By the mid 1930s, Fang Dazeng, a photographer and journalist, was well known within Chinese press circles. Born in 1912, he was considered by many to be the “Robert Capa of China” for his pioneering work in photojournalism. Fang was one of the most active correspondents in the early stage of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. His reports and photographs were published in Shun Pao, Young Companion, World Pictorial, and Ta Kung Pao in China, and in Time in the U.S. and the Illustrated London News in the United Kingdom, among others. After witnessing and reporting on the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Lugouqiao) on the outskirts of Beijing in July, 1937, which led to full scale invasion by Japan into China, Fang continued to send dispatches from the main areas of conflict within until he vanished without a trace in September, 1937. Fang never returned home and his fate remains unknown to this day. But his story was far from finished. In 1999, author and editor for CCTV, Feng Xuesong, began work on a comprehensive series of documentaries on Fang Dazeng. His discoveries led to meetings with Fang’s surviving family members and a cache of Fang’s personal belongings including numerous rolls of undeveloped film taken before his disappearance. As a result of Feng Xuesong’s tireless work to reappraise and treasure Fang Dazeng’s contribution to modern Chinese history, as well as Fang’s own selfless actions and perhaps his making the ultimate sacrifice, Fang Dazeng is now widely considered to be the forefather of photojournalism in China. These remarkable series of discoveries form the core of this book, featuring many of Fang’s photographs being published for the first time. Fang Dazeng’s contribution to our better understanding of modern Chinese history is of inestimable value to future scholars and those interested in some of China's most tumultuous years.
