As one of the earliest locally commissioned set of botanical drawings in Canton, John Bradby Blake’s four volumes of Chinese plants at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation show not only unprecedented quality in the most up-to-date Linnaean system but also an uncanny resemblance to the new trend of depicting plants in the eclectic style at the Qing court. This Gardens Trust March 7 lecture with Dr. Yu-chih Lai, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan attempts to navigate and weave the uncharted network that linked the foreign community in Canton and the court, and to explore how the eclectically mimetic style in Bradby Blake’s drawings was made possible by hiring local Chinese painters to work with him. £5. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE.