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Timely French ties to China are celebrated at Versailles

DPA, Paris
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004, Page 16

"Because of his wisdom [Emperor Kangxi] is he the Marc Aurel of China? Because of his despotism and the length of his reign is he their Louis XIV?"

Diderot

An exhibition just opened in Versailles suggests that despite the great distances of geography and culture that lay between them, Louis XIV of France may have seen in Chinese Emperor Kangxi a kindred spirit.

Entitled Kangxi, Emperor of China (1662 to 1722) -- the Forbidden City in Versailles, the display makes some interesting connections between the reigns of Louis XIV of France and of his oriental "alter ego."

"Great, powerful and generous is the undefeatable prince, our valued friend" the king said of the emperor, in a letter written from the French court and dated 1668 -- a clear example of the esteem in which the emperor was held.

In 1684 Louis XIV sent Jesuit missionaries to China bearing precious gifts from the collections of the Louvre and of the Versailles palace.

Kangxi, third Manchu Emperor of the Qing dynasty and ruler of the richest and most powerful of Asian nations, was said to be very open to Christian and European influences.

So much so, in fact, that the missionaries spent part of their time in China as valued members of the emperor's scholarly staff, sharing their knowledge of the science of astronomy and of the world beyond the Great Wall.

Their influence upon Chinese thought can be seen in the current exhibition, where a world map and an astrolabe dating from the Qing period demonstrate how learning was passed on and used.

A display of finely decorated porcelain bowls and vases against a backdrop of delicate red silk serves to illustrate how Chinese ideals made their own mark upon the western aesthetic.

One of the missionaries, Father Bouvet, did much to further French study of Chinese culture with his later writings, which created a foundation of reference material.

Bouvet's portrait of the emperor was translated into Latin, English, Italian and Dutch, while his so-called "Kangxi Calligraphy Dictionary" became a cornerstone of scholarship in the field.

Much of Bouvet's original work can be seen at the exhibition, the soft lighting and secure glass cases protecting the manuscripts a testament to their value.

Some 200 of the 350 artefacts on show until May 9 are directly on loan from the Imperial Palace Museum and are visiting Europe for the very first time.

As well as historical manuscripts, the exhibition showcases a wide variety of ceramics, embroidered silks, illustrated scrolls, and day-to-day tools and measuring instruments.

Visitors will be able to see a 20m-long illustrated scroll, one of a set of 12, depicting the final part of the emperor's journey to southern China -- his return to the forbidden city.

The other 11 scrolls, each of which is between 15m and 38m in length and depicts another stage in the journey, are scattered in museums across the world.

Some further highlights of the exhibition include the emperor's great throne, lavishly decorated with golden dragon heads and not at all out of place in the gilded halls of Versailles, and his richly embroidered regal robes.

Visitors to Versailles in the coming months who find themselves standing before a portrait of the emperor may be reminded of a quote by Diderot, who said, "Because of his wisdom is he the Marc Aurel of China? Because of his despotism and the length of his reign is he their Louis XIV?"
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