couplings of the array, we show that this one-dimensional model can be mapped into a two-dimensional Chern insulator model. In addition to allow the study of photonic Chern insulators, this approach also provides a natural platform to realise experimentally Laughlin’s pumping argument. Based on scattering theory of topological insulators and input-output formalism, we show that the photonic edge state can be probed directly and the topological invariant can be detected from the winding number of the reflection coefficient phase.