Canton (Guangzhou), Kwangtung province, China: a schoolboy. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.

A small schoolboy with a long queue (pig-tail), holding a book in his left hand, a board or slate in his right. Although the photographer John Thomson often quibbled about the old system of education in China, he was greatly impressed by the diligence and aptitude of Chinese schoolboys, and their capacity in acquiring knowledge. He also noted in different parts of the country there were attempts to modernize the education system, and some schools had adopted western learning. This boy looks straight ahead rigorously, as if he is looking into the future