HUANG QIANREN (1697-1771) - "THE BLUE MAP" OF QING DYNASTY CHINA

Description:

China, early 19th c.
Karte ca. 132 x 234 cm, je Paneel 30 x 132,5 cm/ Stellschirm gefaltet 135 x 32 x 14 cm
Large woodblock world map, printed on paper, composed of 8 panels, all mounted on an eight-part folding screen. The sixth panel of the original map missing, an eighth panel with a painted portrait of a dignitariy (signed Wen Ju) subsituted as the first (far right) panel. Administrative divisions printed in relief, the mountains, rivers and islands printed intaglio.
The inscription immediately below the title provides an array of information about the vastness of China's territory and administrative changes that the Qing court had implemented. The inscription also mentions that this is a revised edition of a map that Huang Qianren (1694-1771) created in 1767. That map was itself based on the work of Huang Qianren's grandfather, Huang Zongxi (1610-1695). The fact that the inscription mentions the younger Huang, is likely to underline a proud family tradition of illustrious scholarly achievement. The text glorifies Manchu imperial expansion while offering an assurance that the map is completely updated. The map shows the addition of territories such as Tibet and Xinjiang, underlining the continuous strengthening of the Chinese state.
This map offers a detailed portrayal of the Chinese world: the seas surrounding China no longer contain mythological areas and European states. Lands such as the Korean peninsula, the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan and other coastal islands are reasonably rendered. A long text accompanies the foreign territories, explaining their history of political relations with the Qing. The map pays great attention to the diversity of the country of China, showing its grand nature of mountains and rivers. It also identifies provinces, prefectures, districts, and other administrative divisions by enclosing their names in squares and other shapes whose functions are interpreted in the introductory text.
From a South German private collection, acquired at a gallery/workshop for Japanese art in Sausalito, San Francisco, USA, in 1980 - Minor restorations, three panels with missing portions near the bottom
Examples of this map are exceedingly rare, some can be found in the following institutions: National Library, Beijing; Beijing University Library; Shandan Museum in Gansu Province; Library of Congress, Washington DC (owning two examples); Maclean Collection, Chicago; Kobe City Museum; Waseda University Library.
Cf. three maps sold at Christie's London, 12 December 2018, lot 191; Christie's New York, 15 October 2021, lot 94; and Sotheby' London, 13 May 2021, lot 46.