Poignant 'selfies' from a stranger

A photo collector offers a glimpse into the life of man through a collection of portraits that also shed light on the history of photography in China

Taking selfies may be considered a phenomenon of the new millennium, but a Chinese man named Ye Jinglyu (1881 to 1968) had actually been doing something similar since more than a century ago.

Ye had his first portrait shot in 1901 when he was in London working as a diplomatic staff of the Qing government. Since 1907, he started to take portrait every year. After his death, his family sold his portraits to a book collector. In 2007, 40 years after Ye died, they changed hands again when Tong Bingxue, an old photo collector and researcher, acquired them and uncovered their real value.