A Chinese Canton? Painting the Local in Export Art

Abstract

The name Canton, used to designate the Southeastern port of Guangzhou, was coined by the British and based on an earlier Portuguese appellation for Guangdong Province (Cantão). From the very beginning of its construction, Canton extended beyond its geographic limits to define the goods and the people from this region, and acted as a synecdoche for China. It provided a universalizing focal point whose goal was to demonstrate differences between China and the West with Canton as the place of contact. It is a place that was shaped, and continues to be shaped by writings focusing on the reception of hina in the West. This essay proposes a different geographical reorientation by asking if there was a Chinese Canton – a place where maritime trade was informed by Chinese culture. It will consider the question from the position of production rather than reception, and consider what sort of strategies of aesthetic and cultural values were used for the new Euro-American market. From this perspective, the focus is an examination of Canton vis-à-vis regional production. In short, did the rise in export painting production actively frame a regional Guangzhou identity that differentiated it from the other parts of the country and spoke to its position as a global center?