More on Piao's Project

On Friday, Dec. 17, I conducted a wedding rehearsal at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.  While waiting for the wedding party to assemble I looked over the books in the hall we were assigned, found a 1927 edition of The Encyclopedia Americana, and on a whim checked to see if my grandfather was mentioned.  Indeed, we was!  It was a short article, describing William Edgar Geil as an "explorer" and "author," with a paragraph about his exploits in Africa and Asia, and a list of his books.  This edition was published just two years after his death.  The Americana is still with us, now owned by Grolier with print copies by Scholastic.  It's also available on-line by subscription.

As it happens, Christmas brought an e-mail from Piao, field director for International Friends of the Great Wall, and a masterful photographer.  He continues his reprise of my grandfather's journey up the Yangtze River, which I noted in an earlier blog post.  Piao started several weeks ago in Shanghai, and then took a break to visit the U.S. (his sister lives in San Francisco).  This week, back on the explorer's trail, Piao arrived at Yichang, in Hubei Province west of Shanghai.  The second largest city in the province, Yichang (pop. 4 million) is slated to become a stop on the planned high-speed rail line from Shanghai to Chengdu.

Piao re-photographing a vista
photographed by Dr. Geil in 1902.

Yichang is in the Three Gorges region, one of China's most scenic venues and site of the Three Gorges Dam.  Envisioned as early as 1919, work on the dam was delayed for decades by war and revolution.  Construction began in 1994 and is now mostly completed.  The dam will provide electrical power for the region, enhance shipping on the Yangtze, and aid in flood control downstream.  But all this comes at a price.  Nearly a million and a half people have been relocated, and several archaeological and cultural sites have been submerged.  Some worry, too, that the dramatic vistas of the Three Gorges area will be diminished.

Piao is re-photographing places "Old William" (as he is known in China) visited and photographed during his 1902 expedition along the river — his first long-distance trip through the Middle Kingdom.  My grandfather would have been 37 years old at the time, roughing it across central China.  At age 37 I was safely muddling through seminary in New York City, roughing it across 9th Avenue!  Uncle Edgar (as the family knows him) recorded his exploits in his book, A Yankee on the Yangtze.  What a wonderfully quaint title!  It was a much more innocent age.

As it has for the Great Wall, re-photography will document changes in the Yangtze river basin over the past 110 years.  We talk about the impact of human activity on landscape, ecology, and culture, but it is very difficult to understand how extensive these changes can be, and how quickly they occur.  Re-photography helps document this process for decision-makers and average citizens.  To this end, Piao plans to publish the paired photos (my grandfather's and his) as an on-line book.

Piao's visit excited some local interest.  In its Dec. 24th edition the Three Gorges Daily carried a story and photo of Piao at work.  Alas, I have no translation of the text, but the photo shows Piao doing what he does best. •••