The trade between China and the West evolved steadily through the centuries, first along the Silk Road that took the Turk merchants to Asia via Persia, and later by sea.

The 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.

The Portuguese would be the first to attain this aim, arriving in India in 1498 and settling in Macao in 1557, a small but valuable territory that would soon become the most important platform for accessing the Chinese Empire and its products, eventually 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 exchanges that ensued.

A view of the Whampoa Island bay, present day Pazhou.

Anchored offshore with their sails rolled, the various European trading ships are clearly identified by the flags flying on their masts. Chinese vessels, junks and sampan, move amongst the larger ships, possibly carrying passengers and cargo ashore or offering other logistic services such as cleaning and laundering.

On departing Bocca Tigris, ships would sail upriver for another 35 km, crossing dangerously narrow rocky paths and sandbanks, guided by small Chinese boats in exchange for a fee, eventually reaching Whampoa Bay, a deep-water port in the wide Pearl River estuary.

Foreign ships weren’t permitted to sail all the way up to Canton where the factories were located. They therefore anchored at Whampoa, and had their cargo transferred to the smaller Chinese junks, which in turn carried it to the Hong (trading factories) in Canton.

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 located close to the mouth of the Pearl River, by the Island of Honam, 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 accommodated 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 Chinese 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.

The opening of Canton had an immediate effect, substantially increasing traffic in the strategic port of Macao, located on the Pearl River delta, by the unavoidable pass into Whampoa Island, the last stronghold before Guangzhu (Canton).

Contrary to initial expectations, the presence of European merchants was by no means consensual and trade was only allowed under very specific conditions. Emperor Qianlong imposed the Canton System as a means to controlling trade with westerners, 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 supervisor (hoppo), both responsible for establishing product quotas and tax rates.

There were however, very few western products with significant markets in China, an unavoidable fact that made trade difficult. 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 in commerce to and from the port of Canton, but the ever-increasing raw-materials deficit promoted the growth of the Indian opium 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.

China Trade – 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 commissioned paintings, lacquer work, ivory carvings and furniture pieces 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 export 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 assumed the role of postcards and souvenirs sold to visitors, which became important historical sources.

Produced by Chinese artists in the western manner, sometimes 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 perspective and lacking the rigour of western art. These paintings were often sold from small local boats, directly on to the arriving European ship’s passengers and crews.

Within this China Trade production we will focus specifically on the group depicting marine scenes, particularly those referring 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 approaching China, Bocca Tigris the impressive entry into the Pearl River, Whampoa Island, the final ship’s anchorage and Canton, the final destination.

The paintings described herewith correspond to the first three stages in this sequence, fitting seamlessly within the China Trade parameters. As period testimonies they allow for the perception of the geography, the architecture and the daily existences 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.