With the personal insistence and endeavoring pursuing I have undertaken historical investigations over the photo contents in Gansu and Qinghai since 2005. I have been to Qinghai and Gansu almost every summer, and sometimes, twice every year for my field investigation during last decade. I went to Jeizi Village where was the first settlement of Salar Muslims who migrated from Samarkand in Central Asia to Xunhua (Shunhua), the Up Reach of the Yellow River, and I visit the Town Gate Mosque of Jishi Town, the Xunhua County Site, from there I got known Han Haimin, a Salar manager of the local branch of Haier Electric Applies Company for sale services in Xunhua, through him I was acquired with the former landlord’s family Mr. Chen (86 years old that time, he was one of the relatives of the landlord Chen, who rented a house to Rev. Holton and his wife) in Cao Tan Ba Village, and later Landlord Wang Fuchen (who was executed by the new regime after 1949) and his relatives Wang Dekui, and other Salar Muslim villagers whose parents had met and known Rev. Holton and his family. Through the connection and by introduction I had interviews with several elderly Salar Muslims whose age over 70 years old, the oldest one was over 86 years old. While I took interviews with them I also showed them the photos printed into papers to them and searched their comments, therefore, I took notes from their recalling. With one clue to another clue I have visited various counties such as Xunhua, Hualong, Huangzhong, Tongren, Guide, Huangnan, Ping’an, Huzhu counties and Xining City in Qinghai, and Linxia City (Hechow, or Hezhou), Linxia, Lintan (Taochow), Hezuo (Hetsou), Zhuoni, Lintao (Titao), Minxian (Minchow), Xiahe, Jishishan, Zhangxian, Dongxiang, Guanghe, Hezheng (Ninghe), Lanzhou City, Pingliang City of Gansu Province. I tried to just follow the routes and traveling journey taken by Rev. Carter Holton in his 27 years’ missionary careers. During these travels and interviews with Muslim elderly I tried to visit many mosques and Lama monasteries, Taoist temples and Han Chinese Buddhist temples as much as possible. Since I am a scholar of Islamic studies, so I feel confident and convenient for my research on Salar, Hui, Dongxiang, Bao’an Muslims and Qargan (Tibetan Muslims) as well as their Islam. However, I have been not so much assurance for the contents of Tibetan Lama Buddhism in the photo collection of Rev. Carter Holton, which has about 3000 pieces of the photos relate with this subject. So I keep trying to do my best in the researching for the part of Tibetan Lama Buddhism in the Holton’s photo collection, and read some books and materials on Tibetan Buddhism and have also been searching the helps and assistance even guidance from the Tibetan scholars. Fortunately, I have met several generous and good-hearted Tibetan scholars who offered great assistance to my research work.
 

In the first part of August, 2012 of my fieldwork, I met Prof. Wang Zhouta, a Tibetan scholar working at Center of the Ethnic Minorities in the Frontiers of Northwest China, Lanzhou University. I showed the photos concerning the Tibetan Buddhism in the Holton’s collection to him. Prof. Zhouta gave comments over the photos numbered almost two thousand pieces of the photos in the Holton’s collection. We spent eight hours in his home in Lanzhou to discuss the contents of the photos relating with Tibetan Buddhism in Qinghai and Gansu. While he gave comments I would try hard to take notes down on the paper. I also showed a few hundred pieces of the photos to Dr. Zongka who studied in Indiana University of USA, a professor researching Tibetan Buddhism and culture at Lanzhou University, he also gave his suggestion, particularly, Ta’er Monastery in Qinghai Province and Labrang Monastery in Gansu Province.

As I did research work in the office of the Harvard-Yenching Institute in February 2014, I met Dr. Kim Soojin who was a scholar on Chinese arts in a university in South Korea and I got known her several years ago since both of us were visiting scholars at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, so we talked the natures of our research projects. While I mentioned the contents of the Tibetan Buddhism among the 3000 pieces’ photos in the Rev. Holton Collection, she told me that her husband Mr. Hanung Kim was a doctoral student on a Tibetan Buddhism in Harvard University, his doctoral dissertation was about the history of Youning Temple, one of the Tu’s Tibetan Lama Buddhist monasteries. So we made an appointment with her husband to talk these photos. Her husband visited the region in Qinghai and Sichuan many times, and even did the fieldworks in Aba and Ganzi areas, lived there for quite long time. As I showed the photos to him, he informed me about the temples and the Tibetan Buddhist rituals in the contents of the photos, and confirmed to me that some of them were about Youning Temple in Huzhu County, Qinghai Province. Youning Temple was the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple celebrated by the Tu people in Buddhist festivals and ritual ceremonies. I was so pleased for this rectification.
 

In the three summers of the years between 2013 to 2015 I had been in Lanzhou in my fieldwork of the historical investigation, and asked Mr. Songji Cairang, the Tibetan researcher of Institute of Ethnological Studies in Gansu Province, also the vice chairman of Gansu Association of the Fine Arts for helps, he once took advanced studies as a visiting scholar at the Fine Arts College of Shanghai Normal University, therefore, we were the school mates in some senses. After he watched the photos concerning on the Tibetan Lama Buddhist culture and religious activities, he rectified them one by one to comment over these photos have the contents of the Tibetan Buddhism. Several times I spent longer than a half day in his home to identify the location and which groups of Tibetan tribes, monasteries and other related subjects on Tibetan Buddhism.

Dr. Niu Hong, the formal professor at College of History, Northwest China’s Nationality University, a Tibetan scholar was invited to take the professorship of religious studies in Department of Philosophy, Shanghai Normal University as a professional leading scholar at the beginning of 2016. So we become colleagues. I talked with him on the number and contents of the photos related with Tibetan Buddhism in the Rev. Holton’s photo collection. I also showed these photos to him. In the early year of 2014, I took the advantage of my winter vacation and came to the Harvard-Yenching Institute sponsored by myself during that time I met a female Tibetan doctoral student who was a visiting scholar of HYI for one year. Her name is Zhou Mao, doctoral candidate in Southwest University of Ethnology in Chongqing, Sichuan Province. I also showed her some of the Holton’s photo collection. Since her hometown is in Hezuo, so she gave some comments over the photos related with Tibetan Monastery in Hezuo, Southern Gansu District. They in different ways have contributed to the identifying the contents of the photo collection of Rev. Carter Holton.

After the Autumn Semester of 2016, although I was retired from my teaching position and the professorship of Islamic studies, I remained committing to teach two or three courses every week in the university. So I occasionally met Dr. Xing Haiyan, a Tu scholar on Anthropological studies from Northwest China’s Nationality University, now is an associated professor in College of Law and Politics, Shanghai Normal University. Dr. Xing also does teaching and researching in Ethnology. I presented the photos of the Tu people in Minhe and Huzhu counties in Qinghai Province from the photo collection of the Holton to her for any comments, since she comes from a Tu family in Qinghai, and she gave some very authentic suggestions on the Tu people and its culture in the photo collection of Rev. Holton, therefore, she has filled the gap or vacuum in researching the Tu culture and Youning Temple in the Republic.