A fine legacy forged in friendship
China DailyA piece from Ten Tribute Horses, a booklet signed by French Jesuit painter and missionary Jean-Denis Attiret. New perspectives As Guo highlights, France not only contributed the most European artisans to the Forbidden City, mostly to make mechanical clocks, but also introduced new artistic philosophies of painting and garden design to the Qing court. Kangxi also entrusted French Jesuit missionaries with nationwide geodetic surveys, and created a complete atlas of his vast territory. She also says that from 1702 to 1776, French Jesuit missionaries traveling to China sent numerous letters to their patrons, which were compiled to provide Europeans with a new perspective and a better understanding of China. Adapted from a 13th-century Chinese literary classic The Orphan of Zhao — a tragic tale of revenge among nobles set 2,500 years ago — his own play, The Orphan of China premiered in Paris in 1755 and was later widely adapted across Europe.
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