The Italian Expat Who Served Three Chinese Emperors | Tea with Erping

Welcome to Tea with Erping. Some of the most striking and recognizable portraits of great Chinese emperors are of Emperor Kangxi and this portrait of Emperor Qianlong. This style is distinctive of the Qing dynasty golden age. An Italian named Giuseppe Castiglione, more commonly known by his Chinese name, Lang Shining, he is perhaps one of the world's most influential expats, if we could call him that. In this foreign land, Castiglione would make his mark as an artist, missionary, and an accidental diplomat in China. So who was this man? How did his fate lead him to China? And what earned him a place in history books? Giuseppe Castiglione was born in 1688 in Milan, Italy. He was part of a wealthy family and learned how to paint in a renowned studio. In 1707, he turned 19. This is when he joined the Jesuits. With a talent for the Italian Renaissance style, he was soon painting murals for Italian churches. Eight years later, he became a Jesuit missionary and was assigned to China. Castiglione accepted his new post and made a 5,000-mile journey to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, arriving on December 22, 1715. This kind of exchange was special, but not a singular case in China's history. It was the missionary Matteo Ricci who successfully established Jesuit cooperation with China in the 16th century. During this time, many Western mathematical and astronomical works were translated into Chinese and vice versa. Many classical Chinese texts were published in Latin. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi employed many Jesuit missionaries with expertise in astronomy, painting, cartography, and mechanics. Castiglione became the new imperial painter with the longest service of any missionary artist, serving three Chinese emperors for 51 years. He introduced European techniques like chiaroscuro, the effect of contrast light and shadow, as well as linear perspective. His Xianfa or line method would become a favorite of the Qing Dynasty emperors. This is one of his earliest pieces, a vignette of Life on the Frontier, on which he collaborated with a Chinese artist. Can you guess which part Castiglione painted? While this young Italian artist worked tirelessly to master the Chinese styles, he also learned the Chinese language, adopted Chinese dress and costumes. He earned the trust and respect of the imperial court and from one emperor in particular. Although he wasn't able to directly further the cause of spreading Christianity, he merged the two worlds of East and West through art. He blended Western realism with Chinese style and symbolism and created fantastic works of art in their own right. He would also become the only European painter recorded in the Chinese work History of Painting, composed by Peng Songjian in about 1800. Before the Emperor Kangxi's passing in 1722, he wrote a final edict. In it, he says reflecting his policies towards foreigners like Castiglione. Under Emperor Yongzheng's reign, Castiglione would paint some of his best-known pieces. One is the striking Gathering of Auspicious Signs, which Castiglione finished in 1723 in the first year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign. He was wise to Chinese symbolism and painted and stalks of rice with two ears of grain, traditional symbols of a sagacious emperor. Don't they bear some resemblance to the paintings of flowers from the Dutch masters? Castiglione worked tirelessly. He deepened his understanding of Chinese visual arts, mastered still-life paintings, and even created a new model for academic painting. Meanwhile, Emperor Yongzheng continued to employ Jesuits in his court as professionals, but kept them at a fair distance. Another famous piece is this wide hand scroll, about 30 feet long, representing 100 horses in various activities, painted on silk. The original is preserved in Taiwan's National Palace Museum, and Castiglione's draft can be viewed at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Emperor Yongzheng would have greatly appreciated this view of 100 majestic steeds grazing on a pastured riverbank that pays homage to the long Manchu tradition of rearing horses. But he passed away before its completion, so it was presented to his successor. Emperor Qianlong succeeded the throne in 1735 and Castiglione was given a new patron to serve. Emperor Qianlong was a cultured man, highly interested in art and learning. He was a connoisseur and collector of paintings. He was warm to Jesuits from the very beginning. He and Castiglione would become good friends. The emperor would often visit the studio to watch Castiglione paint. Castiglione's good relations with the emperor gave him a platform to advocate for the release of his fellow Jesuit, whom he believed to have been wrongly persecuted. Emperor Qianlong heard his plea and granted his request. Emperor Qianlong named Castiglione the official court painter in 1736, and in 1748, the administrator of the imperial parks and vice president of the six boards, the highest rank ever attained by a Jesuit. During his later years, Castiglione also served as a competent architect, overseeing the splendid western-style pavilions in the Old Summer Palace, commissioned by Emperor Qianlong in 1747. The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan, or the Garden of Perfect Brightness, was where the emperor was born and raised outside the Forbidden City. It was his passion project to expand it into a grand imperial retreat. When Castiglione turned 70, Emperor Qianlong threw him a birthday party here with a grand procession, live music, and ceremony. Castiglione also received gifts, six pieces of silk of rare quality, and a mandarin robe and a large agate necklace. Unfortunately, the palace was burned to the ground during the Second Opium War in 1860. Castiglione painted most of the imperial portraits of the emperor and his concubines. These peaceful, dignified images, created over the course of 34 years, show the heart and mind of the emperor and his benevolent reign. Later in his life, Emperor Qianlong would inscribe a Haining scroll titled Spring's Peaceful Message with this note, The emperor and the painter would develop a unique spiritual friendship. When Castiglione died in 1766 at 78 years old, Emperor Qianlong personally wrote the obituary for this artist in his own calligraphy, which was a huge honor. Castiglione arrived in China as an outsider. He was humble and dedicated to his craft, going to become an excellent painter in both western and eastern art. He made great cultural contributions in a foreign land. In the imperial court, he achieved what no other missionary could have achieved, genuine cross-cultural exchange and understanding between two cultures, serving three emperors of the Golden Age, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. Castiglione's life in China exemplifies the work But his 51 years of service could not have been easy, especially when there were times when his fellow missionaries fell out of favor with the imperial court. As Confucius says, Castiglione displayed what effective and true diplomacy or soft power should be, mutual respect and trust, goodwill, while promoting shared common values. This is in sharp contrast with Beijing's current aggressive and offensive wolf-warrior diplomacy that I discussed in an earlier episode, in which you may find how far China has moved away from its past traditions. Castiglione was not just an accomplished artist, but a successful ambassador for his homeland and personal faith. We should celebrate his remarkable life with many kind words, and not the least, a cup of green tea. Until next time, peace and tea be with you.