France-China

These items have been divided into 6 major thematic sections and nearly one hundred and fifty sub-themes contextualised by more than sixty articles.

• Routes and Travelers, in which one can rediscover, for example, Marco Polo’s magnificent Book of Wonders. A large selection of nautical maps from the French Naval Hydrographic Service collection, old Chinese charts and maps of China from the Anville collection are also included.
• Powers and Diplomacy traces the diplomatic ties between the two countries, from their origins to 1945. It includes The Forty Views of the Garden of Perfect Clarity, a masterpiece of Chinese art dating from the 18^th century.
• Knowledge, dedicated to Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, then to the development of French sinology at the beginning of the 18^th century, which foreshadowed the development of Chinese studies in other Western countries. It also includes mathematics, astral sciences, medicine, botany, zoology and the press, bringing together both scientifically and aesthetically remarkable collections.
• Scenes of Life, devoted to everyday life in China, as well as Chinese crafts, pastimes, clothing and furnishings.
• Techniques and Craftsmanship details the idea of a “sinophilia of taste”, which was reflected throughout Europe in the 18^th century with many kinds of chinoiserie in furniture, crockery, fabrics and garden architecture…
• Arts and Letters, devoted to the sinophilia which was also expressed in music, literature and theatre within the works of Judith Gauthier, Victor Segalen, Jules Verne and many others.