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Description

Fascinating View of Jerusalem Published By a Christian Church Press in China in the 1880s. Manuscript Additions Showing Stations of the Cross!

Hand-colored lithographed view of Jerusalem published by Jesuit printers in Tushanwan, Shanghai in 1886.

The Map

The text in the map image translates roughly as: "Map of [ancient view] Jerusalem. This is the view of the Mount Olives in a country called Judea from the time of the birth of the Lord Christ. Later the city burned and was rebuilt, so its form changed. The buildings (places) where Jesus suffered and entered the heavens are still preserved here today. From many countries, there are many pilgrims coming to worship."

The following is a translation of the text above the map:

This is a map of the city of Jerusalem from the time of Jesus. The city was destroyed by fire during war campaigns. All the traces have disappeared. Only on the basis of records in the Bible, oral transmission form people of ancient times and various preserved written sources, it has been possible to reconstruct the appearance of this city and the quarters and places where Jesus suffered. The city was situated on a hill. It had been built by the ancient Holy King David. In the south-western part, there is the Mount Zion, which has since become a famous spot of the city. There is a watchtower on top of it, also once built by King David. Its remnants can still be found there until the present day. South from the watchtower was the office of Annas, and nowadays there is a church built in its original location. More to the south, there was the office of Caiaphas, and today there is also a church built there. On the top of the hill, there is the Palace of the King of Judea. In the times of Jesus, Judea was not a state anymore. It had been conquered by Rome. At the foot of this mountain, there is a building. In the upper part of this building, Jesus had once offered the Blessed Eucharist. In the lower part of the building, he had washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus ascended heaven and the Holy Spirit descended to earth also at this place. According to tradition, this building was reconstructed by believers after the burning of Jerusalem. It is said to be exactly the same as the original one. To the north-west of the building, there is a holy chamber where the God's Mother and St. John once lived. To the south-west of the city lies the Hill of Evil Counsel, which used to be a summer residence of Caiaphas. Caiaphas here once talked to the crowd, saying: "Today, we have to kill one out of the people of Judea." Under the hill, there was a burial field of travelers, allegedly bought by the money of Judas. To the east, it overlooked the Mount Moriah, the ancient King Salomon had once built a pavilion there. Its high and spacious walls were beautifully carved, it was extraordinarily orderly and beautiful. But the ancient time has passed into obscurity and its structures collapsed and were destroyed. Only when Herod the Great came to power, he had it rebuilt. It was very large and impressive, regarded as the noblest of its era. To the north was the office of Pilate, where Jesus was tortured in various ways.

In front of it was a stone staircase with twenty-eight stairs altogether. Jesus was made to climb these stairs three times (during his trial) and suffered tremendously thereof. Traces of his blood can still be found on them. Nowadays these stairs have been moved to Rome. Both noble and regular believers have to climb them on their knees, as it's forbidden to step on them. The believers come in crowds and are jammed there. They come one after another, creating a neverending chain, and there's a danger that the age-old stones will be destroyed. Wooden planks were therefore laid over the stone steps. Not far from here (coming back to the map of Jerusalem) is the place where Jesus was tried by Pilate. Nowadays, there is a church and a monastery there. More to the north is the palace of Herod. To the east of Moriah is the Mount of Olives. Its towering peaks and layered ridges stick out over their surroundings. It's the highest peak in Jerusalem. On its top Jesus compassionately prophesied about the city, established the Christian religion and ascended heaven. It's also the place where his devoted disciples recorded his words. At its foot is the Gethsemane garden with olive trees which are still the very trees from the days of Jesus. Jesus used to come to the garden to pray and before he was tortured, his blood and sweat dripped on the ground here. It's this very garden. Nowadays, Franciscan priests conduct a mass here daily. There is also the stone on which the disciples (of Jesus) fell asleep and the place where Judas kissed the face of Jesus. To the north of the garden is the Holy Tomb of the Holy Mother and the place from where she ascended heaven. Between the two hills of Moriah and Olives is Valley of Josaphat in the centre of which was Kidron Stream. In late winter and early spring, water is dripping here in drops, during the remaining time of the year it is completely dry. To the north-west of the city is Mount Calvary. Its shape resembles a skull, it's tiny like a little mound. On its top is the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus. It is only accessible on major and auxiliary festive days during the Solemn Mass. Today, there is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at this place. The last five stops of the Calvary Procession, which has altogether fourteen stops where Jesus had to endure suffering, are all located within this church. That is the rough description of the geography of the City of Jerusalem.

On the evening before his crucifixion at eight o'clock and ten minutes, Jesus held the Passover ceremony with his disciples in the watchtower on Mount Zion. When the sermon was over, he left the house and on his way passed through the Valley of Josaphat, over the Kidron Stream, all the way to Gethsemane Garden. While praying in the garden, Judas led the vicious men who captured him. Tied up, Jesus was taken to the office of Annas. Annas sent soldiers to the place of Caiaphas, and Caiphas gathered the wise and elderly men from the city. They all discussed and debated about the place where Jesus should meet his death. Jesus spent that night in prison and the soldiers attacked and humiliated him in every possible way. To express their hatred, some split his jaws, some spat in his face. When the people of my religion think about this, how can they all not weep and cry? Although the people of Judea wanted to hurt Jesus, they knew that the responsibility was with the king of Rome. Nobody could do anything. So they agreed that the following day early morning at six o'clock, they will take Jesus to the office of the Governor Pilate. Pilate interrogated him and learned that he was a man of Galilee, so had sent him to the place of Herod. At that time, Herod was the Governor of Galilee, the one who killed St. John (the Baptist). It was not the Herod who had been killing babies. When he saw Jesus, he looked at him with disdain. He was dressed in plain white clothes, so he took him for a scoundrel. Herod sent him to the office of Pilate, where Jesus arrived at nine o'clock before noon. There Jesus heard his sentence - he was going to be nailed to a cross. The soldiers forced Jesus to carry the cross and climb up the Calvary Hill to be crucified there. Everyone knows the fourteen stops of the via Dolorosa, where Jesus endured torment. There's no need to talk about it in more detail. This is the rough account of the suffering of Jesus Christ.

This map is a copy of the original drawing of the German friar Leonard (?). All its place names are translated into Chinese so that believers can study it, see themselves all the traces of the suffering of Jesus, and deeply venerate him.

The Tushanwan Printers

According to Ariel Tishby's article on a smaller Chinese view of Jerusalem:

The map was produced at a Jesuit printing workshop located in Tushanwan, in the Shanghai suburb of Xujiahui (in the Shanghai dialect; better known as "Zikawei")... The Tushanwan print shops were active from the 1880s until the 1930s. Besides printing religious books and documents, they were used to train printers and artists.

Christianity in China

While Christianity was present in China from an early date, including in the important early Jesuit missions to the country, it was not until the beginning of the 19th century that Protestant missionary activities started in earnest. Both Catholic and Protestant missions proliferated throughout the 19th century, while not gaining complete acceptance within Chinese society. In the 1880s and 1890s, tensions continued to rise until anti-Christian and anti-foreign sentiment manifested in the Boxer Rebellion.  This view comes from a period of relative acceptance, before the strife of the 1890s, which would have made the publication less likely.

Rarity

We were unable to locate any other examples of this map.  

Condition Description
Two sheets, joined. Laid on original blue cloth.
Reference
Ariel Tishby, 協露撒稜 – Xiélùsāléng – A Chinese map of Jerusalem: http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/humsos/art/eastandwestInMedievalandEarlyModernArt/Documents/Ariel%20Tishby-%20Israeli%20Museum%20abstract.pdf