Gengzhi tu and the European Export Market

The Kangxi Emperor reigned from 1661 until his death in 1722. In the 1690s, he commissioned the "Gengzhi tu" ("Charts of plowing and weaving") from the artist Jiao Bingzhen 焦秉貞.

Kangxi Emperor, Jiao Bingzhen, Lou Zhou. China, Qing Kangxi 35 nian [1696]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/lcnclscd.2014514379.1A001/?sp=23&r=0.07,0.367,0.227,0.113,0

A tradition with origins in the Song Dynasty (906-1279), the 1696 Gengzhi tu were woodblock illustrations (attributed to the carver Zhu Gui 朱圭 of Suzhou) of Chinese sericulture and rice agriculture, demonstrating the processes from planting to cultivation through market.

The images in Jiao Bingzhen's albums, printed in 1696, were accompanied by the emperor's poetry. They depict not only the labor, but facets of the social and religious worlds of workers. 

Kangxi Emperor, Jiao Bingzhen, Lou Zhou. China, Qing Kangxi 35 nian [1696]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/lcnclscd.2014514379.1A001/?sp=23&r=0.07,0.367,0.227,0.113,0

The 1696 printing sparked an interest in the Gengzhi tu genre. The Kangxi Emperor's successors commissioned their own Gengzhi tu albums. And, in the following decades these albums incorporated other manufactures, including porcelain and tea.

The Gengzhi tu scenes became especially interesting to European traders, who sought them for their collections. This prompted an export market for Gengzhi tu with illustrations adapted to European tastes. These exports were watercolor (often gouache) drawings, which lack the poetry and calligraphy of the albums commissioned by emperors. 

Porcelain Production (China). early 19th century. oil on canvas. 46.4 x 60.3 cm. Christie's sale 15336, "Chinese Export Art Featuring 100 lots from Marchant, est 1925," Lot 195. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6124881

One excellent example is a set of 12 gouaches that I had the good fortune of seeing on multiple visits to the Indianapolis Museum of Art where they were on display as part of the exhibition "The Luxury of Tea & Coffee – An Exhibition of Chinese Export Porcelain from a Private Collection" between April 2011 and March 2012. These 12 drawings were part of an album dated 1803 and owned by Lord Grenville. The set has recently been sold by Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd, but they can be viewed in high resolution at https://www.coulborn.com/furniture-categories/notable-sales/a-set-of-12-chinese-trade-pictures-depicting-the-growing-harvesting-and-processing-of-tea/

Tea Hong in Canton (Guangzhou). gouache on paper. 61 x 48 cm. Formerly Indianapolis Museum of Art.

The export nature of these paintings is most noticeable in the final image of the series, which depicts a Tea Hong in Canton (Guangzhou). I've seen at least three different versions of it, which depict different European agents. Compare, for example, the version at the the Peabody Essex Museum. 

Tea Hong in Canton (Guangzhou). gouache on paper. Peabody Essex Museum. Gift of Mrs. Emory W. Johnson, 1923. E19144.12