Battle at Yixi'er Ku'ernao'er - Jean Damascene Sallusti

A detailed 1776 copperplate engraving by Jean Damascene Sallusti depicting a military engagement from the Qianlong Emperor's Western campaigns.

This copperplate engraving depicts the Battle at Yixi'er Ku'ernao'er, a significant engagement during the Qianlong Emperor's campaigns in the Western Regions. Produced in 1776, the work forms part of a larger series commissioned by the Qing court to document military victories. Jean Damascene Sallusti, an Italian Jesuit missionary residing in Beijing, collaborated with other European artists and local craftsmen to execute these prints. The project combined Western techniques of linear perspective and cross-hatching with traditional Chinese subject matter and calligraphic inscriptions.

The composition presents a wide-angle view of the rugged terrain, where Qing forces engage in combat across a rocky valley and riverbed. The artist employs fine, precise lines to render the textures of the mountains, the foliage, and the individual soldiers. The use of European shading techniques provides a sense of depth that contrasts with the flatter, more decorative approach often found in contemporary Chinese ink paintings. The inclusion of the Emperor's own poetry in the upper section integrates the visual narrative with the political and literary culture of the Qing court.

This print offers a view into the cross-cultural exchange between the Jesuit missions and the Chinese imperial administration. It serves as a record of the military expansion under the Qianlong Emperor, while demonstrating the technical adaptation of European printmaking methods within a non-Western context. The work is characterised by its high level of detail, from the weaponry and armour of the troops to the geological formations of the mountainous backdrop. It remains a primary source for understanding the aesthetic and political priorities of the 18th-century Qing dynasty.