Southern Putuo Monastery, Xiamen (Amoy), Fukien province, China. Photograph by John Thomson, 1870/1871.

The façade of a temple from ground level. The temple has a fantastically complex roof structure. A figure stands on the steps with his back to the camera. A retaining wall at the right hand side. A mountain in the background

The building is the Southern Putuo Monastery. The monastery is one of the major Buddhist sanctuaries in Fujian. It was first built in the early 15th century, though its history maybe traced back to the Tang (618–907). Because it is dedicated to Guanyin, as is the monastery at Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang, it was therefore given the name Southern Putuo Monastery. Over the years the monastery has expanded into a massive complex, and in modern times it has become one of the greatest Buddhist teaching institutions in China

1870

1 photograph : glass photonegative, wet collodion ; glass approximately 25.5 x 20.5 cm (10 x 8 in.)

Nam Poto temple, Amoy (Chinese characters) Buddhist temple Amoy Bears Thomson's negative number: "348"

China through the lens of John Thomson, 1868-1872, Beijing: Beijing World Art Museum, 2009, p. 102 (reproduced)

This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921

Wellcome Collection 18950i