Anhui Provincial Archive’s Collection

of Lu Shifu’s Photographic Works

Anhui Provincial Archive

Anhui Fine Arts Publishing House

April 2021

598.00 （CNY）

Lu Shifu

Lu Shifu （1898-1983） was formerly known as Lu Kexi， or DR. K. C. LUSIEFUG in English. He was a Chinese photography artist born in Zhongshan County， Guangdong Province.

Lu Shifu’s earliest photographic works appeared in 1920. Since then， 100 years have passed.

My memories of Lu Shifu

My association with Mr. Lu started in the early 1980s when I was a photojournalist for Anhui Pictorial. One day， the pictorial received a letter addressed to Lu Shifu. Since Mr. Lu was an art consultant for the pictorial and it so happened that Mass Photography magazine asked me to write an exclusive interview with him， I brought the letter to him. This was a letter from Wang Qingdong， a young worker from Guichi City. He wanted to recognize Mr. Lu as his master. The letter was attached with Wang’s several photographic works. After reading it， Mr. Lu gave me the letter and said， “Take him as your student for me.”

After the interview， Mr. Lu handed over his My Experience in Photography and Darkroom Technology to me and asked me to send it to Mass Photography magazine. This manuscript， which contained about 30，000 words， was a summary of his half-century experience in photography creation and darkroom production from the 1930s to the 1980s. It offered various techniques and 45 formulas such as “how to produce a positive film protruding from the paper like a buckled plate”， “several good methods for polishing portraits”，" “a method for magnifying night scene to add moon and starlight “， “high-speed and powerful negative film developer L006” and so on.

L006 was Lu Shifu’s own No. 6 developing formula. I had seen his film rolls （negative film）. Because he was very strict in processing film， the film was made transparent and smooth and could be preserved for as long as 100 years. He printed a special film bag with translucent copy paper and marked it with date， content， place， and title in carbon ink. In the film-dominated era， those techniques were precious. He realized that those consummate skills should be made public.

In 1982， I sent Mr. Lu’s manuscript to the editorial department of Mass Photography magazine by mail， but there had been no news of it since then. I asked the magazine to return it many times and didn’t receive any reply. I tried to take the manuscript back again ten years later， and in November 2003， it was finally sent back to me by Tong Shuheng， the former editor-in-chief of Mass Photography， ten years after his retirement. I was relieved and felt that I had fulfilled my wish.

I once took a portrait of Mr. Lu smoking and produced a “photographic print”. It was included in my Photographic Prints Collection published by Zhejiang Photography Publishing House. Its preface was written by Mr. Lang Jingshan. The two photographic masters in the 1930s met in this collection.

Because Mr. Lu was a pipe smoker， I asked him for a pipe as a souvenir. He said his pipes had been given away. But in the end， he still gave me a foldable sports pipe.

Mr. Lu died on November 23， 1983. I sketched a portrait of him in the funeral parlor that day， recording Lu’s serene and kind appearance with my pencil. Mr. Lu’s wife Liu Guoyun and his children all signed the sketch. It has become a masterpiece amongst my sketch works. It was also selected into the Kang Shiwei Sketch Works Collection published in 2015 and became a permanent memory of mine.

The year 2008 marked the 110th anniversary of the birth of Lu Shifu. As president and secretary-general of the Anhui Photographers Association， I held a theoretical seminar for him that year. Lu Tiangong， Mr. Lu’s youngest son， produced Lu Shifu’s photography postcards and essays at his own expense.

Lu Shifu’s Photography Art

I wrote the interview with Photographer Lu Shifu after I learned about his creative experience and artistic achievements through that interview with him. The article was in the 10th issue of Mass Photography magazine in 1982.

In the early 1930s， Mr. Lu established the Black and White Photographic Society in Shanghai with Chen Chuanlin， Nie Guangdi， and others， and served as an executive member of the society. His early photographic works focused on portraits， flowers and birds， still life， stage stills， and natural landscape. Later， being attracted by the splendid rivers and mountains of the motherland， he started to create landscape works. He explored Jiuqu River of" Mount Wuyi， the peaks of Mount Jiuhua， the bamboo forests of Mount Mogan， the sunrise of Mount Tai， the majestic Mount Hua， the waterfalls of Mount Yandang， the waves of Fuchun River， the rapids of Xin’an River， the heroic Shanhaiguan pass， the waves of Beidaihe， the frozen Songhua River， the grottoes of Yungang， and the landscape of Xi’an， Baotou， and Beijing， and felt how lovable the motherland was. He traveled on donkeys and camels to photograph the landscape of China.

After the founding of New China， Mr. Lu photographed the era of socialist construction with a higher enthusiasm. On a night at Maanshan Iron amp; Steel， he snapped nine blast furnaces. He performed nine exposures on the same film， one exposure for each furnace tapping， to fully show the boiling night of the steel city. When he produced the Tunxi Rivulet， he tied himself to a seat in the cabin of the plane with a hemp rope and lay prone on the floor to take aerial photos. He also went to the countryside to snap the fruitful orchards， the customs and practices of the mountain areas of southern Anhui， and the boat sails on Chaohu Lake. He believed that truth， honesty， and simplicity were the vitality of photography， and photographers couldn’t get the essence of something if they didn’t experience it.

From the early 1930s to the early 1960s， Mr. Lu had been attracted by Huangshan’s magical scenery. He went to Huangshan to capture photographs almost every year. At that time， as Huangshan had not yet been developed， there was no road to Tiandu Peak. On the two sides of Jiyubei were abysses. Without railings， people were deterred， but Mr. Lu never hesitated. Once， to produce the Scaling Ladder， he climbed Jiyubei nine times. As the rocks were barren and slippery， he had to hold a bamboo pole and move forward step by step like poling a boat on the water. He finally found the ideal angle to photograph The Wandering. On another occasion， a strong wind arose during his trip. A gust of wind blew from behind， pushing him a dozen steps away. Fortunately， he was supported by the bamboo pole， so he did not fall into the Hades Wall and his life was saved.

Mr. Lu once went to Bai’eling alone to snap photos. There was no way to climb the mountain， and thorns grew everywhere. The cries of wild beasts were heard from time to time， but he opened up a road and finally reached the top. The view suddenly cleared up， and the boundless sea of clouds appeared before him. When he saw Woyun Peak floating and sinking in the sea of clouds， he clicked the shutter of the camera excitedly. As the sun was setting， he thought he might go astray. So， he wrote on a big stone his will that Lu Shifu disappeared here in 1962. With this spirit of dedication， Mr. Lu created breathtaking works in Huangshan.

When he was young， Lu Shifu was determined to make China’s black-and-white photography art known to the international photography circles and enhance the status of the country in the international art world. From 1931 to 1949， his photographic works such as Playing Children and Speaking had appeared in international photography exhibitions held in France， Britain， Hungary， Canada， and the United States， and won over ten medals and certificates of merit. Mr. Lu’s works were also published in early publications such as Time， Good Friends， Wenhua， Kodak， and Black-and-White Photography Collection. He had also written theoretical articles such as The Truth of Photography and Prerequisites for Interview and Photography Themes. Moreover， he held many photography exhibitions in Shanghai. Mr. Lu won honor for the motherland， and the Party and the people also honored him. In 1960， he attended the third National Congress of Writers and Artists. In 1976， he was elected as the invited delegate of the fourth National Congress of Writers and Artists and the director of the China Photographers Association. He was elected as a special delegate of the fourth People’s Congress of Anhui Province. He was also a member of the Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party.

Mr. Lu felt indifferent to his artistic achievements. He donated all his medals and certificates of merit he won at the international photography exhibition to the Chinese Photographers Association when he attended the third National Congress of Writers and Artists in 1960.

Comments from Photographic Historians

In 2017， Anhui Pictorial and Chinese Photography magazine held the “Lu Shifu Photography and Anhui Photography： Historical Records and Knowledge Seminar” in Hefei. At the Seminar， several famous Chinese photography historians commented on Lu Shifu’s artistic achievements in photography. Photography historian Chen Shen believed that Lu Shifu was not only an important photographer in the history of Chinese photography but also the first-generation photography master in China. Lu Shifu’s contribution to photography creation should not be limited to Huangshan photography works.

Photography historian Xu Xijing suggested that Lu Shifu made brilliant achievements in photography in the 1930s and 1940s and was an important photographer in the transformation of Chinese photography from fine arts photography based on Chinese culture and artistic tradition to modernity.

Photography historian Sun Gai thought that Lu Shifu and other photographers who started to engage in photography from the Republic of China were indeed versatile artists who dabbled in all fields of life.

Photography historian Gao Chu said that Lu Shifu was an artist who received" attention again， and to redisplay and redefine his works was a very important issue.

After the Seminar， a special topic on Lu Shifu’s Huangshan Photography works was released in the 11th issue of 2017 Chinese Photography magazine， introducing Lu Lao’s photography art from a new perspective.

Throughout his works， Lu Shifu first pursued the beauty of nature and then strived to reveal the charm and style of Chinese paintings. He believed that photographic works should be rich in poetic and artistic conception. He emphasized that photographers should improve aesthetic and literacy， take advantage of the strengths of Western painting and Chinese painting， learn from the means of expression in painting， and improve the artistry of photographic works. He also stressed that photographers should be diligent in their practice， including darkroom production. Every time Mr. Lu returned home， he went into the darkroom to process the film himself. He once stayed in the darkroom for two days. This is how he explored the beauty of Huangshan with a rigorous and serious attitude. Lu Shifu’s landscape photography skills are deft. His works are majestic and profound， and in them， motion， stillness， illusion， and reality are handled brilliantly.

Looking at Mr. Lu’s artistic career， I thought he was a Chinese photography master of the 20th century. His patriotism ran through two completely different periods， and his praise of the grand rivers and mountains of the motherland was also a compliment to the new era of China. His character is perfectly in line with his artistic quality.

Twelve of Mr. Lu’s original photographic works （taken between 1933 and 1973） were donated to the National Museum of China for permanent collection. Among them， the Huangshan Shuanglong Pine produced in 1933 is one of his earlier Huangshan scenery photography works.

Anhui Provincial Archive published this selection of Lu Shifu’s photographic works to entertain the public. This is an important event in the history of archival work because social literature should be an indispensable part of the archives of Anhui province. It not only has humanistic and collection value but also reflects the taste of the collection.

Kang Shiwei is former vice president of the Anhui Federation of Literature and Art and former president of the Anhui Photographers Association.

December 6， 2020