I’m thrilled to invite you to delve into the fall 2015 issue of the Trans Asia Photography Review—a special issue guest-edited by scholars of Chinese art Claire Roberts and Yi Gu. Both Gu and Roberts are, in their own right, pioneering and important contributors to the collective task of writing photography’s histories in China. In putting together this issue, they’ve worked closely with a group of authors around the theme “photographic manipulation.”

The final group of lively writings they’ve assembled brings into focus photography in China from the 1930s to the present, with attention paid to many kinds of work: artistic, political, and vernacular. Gu and Roberts have each contributed a piece of their own; Roberts’s translation and Gu’s book review both make available content that would not otherwise be accessible to non-Chinese speakers. Two additional book reviews discuss work on early photography in India and recent photography in Japan. As a whole, the Fall 2015 issue of TAP offers a substantial, in-depth engagement with significant approaches to photography in China, in the context of other Asian practices.

With this issue, I’m very pleased to welcome three new members to our editorial board. Christopher Pinney and Young June Lee, both of whom raised key questions in the “Why Asian Photography?” feature in TAP Review’s first issue (fall 2010), are officially joining us and we’re honored to have their expert input. We also warmly welcome Ali Behdad, a scholar of photography from Iran and the Middle East, among other topics. He will help guide us as we expand our purview to incorporate historical and contemporary photography from West Asia and the Middle East.

Once again, Reviews and Resources Editor Raymond Lum has compiled a wonderful annotated list of recent publications. The TAP Resources page, which he also administers, is an ever-expanding and highly useful compendium. And Jamie Maxtone-Graham continues to make the Trans Asia Photography Review Facebook page a fascinating and informative destination to be visited often.

It has been a great pleasure working with Claire Roberts and Yi Gu as they brought this ambitious issue, ably copyedited by Doris J. Troy, to completion. We welcome proposals for future guest-edited issues; please contact me directly, at asianphotography@hampshire.edu.

With best wishes,

Sandra Matthews

Editor, Trans Asia Photography Review