Shortly after we married, my wife Carol and I taught English at an agricultural university in central China. It was 1986 and China was emerging from decades of trauma under Chairman Mao. Our students studied ardently under impoverished conditions; most of them are now published scholars with important roles in universities in China and around the world. The one thing I could teach them was English, and I did my best. In my spare hours I explored my city, on foot and on bicycle, and carried my camera everywhere. I was thoroughly engrossed and took many photographic risks. Eventually the police detained me for photographing a student demonstration. At the station, I exposed the film to light so that they couldn’t use my photos to identify any students. Ah, those were the days. Here are a few of the photos I took; I’ll post others down the road.
