The China Trade
The trade between China and the West evolved steadily through the centuries, first along the Silk Road that took the Turk mer chants to Asia via Persia, and later by sea. T he slow but continuous disintegration of that overland trade route, in the 14th and 15th centuries, forced Europeans to search for an alternative access to the Far East and to its valuable silks, porcelains, tea and various other luxury goods. T he Portuguese would be the first to attain this aim, arriving in India in 1498 and settling in Macao in 1557, a small but valu able territory that would soon become the most important plat form for accessing the Chinese Empire and its products, eventu ally growing to be one of the great trading outposts in the whole of Asia. As pioneers and privileged intermediaries, the Portuguese became intensely involved in the profitable international trade routes between China and other Eastern and European ports, contributing to the development of the important cultural ex changes that ensued. However, this Portuguese monopoly would cease in 1685, when Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 – 1722) decrees the opening of the Port of Canton to other European powers. Later, in 1757, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the closure of all other Chinese ports to international trade turned Canton into the only Chinese market available to foreign merchants. Conveniently lo cated close to the mouth of the Pearl River, by the Island of Ho nam, Canton became the most important city in southern China, and the place where western traders were welcome, albeit within certain clearly defined parameters. The western settlers were ac commodated in an area outside the city walls and expected to follow a set of rules designed to ensure racial segregation, and obstructing any contacts between them and the indigenous Chi nese population. Various western countries would install their own trading outposts, or ‘hong’, in Canton, eventually growing to thirteen, amongst them England, Holland, France, Denmark, Sweden and the United States, keeping a strong international presence until the first Opium War of the late 1830s. T he opening of Canton had an immediate effect, substan tially increasing traffic in the strategic port of Macao, located on the Pearl River delta, by the unavoidable pass into Whampoa Is land, the last stronghold before Guangzhu (Canton). Contrary to initial expectations, the presence of European merchants was by no means consensual and trade was only al lowed under very specific conditions. Emperor Qianlong imposed the Canton System as a means to controlling trade with western ers, by forbidding any direct commercial exchanges. It was only possible to trade with Chinese authorised dealers (Cohong) who belonged to the guild of city merchants, the hong, that was under the jurisdiction of the governor-general and of the customs su pervisor (hoppo), both responsible for establishing product quo tas and tax rates. T here were however, very few western products with signif icant markets in China, an unavoidable fact that made trade dif f icult. In an attempt at counterbalancing this deficit, by the late 18th century both Britain and the United States turned to opium as a trade currency. In 1830 England was granted exclusivity incommerce to and from the port of Canton, but the ever-increas ing raw-materials deficit promoted the growth of the Indian opi um traffic, eventually forcing the Beijing government into acting by prohibiting it. In protest, the English send their navy ships in, in a demonstration of military power, to force the Emperor into changing his position, but eventually causing the closure of Canton to all foreign trade in 1839. PAINTING European influence over Chinese art was only felt by the late 18th century, with the arrival of English and French merchants, which promoted commissions destined to wealthy European clients. Beyond the well-established porcelain orders, they commis sioned paintings, lacquer work, ivory carvings and furniture piec es in the European taste, which the Chinese artists produced with remarkable skill. This trade promoted the spreading of Chinese art as well as the development of its imitations, the chinoiseries. In its paintings, the China Trade portrayed favoured ex port goods (tea, silk and porcelain), indigenous flora and fauna, quotidian scenes, portraits and landscapes, particularly views of the places most visited by foreigners. In fact, these paintings as sumed the role of postcards and souvenirs sold to visitors, which became important historical sources. Produced by Chinese artists in the western manner, some times under the supervision of resident European masters based in Macao, these works are often studio productions involving various hands, in response to a wide and constant demand. The result was a hybrid style, of careful detail, refined precision and bright and luminous colour palette, albeit of rather flat perspec tive and lacking the rigour of western art. These paintings were often sold from small local boats, directly on to the arriving Eu ropean ship’s passengers and crews. Within this China Trade production we will focus specifical ly on the group depicting marine scenes, particularly those re ferring to trade between European and Chinese. These bustling scenes have survived in considerable numbers in the artworks purchased by Europeans, as souvenirs of their passage through China. Today, their charm residing not only on the beauty of the landscapes and on their technical quality, but also on the history and documentary evidence they enclose, becoming extraordinary windows into 19th century world history. Often produced in sets, the most common are composed of four paintings with views of the final sequential journey of the European ships; Macao, the first urban mass on approach ing China, Bocca Tigris the impressive entry into the Pearl River, Whampoa Island, the final ship’s anchorage and Canton, the final destination. T he paintings described herewith correspond to the first three stages in this sequence, fitting seamlessly within the Chi na Trade parameters. As period testimonies they allow for the perception of the geography, the architecture and the daily exist ences in Macao’s Praia Grande, Bocca Tigris and Whampoa Island, assuming a documentary precision that surprises by the detailed information they provide on these early 19th century ports.
Canton
View of the city of Canton, nowadays Guangzhou, on the banks of the Pearl River, showing clusters of ships gathered at port. Lined along the waterfront, multiple two and three-storey build ings of European architecture. Two are flying the French flag and another the flag of the United States, corresponding to two of the thirteen international trading factories of Canton, side by side with various Cantonese merchant buildings. T he entire neighbourhood was known locally as the ‘Thir teen Factories’, referred to by the Chinese community as ‘hong’, or merchant shops, the term ‘factory’ having its origin in ‘fac tor’, an old English word for ‘commercial agent’. Each one of the buildings included living quarters, warehouses and trading offic es and, although their impressive facades copied classical West ern designs, their inner spaces looked very much like typically Chinese. This specific block of buildings was destroyed by fire in 1822, 1841 and 1856, and eventually moved to Shamian Island farther upriver. By the second quarter of the 19th century, Canton was a large, densely populated walled city. Foreign mercantile activity took place outside the city centre, the newcomers confined to a tiny district on the banks of the river, segregated from the native population. For the Chinese, their Westerner neighbours were just a small component of a vast commercial network, spanning the whole of China and encompassing a large maritime zone. T he Ming emperors had confined Western trade to the town of Macao on the Pearl River estuary, but their successors, the Qing Dynasty, would, in the 18th century, expand access to Can ton. The Manchu court favoured foreign trade, under very specific conditions, and as long as it was conducted under government regulation. Canton was chosen as the most convenient port, both for the Chinese administration and the foreign traders. T he Chinese had, over the centuries, developed relations with various different peoples and ethnic groups, each having its specific place and role. They referred to alien peoples as ‘tribu taries’, meaning those who came to pay tribute or bring gifts to the emperor, out of gratitude for his benevolent rule. The West erners who arrived in China to trade, immediately joined these ‘tributary’ ranks. From the Qing officials’ point of view, West erners were just one other, amongst many groups who admired and sought to profit from their relationship with the flourishing empire. Western ships not being allowed to sail upriver from Wham poa, this last stage of this trading journey was dominated by Chinese vessels of all types, as it is clear in this small painting. From small low sampans, living quarters for Chinese families, to junks and larger ships carrying officials and flying the imperial standard, all vessels converged to the port of Canton. The most impressive ship depicted in the foreground belonged to the hoppo, the official superintendent of maritime customs for Guangdong province, responsible for collecting duties and channelling them directly to the imperial coffers, and for managing orderly trade in Canton. In this highly organised and hierarchic network, a special guild of merchants, the Co-hong, were granted a monopoly overtrading with foreigners. After paying the hoppo substantial sums for this privilege, these hong merchants would attain considera ble profits from their access to foreign trade. Since the Cantonese already had over a century of experience dealing with the Portu guese in Macao, they could take care of the new arrivals without much difficulty. T he Chinese whom Westerners saw most often were the sampan people. Each trading company commissioned licensed Chinese merchants, called compradors — a Portuguese word meaning ‘buyers’ — to take charge for provisioning the factories and the ships. The comprador often organized the entire round voyage from Macau to Canton, taking care of official permits (‘chops’), pilots and supplies. His men would also guard the fac tories once the traders departed. The sampan sellers provided all sorts of other services: barbers for the Europeans, coal, charcoal, f irewood for fuel, while others specialized in ships’ supplies, as well as products like ducks on nearby farms and eggs.