MS 7162 Book of Chinese watercolor paintings illustrating modes of punishment
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: USNM Accession Number: 4505

USNM Catalog Number: 21249
label: Variant Titles
content: Punishment with strong sword blades

Xing ren zhuang ren
name: label: Collector
content: Morse, Charles H.
place: label: Place
content: East Asia
label: Place
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: Corporal punishment
label: Topic
content: China trade watercolor painting
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The album was donated to the United States National Museum by Charles H. Morse of the U. S. Pension Office in 1876. A note indicates that it was "procured from China in 1825."  The album and accompanying notes were transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives by Chang-su Houchins in February 1985.
creator: label: Collector
content: Morse, Charles H.
culture: label: Culture
content: Chinese
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 7162 Book of Chinese watercolor paintings illustrating modes of punishment
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: Chinese export watercolors were painted in the port cities of China for sale to western customers in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the watercolors were done in sets such as trades, domestic interiors and gardens, boats, birds, mandarins, and punishments.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Volume (cloth-bound album containing 12 watercolor paintings on pith paper, 9.5 x 13.5 inches (bound volume), 8 x 11.5 inches (paintings))
label: Extent
content: 1 Folder (2 sets of 16 pages of notes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: before 1825
container: label: Container
content: Box 7162 / 7421 / 7508, Item 1
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS7162
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Graphic Materials
label: Type
content: Volumes
label: Type
content: Watercolors
label: Type
content: Albums
label: Type
content: Works of art
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: English titles for the album and most paintings were provided by the donor. A label with an English title was added to the album cover by USNM. The archivist assigned titles in square brackets [] to untitled paintings.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
label: Genre/Form
content: Albums
label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: A cloth-bound album containing twelve (12) watercolor paintings on pith paper.  The paintings depict various modes of corporal punishment. The Chinese title, Xing ren zhuang ren, or "Punishment with Strong Sword Blades" is apparently figurative, for the twelve drawings in this collection depict punishments other than those by the sword. Included with the album are two sets of explanatory notes written by the donor and/or a United States National Museum curator or clerk.  The two sets of notes have slight differences. 

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.