ABSTRACT
The French Jesuit mission in Beijing had its beginnings some 80 years earlier with the decision by Louis XIV in 1684 to send to China five Jesuits trained in the sciences, especially mathematics and astronomy, a group which was officially designated the Mathématiciens du Roi in letters patent issued by the king. Henri Bertin noted the great importance of carefully observing the locks and their function along the Canal de Briare, one of the most important canals in France, which connects the Loire and the Seine valleys. Bertin remarked that Du Halde’s Description de la Chine included information on magnificent canals in China, and the subject was clearly something France should know more about. It is clear that Bertin wanted Aloys Ko and Etienne Yang to be able to send images—drawings, paintings, or prints—from China, since images were crucial to the communication of accurate information.
