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Book/Printed Material Huan you di qiu xin lu 環遊地球新錄

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[ Volume 1 ]

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About this Item

Title

  • Huan you di qiu xin lu

Other Title

  • 環遊地球新錄

Translated Title

  • New Records on the Travel Round the Globe

Summary

  • To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, in 1876 the United States held a Centennial Exhibition in the same city. The Foreign Office of the late Qing court authorized the Commercial Tax Office for the Western Countries to arrange the Chinese display at the exposition. Li Gui (1842--1903), a secretary at the Customs Office, was dispatched to the United States with a delegation to assist in the arrangements. On his journey he also visited England, France, and other countries. After his return he wrote this travel book, which is also the earliest Chinese account of the 1876 World's Fair, or expo. The work has four juan. Juan one, entitled Mei hui ji lue (Brief account of the American expo), describes the sights and sounds of the Philadelphia expo. Juan two, entitled You lan sui bi (Sketches of travels), records the sights and sounds of Philadelphia, Washington, Harvard University, New York, and other places. Juan three, Qu lan sui bi (Sketches of travels during the expo), narrates his visit to London and Paris, and recounts various events taking place at the expo, such as the visit of the teenage students from China studying in the United States. The last juan, entitled Dong xing ri ji (Diaries of the travel eastward), briefly describes Li's trip by sea from Shanghai eastward. His account of China's participation in the expo includes descriptions of items at the Chinese Pavilion, amounting to 720 cases and valued at 200,000 taels (a Chinese unit of measurement) of silver. The beautiful and spectacular Chinese Pavilion is described as a wooden structure facing north with a large gateway with three large characters Da Qing guo (The Great Qing Empire) and a horizontal placard bearing four characters Wu hua tian bao (Precious Products from the Earth are Nature's Treasures). On its two sides were two outer gates with yellow flags decorated with green dragons. All items displayed were handmade; no machines were used. Li Gui expressed his amazement at the exhibits in other pavilions and affirmed that the purpose of the expo was for countries to strengthen friendship, highlight their talents, and most importantly, to develop trade. This book was a gift to the National Central Library from the collection of the Chinese International Library, the label of which is on the volume.

Names

  • Li, Gui, 1842-1903 Author

Created / Published

  • [Place of publication not identified] : [Publisher not identified], 1878.

Headings

  • -  China--Shanghai
  • -  France--Île-de-France--Paris
  • -  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland--England--London
  • -  United States of America--District of Columbia--Washington
  • -  United States of America--Massachusetts--Boston
  • -  United States of America--New York
  • -  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
  • -  1876
  • -  Centennial International Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • -  Description and travel
  • -  Exhibitions and displays
  • -  Fairs

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Only prefaces and partial text of juan 1 are included in the WDL presentation."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 4 juan, 4 volumes.
  • -  Original resource at: National Central Library.
  • -  Content in Chinese.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
  • -  Title revised per Asian Division.--cc28 2023-01-06

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Chinese Books, Manuscripts, Maps, and Prints

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666399

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Li, Gui, Author. Huan You DI Qiu Xin Lu. [Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified, 1878] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666399/.

APA citation style:

LI, G. (1878) Huan You DI Qiu Xin Lu. [Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666399/.

MLA citation style:

Li, Gui, Author. Huan You DI Qiu Xin Lu. [Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified, 1878] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666399/>.