An intricately engraved view of the Great Wall of China drawn by William Alexander based on a sketch by Henry William Parish and engraved by Thomas Medland for inclusion in George Leonard Staunton's “An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China”.
This view was important in developing the aura of the Great Wall in the Western imagination of China, but it also reveals how the wall had become unimportant in China itself. A Closer Look The title refers to a traditional name of the wall, wanli cheng, and to the important gate through the wall as Gubeikou ('old north entrance,' which is not itself depicted).
The wall moves along a chain of hills in the background, while traders and soldiersare depicted in the foreground.
The wall had greatly decreased in importance during the Qing era. As Manchus hailing from beyond the Great Wall, once they had passed through it (at Shanhaiguan) en route to conquering Beijing in 1644, the Qing did not imbue the wall with the cultural or military significance that their predecessors, the Ming, had. One can see here how the fortifications had already begun to degrade.
Nevertheless, the wall gained currency in the Western imagination as the embodiment of Chinese culture and Parish's sketch was widely imitated, creating a small genre of wall views popular in the late 19th century.
William Alexander was an English painter, illustrator and engraver. The hallmarks of his work, usually executed in watercolours, were clearness and harmony of colour, simplicity and taste in composition, grace of outline, and delicacy of execution. He accompanied the Macartney Embassy to China in 1792.
