A cross-cultural study of harbour scene paintings of the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou from 1760 to 1860

During the Canton System, the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou formed a cross‑cultural visual field in which Harbor Scene Paintings (HSPs) served as both commodities and sites of Sino-Western visual negotiation. Drawing on visual culture studies and the pictorial turn, this study constructs a comparative cross‑cultural visual analysis framework. Focusing on representative HSPs produced by Chinese and Western artists from 1760 to 1860, it analyzes formal traits (composition, perspective, details and dynamic narration) and production logics covering cross‑cultural influences, technical integration, visual imagination and market demands. The decline of HSPs is attributed to military destruction, the collapse of the Canton System, the introduction of photography, and a shift in the authority attached to ‘authenticity’. Through this approach, the visual differences between Chinese and Western HSPs are examined together with their underlying cultural logic. HSPs are thereby positioned as active agents in the early global visual economy, shaping Western perceptions of China while mediating China’s visual self-representation. The study deepens understanding of Sino-Western visual exchange during 18th- and 19th-century global trade, proposes an integrated framework for cross‑cultural visual analysis, and offers theoretical and empirical perspectives for reinterpreting Thirteen-Factories history, thereby contributing to the interpretation and interdisciplinary study of related cultural heritage.