William Adams (1564-1620) was the first Englishman to reach Japan, arriving on a Dutch ship at Bungo (a principality containing present day Usuki City) in May 1600. After a summons by the Emperor at Osaka, imprisonment and interrogation, he was…
Surgeon James Johnson (1777-1845) was on board the 36 gun ship Caroline, commanded by B. W. Page. Dedicated to Henry Lord Viscount Melville, this work contains a topographical and picturesque sketch of all the places annually visited by the British…
In 1792, George, Lord Macartney was appointed Ambassador to the Emperor of China. His prime objective was to negotiate a treaty of commerce and friendship, and to establish a resident Ministry at the court of the Emperor at Peking (Beijing).…
'I consider it a singular plan of the fates that human cultivation and refinement should today be concentrated, as it were, in the two extremes of our continent, in Europe and in Tshina (as they call it), which adorns the Orient as Europe does the…
This detail shows "two of the vessels made use of by the Chinese. The first of these marked (A), is a junk of about a hundred and twenty tons burthen, and was what the Centurion hove down by; these are most in the great rivers, though they sometimes…
"The Society of Jesus was founded in 1539 by St Ignatius of Loyola. From their base at Goa, India, the Jesuits ventured forth to Japan and China: their goal to spread Christianity and promote the work of the Society. Over the years, their written…
This painting which shows workers securing the lids on boxes of tea being sampled inside by two men is one of a set of colorful paintings depicting the tea industry in China.
This painting which shows workers carrying tea in boxes to be sampled by two men is one of a set of colorful paintings depicting the tea industry in China.
After the tea has been dried so that it is brittle and black, it is ready for the final process of sifting. The tea is screened through a sieve before it is put into storage boxes. This painting is one of a set of colorful paintings depicting the…
Among these tea-shrubs are women and children picking tea. Only the top two or three tender leaves are picked, and these must be nipped off cleanly, without bruising or breaking the stem or stalk.