The drawings and illustrations of William Alexander shaped the European image of Chinese culture until the 20th century. China, and especially the Chinese Imperial Palace, became places of longing on the one hand, and on the other hand the targets of concrete economic hopes. The strangeness of Chinese culture fascinated Alexander's contemporaries, and many hopes for unimaginable economic profit in the Middle Kingdom captivated the imagination. The projections lived from the mysterious that surrounded Chinese culture. Little information reached Europe, as the empire shut itself off from the outside world and looked with contempt at the rest of the world. In 1792, a British government expedition set out for the Forbidden City with the aim of moving the Middle Kingdom to the British Empire for trade relations. The 25-year-old budding draughtsman and painter William Alexander was given the chance of a lifetime and was commissioned as assistant to the painter Thomas Hickey to provide artistic guidance for the expedition. Williams had been selected for an art education in London at the age of 15 because of his talent and had attracted the attention of the royal court painter and president of the Royal Academy Joshua Reynolds at the Royal Academy Schools. He accompanied the art education of the young student and supported him. On Reynolds' recommendation, Williams was finally accepted into the artistic staff of the political expedition to China.
During the two-year journey and the stay in China Williams took over the artistic leadership in the escort team, because the designated Thomas Hickey with psychological problems became a total failure, who did not manage to produce any drawings and illustrations in the whole time. The young Williams, on the other hand, went through the foreign world of the Chinese Empire with open eyes and became a chronicler of the foreign with thousands of drawings. Williams found himself confronted with a culture that claimed to be economically, technologically and intellectually far superior. The Middle Kingdom was at the height of its power in the Quing Dynasty at the end of the 18th century and ruled over an area that extended far beyond the borders of present-day China. With over 300 million inhabitants, the emperor ruled over an empire that went beyond the imagination of the Europeans.
The Macartney expedition became a complete failure because, among other things, the British envoy refused to make the ceremonial gesture of submission, the kowtow, before the Emperor. The 2000 drawings of Chinese culture and everyday life in the Middle Kingdom were used as illustrations for the official travelogues after the expedition's return in 1794 and achieved outstanding popularity in Great Britain and throughout Europe. Between 1798 and 1814, three illustrated books were published, based on the drawings. The splendour and pomp of the imperial court, the people and the culture were reproduced by Williams in detail and true to life, without the colonial sense of superiority and posturing of other artists.
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.jpg "168 Temples, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "The approach of the Emperor of China to his tent in Tartary to receive the British Ambassador, 1799 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Emperor of China")
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.jpg "Pekin City, Ping Tze Muen, One of the Western Gates of Pekin by William Alexander")
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 engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1823) 1806 (aquatint) - (MeisterDrucke-208803).jpg "Scene in a Cochin-Chinese Opera, plate 13 from")
 engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1823) 1806 (aquatint) - (MeisterDrucke-208803).jpg)
.jpg "170 Temple")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-55041).jpg "View of Golden Mountain Island in the Blue River, China, c.1794 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "St. Bartholomew")
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.jpg "166 Temple, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-166243).jpg "A Quan or Mandarin Bearing a Letter from the Emperor of China, 1796 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Boat")
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.jpg "Chinese Barges of the Embassy Passing Through a Sluice of the Grand Canal, engraved by Benjamin Thomas Pouncy, pub. by G. Nicol, 1796 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "View in China: Figures with Pagoda and Mountain by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Man, Probably of Turon Bay, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Trackers in rainy weather, from an Album of 278 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney"){kind=tracking}
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.jpg "A group of Chinese on the bank of a river, watching the Earl Macartney")
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.jpg "Druidical Remains, Park Place, Henley by William Alexander")
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.jpg "A Chinese Comedian, illustration from")
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.jpg "Woman at Rio de Janeiro, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Studies of Chinese, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "View near Turon Bay, Cochin China by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Temple, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life Made During Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Remarkable Supported Poles, in Port Townsend, Gulf of Georgia by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Poo Ta La, or Great Temple of Fo, near Zehol, Tibet, China by William Alexander")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-548110).jpg "Waltham Cross, 1812 by William Alexander")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-559091).jpg "Chinese Sailor Smoking in his Junk, 1795 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "The Dinner in Mote Park, Maidstone, after the Royal Review of the Kentish Volunteers by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Group of English Children: Distant View of St. Paul")
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.jpg "A Junk, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Studies of Chinese, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Plans, Sections and Elevations of the Great Wall of China, and some of the Towers, near the Pass of Cou-Pe-Keou, engraved by Joseph Baker, pub. by G. Nicol, 1796 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "One of the Crew of the Viceroy")
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.jpg "184")
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.jpg "Pringze Men, the Western Gate of Peking by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Batavia, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, Vancouver")
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 engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1823) 1806 (aquatint) - (MeisterDrucke-159280).jpg "View of Santa Cruz, plate 3 from")
 engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1823) 1806 (aquatint) - (MeisterDrucke-159280).jpg)
.jpg "Two Chinese Figures: A Seller of Hats and a Man Sitting Cross-Legged, Smoking a Pipe by William Alexander")
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.jpg "A Sepoy, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "WD 959 section 1 f.100v by William Alexander")
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.jpg "A Scene in an Historical Play Exhibited on the Chinese Stage by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Figure studies. Album of 278 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Boat, River Lim-po, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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.jpg "The Great Wall of China, from Album of 220 Drawings by William Alexander")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-198884).jpg "The Fou-yen of Canton by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Vessels at Tin-hau, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Crater of the Summit of Mount Worroray, Owhyhee by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Man, woman and child of Turon Bay, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Opposite the City Shin-ring in ye City Liu-shung. Sin-chung Nov 16. Wall, Pagoda etc., from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life Made During Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Timber Framed Houses by William Alexander")
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.jpg "A Quan or Mandarin Bearing a Letter from the Emperor of China, Engraved by Wilson, Published by G. Nicol by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Studies of Chinese, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Fort Opposite the Factory, Canton by William Alexander")
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.jpg "WD 959 section 2 f.095 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Boatman of Turon Bay, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Figure studies, Chinese men, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Porto Praya in the Island of St. Jago, plate 4 from")
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.jpg "Boats")
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.jpg "The Emperor of China receiving the Ambassador at Jehol, Tartary by William Alexander")
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.jpg "A group, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1447902).jpg "Dinner Given to the Kentish Volunteers (at the Mote, Maidstone) by William Alexander")
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.jpg "WD 959 section 1 f.155 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "View Near the City of Tientsin by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Figures from Madiera, 1792, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "WD 959 Section 2 f.070 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "View in the Province of Kiang-nan, China, Taken from Nature by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Two men of")
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.jpg "The New Eddystone, in Bhems Canal by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Kentish Street Scene by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Figure studies and shrine, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Boats, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Boat in Cochin China, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Indian Village by William Alexander")
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.jpg "The Emperor of China Receiving the Ambassador at Jehol, Tartary by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Cochin Chinese player, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "WD 959 section 1 f.94, Tchien Lung, Emperor of China, c1793. Portrait of the Emperor Ch")
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.jpg "Chinese Harbour Scene by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Samoyed woman with her baby and a cradle from Dress of the Russians, 1814 by William Alexander")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-78233).jpg "View near the City of Tientsin, 1800 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Figure Studies, with Boats, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1420639).jpg "Man in Chinese Costume by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Sophia, Princess Palatine of the Rhine by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Figure Studies and Buildings Including Tombs, Bridge Nov 15 and Sleeping Places for Husbandmen, from an Album of 372 Drawings of Landscapes, Coastlines, Costumes and Everyday Life by William Alexander")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-559090).jpg "Mandarin with Pipe Bearer, 1795 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "WD 961 f.114 by William Alexander")
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 engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1823) 1806 (aquatint) - (MeisterDrucke-161463).jpg "The Calvinistic Church in Batavia by William Alexander")
 engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1823) 1806 (aquatint) - (MeisterDrucke-161463).jpg)
.jpg "Study for Dinner in Mote Park, Maidstone after the Royal Review of the Kentish Volunteers on 1st August 1799 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Emperor Receiving the Embassy; Macartney")
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.jpg "WD 961 f.276v by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Bishops Palace, Wells Cathedral by William Alexander")
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.jpg "Chinese Barges of the Embassy Passing Through a Sluice on the Grand Canal by William Alexander")
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.jpg "WD 961 f.236 by William Alexander")
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.jpg "The Discovery on the Rocks in Queen Charlotte")
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.jpg "Man")
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.jpg "A mark of extraordinary favour, silk purse given to George Thomas Staunton from Emperor Kien Lung, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "Chinese figure study, from an Album of 372 drawings of landscapes, coastlines, costumes and everyday life made during Lord Macartney")
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.jpg "British Men of War by William Alexander")
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.jpg "An Offering of First Fruits to the God Fo, plate 16 from")
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.jpg "Figures in a Barn Doorway at Parsonage House, near Addington, Kent by William Alexander")
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