Henri Cartier-Bresson: China breaking free of its past – in pictures

In November 1948, the great photographer went to shoot ‘the last days of Beijing’. He returned to China in 1958 to capture the results of the Maoist revolution. Images from both visits are brought together for the first time in an exhibition in Paris

Main image: Gold Rush: scrambles in front of a bank to buy gold. The last days of Kuomintang, Shanghai, 1948 Photograph: Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos

  • Near the Forbidden City, a person whose job it is to escort brides in a sedan chair, Beijing, December 1948

    Henri Cartier-Bresson travelled to China in November 1948, intending to stay for two weeks for a Life magazine assignment to report on the ‘last days of Beijing’. He stayed 10 months, leaving only a few days before the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949. All photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson/Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. Please note: the captions of the photographs are those written by Cartier-Bresson
    Near the Forbidden City, a simpleton whose job is to escort brides in a sedan chair, Beijing, December 1948 Cartier-Bresson travelled to China in November 1948 intending to stay for two weeks for a Life magazine assignment to report on the ‘last days of Beijing’. He stayed 10 months, leaving only a few days before the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949

  • At the entrance to a tavern, Beijing, December 1948

    Eighteen months before his trip, Cartier-Bresson co-founded the Magnum Photos agency, helping to nurture a new style of photojournalism that was less event-based, more poetic and detached, and attentive as much to the people as to the balance of compositions.
    At the entrance to a tavern, Beijing, December 1948

  • Early in the morning, in the Forbidden City, 10,000 new recruits have gathered to form a Nationalist regiment, Beijing, December 1948

    Images from Cartier-Bresson’s first China trip proved a seminal moment in the history of photojournalism and became a benchmark in the ‘new’ style
    Early in the morning, in the Forbidden City, ten thousand new recruits have gathered to form a Nationalist regiment, Beijing, December 1948

  • The window display of a brush merchant in the antique dealers’ street, Beijing, December 1948

    The 10 months Cartier-Bresson spent in China in 1948-49 saw the fall of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) government and the emergence of the People’s Republic of China
    The window display of a brush merchant in the antique dealers’ street, Beijing, December 1948The 10 months Cartier-Bresson spent in China in 1948-49 saw the fall of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) government and the emergence of the People’s Republic of China

  • Scene from the black market for silver coins, Beijing, December 1948

    Scene from the black market for silver coins, Beijing, December 1948

  • A visitor to the Forbidden City, Beijing, December 1948

    A visitor to the Forbidden City, Beijing, December 1948

  • Gold Rush: at the end of the day, scrambles in front of a bank to buy gold. The last days of Kuomintang, Shanghai, 23 December 1948

    Gold Rush. At the end of the day, scrambles in front of a bank to buy gold. The last days of Kuomintang, Shanghai, 23 December 1948

  • Cultural meeting at the Canidrome, Shanghai, 4 July 1949

    Fascinated by Chinese culture (he later became a Buddhist), Cartier-Bresson wanted to return to China to see the effects of the change of regime.
    Cultural meeting at the Canidrome, Shanghai, 4 July 1949

  • Construction of the Beijing University swimming pool by students, June 1958

    In 1958, as the 10th anniversary drew near, Cartier-Bresson set off on a journey of discovery in China under completely different conditions. Constrained by an accompanying guide for four months, he travelled thousands of kilometres on the launch of the Great Leap Forward to report on the results of the revolution and the forced industrialisation of rural areas
    Construction of the Beijing University swimming pool by students, June 1958In 1958, as the 10th anniversary drew near, Cartier-Bresson set off on a journey of discovery in China under completely different conditions. Constrained by an accompanying guide for four months, he travelled thousands of kilometres on the launch of the Great Leap Forward to report on the results of the revolution and the forced industrialisation of rural areas

  • Celebrations for the ninth anniversary of the People’s Republic, Beijing, 1 October 1958

    ‘I am interested almost exclusively in human beings,’ Cartier-Bresson said.Henri Cartier-Bresson: China 1948-1949 |1958 is at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, until 9 February.
    Celebrations for the ninth anniversary of the People’s Republic, Beijing, 1 October 1958‘I am interested almost exclusively in human beings,’ Cartier-Bresson said
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