In a fitted matching box. Green cloth spine with gilt title. Green dragon patterned boards.

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Being the Journal kept by Lord Macartney during his Embassy to the Emperor Ch’ien-lung 1793-1794. The book is illustrated with printing with the text of 111 colour reproductions of the original watercolors and sketches made during the Embassy by William Alexander. The book is edited by Jonathan Spence.

The Macartney Embassy (also called the Macartney Mission), was the first British diplomatic mission to China, which took place in 1793. It is named for its leader, George Macartney, Great Britain’s first envoy to China. The goals of the mission included the opening of new ports for British trade in China, the establishment of a permanent embassy in Beijing, the cession of a small island for British use along China’s coast, and the relaxation of trade restrictions on British merchants in Guangzhou (Canton). Macartney’s delegation met with the Qianlong Emperor, who rejected all of the British requests. Although the mission failed to achieve its official objectives, it was later noted for the extensive cultural, political, and geographical observations its participants recorded in China and brought back to Europe. It came to light in 1796 that a court official Heshen was stealing state funds and frustrated the mission.