Old Manuscript Map of China by Bowen, 1810: 15 Provinces, Hainan, Formosa/Taiwan, Korea & Tonkin, Yangtze & Yellow Rivers georg bauerkeller and Rethymno (Retimo)

and Rethymno (Retimo)

the map trains the eye to discriminate scale

such as Ethiopia (Abyssinia)

Roads and railroads shown

underscore the city's blend of ancient heritage and modern governance

Old Manuscript Map of China by Bowen, 1810: 15 Provinces, Hainan, Formosa/Taiwan, Korea & Tonkin, Yangtze & Yellow Rivers georg bauerkeller and Rethymno (Retimo)China. Contains 15 subject provinces including the 2 islands of Hainan & Formosa and the tributary kingdoms of Corea & Tonkin, drawn in 1810 by Frances Bowen, distills a moment when European curiosity and pedagogy converged on the Qing world. Its ornate title cartouche announces a work both decorative and didactic, while the provinces are crisply enumerated and bounded to lead the eye across a carefully ordered empire. Hainan and Formosa appear with