Auguste François
Auguste François/ (20 August 1857 – 4 July 1935) was a French consul first in Paraguay between 1893 and 1895 then in southern China between 1896 and 1904, first in Longzhou in Guangxi province and Kunming in Yunnan. In China, he is known as Fang Suya (方苏雅). • Illustration — Auguste François, French consul and General Su. Kunming was then known as Yunnan-fu (云南府), and François spent time there and elsewhere in Yunnan working on obtaining a concession from the government to build the rail line from Vietnam to Kunming.
Auguste François
[1] This is a retouched picture, which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. · Public domain
- Born
- 1857 · Lunéville.
- Died
- 1935 · Belligné.
- Nationality
- France
- Occupation
- photographer · diplomat
- Honours
- Officer of the Legion of Honour · Knight of the Legion of Honour
- Languages
- French
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Documentary summary
Auguste François/ (20 August 1857 – 4 July 1935) was a French consul first in Paraguay between 1893 and 1895 then in southern China between 1896 and 1904, first in Longzhou in Guangxi province and Kunming in Yunnan. In China, he is known as Fang Suya (方苏雅). • Illustration — Auguste François, French consul and General Su. Kunming was then known as Yunnan-fu (云南府), and François spent time there and elsewhere in Yunnan working on obtaining a concession from the government to build the rail line from Vietnam to Kunming.
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In this article
Identity
Identity
He also undertook several exploration trips on major rivers and in eastern Tibet. He extensively photographed places and people, from officials to labourers and actors. About an hour of movie footage has also survived. In retirement, he wrote texts elucidating his images. François's work has been an invaluable means of documenting China's state palaces in the last decade of the empire. His photography is the earliest, largest and most extensive and complete collection of photographs documenting Chinese society at the end of the Qing dynasty. Armed with what was then state-of-the-art photographic and cinematic equipment, François traveled extensively throughout southern China and eventually followed the Yangtze from Yunnan to its terminus in Shanghai. His photographs are some of the earliest and most thorough photographic records of China and the motion pictures he took are thought to be the earliest motion pictures taken in China. His photo archive is held in France by Guimet Museum and the Association Auguste François. Film archives are held by Gaumont-Pathe Archives, Cinémathèque française, SOAS, Pitt Rivers Museum and BFI.
Auguste François is recorded with the occupation photographer. Recorded as photographer and diplomat.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1857
Auguste François was born on 20 August 1857.
1935
Auguste François died on 4 July 1935.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Lunéville.
Birth place
Belligné.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Auguste François”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q433509: Auguste François
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Acte de naissance, Archives départementales de Meurthe-et-Moselle,.
- 2.François Auguste (1857-1935). Réunion des musées nationaux.
- 3.The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Johns Hopkins University. 2009. 978-0-8018-9304-9.
References
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References
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Photography
11,392 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Augusta CurielPhotographer
- Augusta MostynPhotographer
- Augusta SolbergPhotographer
- Auguste BellocPhotographer
- Auguste Hippolyte CollardPhotographer
- Auguste LumièrePhotographer
- Auguste MestralPhotographer
- Auguste SalzmannPhotographer
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