Yao Jingcai (1923–2016) was a Chinese portrait photographer born in Suzhou, Jiangsu. In 1938, he began his career as an apprentice at the China Photo Studio in Shanghai and later established his own business. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he served as Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Photographic Industry Union. When the China Photo Studio relocated to Beijing, he became its manager. Yao was renowned for photographing official portraits of Chinese leaders, most notably his widely circulated and iconic standard portrait of Premier Zhou Enlai. In 1979, after visiting Hong Kong and Taiwan, he pioneered the introduction of wedding photography services in Beijing, setting a new trend in the industry. As a key figure in the China Photo Studio, Yao mentored numerous talents in the field, and his photographic techniques and business philosophy left a lasting impact on generations of photographers.

This work was produced using silver gelatin print with hand-colouring, presenting a colour portrait of a young woman dressed in traditional ethnic attire. With a bright gaze and a gentle smile, she radiates hope and longing for the future. The soft yet vivid hand-coloured effect lends the image an idealized glow, positioning it between traditional colour photography and painting, embodying the transitional aesthetic of its era. In the early 1980s, as China embarked on the path of reform and opening-up, there was a widespread sense of aspiration for a better life. This work retains the dignified and formal style characteristic of official photography from the planned economy era while incorporating the youthful vitality of the reform period. When viewers see Longing today, they can still be moved by the subject’s sincere smile, as if transcending time to experience the sense of hope and aspiration that people once held for the future.