無錫是中國著名的魚米之鄉，康熙和乾隆踏遊無錫山水，流連忘返，留下百年佳話，也成了中國政治、經濟和文化的一種象徵，激發了諸多藝術創作的想像和思考。西方攝影術發明後傳入中國，沿海一帶的商埠開設照相館，到遠東冒險的旅人或傳教士，記錄著他們的所見所聞，並用相機在東方文明古國獵影采風。本書精選晚清至民國時期的照片，包含：無錫和南京、上海、徐州、揚州、鎮江、蘇州、杭州、寧波、紹興等十座名城。歷史古蹟的原貌被清楚紀錄下來，例如：無錫黃埠墩、錫山龍光塔、南京貢院、儀鳳門、明樓、奎山塔、江都福運門、汶河文昌閣、杭州雷峰塔、紹興古城牆等，它們原本的樣子都不復存在了，如今能夠在稀有的歷史影像中一睹原貌，彌足珍貴！
約100幅經典歷史影像珍品，除多數蛋白照片外，其中數幀晚清時期無錫與蘇州原版影像為火棉膠照片，火棉膠攝影出現於1850年代，這些黑白照片記錄了無錫與江浙一地的史貌掠影，歷歷可見！照片歷經重重工序，針對原版黑白相片進行精密掃描、建檔、修復，更運用數位影像彩色復原工藝技術，以及嚴謹的考證過程，進一步將原始黑白影像數位上色，重現歷史樣貌，引領觀者回顧名城風情，細細品味彩圖中的盎然古韻，如臨現場。
一城風情，築百代故事。無錫與江浙名城歷經千百年造化，孕育了獨特又多元的人文底蘊，各有特色。這本畫冊不僅是出色的出版物，而且是在台灣的中國人追求中華文化品質的成果，每一張圖、每一個字都代表著工作同仁的心血和情感，冀望它的出版在影像文化和工藝領域上，對兩岸和世界都能作出貢獻，從而締造另一個新的里程碑！書中所收錄的經典歷史影像，稀有而珍貴，紀錄晚清與民國時期各地風景名勝，展現該地風土民情，經原版黑白照片數位彩色復原，重現無錫與江浙名城的絕代風華，結合美學和史料考證，建構圖像史觀，讓觀者們更貼近原來的時代樣貌，品味婉約細膩的名勝掠影，感受古老文明悠遠的璀璨榮光，猶如享受一場歷史、文化和視覺的盛宴！


Since photography was introduced to China from the West, photo studios became popular in a number of commercial ports along the coast. Adventurous travelers and missionaries to Far East recorded what they saw and took photos for the Eastern world with civilizations dating back for millennia. This book selected images from the late Qing Dynasty to China’s Republican Era, concerning the following cities: Wuxi, Nanjing, Shanghai, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. Many historical sites were recorded in detail, such as Huangbudun, Dragon Light Pagoda, Jiangnan Examination Hall, Yifeng gate, Ming Lou (Ming Mansion), Kuishan pagoda, Fuyun gate of Jiangdu county, Wenchang Pavilion, Leifeng pagoda, former city wall of Shaoxing and so forth. Their original looks are nowhere to be seen except in the old photos.

Additionally, modern buildings had replaced the old ones in the Chinese modernization process. The images in this book not only involve a number of historical sites, but also deal with Chinese people’s living in China’s Republican Era. There are approximately 100 images in this book, most of which are albumen prints. Other images, especially those about Wuxi and Suzhou in the late Qing Dynasty, were created in the wet-plate collodion process, an invention of the 1850s. Also, film colorization was applied with the help of digital image processing in order to make these images look more authentic and to encourage the reader to pay attention to detail in the photos.

The colorized historical photographs are the re-creation of the original black and white photos. By using the colorization method, there are more details revealed to the readers which might not be seen on the original photographs. The art of the colorization of the historical images not only enhance the visual effect while represent the historical event, but also at the same level enrich the artistic value for the photographs.

General speaking, every single image represents a historical event. When an image was captured, there were endless information in the content to provide viewers to research, appreciate and observe the beauty within. From generation to generation, people document what they see by using cameras. The ways of seeing based on different perspectives, and the perception represents the view point of the world through the eyes of the beholder.