BEIJING, April 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from China.org.cn on exchanges between China and France:
When the Forbidden City Meets the Palace of Versailles
“Knowing that Your Majesty is eager to attract talents…a few years ago, we decided to assign six learned mathematicians… to bring to Your Majesty the latest scientific knowledge.” These are lines from a letter in 1688, written by the then French King Louis XIV to “his very dear friend” Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. But due to various reasons, it failed to reach the Forbidden City.
But three centennials later, the letter is now “delivered”: At the exhibition “The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles — Exchanges Between China and France in the 17th and 18th Centuries,” this letter is shown as the opening piece along with 200 or so…
