The Battle of Qurman

In 1765, the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-95) commanded Jesuit artists residing at his court to design pictures commemorating recent military conquests of foreign territory. Shortly thereafter, a set of sixteen drawings of these battles was sent to the Parisian engraver Charles Cochin with instructions that 200 printed copies be made of each drawing and returned, with the copper plates, to the emperor. Following the success of this initial set of prints back in China, the Jesuits were instructed to teach Chinese artists the technique of copper engraving, and additional sets of prints were made in Beijing of this and other military conquests.