{"id":24820,"date":"2019-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-07T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/dev-en\/antiek\/uncategorized\/chinese-waterman\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T13:46:24","slug":"chinese-waterman","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese waterman – after William Alexander, 1796"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cEconomy of Time and Labor, exemplified in a Chinese Waterman<\/strong>\u201d Copper engraving by P. Medland <\/strong>after a drawing by William Alexander<\/strong><\/a> (1767-1816 ) from the \u201cAuthentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China; including cursory observations made, and information obtained, in travelling through that ancient empire\u201d written by Sir George Leonard Staunton<\/strong><\/a> and published April 12, 1796<\/strong> in London by G. Nicol. Coloured by a later hand. Size (image): 17,9 x 23 cm.<\/p>\n

The embassy was headed by Earl George Macartney<\/a> (1737-1806), who was dispatched to Beijing in 1792. He was accompanied by Staunton a medical doctor as his secretary, and a retinue of suitably impressive size, including Staunton\u2019s 11-year-old son who was nominally the ambassador\u2019s page. On the embassy\u2019s arrival in China it emerged that the 11-year-old was the only European member of the embassy able to speak Mandarin, and thus the only one able to converse with the Emperor.<\/p>\n

Lord Macartney’s embassy<\/a> was unsuccessful, the Chinese resisting British overtures to establish diplomatic relations in view of opening the vast Chinese realms to free trade, but it opened the way for future British missions, which would eventually lead to the first Opium War and the cession of Hong Kong to Britain in 1842. It also resulted in this invaluable account, prepared at government expense, largely from Lord Macartney’s notes, by Staunton, of Chinese manners, customs and artifacts at the height of the Qing dynasty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The engravings are of special interest because of their depiction of subjects that very few Europeans had heard of or seen, showing how advanced Chinese civilisation was on a technical, artistic and organizational level.<\/p>\n

On his journey to Canton Staunton is impressed with the efficiency of the sailors: “The number of craft of all kinds on the part of the river near the city was immense; but they were all conducted without confusion. The watermen were uncommonly expert, and it was not unusual to see a large boat entirely managed by one man, who rowed, sailed, steered, and smoked his pipe at the same time. He held the sheet or strong rope belonging to the sail with one hand, he steered the boat with the other, and with his foot he pulled an oar, which he feathered at every stroke as neatly as could be done by the hand.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Price: SOLD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cEconomy of Time and Labor, exemplified in a Chinese Waterman\u201d Copper engraving by P. Medland after a drawing by William Alexander (1767-1816 ) from the \u201cAuthentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China; including cursory observations made, and information obtained, in travelling through that ancient empire\u201d written […]\n","protected":false},"featured_media":17615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[1397],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-24820","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-alexander-william-1767-1816","product_cat-sold","first","outofstock","sold-individually","shipping-taxable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\nChinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving Staunton Lord Macartney's Embassy rare antique print\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving Staunton Lord Macartney's Embassy rare antique print\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inter Antiquariaat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T13:46:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1607\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1409\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/\",\"name\":\"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-07T22:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-05T13:46:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving Staunton Lord Macartney's Embassy rare antique print\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg\",\"width\":1607,\"height\":1409},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antiques\\\/sold\\\/chinese-waterman\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Antique maps, prints and drawings\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/antique-maps-prints-and-drawings\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Chinese waterman – after William Alexander, 1796\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Inter Antiquariaat\",\"description\":\"Antique maps, prints and drawings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving","description":"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving Staunton Lord Macartney's Embassy rare antique print","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving","og_description":"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving Staunton Lord Macartney's Embassy rare antique print","og_url":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/","og_site_name":"Inter Antiquariaat","article_modified_time":"2026-06-05T13:46:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1607,"height":1409,"url":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/","url":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/","name":"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-07T22:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-05T13:46:24+00:00","description":"Chinese waterman sailor history China original 18th-century engraving Staunton Lord Macartney's Embassy rare antique print","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/China-Chinese-Waterman-Staunton-1796-1.jpg","width":1607,"height":1409},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antiques\/sold\/chinese-waterman\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Antique maps, prints and drawings","item":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/antique-maps-prints-and-drawings\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Chinese waterman – after William Alexander, 1796"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/","name":"Inter Antiquariaat","description":"Antique maps, prints and drawings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/24820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=24820"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=24820"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inter-antiquariaat.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=24820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}