Description de la Chine, part of Prevost's monumental 'l'Histoire General des Voyages' The plate depicts a low terraced building, upon the roof of which are various monumental astronomical tools. These are labelled and described in a lettered key at the top of the plate in French and Dutch. Among the instruments are a zodiacal sphere, a celestial globe, a sextant, a quadrant, an equinoctial sphere, and an azimuth marker. The subtitle to the plate attributes the illustration to the description of Louis le Comte (1655-1728), a Jesuit missionary who travelled to China in the 1687 mission led by the Jesuit mathematician and astronomer Jean de Fontaney. Le Comte produced a memoir of his journey, which was published in Paris in 1696. le Comte had a particular interest in the celestial knowledge of the Chinese, as well as their various religious and philosophical practices, and his memoirs were a major source for the debate in the Roman Catholic church over whether or not Confucianism was compatible with Christian belief.

The Histoire General des Voyages was a monumental eighteenth century general history divided according to geographic region. The original volumes were written by Antoine François Prevost d'Exiles, a French author, novelist, theologian, natural historian, and a priest of the Jesuit and Benedictine orders, but continued by numerous other authors after Prevost's death. The earliest books mostly deal with the Far East and South-East Asia, providing a general history of their regions, kingdoms, customs, culture, costumes, natural phenomena and religious beliefs. Much of Prevost's information is derived from the reports of Jesuit missionaries, Portuguese merchants, and famous explorers, from Marco Polo to Sir Francis Drake. Although written in French, the popularity of the Histoire among Dutch audiences meant that many of the illustrative plates and maps published to accompany the work were either re-engraved or subtitled in Dutch by the engraver Jakob van der Schley. Prevost himself had travelled widely throughout the Netherlands, launching his literary career in Amsterdam and the Hague after fleeing the Benedictines in France. Prevost's work on China, and indeed many of van der Schley's plates, owe a great debt to Johan Nieuhoff (1618-1672) , a Dutch traveller who explored much of China, India, and Brazil while in the employ of the Dutch East India Company. Nieuhoff wrote extensively, with a particular focus on China, for his memoirs, and his numerous drawings of Chinese places and people were much copied by later engravers for numerous works of Chinese interest. Nieuhoffs own book became a major source of inspiration for eighteenth century chinoiserie, and are amongst the first western illustrations to depict the Chinese people in a manner which was based upon personal observation rather than the tradition of oriental fantasy.--Sanders description.

Cf. Golvers, Ferdinand Verbiest, S.J. (1623-1688) and the Chinese Heaven, p. 336.
Dig. image [Schley Observatory 1749]

Qingdai tongban zhangongtu quanbian 清代銅版戰功圖全編 / Zhang Xiaoguang zhuanji 張曉光撰輯.

一.平定準噶爾回部得勝囹:乾隆御製序.平定伊犁受降.格登鄂拉研營.鄂壘扎拉圖之戰.庫隴類之戰.和落霍撕之捷.烏什酋長獻城降.通古思魯克之戰.黑水圍解.呼爾滿大捷.阿爾楚爾之戰.伊西閏庫爾掉爾之戰.霍斯庫魯克之戰.拔達山汗納款.平定回部獻俘.郊勞回部成功諸將士.凱宴成功諸將士.
二.平定兩金川得勝戰圖:收復小金川I.攻克喇穆及日則丫口.攻克羅博瓦山明碉.攻克宜喜達爾圖山梁.攻克日旁一帶.攻克康薩爾山梁.攻克木思工噶克丫口.攻克宜喜甲索等處調卡.攻克石真噶賊碉.攻克蓄則大海昆色爾山梁並拉枯喇嘛寺等處.攻克賊巢.攻克科布曲索隆古山樑等處調寨.攻克噶喇依報捷.郊台迎勞將軍阿桂凱旋.午門受俘.紫光閣凱宴成功諸將土.
三.平定台灣戰圖:大埔林之戰.進攻鬥六門.攻克鬥六門.攻克大里代賊巢.攻剿小半天山.枯寨之戰.生擒逆首林爽文.集集埔之戰.大武境之戰.生擒莊大田.渡海凱旋.凱旋賜宴.
四.平定廓爾喀戰圖:攻克擦木.攻克瑪噶爾轄爾甲.攻克濟嚨.攻克熱索橋.攻克協布嚕.攻克東覺山.攻克帕朗古.廓爾喀陪臣至京.
五.平定安南戰圖:嘉觀詞[言+戶]之戰.三異柱右之戰.壽昌江之戰.市球江之戰.富良江之戰.阮惠遣侄阮光顯入現賜宴.
六．平定苗疆戰圖：興師圖.剿捕秀山苗匪.攻克操木山.攻解松桃之國.大剿士空寨苗匪解永綏城圍.攻克蘭草坪滾牛坡.攻克黃瓜寨賊巢.攻克蘇麻寨.攻得荼它柳窮等處賊巢.攻克高多寨生擒逆首吳半生.攻克廖家衝生擒首逆石三保.收復乾州.攻克強虎哨.攻克平隴賊巢.捷來圖.攻克石隆苗寨.
七.平定仲苗戰囹:剿捕忡苗南籠圍解.攻克洞灑當丈賊巢.攻克北鄉巴林賊巢.剿淨忡苗餘黨.
八.平定回疆得勝囹:渾巴竹詞之戰.柯爾坪之戰.詳阿爾巴特之戰.沙布都爾莊之戰.阿瓦巴特莊之戰.克復略竹噶爾之戰.收復和闌生擒賊目噶爾勒之戰.生擒首逆張格爾.午門受俘儀式.凱宴成功諸將士.
九.大清國御題平定新疆戰圖 : 平定伊掣受降. 格登鄂拉昕營. 和落霍撕之捷. 呼爾滿大捷.