1930 Cyanotype Map of Southwest China and Tonkin, Railways

France's Failed Imperial Ambitions in China.

This is a rare c. 1930 French cyanotype map of southern China and Tonkin (northern Vietnam), with a focus on railways. It was produced in France's leased territory of Guangzhouwan in southern China and reflects the height of French imperial ambitions, which, in time, proved greatly constrained by reality.

A Closer Look

This map is centered on the Chinese province of Guangxi (Kouang-si). It includes portions of the neighboring provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou (Kouei-tcheou), Hunan (Hou-nan), Jiangxi (Kiang-si), Guangdong (Kouang-tong), and the French colony of Tonkin. Cities (provincial and prefectural capitals) are labeled throughout, while railways are traced in manuscript. These are color-coded to reflect existing lines, projected and suggested lines, and lines for which concessions were granted at the turn of the 20th century, but that had not yet been built (and indeed never would be).

The existing railways displayed here include, in the east: the Sun Ning Railway (新寧鐵路) connecting Kong Moon (Jiangmen 江門) with Sanchiahai (Taishan or Doushan 台山), a rare railway financed entirely by Chinese rather than foreign capital; the Canton-Kowloon Railway (九廣鐵路) linking Canton (Guangzhou) and Hong Kong, and the line between Canton and Shaoguan (or Shaozhou, here as Tsiou Tcheou), the southern section of the Yuehan Railway between Canton and Hankow (now Wuhan) on the Yangzi River. In the west are the Kunming-Haiphong Railway, the centerpiece of French imperial extension into southern China, connecting lines running northwards to the Chinese border at Lạng Sơn - Đồng Đăng and southwards along the coast of Indochine, two lines for which concessions were granted to connect to the French leased territory at Guangzhouwan (Fort Bayard), and additional proposed lines. Rapids along the rivers leading to the Pearl River Delta, the main trading avenues of the time, are also marked.

Historical Context

This map was produced at a time when French imperial ambitions in China were at their height. Having captured Tonkin (northern Vietnam) in the late 19th century, France hoped to use it as a springboard to carve out a sphere of influence over the vast markets and resources of southern China. In 1898, France compelled the Qing government to sign over a 99-year lease for the Guangzhouwan (Kouang-tcheou-wan 廣州灣) Leased Territory, France's contribution to a 'scramble for concessions' in the wake of the First Sino-Japanese War that saw the British gain the New Territories of Hong Kong and Weihaiwei, and Russia acquire concessions in Manchuria. Guangzhouwan, centered on Fort-Bayard, was administered from Hanoi and was effectively an extension of French Indochina.

In the wake of the establishment of Guangzhouwan, imperial enthusiasts in Hanoi such as Paul Doumer (1857 - 1932), the Governor-General and 'father' of French Indochina, imagined a wide network of French-owned and managed railways weaving through southern China, cutting into British commercial interests in the region, which were centered on the Pearl River Delta but connected by river trade far deeper into the Chinese interior. France and Britain were locked in a wider competition for influence throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, which was itself largely a battle over access to southern China. A key project for the French in this struggle was the railway from Haiphong and Hanoi to Kunming (here as Yunnanfou), the provincial capital of Yunnan, constructed through valleys and mountains between 1904 and 1910. The railway was an engineering marvel of its time, though one which cost the lives of thousands of workers. French customs stations and consulates sprang up alongside stations on the Kunming-Haiphong line within Chinese territory, and for several years these operated like French mini-colonies.

But as with French imperial ambitions in China more broadly, these schemes proved to be little more than fantasy when they ran up against practical constraints. Guangzhouwan never remotely developed into anything like the 'French Hong Kong' that its boosters envisioned. Almost no Frenchmen lived there (its gendarmerie was mostly composed of Vietnamese and locals), and it primarily profited local grandee-gangsters who made money off opium, prostitution, gambling, and smuggling. The railway to Kunming was only more successful by comparison; it manifested little interest in the metropole after some initial enthusiasm and never approached anything like its promised utilization, while proving very expensive to maintain. French commercial clout was no match for Britain or other major powers like the U.S. and Japan (indeed, France was the only Western country to consistently run a trade deficit with China in these years). The projected railway lines seen here extending to Nanning and emanating from Guangzhouwan were never built, although some railways constructed after the Communist takeover of China in 1949 followed similar routes.

Cyanotype: Why so Blue?

Cyanotype is a photo-reprographic technique developed in 1842 by the British astronomer John Herschel (1792 - 1871). Sometimes called a 'sunprint', the technique employs a solution of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, which, when painted on white paper or cloth, reacts with sunlight to dye the object a brilliant blue. Areas blocked from ultraviolet exposure remain undyed and white. Herschel developed the technique to reproduce his astronomical notes, but others quickly realized that any object capable of blocking light could be used to create a cyanotype image quickly and easily. By the late 19th century, the process became popular with designers, the military, architects, and engineers (blueprints), who used the cheap and effective technique to quickly and exactly reproduce images in the field. Cyanotyping is limited in that only a single copy can be made at a time, so it was practical only for short-term fieldwork. It is also worth noting that cyanotypes remain highly sensitive to light and, over time, fade or degrade, making them highly ephemeral. The process fell out of fashion in most places by the 1920s but remains in use in some parts of the world, such as India and Nepal, to this day.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared, likely by a French colonial administrator, in Fort-Bayard within the leased territory of Guangzhouwan in September 1930. We have been unable to locate any other examples, and it is likely a unique survival, especially considering the manuscript annotations.

Condition

Good. Wear on old fold lines. Loss in each corner. Edge wear.