威廉·亚历山大，1767–1816）：早期中国形象的西方记录者。
Johannes Nieuhof
中国游记

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Johan Nieuhof (July 22, 1618 – October 8, 1672) was a renowned Dutch traveler and explorer working for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), best known for his detailed travel accounts and illustrations of China and other parts of Asia. Born in Lisse, the Netherlands, he took part in several overseas diplomatic and trade missions organized by the Dutch.

In 1655, Nieuhof joined a VOC embassy to the Qing Empire as an official delegate. The mission was sent to Beijing to present tribute to the Shunzhi Emperor. The journey began in Canton (Guangzhou) and followed the Grand Canal northward to Beijing, lasting nearly seven months. Along the way, Nieuhof documented the cities, villages, customs, religions, ceremonies, and everyday life of officials and commoners, producing numerous illustrations. These observations were later compiled into his famous travelogue Het Gezantschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie, aan den Grooten Tartarischen Cham, den tegenwoordigen Keizer van China, first published in 1665. The book featured around 150 engravings and became one of the most important visual sources for Europeans seeking to understand China at the time.

Although some of the images reflect a European perspective and include imaginative elements, they offer a unique record of Qing-era Chinese society, architecture, and attire. Nieuhof’s work had a significant influence on 18th-century European Orientalist art. Later publishers, such as Jakob van der Schley, often used Nieuhof’s original sketches as models for more refined copperplate engravings, which appeared in widely read compilations such as Histoire Générale des Voyages.

In his later years, Nieuhof embarked on an expedition to Africa. Tragically, he disappeared in Madagascar in 1672 and was presumed dead. His writings were widely circulated in Europe and translated into several languages, becoming an important source of early cultural exchange between China and the West.

Jan van Meurs (active in the mid-17th century) was a prominent Dutch publisher and engraver based in Amsterdam. His most influential work was the 1665 edition of Het Gezantschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie (commonly known as An Embassy to China), authored by Johannes Nieuhof. The publication offered one of the earliest comprehensive visual and textual records of a Dutch mission to Qing China.

As the principal publisher, van Meurs oversaw the transformation of Nieuhof’s original sketches into more than 150 finely executed copperplate engravings, establishing a systematic visual repertoire of China for European audiences. His integration of image and text pioneered ethnographic and Orientalist publishing in early modern Europe and profoundly shaped European perceptions of China in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Original prints from the 1665 edition are now housed in major institutions such as the British Library, the Rijksmuseum, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Complete editions or individual engravings from the first edition are today highly valued by collectors.

Jakob van der Schley (1715–1779) was one of the most important European engravers of the 18th century, renowned for his masterful copperplate technique and his visual interpretations of Oriental subjects. He was a principal illustrator for the monumental French publication Histoire Générale des Voyages (“General History of Voyages”), and his works—known for their meticulous detail and balanced composition—were widely circulated among European scholarly and aristocratic circles. His engravings played a significant role in shaping Europe’s perception of the Eastern world.

More than a visual recorder, Schley was a key figure in the visual construction of cross-cultural exchange between East and West. His engraving The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing stands as a quintessential representation of China in the European imagination during the 18th century. Adapted from Johannes Nieuhof’s original field sketches, the image presents a highly detailed rendering of the tower’s structure, blending accurate observation with the Western fascination and reverence for Chinese architecture. It has come to be regarded as a classic visual artifact of early Sino-European contact.

As most original prints were produced around 1750 on fragile paper, well-preserved copies are exceedingly rare today and typically held by major museums, institutional collections, or private collectors. In the international market for rare books and art, The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing is recognized as a valuable and culturally significant piece by both scholars and collectors.

Schley most frequently illustrated the works of French geographer and travel writer Abbé Prévost, especially in Histoire Générale des Voyages, a comprehensive account of global explorations that included detailed descriptions of China and other parts of the world.

约翰内斯·尼霍夫（Johannes Nieuhof，1618–1672），荷兰探险家、外交官、作家、绘图师/画家，曾代表荷兰东印度公司出使中国。他于1655–1657年随使团自广东至北京2400公里，并详细记录沿途风景与风俗，根据他的日记和速写出版《中国旅记》。书里并附大量精美铜版画，影响深远，由此他成为当时在西方有关中国主题的最权威作家。

荷兰使团从广州到北京的主要路线如下：
广州（Canton）→韶州（Shaozhou）→南雄（Nanxiong）→江西省（南昌/九江）→安徽境内：安庆（Anqing）→南京（Nanking）→扬州（Yangzhou）→淮安（Huai’an）→徐州（Xuzhou）→山东→河北地区→天津→通州→北京。

尼霍夫出生于荷兰利塞（Lisse），来自一个商人家庭。他成年后加入荷兰西印度公司，之后转入更强大的东印度公司（VOC），在亚洲、非洲和南美等地担任外交与行政职务。1655年，他随荷兰东印度公司特使彼得·德·戈耶尔（Pieter de Goyer）和雅各布·德·凯泽尔（Jacob de Keyser）前往中国，旨在争取与清朝建立直接贸易关系。

这次出使的路线从广州出发，经过南昌、九江、武汉、南京等地，最终抵达北京。使团受到清廷接见，然而由于多种政治与文化原因，双方未能达成贸易协议。尽管如此，尼乌夫作为随团文书和绘图员，记录了大量关于中国地理、建筑、风俗、人物、自然景观等方面的细致观察。他亲手绘制了100多幅插图，为后来的出版物提供珍贵素材。

回国后，尼霍夫于1665年出版了《荷兰东印度公司使团使中国大汗之行》（Het Gezantschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie aan den Grooten Tartarischen Cham, den tegenwoordigen Keizer van China），该书很快被翻译成多种语言（如法语、德语、拉丁语、英文等），广泛流传于欧洲。这本书不仅是一本旅行记，也是当时西方读者了解中国最真实、最全面的图文信息来源之一。

该书最大的特色之一是大量插图，包括城市风貌、宫殿、寺庙、市场、桥梁、船只、民族服饰以及日常生活场景。这些插图主要基于尼霍夫的速写，由荷兰版画师 Jacob van Meurs 雕刻而成。其中对“Kiangsi”（江西）、“Nanking”（南京）、“Peking”（北京）等城市的描绘被视为西方对中国城市最早的视觉呈现。这些作品不仅是艺术珍品，也具有极高的历史文献价值。

尼霍夫的版画风格朴实，强调细节，力求写实，区别于同期其他充满幻想与异域想象的“东方画”。他的作品打破了欧洲关于中国的浪漫化想象，为“真实的中国图像”奠定了视觉基础。它们在17至18世纪广泛影响了“东方主义”（Orientalism）艺术、欧洲的“中国风”（Chinoiserie）装饰风格，甚至间接推动了中西文化交流。

除了中国之行，尼霍夫还曾前往巴西、锡兰（今斯里兰卡）、印度、爪哇等地，并出版多部旅行记，如《巴西记行》（Beschrijvinge van Brasil）和《印度记行》（Het gezantschap naar den koning van Siam）。他一生足迹遍布三大洲，是荷兰“地理大发现”时期最具代表性的旅行者之一。1672年，尼霍夫在马达加斯加神秘失踪，可能在一次旅行中遇害。他的去世标志着荷兰黄金时代一位伟大探险家的谢幕。关于尼霍夫是否去过南京，争议很大？多数学者（如荷兰史家、清史专家）认为：尼霍夫本人并未亲自抵达南京，其游记中关于南京的描述和图像很可能是基于他人资料的“再创作”或“出版加工”产物。根据荷兰、清方记录及后来的史料交叉比对：使团未曾南下南京，而是经湖南后转向湖北、河南，最终到达北京。1665年出版的《使华录》（An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China），虽然署名为尼霍夫，但部分内容和插图由其兄弟或出版商加工润色。尼霍夫的著作：《荷兰东印度公司使节至中华帝国记》（Ambassade vers la Chine）1665年荷兰阿姆斯特丹出版（第一版），后续有法语、德语、英语多个版本，插图署名为“根据尼霍夫素描绘制”，包含大量中国城市、风景、人物、器物图，其中包括一幅标题为“Nankin”的城市风景。但是，在法国国家图书馆（BNF）收藏手稿中，找不到对应“南京写生”原稿。

总之，尼霍夫以其真实、生动的旅行记录和图像，开创了欧洲对中国“实证性”认知的新纪元。他不仅是17世纪中西交流史的重要见证者，更是一位用笔与画笔搭建文化桥梁的艺术家和历史学家。直至今日，他的版画作品仍被广泛收藏，具有极高的历史研究和艺术价值。