Sketch of a Journey from Hang-Tchoo-Foo to Quang-Tchoo-Foo or Canton in China.

Title

Sketch of a Journey from Hang-Tchoo-Foo to Quang-Tchoo-Foo or Canton in China.

Description

Map depicts a travel in China. From the city Nanking to canton and Macao. With detailed representation of rivers, mountains and lakes. From Staunton's. An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China : including cursory observations made, and information obtained, in travelling through that ancient empire, and a small part of Chinese Tartary : together with a relation of the voyage undertaken on the occasion of His Majesty's ship the Lion, and the ship Hindostan, in the East India Company's service, to the Yellow Sea and Gulf of Pekin..........

dated 1796

Artist

Straunton (1737-1801)

George Leonard Staunton, Lemuel Francis Abbott, circa 1785. Sir George Leonard Staunton, 1st Baronet (1737-1801) was a traveler, doctor and diplomat serving Britain. On Macartney's legation trip to China (1792 to 1794), Staunton accompanied him as secretary of the legation and at the same time received the title of extraordinary envoy and empowered minister. On this trip, he observed the Chinese custom to give tea an orange flavor, later referred to as Earl Gray. Today Earl Gray is provided with bergamot. In 1793, Staunton was named Secretary to the British mission to the Chinese Imperial court. This diplomatic and trade mission would be headed by Lord Macartney. Although the Macartney Embassy returned to London without obtaining any concession from China, the mission could have been termed a success because it brought back detailed observations. Staunton was charged with producing the official account of the expedition after their return. It was published 1797 under the title An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China. This multi-volume work was taken chiefly from the papers of Lord Macartney and from the papers of Sir Erasmus Gower, who was Commander of the expedition. Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society, was responsible for selecting and arranging engraving of the illustrations in this official record

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.