Victor Segalen (1878-1919): Album de photos prises en Chine pendant sa période au bord de la canonnière Doudart de Lagrée, 1909-1910

Dim.: 50 x 35,5 cm (the album)
Dim.: 28,5 x 21,5 cm (the largest photo)

Victor Segalen (1878-1919) was a French marine doctor, explorer, archaeologist and writer, who traveled and lived in Polynesia and China. Below is a short synopsis of his activities around the period in which this album was made:
1908: introduction to the Chinese language and civilization (courses of Arnold Vissière in Oriental Languages and Édouard Chavannes at the Collège de France), on the suggestion of Henri Manceron, in order to apply for the position of student interpreter, which would allow him to go to China, a very popular destination at the time.
1909: departure for China
August 1909-January 1910: first archaeological expedition with Gilbert de Voisins, following the route defined by Édouard Chavannes; in Chongqing he joins on the gunboat Doudart de Lagrée; in the year hereafter, he moves to Beijing, joined by his wife and son
1911: humanitarian and medical mission to Shanhaiguan to combat the plague raging in the region; appointment as second-class medical major at Tianjin Imperial Medical College
1912: publication of 'Steles'
1912 –1913: treats General Yuan Shikai
1914: second archaeological expedition, which received the name 'Ségalen-Voisins-Lartigue mission'

These unrecorded images by one of the great explorers of the early 20th C., give a unique insight into the everyday encounters of the fascinating person of Victor Segalen and his fellows.