Chinese Works : Shou shan quan tu

Chinese Works

<p style='text-align: justify;'>A xylographic print showing the whole of Beijing (Peking) within the city walls, oriented to the north. Undated, but probably a mid- to late-nineteenth century copy of a similar print in the National Library of China dated from the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty (1796-1820). The Outer and Inner Cities only are shown, named features are residential streets (<i>hutongs</i>), temples, palaces, gardens, rivers, wells and bridges. No scale is given. The contents of the Forbidden City (residence of the Emperor) have been left blank. Deliberate distortion has been applied to fill the sheet evenly: the longitudinous dimension of the Outer City (the bottom third of the plan) has been compressed in order to match the Inner City. This is a popular print, intended for practical use by travellers, and is in very good condition, with only one tear and one small hole. An earlier owner has marked fourteen features with Arabic numerals using western ink:<br /><br /> (1) 紫禁城 Forbidden City<br /> (2) 景山 Prospect Hill<br /> (3) 梁公府 (British Legation)<br /> (4) Unidentified<br /> (5) 天坛 Altar of Heaven<br /> (6) 先农坛 Altar of Agriculture<br /> (7) 金鱼池 Goldfish Ponds<br /> (8) 文庙 Temple of Confucius<br /> (9) Unidentified<br /> (10) 大佛寺 Great Buddha Temple (11) 户部 Board of Revenue<br /> (12) Unidentified<br /> (13) 中南海 Zhong nan hai<br /> (14) 太医院 Imperial Medical Academy </p>