Thank you for downloading this episode of a history of the world in a hundred objects from BBC Radio 4.

The first four programs of this week were about the European Enlightenment's project of mapping and understanding new lands.

Today's object is from China at a time when it was pursuing its own

enlightenment under the Chenlung Emperor who, like his European contemporaries, devoted

considerable attention to exploring the world beyond his own borders. In 1756 for instance he sent

out a multicultural task force, two Jesuit priests, a Chinese astronomer and two Tibetan

Lamas to map the territories that he'd annexed in Asia.

The knowledge they gained spread across the world and with it the Chenlung Emperor's

reputation. The object in this program is another product of the Emperor's intellectual curiosity,

this time about the Chinese past.

It's a jade ring called a B, spelled B, I. This jade B, already over 3,000 years old when the Emperor decided to study it is a fine

plain disk with a hole in the center of a type often found in ancient Chinese tombs.

The Emperor took the unadorned bee and then had his own words inscribed on it.

And in doing so he transformed the ancient bee into a narrative

of the 18th century Chinese Enlightenment.

It's an exploratory document. It reminds us that documents can be made of jade or bronze,

just as much as on paper, of course.

The piece is represented as a deep link between the ancient past and now.

It's very cultural but also political.

A history of the world in a hundred objects. Jade B from China

from China, inscribed in the 18th century. For Enlightenment Europe, Europe, China was a model state, wisely governed by learned

emperors. The philosopher and writer Voltaire wrote in 1764.

...