Ten Thousand Nations Coming to Pay Tribute

Ten Thousand Nations Coming to Pay Tribute (Chinese: 萬國來朝圖; pinyin: Wànguó láicháo tú, 1761) is a monumental (299x207cm) Qing dynasty painting depicting foreign delegations visiting the Qianlong Emperor in the Forbidden city in Beijing during the late 1750s.[1]

Thousand nations pay tribute (萬國來朝圖, 1761). Wintertime version. Palace Museum (北京故宮博物院).[1]
Second version (summertime) of the Thousand nations pay tribute (萬國來朝圖, 1761). Palace Museum (北京故宮博物院).
Emperor Qianlong, aged 65, in the Forbidden City, attending the ceremony

The painting was intended to show the cosmopolitanism and the centrality of the Qing Empire, since most countries of Asia and Europe are shown paying their respects to the Chinese Emperor.[1] China already had a long tradition of such paintings (designated as "Portraits of Periodical Offering"), starting from around the 6th century CE, but such paintings ended around the time of the Opium War, which shattered the ideal of the Great Chinese Empire in the middle of the world, and gave way to the awareness of China as simply one country among others.[1] The principle was one of more-or-less voluntary submission, with presents being periodically brought to the Chinese Emperor as a symbolic gesture of acknowledgement of Chinese overlordship.[2] According to Ming period writings "The Emperor resides in the center and holds the reins of all other nations and all things under the sun".[2]

The title literally refers to ten thousand countries ("萬國"), but this simply has the meaning of an uncountable multitude.

Asia

Delegates of many Asian countries appear, such as Korea (朝鮮), Vietnam (安南), Ryukyu (琉球國), Siam (暹羅國)、爪 Lusong (呂宋, Philippines), Sulu Archipelago (蘇祿), Myanmar (緬甸國).

Xinjiang

Numerous representatives of the newly conquered territory of the Xinjiang (Dzungar–Qing Wars) also appear: Ili (伊犁) core of the former Dzungar Khanate, Uqturpan (烏什), Kashgar (喀什喀爾), Yarkent (葉爾奇木).

Europe

Many representatives of Europe are also present: France (法蘭西), Holland (荷蘭), England (英吉利), Russia (鄂羅斯國).

Popular multicolored New Year print (nianhua 年畫) entitled "Ten Thousand Countries Coming to Court" (Wanguo laichao tu 萬國來朝圖), by Wang Junfu 王君甫, mid to late 17th century[3]

While the Imperial Ten Thousand Nations Coming to Pay Tribute is quite realistic and derived from the Jesuit pictorial tradition of Giuseppe Castiglione, this theme also gave rise to some contemporary popular prints with the same title, but a much more caricatural rendering, such as the New Year print (nianhua 年畫) by Wang Junfu (王君甫, mid to late 17th century).[3] This reflects the tradition of Chinese folk art with commercial intent, sold to ordinary households for New Year festivities.[3]

Wang Junfu's Ten Thousand Nations Coming to Pay Tribute (萬國來朝圖) also depicts various foreign countries visiting the Imperial court, but in a rather grotesque manner. Various foreign tribute-bearers arriving at the Zhengyangmen (正陽門) gate of the imperial palace are depicted, but with a much more caricatural understanding of geography and foreign physionomies: the print is crowded with representatives of the "countries of the pygmies" (Xiaoren guo 小人國), the people with perforated chests (Chuanxin guo 穿心國), Japan (日本), India (Tianzhu guo 天竺), the Muslim countries (Huihui guo 回回國), Holland (Helan 荷蘭), the Giants of Patagonia (Changren guo 長人國), and the “Western Ocean” (Xiyang 西洋), probably Europe.[3]

References
  1. Liu, Xin (12 August 2022). Anglo-Chinese Encounters Before the Opium War: A Tale of Two Empires Over Two Centuries. Taylor & Francis. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-1-000-63756-4.
  2. Wade, Geoff; Chin, James K. (19 December 2018). China and Southeast Asia: Historical Interactions. Routledge. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-429-95213-5.
  3. Zhang, Qiong (26 May 2015). Making the New World Their Own: Chinese Encounters with Jesuit Science in the Age of Discovery. BRILL. pp. 352–353. ISBN 978-90-04-28438-8.
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