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Ningpo - One of the five ports opened by the late treaty to British Commerce
Ningpo - One of the five ports opened by the late treaty to British Commerce

Ningpo - One of the five ports opened by the late treaty to British Commerce

Artist (1809 - 1883)
Artist
Publisher
Date1847
Object number00003056
NameLithograph
MediumLithograph on paper
DimensionsOverall: 153 x 233 mm, 0.023 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis lithograph was drawn from an original painting by Piqua and shows the port of Ningpo, one of five ports that were opened for foreign trade after the the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.HistoryNingpo is one of China's oldest cities, with a history dating back to 4800 BC. From 1433 to 1549 it served as the port of entry for Japanese missions to the Chinese court. The Portuguese, who had established a trading settlement there in the 16th century, called the city Liampo. Ningpo was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China. During the war, British forces took possession of the walled city of Ningpo briefly after storming the fortified town of Zhenhai at the mouth of the Yong River on October 10, 1841. The Treaty of Nanjing (1842), which ended hostilities, made Ningpo a treaty port. Previously, British merchants had only been allowed to trade at Guangzhou (Canton), however this Treaty allowed them access to trade at 5 new ports. The 1790s saw the invention of Lithography, a printing process, in Germany and then spread to Europe and America. Initially printers used black and white ink, however this changed to coloured ink as the process become more widely used. A nearly insatiable Western market for views of the Pearl River such as this lithograph was fuelled by the entrepreneurs who conducted business there, as well as their business partners and families, many of whom had never travelled to China but had heard marvellous tales about the land and its culture.SignificanceBefore photography, paintings and drawings of Macao, Canton and Hong Kong were the only illustrations of these exotic ports. These works depict unusual landscapes, walled cities and spectacular architecture, which helped to establish the Western vision of China as a land of silk, porcelain and tea.