Images of Europeans in the Chinese Woodblock Book Huangqing zhigongtu

Abstract

This article explores the Chinese historical and ethnographic work of the second half of the 18^th century “Illustrated tributaries of the Qing Empire” (“Huangqing zhigongtu”). This book provides rich material for a systematic analysis of the views of the Chinese about European countries during the reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Twenty eight images and descriptions of a number of European nations – Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Swedes, the English, the Dutch, etc. – which were found in the book, have been identified, classified, and analyzed. A range of issues and problems related to the content of the descriptions has been established and compared with the illustrations from the book. Particular attention is paid to identifying and explaining the anthropological and socio-cultural stereotypes that shaped the image of Europeans in China. The authors of this paper have found out that due to Catholic missionaries the Chinese compilers of “Huangqing zhigongtu” must have had enough information about Europe in the first part of the Qing period. Nevertheless, they made a lot of mistakes when describing the geographical location of several nations and relations between some of them. They also misunderstood some habits, traditions or anthropological features of their inhabitants. On the other hand, the compilers were more accurate and correct precise when talking about political and trade activities of the Europeans  in China or near its frontier. Studying the “Huangqing zhigongtu”, we can not only reveal important factors that form the general picture of the Chinese worldview, but also contribute to a better understanding of motives that determined the foreign policy of the Qing Empire.

Keywords:

image studies, China and Europe, history of China, cultural contacts, tributaries, Europeans