
A picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures capture the incredible stories of a man's life.

Ye Jinglv, a Chinese man born in 1881, sat for one photo every year between 1907 and 1968.

Together, the images showcased the dramatic transformation of Ye over the six decades - from a London-based mandarin with an iconic Chinese braid to a retired businessman donning a tunic suit.

The collection of precious photos, once gone missing, were discovered by Beijing-based art collector Tong Bingxue. They provide a fascinating insight into the lifestyle in the Far East in the first half of the 20th century.

Two pictures 67 years apart: Above are Ye Jinglv's first photo taken in 1901 in London, and last photo taken in 1968 in Fuzhou

A passion for photography: After returning to China, Ye started having one picture taken a year. In the above three pictures taken in 1907, 1908 and 1909 (left to right), Ye was in his late 20s. He was a trendy young manager living in Fuzhou, China

Important event: Ye's portraits capture the fascinating changes of the Chinese society. One note-worthy detail between Ye's portraits in 1911 (middle) and 1912 (right) was the missing of his braid. The Republic of China overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and ended China's long-running feudalism. Ye followed the trend and had his hair cut to embrace the new era

Tong, 48, came across the images in 2007 after an antique book dealer had contacted him and presented the collection to him.

Specialised in old photographs from China, Tong was instantly intrigued by the set and bought them from the dealer. He was also impressed by the number of pictures - taken of the same man stretching from China's feudalistic to Communist eras.

After conducting research, Tong was able to reconstruct the chronology of Ye Jinglv's life and published the man's stories in a book in 2012.

The set of pictures have exhibited in many countries over the last decade. They have appeared in Beijing, New York City and Brussels.

Tong hopes in the near future he could bring Ye's portraits to London, where Ye lived and worked as a mandarin for five years.

The collector told MailOnline that he is looking for museums and galleries in Britain which would be interested to exhibit the pictures.

Born in 1881, Ye was a mandarin-turned-manager. When he lived in London during 1896 and 1901, he took an interest in Christianity and was fascinated by photography. The above three pictures were taken in 1913, 1914, 1916 (left to right)

The picture on the right was taken in 1920, and Ye was 39 years old; in the picture on the left, a gracefully Ye posed wearing a cheongsam in 1921 aged 40

Ye was a relative of Luo Fenglu, who was the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, Belgium and Italy. He followed Luo to work in Europe. After he came back to China, he managed stores for the Luo family. The above three pictures were, from left to right, taken in 1922, 1928, 1934

Ye was born in Fuzhou, south-east China's Fujian Dynasty, in the seventh year under of reign of Qing emperor Guangxu to a family owning a small business.

In 1896 at the age of 15, Ye left China to work in the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom.

He followed his relative Luo Fenglu, who was the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, Belgium and Italy, and worked as Luo's assistant for five years in London.

Ye's life was forever changed during his stay in the British capital. He took an interest in Christianity and was fascinated by photography.

Days before he returned to China in 1901, Ye had his first picture taken in a studio in London. In the picture, the timid 21-year-old sported a traditional Chinese braid, a glossy silk tunic top and an ankle-length skirt.

The image apparently confirmed Ye's passion for photography and prompted the man to start having portraits taken annually after returning to his hometown Fuzhou.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, photography was a new technology in China. Therefore, it wasn't until 1907 that Ye had the opportunity to have his second portrait taken in a studio in Fuzhou.

Ye lived in Fuzhou, which was one of the five treaty ports in China open to Western merchants and missionaries at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. As such, the man was able to enjoy photography, which was hard to find in other parts of China. From left to right, the pictures were taken in 1936, 1937 and 1938

Ye's incredible portraits album came to the attention of Chinese art collector, Tong Bingxue, in 2007. Tong said an antique book dealer contacted him and presented him with the pictures. He immediately bought them. In the two pictures taken in 1939 and 1940, Ye was nearly 60 years old

Ye's portraits seemed to always convey the leading fashions. In these three pictures, taken in 1941, 1943, 1944 (left to right), he had a pair of round frameless spectacles, which was popular among men in that decade

Ye timed his 1949 portrait (left) with the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1. The pose was a nod to a picture of Chairman Mao in the same year, which showed Mao reading a newspaper in Beijing. In the picture taken in 1950 (right), Ye wore a Communist flat hat paired with dark-coloured winter clothing

Fuzhou was one of the five treaty ports in China open to Western merchants and missionaries at the time and one of the few places in China that had opportunities to obtain novel goods from Europe.

By then, Ye had changed his career from a mandarin to a store manager. After Luo Fenglu passed away in 1903, Ye helped the Luo family supervising a tea shop and a pawnbroker in Fuzhou.

In the portrait, Ye, aged 26, wore a white two-piece Chinese suit. Next to him on a round table were some of the most fashionable items at the time, including a table clock and two plastic flowers.

In his right hand, Ye held a Western umbrella, which was brought to China by Western merchants and was extremely novel in Fuzhou at the time (different from the commonly seen umbrellas in the west, traditional Chinese umbrellas were made with wooden sticks and oil paper).

After that, Ye went to the studio every year to have his portrait taken for 62 years.

In 1952, Ye, then 72, chose to use a piece of paper-cutting showing his silhouette in his annual portrait (left). Ye had been accused of selling gold which was prohibited by the 'Five-anti campaign'. He considered 1952 a 'stained year', thus couldn't bear to have his portrait taken. His face re-appeared in the pictures from 1953 (right)

Tong, 48, was impressed by the number of pictures taken of the same man spanning China's feudalistic to Communist eras. He published a book about Ye's life in 2012. In the above two pictures taken in 1954 and 1955, Ye was enjoying his retirement

From 1955, most of Ye's portraits, such as the ones taken in 1956 (left) and 1957 (right), were headshots, compared to his many full-length pictures in the past. It's believed that the limited resources available to the public then meant Ye had to cut down the size of his pictures

From an athletic look in 1908 to a pair of round frameless spectacles in 1941 to a Communist flat hat in 1964, Ye's portraits seem to always convey the leading trends of the time.

More interestingly, his photographic journal has - perhaps unbeknown to Ye - become an unusual medium to capture the dramatic changes of the Chinese society over 60 years.

One note-worthy change of fashion in Ye's portraits in 1911 and 1912 was the missing of Ye's braid. It signalled one of the most influential events in China's contemporary history - the ending of long-running feudalism.

In October, 1911, the Republic of China government overthrew the Qing Dynasty, and men in the country were encouraged to cut their braids to beckon the new era. In 1912, 31-year-old Ye donned a long cotton robe and posed for the picture with a fresh short hairdo.

Ye timed his 1949 portrait with the founding of the People's Republic of China. On October 1, as Chairman Mao announced the birth of a Communist China, Ye sat for a portrait holding a newspaper in his hands. The pose was a nod to a picture of Chairman Mao taken in the same year, which showed the great helmsman reading a People's Daily newspaper in Beijing.

Tong has exhibited Ye's pictures in many cities of the world, including Beijing, New York and Brussels. He hopes to bring them to London, where he lived and worked for five years until 1901. He was 77 (left) and 78 (right) years old in the pictures above taken in 1958 and 1959

Ye's photographic journal has - perhaps unbeknown to Ye - become an unusual medium to capture the dramatic changes of the Chinese society over 60 years. The above three pictures, taken in 1961, 1962 and 1964 (left to right), were captured on the eve of China's Cultural Revolution

Over 62 years, the only year Ye didn't show his face in the annual picture was 1952. Instead of a portrait, Ye, then 72, chose to use a piece of paper-cutting showing his silhouette. The image also came with some words around the cut-out.

According to the writing, Ye decided not to have a picture taken because 1952 was a 'stained year' for him.

The man explained that he had been reported by his eldest grandson to the government for selling gold, which was prohibited by the 'Five-anti campaign', a political movement launched by the Communists earlier that year against the capitalist class.

He wrote: 'I have lived in vain for 72 years. I was wrongly accused and it was such a shame.'

The two pictures captured the last years of Ye at the ages of 82 and 84. The two pictures were taken in 1963 and 1965

Ye and his wife were said to be frightened by the class movements and became ill at the same time in 1968. Ye's wife of 62 years died of stomach bleeding and Ye passed away one week after that. These two pictures were taken in 1966 and 1967

Ye's last picture was taken on June 1 in 1968 at the age of 87. The man, whose health had been deteriorating, went to the photography studio with the help of walking aids. In the picture, a smiley Ye wore a cotton top with typical Chinese knot buttons, just like what he had worn in 1907 when he first started his epic journey of portrait-taking 61 years before.

One month later, Ye and his wife were said to be frightened by the class movements and fell ill. Ye's wife of 62 years suffered from stomach bleeding and died after about three week. One week later, an ill and sad Ye passed away too.

Tong said Ye's incredible portraits had once gone missing. Ye's grandson threw them away when he cleaned the house.

Tong explained: 'It's Fuzhou people's tradition to get rid of the belongings of deceased family members.'

The pictures somehow ended up in the hands of an antique book dealer, who reached out to Tong.

To Tong, it was a truly lucky discovery that had defined his art-collecting career; and in a way, it has also re-defined the life of previously little-known Ye Jinglv.