying cages, tending birds” (ti long jia niao 提籠架鳥), was first adopted by eunuchs and the Manchu elite at the imperial court. It was a way of spending free time, which this social elite had in abundance.

The cages are made of bamboo, and the water bowls are usually made of blue-and-white ceramic (qing hua ci 青花瓷). Believing that enclosed spaces were harmful to birds and their singing, owners took up the practice of songbird walks, on which they would repeat as they went the tunes they wanted to teach their birds. The cages would be hung from trees in a park, where owners would exchange opinions and advice, or even play one of the popular board games.

The photograph is the 135th of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Chinese mit Singvogel. (DZ, MV)