Abstract: Atlas of Marine Animals Collected by the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty is one of the five painting atlases collected in the Qing Dynasty, which illustrate marine life, birds, beasts and other animal subjects. It is the only atlas painted by a folk artist called NIE Huang and is also the earliest extant "composite image-text" on marine biology in China. The book has the duality of naturalistic knowledge and the art of painting natural animals. The "Ma fish" and "Jing fish" in the book on the one hand and the content in Chinese translations of Western books such as Answers from the West, Strange Western Fish Pictures and Sea Monsters Illustration on the other show an exchange of knowledge of marine animals between China and the West. Among them, the description of the "mermaid", from the perspective of imaginary animals, illustrates some knowledge interaction between China and the West concerning marine animals after the era of great navigation. As a painting atlas of natural science, Atlas of Marine Animals was not limited by the official mainstream painting style at that time. It shows the characteristics of traditional Chinese fish painting on the one hand, and absorbed the expression techniques of Western paintings of natural science on the other. Therefore, it serves as an outstanding historical text for the comparative study and mutual learning of fish knowledge and painting craft between China and the West.

Key words: Atlas of Marine Animals Collected by the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty, NIE Huang, Answers from the West, Strange Western Fish Pictures, Sea Monsters Illustration, "mermaid"