Pacification of Taiwan (I) - Zhuluo Siege

"Pacification of Taiwan" is a record of the Lin Shuangwen-Heaven and Earth Society Incident (1787-1789), an anti-Qing uprising that spread through central and southern Taiwan. The Qing court sent General Fukangan and forces to quell the rebellion. Sketches were made major engagements and battlefield geography and submitted to the Qing Qianlong emperor. The emperor subsequently ordered seven official court painters—Yao Wenhan, Miao Bingtai, Yang Dazhang, Jia Quan, Xie Sui, Zhuang Yude, and Li Ming—to create 12 paintings based on the sketches, which included poetry written by the emperor himself. The scenes were engraved in copper, and after inspection by the emperor, were opened to public viewing in 1793. The engravings document the outcomes of battles and the terrain on which they took place, but also carried political implications, an implicit declaration of Qing sovereignty over Taiwan. Each work in the "Pacification of Taiwawn" series vividly depicts Taiwan's topography, architecture, flora, people, and battlefield action, conveying dimensionality and a sense of actually being present at the scenes. The emperor's poetry fills the upper part of the engraving. Giuseppe Castiglione (Ch. Lang Shining), an Italian Jesuit priest who served as Qing court painter, introduced the copper engraving technology and directed the Chinese artists who carried out the work. Thus, the engraving blends traditional Chinese and Western styles of depiction. The battle took place on October 28, 1787. Fukangan employed diversionary movements and pincer attacks within and without Zhuluo to rout the rebels and recapture the walled city. The poem celebrates Fukkangan's landing at the port of Lugang and his handy victory over the rebels. Zhuluo was later renamed "Chiayi," a contraction of?"chiaxu yimin"?(righteous and worthy folk), a tribute to the victors. This work depicts two separate events: In the upper right, Qing troops have already retaken the city; on the left, the opposing forces are in battle formation and about to clash, a tense scenario.