Foochow, Fukien province, China: a woman carrying buckets of night-soil. Photograph, 1981, from a negative by John Thomson, 1869.

A woman holding panniers suspended from a yoke on her shoulders, standing outside by the wall of a house. This photograph was taken near to a tea plantation on terraced hills just outside of Fuzhou. Terraced fields were common in the Fujian countryside. To fertilize them the native women had to transport human manure from the city of Fuzhou. They did not bind their feet, and they carried the same burdens as the men did. Hard work rendered these women strong and healthy. According to Thomson, 'their olive cheeks are warmed with a glow of colour'