tary photography was widespread, although
mainly used by Japanese anthropologists, scholars,
and reporters during the early period of the Japa-
nese Occupation (1895–1920), as cameras were
mostly considered research tools for field work in
the newly-acquired colony. Portraiture was the
other popular type of photography. As a colonized
island under the Japanese, Taiwan was under
heavy restriction. The local Taiwanese could not
afford to purchase cameras and photographic
equipment that Japanese and a few British compa-
nies carried. Even so, Taiwan natives were not
allowed to acquire negatives or experiment with
chemicals or other photographic materials.
The difficult conditions did not entirely prevent
the use of photography, however. Japanese photo-
graphers and reporters based in Taiwan ran the
photo studios and shops, but also offered a few
photographic classes to introduce the functions of
cameras and basic darkroom techniques to the
native population. This was undertaken for com-
mercial reasons to keep up with the demand for
portrait and documentary photographs, and there
was no formal or professional education in photo-
graphy in the schools. The master-disciple system
was thus strongly relied upon in the commercial
photography studios. SHR Chiang and LIN Tsao
were two important figures who emerged amidst
these conditions. They were trained in the master-
disciple system, and they later established their
own commercial studios. In 1901, Shr Chiang set
up the first studio that was owned and run by
Taiwanese natives called Duplicated Me Photo
Shopwhich existed until 1946. Around the same
time, Lin Tsao (1881–1953) inherited a studio
from his teacher Mirimoto, a Japanese reporter
based in Taiwan. He renamed this concernLin
Photo Shop. Shr Chiang, Lin Tsao, and others
who set up shops were largely patronized by Japa-
nese officials to record their activities and to
report propaganda events.
PENG Ruei-lin stands out as an exceptional
photographer of this era. Like his predecessors,
he ran a photo shop to support himself. Unlike
them, he had received formal training in photogra-
phy from a Tokyo professional school in the
1920s. This training made a considerable differ-
ence in his approach to the medium. He experi-
mented with various techniques in color
photography in 1930 and infrared photography
in 1933. While both of these areas had been dis-
covered and discussed by Western photographers,
they were little known in Taiwan. Peng Ruei-lin’s
experimentation illustrates how, even in artistic
isolation, he was able to use a camera for artistic
creation and to attempt to create aesthetic effects.
Yet, Peng Ruei-lin’s significance was not widely
recognized by other native photographers, and
his concerns did not enter the mainstream under-
standing of photography in Taiwan. He taught
classes continuously from 1933 to 1937 in his
photo shop, with many of his students becoming
key figures in photography after the Japanese de-
parture from the island.
TENG Nan-kuang (1907–1971), CHANG Tsai
(1916–1994), and LEE Ming-diao (1922–) were
the most active and influential photographers dur-
ing the late colonial period and Sino-Japanese
War from 1934 to 1948. They have been called
the ‘‘Three Swordsmen of Taiwanese Photogra-
phy’’ to identity their roles as strong promoters
of photography in Taiwan, especially during the
1950s. Stylistically their photographs are reminis-
cent of Japanese realism in documentary photo-
graphy, where the dominance of the realist style
leaves little room for photographers’ individual
creations. Yet , unlike the early documentary pho-
tography of Taiwan, so influenced by the Japa-
nese style, the works of these three figures create a
more humanistic sense and express each photo-
grapher’s concern and individual awareness of
Taiwan. Traveling all over Taiwan, Teng Nan-
kuang, Chang Tsai, and Lee Ming-diao captured
images that showed their interest in early Tai-
wan’s rural culture, religious rituals, and social
conditions. Teng’s best-known work is a series
of so-called tea ladies. Shooting candid portraits
of the ladies at work. Chang traveled to Orchid
Island, an isolated island away from Taiwan,
and painstakingly photographed aboriginals in
great detail near Jade Mountain, Taiwan’s the
highest elevation capturing his motifs in a
straightforward and direct way. Lee is known
for photographs of rural life and the traditions
rooted in Han Chinese culture. While qualifing
as documentary photographers or photojournal-
ists, the Three Swordsmen were not primarily
motivated by commercial or political intentions
as were their early Taiwanese counterparts, and
their works went a long way to encourage native
photographers to reassess the aesthetic potential
of the medium.
The Three Swordsmen also helped shape the
environment of photography in Taiwan. Teng set
up networking and a photographic association,
and enhanced formal education on photography
in schools. In 1953, he was a co-founder, with
LONG Chin-san, of the Chinese Photography As-
sociation, the first association for professional pho-
tographers. (See below) This association helpsCHINA AND TAIWAN, PHOTOGRAPHY IN