Washerwomen in Shulin Town

During the era when running water was not yet in every household, clothes were washed at the well, in rivers or streams, or in irrigation ditches. Stream water from earlier times was crystal clear and suitable for both washing and drinking. Women often would gather next to the river in groups to chat while they washed their clothes.
The rushing of the waters blended with the sound of the wooden sticks beating the clothes to form an early “Washing Song.”
This picture was taken around 1960 of washerwomen in Shulin. They are washing clothes in the small river next to the railroad tracks, making use of the water that is springing forth there. Splotches of shade from the trees fall on them, partially illuminating the toil and hard work of women during this time.