Imaging Diplomacy: The Meridian Gate and the Making of European Perspectives on China, 1655 to 1795
Tue 3/12/2024 • 1PM - 2PM PDT
Sylvia Tongyan Qiu, recipient of the 2023–24 Kenneth Karmiole Endowed Graduate Research Fellowship, presents a talk comparing the visual representations of European embassies’ entry into the Forbidden City in printed ambassadorial fictions with Qing court archives. Qiu will discuss how the architecture of the imperial palace was transformed into a theatrical backdrop, an optical device, a topography of overlapping fantasies, and a prototype for chinoiserie through the re-enactment of Eurasian diplomacy in printed media.