Engraved by J.B. Allen (British, 1803–1876)
Punishment of the Tcha, or Cangue, Ting-hai, 1850
Hand-colored engraving on paper
Private Collection
Thomas Allom’s topographical images were used to illustrate many travel books in the 19th century. After the first Opium War, the forced opening of China’s interior allowed Westerners to travel to places inside China they had never seen. This image offers Western viewers an image of the Dinghai district of Zhoushan, an island off the coast of Zhejiang Province near the new treaty port of Ningbo. It also reflects a British understanding of China’s legal system. This focus on punishment occurs in several of Allom’s images, acting as a stand-in for the British dominance of China in the war.