Military--Naerjinge and anonymous artists

4to (292 x 110mm.), 30 leaves, MANUSCRIPT WITH 26 FINE WATERCOLOUR DRAWINGS of military skills, later decorative cloth

All Under Heaven 19

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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A WONDERFUL ALBUM OF MILITARY INSTRUCTION. “The twenty-six illustrated pages of this military training manual offer concrete explanations of how mounted soldiers should employ bows, muskets, and long spears, and how infantrymen should wield bows, crossbows, long spears, rattan shields, and cannons. In addition to rendering soldiers in uniform, the pictures also portray them in states of partial undress. The latter type of image functions as a diagram, with textual labels spelling out proper posture and technique in the use of the weapon under discussion” (All Under Heaven).

The author of the preface, Naerjinge, was the Governor of the metropolitan area surrounding Beijing, and writes in the wake of Chinese losses to Great Britain during the recent First Opium War.