Imperial Shadows (Qing China as Depicted by British Envoys)

Author: Liu Lu, translated by (British) Wu Fangsi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: In the late 18th century, to open the door to trade with China, King George III of Britain sent a large delegation to China under the pretext of celebrating the birthday of Emperor Qianlong. In pursuit of greater commercial interests in China, the delegation made meticulous preparations before departure but returned empty-handed. This significant event in the history of Qing Dynasty diplomacy has long been a subject of attention among scholars both at home and abroad. Scholars have conducted extensive research on it from political, economic, and ceremonial and cultural perspectives, providing a deep understanding of the incident. The author once consulted at the British National Library and found most of the illustrations drawn by William Alexander (William Alexander), who accompanied the delegation on its visit to China (hereinafter referred to as "Ya Tu"). It was discovered that in addition to the significance in political and economic history, the related writings on the Macartney visit to China could also be interpreted from a sociological perspective. Especially the watercolor paintings drawn by Alexander during his visit with the delegation, as their content involves various aspects of Chinese politics, economy, and social life, they not only became some of the earliest visual materials for the West to understand China in the 18th century but also became an important creative source for Westerners' depictions of the East thereafter. For example, in 1843, London published a copperplate print collection titled "China: The Scenery, Architecture, and Social Habits of That Ancient Empire" based on Alexander's paintings. This is sufficient to demonstrate the value of Alexander's illustrations in the eyes of the Westerners. Moreover, some of the Chinese occupational paintings drawn by Alexander in China became the origin of the "Chinese occupational paintings" that appeared multiple times in the West in the 19th century. This book primarily uses this collection of illustrations as its basis, examining the background and content of Ya Tu, to provide a rough sociological interpretation of Chinese society as seen by the British in the late 18th century.