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Painting and Photography in Foreigners’ Construction of an Image of Qing Dynasty Law

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Law, Resources and Time-Space Constructing

Abstract

In recent years, with the spread of the internet and a boom in auction markets, we have seen the coming of an era of so-called “picture-reading.” It is no surprise, then, that paintings and photos having to do with Qing justice have confronted us to be “read.” Both scholars and nonscholars have been attracted to them, and they have naturally believed that such pictures show real historical scenes. In modern times, thinkers in China have striven to reform their laws, which were perceived as stemming traditionally from power bases. The old legal system has been contrasted with Western legal culture, and in this contrast, the images of Qing justice have served as powerful evidence. However, in the past decade or so, Western scholars, for example, James L. Hevia, have been devoting critical analysis to some of these images from a postcolonial perspective, and there is still room for further detailed research that utilizes available Chinese data.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Yang (2009), p. 55.

  2. 2.

    The East India Kalendar, or, Asiatic register for Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Fort Marlborough, China, and St. Helena, London, M, DCC, XCVIII, 1798, p.112. East India Company, Headquarters, Choultry Plain, thirteenth July, M.DCC.XCVI. General orders, by the Commander in Chief, Madras, M.DCC.XCVI, 1796, p. 6.

  3. 3.

    Tian and Li (2007), p. 123.

  4. 4.

    Monthly Magazine or British Register, Vol. 11, 1, p. 85.

  5. 5.

    Staunton(1810), Translator's Preface, pp. XXVI—XXVII.

  6. 6.

    Williams (1861), p. 175.

  7. 7.

    Clunas (1984), p. 33–42.

  8. 8.

    See the English original at http://boingboing.net/208/01/04/the-punishments-of-c.html. Accessed March 25, 2009.

  9. 9.

    Imperially Endorsed Precedents of the Collected Statutes of the Great Qing Dynasty (1976). Guangxu edition, Vol. 723, xingbu, minglilv, wuxing, p. 14429.

  10. 10.

    Ibid., Vol. 839, 15547.

  11. 11.

    Veritable Records of Qianlong (1960–1970), Vol. 316, the 6th lunar month in the 13th year of Qianlong’s reign, p. 4640.

  12. 12.

    Zhou Shouchang (1987), pp. 121–22.

  13. 13.

    Veritable Records of Yongzheng (1960–1970), Vol. 29, February of the 3rd year of Yongzheng’s reign, p. 424.

  14. 14.

    See Veritable Records of Daoguang (1960–1970), Vol. 98, May of the 6th year of Daoguang’s reign, p. 1769.

  15. 15.

    Timothy Brook et al. (2008), p. 25.

  16. 16.

    Mason (1801), preface.

  17. 17.

    Bruno Latour (1988), pp. 219–228.

  18. 18.

    Huang Yinong, “Yingguo huajia William Alexander (1767–1816) yanzhong de daqing diguo (The Qing Empire in the Eyes of William Alexander [1767–1816], A British Painter),” http://common.tnnua.edu.tw, accessed January 25, 2010.

  19. 19.

    Liu and Wu (2006), p. 133.

  20. 20.

    Huang Yinong, op. cit.

  21. 21.

    Wang (1998), p. 2.

  22. 22.

    Duan (1960), p. 14.

  23. 23.

    Holmes (1798).

  24. 24.

    Davis (1822), pp. 1–2.

  25. 25.

    Hunter (1992), p. 131.

  26. 26.

    Jacobson (1993), p. 199.

  27. 27.

    See Amanda Sciampacone, “From Utopian Visions to Tourist Scenes: Thomas Allom’s Representations of China,” http://bronwenwilson.com, accessed March 21, 2010.

  28. 28.

    Staunton (1963), p.216.

  29. 29.

    Gu Zheng (2007), p. 63.

  30. 30.

    The original German is: Weltbild, wesentlich verstanden, meint daher nicht ein Bild von der Welt, sondern die Welt als Bild begriffen. Martin Heidegger (1977), S.89.

  31. 31.

    Chen et al. (1990), p. 2.

  32. 32.

    Landau and Kaspin (2002), p. 142.

  33. 33.

    He (2008), p. 3.

  34. 34.

    Su (2007).

  35. 35.

    Hu and Ma (1987), p. 69.

  36. 36.

    Allen and Fryer (1990), p. 398. See also Zhang (2002).

  37. 37.

    http://www.dennisgeorgecrow.com, accessed February 1, 2010.

  38. 38.

    Fucha (1981), huanji, p. 60.

  39. 39.

    Régine Thiriez, “The 19th Century Photograph as a Reflection of Reality,” http://turandot.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr, accessed January 15, 2010.

  40. 40.

    Sontag (2006), p. 20.

  41. 41.

    Ibid., 21.

  42. 42.

    He (2008), p. 81.

  43. 43.

    Hevia (2003), p. 190.

  44. 44.

    Wu (1986), p. 72.

  45. 45.

    See Hevia (2003), p. 3.

  46. 46.

    Zhong (1978), p. 27.

  47. 47.

    Bai (1977), pp. 44–46.

  48. 48.

    Yang (1964), p. 41.

  49. 49.

    Hevia (2003), p. 2.

  50. 50.

    Shen Jiaben, “Biantong xingxing jiuzhi yi,” in Shen (1985), p. 2061.

  51. 51.

    Ibid.

  52. 52.

    John Burger, “The Uses of Photography—To Susan Sontag,” Xiang Juanjuan (translated), in Gu Zheng (2007), p. 105.

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  1. Law School, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

    Zhang Shiming

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Shiming, Z. (2021). Painting and Photography in Foreigners’ Construction of an Image of Qing Dynasty Law. In: Law, Resources and Time-Space Constructing. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8055-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8055-7_6

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