Gaming chest and trays, 1800–40
Guangzhou
lacquer with gilding and colour
Gaming chest with trays painted to look like European playing cards.
Science, medicine and missionaries
In 1844, the Qing government and France legalised Christian missionary work in China. Missionaries offered famine relief, medicine and education, but could also interfere with local society in self-interested ways, such as intervening in court cases. The Tianjin incident of 1870, the Yangzi River riots of 1891 and the Boxer War (1899–1901) all demonstrated active, organised anti-Christian sentiment in China. Far more people were converted by the Christian Taiping religion, which inspired hybrid Christian-Qing texts and practices.*
Global Qing
Until the 1840s, Guangzhou (Canton) was the only place in China where trade with Europe and the USA was legal, and where such foreigners could live and work. The signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, following the end of the First Opium War in 1842, led to more ports being forcibly opened to foreign trade, called ‘treaty ports’.
During the last sixty years of Qing rule, modern technology and transport revolutionised industry and changed people’s lives. Inventions such as electricity and the new postal system transformed the way people worked and communicated. Printed media and translations of foreign books provided a two-way window onto the world through travel, industry and education.*
From the exhibition
China’s Hidden Century
(May 2023 – October 2023 )
China’s hidden century
Manchu armies from the northeast of China overthrew the Ming dynasty, founding the Qing dynasty and ruling China from 1644 to 1912. By 1796, the Qing ruled over one-third of all humanity and established one of the most prosperous empires in world history. In 1912 imperial rule collapsed. The dynasty’s final years were challenged by natural disasters, internal uprisings and foreign invasions.Despite this, the nineteenth century was an era of extraordinary cultural creativity, and of political, social and technological innovation, as people across China lived resourceful and resilient lives.
In 1796, the Qing ruled over one-third of all humanity and was one of the most prosperous empires in world history. By 1912 it had collapsed, bringing an end to some 2,000 years of dynastic rule and giving way to a modern Chinese republic. The Manchu dynasty that ruled at that point was challenged by internal uprisings and foreign invasion. Despite this, the 19th century was an era of extraordinary cultural creativity and of political, social and technological innovation.
In the shadow of these events lie stories of remarkable individuals – at court, in armies, among artists, in booming cosmopolitan cities and on the global stage – which this exhibition brings to life. An impressive 300 objects and paintings from 30 lenders are arranged into five themes: the court; the military; artists; urban life; global Qing; reformers and revolutionaries.
[*British Musem]
Taken in the British Museum
Gaming chest and trays, 1800–40
Guangzhou
lacquer with gilding and colour
Gaming chest with trays painted to look like European playing cards.
Science, medicine and missionaries
In 1844, the Qing government and France legalised Christian missionary work in China. Missionaries offered famine relief, medicine and education, but could also interfere with local society in self-interested ways, such as intervening in court cases. The Tianjin incident of 1870, the Yangzi River riots of 1891 and the Boxer War (1899–1901) all demonstrated active, organised anti-Christian sentiment in China. Far more people were converted by the Christian Taiping religion, which inspired hybrid Christian-Qing texts and practices.*
Global Qing
Until the 1840s, Guangzhou (Canton) was the only place in China where trade with Europe and the USA was legal, and where such foreigners could live and work. The signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, following the end of the First Opium War in 1842, led to more ports being forcibly opened to foreign trade, called ‘treaty ports’.
During the last sixty years of Qing rule, modern technology and transport revolutionised industry and changed people’s lives. Inventions such as electricity and the new postal system transformed the way people worked and communicated. Printed media and translations of foreign books provided a two-way window onto the world through travel, industry and education.*
From the exhibition
China’s Hidden Century
(May 2023 – October 2023 )
China’s hidden century
Manchu armies from the northeast of China overthrew the Ming dynasty, founding the Qing dynasty and ruling China from 1644 to 1912. By 1796, the Qing ruled over one-third of all humanity and established one of the most prosperous empires in world history. In 1912 imperial rule collapsed. The dynasty’s final years were challenged by natural disasters, internal uprisings and foreign invasions.Despite this, the nineteenth century was an era of extraordinary cultural creativity, and of political, social and technological innovation, as people across China lived resourceful and resilient lives.
In 1796, the Qing ruled over one-third of all humanity and was one of the most prosperous empires in world history. By 1912 it had collapsed, bringing an end to some 2,000 years of dynastic rule and giving way to a modern Chinese republic. The Manchu dynasty that ruled at that point was challenged by internal uprisings and foreign invasion. Despite this, the 19th century was an era of extraordinary cultural creativity and of political, social and technological innovation.
In the shadow of these events lie stories of remarkable individuals – at court, in armies, among artists, in booming cosmopolitan cities and on the global stage – which this exhibition brings to life. An impressive 300 objects and paintings from 30 lenders are arranged into five themes: the court; the military; artists; urban life; global Qing; reformers and revolutionaries.
[*British Musem]
Taken in the British Museum