17、18世纪,是中国对外交流史上一个相当重要的时期。原本已经打开一点国门,走到了国际边缘的中国,由于种种复杂的原因,又退回到天下的“中心”。作为清廷与各国交往的历史见证物,至今还有许多收藏在北京故宫博物院。其中18世纪英国制作的双千里镜象限仪(图一),则是反映这一历史时期对外交流的较为典型的文物。 The 17th and 18th centuries are a very important period in the history of China’s foreign exchange. It has already opened a little bit of its own country and reached China on the international fringe. For various complicated reasons, it has returned to the “center” of the world. As the historical witness of the Qing government’s engagement with other countries, there are still many collections in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Among them, the double-quadrant quadrant made in England in the 18th century (Figure 1) is a typical artifact that reflects the external exchange during this historical period.