Huquang, Kiangsi, Chekiang, ac Fokien.

Title

Huquang, Kiangsi, Chekiang, ac Fokien.

Description

Map shows the provinces Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fuijan in China, with three decorative cartouches.

ca. 1700

Artist

Schenk/ Valk Gerard (1655-1718)

Petrus Schenck, (1660 – 1711) was a German engraver and cartographer active in Amsterdam and Leipzig. Valck was married to Maria Bloteling, the sister of the Amsterdam engraver Abraham Bloteling. In 1687 Schenk married Gerard's sister Agatha Valck. In 1694, together with Valck, he bought some of the copperplates of the artdealer and cartographer Johannes Janssonius. Along with Valck and Bloteling, he produced prints for the London market, though it is not known if he ever went there with them.

Historical Description

During the Qin Dynasty of the first emperor Qin Shihuangdi, much was unified, thus laying the foundations for a common cultural identity, including the Chinese script, consisting of thousands of Chinese characters, which is considered to be the oldest still used writing system in the world. According to the myth, China's history spans 5000 years, in which Chinese culture and science, especially Chinese languages, Chinese names, Chinese philosophy, Chinese cuisine, Chinese folk belief and traditional Chinese medicine have developed. However, the historical influence of Chinese traditions and cultural practices has not been confined to this narrow definition, as it has also spread to other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, etc, through the establishment of overseas Chinese communities. The East Asian cultural sphere shares a Confucian ethical philosophy, Buddhism, Taoism, and it historically has shared a 3,000-year-old ancient Han Chinese writing system. The core regions of the East Asian cultural sphere are generally taken to be Greater China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Chinese music, Chinese literature, Chinese painting, Chinese architecture, Chinese garden art and Chinese martial arts are typical of the style of Chinese art.