Ancient Chinese books are vast and profound. Due to the difference in the time, region, and form of the engraving, the ancient book editions are colorful and have become a unique field of study. While paying attention to the content, ancient Chinese books also pay attention to the beauty of fonts, layouts, and binding styles, especially the common use of illustrations, and many ancient books are rich in pictures and texts, becoming pleasing works of art and printmaking art. This article attempts to give a brief description of the development process of illustration art in ancient Chinese books, in order to arouse the attention of the academic community to this valuable cultural heritage.
First, the function of the image, not literary ability
At the end of the day, words originally evolved from images. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has attached equal importance to pictures and texts, and the "history of the left picture and the right picture" has always been respected by scholars of ancient times. Southern Song Dynasty Zheng Qiao 'Tongzhi TupuLuo Suo Xiang Chapter" Yun: "The ancient scholars, in order to learn the essentials, placed the map on the left and the book on the right; suo xiang in the figure, so the rational in the book." The old man is also easy to learn, and it is easy to learn. "As a communication medium of a universal common language, images not only have the value of artistic creation and art appreciation, but also have the characteristics of objectivity, intuitiveness, testimony, realism, and ease of understanding. It can be comparable to words, exist independently of each other, and can be reflected in each other, interpreting, supplementing and extending each other. In 1839 AD, the French painter Daguerre invented the daguerreotype photography method and made the world's first portable retractable wooden box camera, which pioneered the art of photography, painting was the main carrier for human beings to record historical scenes, write portraits of human figures, and transmit visual information. In the Catalogue of Ancient Paintings, the Southern Dynasty Qi Sheikh pointed out that painting has the function of "clear exhortation, rise and fall, thousands of years of loneliness, and phi tu can be learned". There are a large number of examples in mainland ancient books and history books to support this: for example, Sima Qian' yun in the "History of the Liuhou Family": "Yu thought that his person (Zhang Liang) was big and strange, and when he saw his map, he looked like a woman and a good woman. Gai Confucius said: 'Judge people by their appearance, and lose their sons and feathers.' 'Stay with the clouds. "The Biography of Su Wu in the Book of Han of Ban Gu has a record of "the beauty of the Shangsi Qiu is to draw his person in the Qilin Pavilion, to his appearance, and to sign the name of the official". Xiao Tong, the crown prince of Zhaoming, commented in the preface to his selected "Anthology of Literature": "The theory is subtle in analysis, the preface is clear and moist, the beauty is in the end, and the image is praised." And Liu Changxiu's "Old Book of Tang And Yan Liben Biography" said: "Although Liben has the talent to do business, you are good at drawing pictures and working in photography. The "Eighteen Scholars of Qin Province" and the "Ling Yan Pavilion Meritorious Figure" in zhenguan, and the traces of the establishment of the book are also known as wonderful. "After the "Eighteen Scholars of Qin Province", some people also saw this map in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, saying that the characters were all standing statues and had vivid looks. For example, Xu Jingzong twisted and uneasy, Su Shi was bald and bearded, short and ugly, all of which were vivid.
Based on pictures, supplemented by necessary text descriptions, the reference book that specializes in collecting image data is called a catalogue or atlas. In the seventh year of the Song Dynasty (1092), Lü Da Lin compiled the "Archaeological Map", which recorded 224 ancient copper and jade artifacts held by the court and private people at that time, and created a style of ancient artifact bibliography. After the fifth year of Song Xuanhe (1123), Wang Yi wrote the 30 volumes of Xuanhe Bogutu, which recorded 20 types of ancient bronzes and 839 pieces of ancient bronzes hidden by the imperial family in Xuanhe Hall at that time. Between Ming Jiajing and Wanli, Wang Xi and his son Wang Siyi wrote the 106 volumes of the "Three Talents And Figures", divided into 14 doors, each thing, writing its images and explaining. The "General Catalogue of the Four Libraries" commented: "There are also those who are fully qualified to assess the vast number of people, and there are many greedy and greedy people, and they are very special. "During the Ming Dynasty, the 127 volumes of The Book Compilation of Zhang Ne's series were supplemented by illustrations, many of which reflected the political and social conditions of the Ming Dynasty; Qing Dai Zhen wrote 2 volumes of the "Records of the Examination Workers", which explained in detail the palace rooms, cars, weapons, and ritual instruments in the pre-Qin ancient book "Records of the Examination Workers"; Liang Shizheng and others compiled 40 volumes of the "Ancient Records of the Western Qing Dynasty" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and 1529 pieces of bronze artifacts collected by the Qing Palace, all of which were copied and illustrated, with 16 volumes of the "Qianlu" and the currency of the past dynasties. After that, Wang Jie and others compiled the "Continuation of the Western Qing Dynasty" in 20 volumes of the first part, 975 pieces of bronze ware, 20 volumes of the second part, and 910 pieces of bronze ware. In addition, there are still 16 volumes of "Ningshou Jian Gu", 600 pieces of Yi ware collected by the Qing Palace, and 101 pieces of mirror jian. The three books contain a mixture of authenticity and falsity. Similar famous catalogues in the Qing Dynasty include Ruan Yuan's "Jigu Zhai Zhong Ding Yi Instrument Style", Wang Changhui's "Compilation of Golden Stones", and Wu Dayi's "Ancient Jade Tu kao". The "Imperial Qing GongTu" published during the Qian and Jia dynasties is a special map of foreign envoys and ethnic minorities on the mainland, with vivid forms and exquisite costumes. The "Mustard Garden Painting Biography", which is widely circulated, from the initial compilation, additions, and reprints of almost the entire Qing Dynasty, is a complete atlas of Chinese painting techniques covering various artistic disciplines of Chinese painting, such as landscapes, flowers and birds, insects and fish, and figures. Maps and catalogues undoubtedly provide convenience for people to check the image of specific things in the historical background according to tussoji.
In ancient times, books used to refer to maps, decrees, household registration and other documents. During the Warring States period, Jing Ke stabbed the King of Qin "to advance the map of Yan Dou Kang, the King of Qin dialed the map, and the map was poor and the dagger was seen". The "History of Xiao Xiangguo's Family" says: "When pei gong went to Xianyang, all the generals competed for the division of the gold and treasures, and He Du first entered the collection of the Qin Xiang YuShi Shi Lu Ling book. ...... Therefore, the king of Han knows the world's topsai, the number of hukou, the strengths and weaknesses, and the people's suffering, so why have Qin books. "Map making was valued by the dynasties, among which the best works are Pei Xiu's "Yugong Territory Map" of the Western Jin Dynasty and Jia Tan's "Hainei Huayi Map" in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. During the Ming Jiajing period, Luo Hongxian added and revised the "Map of Guangyu" on the basis of the "Map of Public Opinion" drawn by Zhu Siben in the Yuan Dynasty, which is the earliest surviving atlas of engravings on the mainland. The 47th to 58th years (1708-1719) of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty compiled the "Imperial Opinion Full Map" is the first full map of China drawn using modern methods.
Private chapters can also be called books. The Famous Seal Engraver Ju Luhou of the Qingyunjian Sect wrote the "Yinwen Kaoluo" during the Qianlong period: "The ancients had printed all the pictures and books to save knowledge, so they were called book prints." Therefore, today, the official seal is still known as the seal, and the private seal is known as the book. "The earliest surviving monograph on seal science on the mainland is The Atlas of seals of the Han and Jin Dynasties by Wang Houzhi of the Song Dynasty.
In summary, we can understand the exact meaning of ancient books without pictures and no books. The discussion of humble texts focuses on illustrations in ancient texts that are mainly textual, supplemented by images. In terms of reading function, text narrative is to induce the reader's imagination to expand the content; while illustration is to directly stimulate people's senses through visual images to meet the reader's aesthetic needs and deepen the understanding of words. Mr. Lu Xun once brilliantly pointed out in the "Collection of Southern Cavity and Northern Adjustment": "The illustration of books was originally intended to decorate books and increase readers' interest. But that power can subsidize the reach of words, so it is a kind of propaganda poster. Below, the author tries to explore the trajectory of the evolution of ancient book illustrations on the mainland with the passage of time and the change of dynasties, and the publication of books as a weft, which is inevitable to hang on to one and miss ten thousand.
Second, books and said, long history
The earliest books on the mainland were written on bamboo or woodblocks, called simple books. Mu mu is square relative to bamboo jane, and is often used to draw maps, so it is called territory in later generations. At the same time as the popularity of bamboo and wood, there were also books written on silk fabrics, called Shushu, Shushu, Plain, and Miaoshu. Discovered in 1942, the Warring States period Chu State Book has both text and pictures on it. Ye Dehui's "Shulin Qing Dialect" quoted Xu Kang's "Former Dust Dream Video" Yun: "I call the ancients books and call themselves books. Wherever there is a book, there must be a picture. The Analects of the Book of Han and Yiwenzhi have 2 volumes of "Confucius Disciple Tufa", covering the portrait of Confucius's disciples. The stone carvings of the Seventy-two Disciples of Wuliang Ancestral Hall are mostly his remains. The art of war contained in the Book of Soldiers is accompanied by a diagram. The Sui Shu Jing Shu Zhi (隋書· JingShu Zhi) has 14 volumes of the Zhou Guan Li Tu (周官礼圖). He also noted the clouds: 'Liang has 2 volumes of the "Suburban Ancestral Map", and died. It also contains 9 volumes of the Three Ritual Diagrams of Zheng Xuan and later Han Shi Zhong ruan chen. The Analects are Guo Pu's 10 volumes of Eryatu. He also noted the clouds: "Liang has 2 volumes of Erya Tuzan, written by Guo Pu. lose. 'Jin Tao Submerged Poetry Cloud 'Liuguan Shan Hai Tu', (Author's Note: The ancient copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, with illustrations, also known as "Shan Hai Tu", guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty once annotated it, and wrote a volume of "Shan Hai Jing Tu Zan". ) is the ancient book without drawing. Gu zi has been stereotyped, but the "Biography of the Illustrated Column Women" still has an orphan copy. Ye Dehui added: "And those who have not been seen by xu are Yuan Da Deben's "Biography of the Illustrated Females", Yuan Ban's "Before and After the Collection of Pictorial Images searching for gods", Ming Qiuying's "Biography of the Female Figures of the Drawings", Ming Gu Dingchen's "Examination of the Yuan", "The True Record of the Addendum", and so on. ”
"The Biography of the Illustrated Women"
A large number of illustrated books appeared during the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In the first year (473) of the Southern Dynasty Song Dynasty, the secretary of the Song Dynasty, Wang Jianshang, wrote the "Seven Zhi", one of which was a map, breaking through the old practice of Liu Xin's "Seven Sketches" receiving books without drawings, and the original book has been lost. The Southern Dynasty Liang Ruan Xiaoxu wrote the "Seven Records", which contains 62818 kinds of books, 44520 volumes, 770 volumes of figures in the inner part and 100 volumes of figures in the outer part. The original book has been preserved, and only the ordered items are preserved in the "Guanghong Ming Collection". In the first year of Emperor Gaozong's reign (656), the 30-volume Sui Shuzhi was completed under the supervision of the eldest grandson Wuji, and was appended to the Sui Shu. It contains 4 volumes of the Classics, which is a summary work circulating from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty. The Sui Shu Jing Shu Zhi divides the books into four parts, directly indicating the four categories of the Jing, The History, the Zi, and the Collection. Among them, there are no less than 100 kinds of illustrations, especially the Jingbu "Filial Piety Classic", the History Department Miscellaneous Biography, Geography, Sub-Department Astronomy, Calendar Numbers, Medical Prescriptions and other categories. The text of the Tang Dynasty was not engraved, and the illustrated books were also written, with pictures directly drawn on paper.
The earliest written record of engraving and printing in the history of the mainland is mentioned in an edict of the thirteenth year of the Sui Kai Emperor (593), "the abandoned image of the scripture, the order of the engraving." Ming Hu Yinglin's "Shaoshi Shanfang Pen Cong, Jingshu Huitong" Yun: "Yu Yi Sui Shi carved, special floating Tu jing statue, Cover the Six Dynasties worship the teachings of the Zhiran, did not have time to carve other books also." After the Middle Tang Dynasty, it gradually carved various books with its method, and it traveled to the five generations, to the Song Dynasty, and now it is extremely successful. "The title page painting "Fa Tu" on the Diamond Sutra, an engraved print of the ninth year of Tang Xiantong (868), from the Dunhuang Tibetan Scripture Cave, is said to be the oldest surviving woodcut art in the world. The ink color of the prints is uniform, and the graphics are complex but not complicated.
Diamond Sutra title page painting "Dharma Diagram"
In the fourth year of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (659), Su Jing, Changsun Wuji and others compiled the "New Cultivation of Materia Medica", introduced the drug atlas for the first time, and created a precedent for the comparison of pictures and texts in pharmaceutical works, including 20 volumes of canon, 25 volumes of medicinal diagrams, 7 volumes of tujing, and 2 volumes of catalogs. In the eighth year of Tang Yuanhe (813), Li Jifu wrote the 40-volume "Yuanhe County Map", which was divided into 10 provinces and 47 towns in the Tang Dynasty, each town had a map, listed at the beginning of the article, but unfortunately, after the Song Dynasty, the illustrations were also lost. Mr. Lu Xun said in "Woodcut Chronicles and Small Introductions": "Chinese woodcut drawings, from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, once had a very decent history. ”
The Song Dynasty was an important period in the history of mainland printing and publishing, engraving printing tended to be popular, and movable type printing also appeared in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. Official, private, and square carvings are all prosperous, unprecedented, and well-made. Sun Congtian's "Minutes of The Book Collection" Yun: "If the Southern and Northern Song Dynasty engravings are different, the paper ribs are different, the calligraphy and painting engraving hands are ancient and elegant, the ink is light and fragrant, the paper color is pale, and the exhibition volume has amazing features." The so-called ink fragrant paper is moist, elegant and ancient, and the magic of Song carving is exhausted. Therefore, Song Zhuan's Luoyang paper is expensive and deeply pleasing to bibliophiles. In addition to its extensive use in religious scriptures, Song Dynasty prints are also scattered in other books. For example, the 5,000 volumes of scripture and history books engraved during the Kaibao period, such as Mao Shi, Zhou Li, Shang Shu, Analects, Xunzi, Tao Te Ching, and Nanhua Jing, have woodcut illustrations to match. Wu Yifei, Huang Songnian and others edited the "Six Classics Diagram" with 309 illustrations, which is known as "the image is exquisite, and the writing and paper are both beautiful" and "beautiful". In the fourth year of the Song Qing calendar (1044), the General Outline of the Martial Classics was published by Emperor Renzong of Song in 2 episodes, each in 20 volumes. Among them, there are two parts, battalions and weapons, accompanied by a large number of illustrations, which provide valuable image support for discussing the development of military science and the development of material civilization in the middle and recent periods of the mainland. In the eighth year of Jiayou (1063), Jian'an Yuzhi An Qin youtang carved the "Biography of the Gulie Women" with 123 pictures, "the font flows, the drawing is particularly exquisite". In the third year of the Song Dynasty (1088), the astronomer and pharmacist Su Song organized the manufacture of water transport instrument elephant platforms, and wrote "New Instrument Elephant Law", explaining its structure and manufacture, describing more than 150 kinds of mechanical parts, with more than 60 drawings. The five star maps in the book are also one of the earliest and most complete star maps preserved on the mainland. Song Will, a minor supervisor, compiled the 36 volumes of "Constructing the French Style", which was first cultivated in Xi Ningzhong and written in the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1091). It was rebuilt in the fourth year of Shaosheng, the third year of Yuan Fu was written, and the engraving was issued in the second year of Chongning (1103). It is divided into 28 volumes of "French Style", 6 volumes of "Drawings", 1 volume of "Detailed Readings", and 1 volume of Contents. It can be called the most complete architectural technology book in the ancient books of the mainland. Song Guozi supervised the engraving of scriptures, history, the most important medical books, and listened to people buy. According to the "History of Song And Yiwen Zhi", the Song Dynasty medical books have the most illustrations. For example, "Sun Si MiaoZhi Sketch", "Cui's Production Map", "Tujing Materia Medica", "Evidence Class Materia Medica", "Huangdi Mingtang Moxibustion Sutra", "Copper Man Acupuncture Diagram Sutra", "Guide to Disease Detection" and so on. In the seventh year (1247) of Emperor Lizong of Song, Song Ci compiled an illustrated edition of the Collected Works of Washed Grievances in 5 volumes, pioneering forensic science. In the Song Dynasty, the agronomy Changming produced books that promoted agricultural knowledge in the form of both pictures and texts, such as "Musical Notation" (Zeng Anzhi's monograph on rice varieties), "Mycology" (by Chen Yuren), "Tong Spectrum" (by Chen Yi), and "Cultivation and Weaving Diagram" (both written and painted by Lou Wangshou and Liu Songnian). At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Chen Yuanliang edited the "Shi lin Guangji" is a daily encyclopedia type of folk book. Hu Daojing pointed out in the preface to the photocopy of "Yuan carved Lin Guangji": "The "Shi Lin Guangji" is unique in various ancient books. Its main features are twofold: one is that it contains more information on the state of the city and life consultants, and the other is to open up a way for book-like load illustrations. "The really illustrated books are actually created by Chen Yuanliang." There are genealogies and maps in the Chronicles of the Forest, but there are also many illustrations of images and movements... Although these drawings are very thickly carved, they are still better than nothing. ”
Shang Shu
General Outline of the Martial Arts
Pingshui in the Jin Dynasty was the center of engraving in the north of the mainland, and many illustrated books came out from here, such as Shuxuan Chen's engraving of the "Bronze Man's Acupuncture and Moxibustion Diagram Classic", Zhang Qian's engraving of the "New Book of Illustrated Correction geography", Ji Jia's engraving of "Four Beautiful Maps", Xu Jia's engraving of "The Throne of Yiyong Wu'an" and so on. In the eighth year of the Reign of the Jin Emperor (1148), Jin Xizong ordered the Pingshui engraver Cui Fazhen to carve the Great Tibetan Sutra at tianning Temple in Xiezhou, Shanxi, until the completion of Jin Dading's thirteenth year (1173), with a total of more than 6,000 volumes of Buddhist texts. Because the golden engraving "Great Tibetan Classic" was found in Zhaocheng County, Shanxi in 1933, it was called "Zhao Chengzang", and there were title page paintings in front of each volume of the scriptures, with vivid lines and bold style.
"Copper Man's Acupuncture Sutra"
《Four Beautiful Pictures》
Illustration of Zhao Chengzang
The engraving and printing industry in the Yuan Dynasty made great progress and began to appear in color overprint prints. There are many neat prints in Buddhist classics such as the "Great Tibetan Sutra of The Great Tibetan Sutra of The Ballast" and the "Myofa Great Tibetan Sutra" that are engraved and printed. The Commentary on the Diamond Sutra, published by an unknown monk from the sixth year of the Yuan Shun Emperor to the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1340), was overprinted with Vermilion ink. The black print of scriptures, with red notes and illustrations, predates the first colored engraving book in Europe, the Mains Of The Hymns, 170 years earlier. Other important illustrations are, Xue Jingshi compiled the "Ziren Relic System" in the fourth year of the Yuan Junior High School (1263), which depicts the structure, parts and names of various looms; the "Agricultural Book" compiled by Wang Frame in the second year of Yuan Huangqing (1313), and the "Agricultural Instrument Atlas" in the key part of the book is equipped with 306 illustrations, detailing the sources, structure, evolution, usage, and advantages and disadvantages of the agricultural utensils listed; jian'an Yushi published the "Quanxiangwu Wang FaPing Dialect" during the Zhizhi period (1321-1324). Quanxiang Le Yi Tuqi Seven Kingdoms Spring and Autumn After the Collection of Ping dialects, Quan Xiang Qin and Six Kingdoms Ping Dialect, Quan Xiang Continuum Former Han Shu Ping Dialect, Quan Xiang Three Kingdoms Zhi Ping Dialect and other 5 kinds of Ping Dialect, each 3 volumes, above and below. Engraved by Wu Junfu, Huang Shu'an and others, the picture has coherence, which can be described as the predecessor of mainland comic strips; in the first year of the Yuan to Shun (1330), the Mongolian medical scientist Ku Sihui summed up many years of experience in court drinking and meals, compiled "Drinking and Eating", advocating nutrition and dietary hygiene. There are 168 pictures in the whole book; Liu Jian wrote the "Guide to Cutting Rhymes" from the Second Year of the Yuan Shun Emperor (1336), which listed 16 photographs and 24 pictures; the "Records of the Golden Mirror of the Ao Clan" published from the Yuan to the First Year (1341) showed 36 tongue images.
"Agricultural Book"
"The Tale of the Three Kingdoms"
Third, ming dynasty illustrations, reaching the pinnacle
Ming Dynasty book prints and illustrations gradually entered a better state with the unprecedented vitality of the commodity economy and the emergence of the budding capitalism. Engraved in the ninth year of the Ming Dynasty (1444), the Sacred Relic Map depicts the story of Confucius's life in pictures, and was rated by Zheng Zhenduo as "a rare and large work in the history of Chinese printmaking", "In each print, there are quite a variety of characters, backgrounds and utensils, etc., but they are orderly and not necessarily cumbersome." In the sixth year of the Ming Dynasty (1578), Li Shizhen painstakingly and painstakingly collected the "Compendium of Materia Medica" compiled by Dacheng of Materia Medica, and collected the medicine map, which added color to the treasure house of mainland medicine. Darwin, the originator of evolution, praised the Compendium of Materia Medica as "the encyclopedia of ancient China." Ming and Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" was written in the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), which comprehensively and systematically discussed 1892 kinds of agriculture and handicrafts in the mainland, and was accompanied by more than 1100 paintings of pharmaceutical form production techniques and experiences, and a large number of illustrations in the book were combined with literary beads. Liang Qichao pointed out in the "Academic History of China in the Past Three Hundred Years": "Tiangong Kaiwu uses scientific methods to study food, clothing, utensils, and the raw materials of metallurgy, machinery, Danqing, and pearl jade. The textbook "Ming Xie Zeng and Qianjia Poems" used by the Crown Prince of Ming is a hand-copied picture book.
Sacred Relics
"Heavenly Works"
From the Song and Yuan dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, social consciousness has undergone a process from showing mood and mood to being enthusiastic about secular human feelings. The engraving industry has also moved from the elegant Confucian classics and orthodox historical masterpieces to the secular and colorful civic life. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, due to the famous painters' input into the creation of manuscripts, coupled with the progress of printmaking technology and the rise of citizens and folk literature, woodblock printmaking was good and strong, especially in the illustration of opera novels, which achieved great development, becoming an artistic fashion of the times and moving towards its heyday. Ming Dynasty fang carvings are mainly concentrated in Jian'an, Suzhou, Nanjing, Xin'an, Hangzhou, Beijing and other places. Printmaking has always been closely related to the engraving industry in various places, and the center of the engraving industry is often the place of origin of printmaking, so the capital was set at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and then moved to Beijing, and the north and south of Beijing have become the center of printmaking production. Jian'an in Fujian and Hangzhou in Zhejiang, which were once the center of song and Yuan engravings, are also still important towns for printmaking. The popular Jian'an style of the Yuan Dynasty is popular in the Ming Dynasty, the content is mostly opera legends, the composition has a stage effect, the style is simple, the line pattern is strong, the set is concise, and the characters are vivid. The illustrations in the Nanjing Edition of the Records of Wang Shang Yujue, published in the ninth year of the Wanli Calendar (1581), are quite representative. One of the most famous in Jian'an Bookstore, YuXiangdou SantaiGuan, is famous for its illustrated "Four Journeys", "Chronicles of the Nations", "Biography of Heroic Martyrs", "Biography of Yue Wang", "Biography of emperors and ming emperors", etc. Mr. Zheng Zhenduo, in the "Xidi Shushu And Biography of the Nations", said that Yu Xiangdou's book was engraved: "There is a characteristic, that is, it inherits the form of the Jian'an edition of books since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and pays special attention to 'illustrations', just like the 'comic strips' that are now printed, the upper layer is illustrations, the lower layer is text, and the pictures and texts are rich. "The Water Margin" began to be illustrated in various engravings of the Wanli era, the Jian'an edition of the simplified version is the following picture above, and from the seventeenth year of the Wanli Calendar (1589) of the Tiandu Foreign Minister's Preface, it is a full page of large illustrations, as many as 100 to 120. During the Ming Dynasty, the art of illustration reached its peak. During this period, Huipai printmaking sprang up. Huipai prints have been famous since the 15th century, represented by Huang Yinglin and Wang Zhongxin and their families. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Xin'an Huang clan carved more than 200 books, and hundreds of engravers promoted the art of printmaking from rough to exquisite. Beginning with the "Yangzheng Illustration", "Gulie Women's Biography", "Renjing Yangqiu" engraved in the 30th year of the Wanli Calendar (1602), the Hui school has entered a mature golden age. Its style is delicate and beautiful, the lines are soft, the characters are slender, the expressions are vivid, the sets are both indoor and outdoor, and the details are more elaborate and exquisite. Representative works include Ding Yunpeng's painting, Huang Yi's engraving of "Cheng's Ink Garden", Huang Yikai's engraving of "Huan Sha Ji", Huang Zhenru's engraving of "Sheng Ming Miscellaneous Drama", Huang Yifeng's engraving of "Peony Pavilion" and so on. Under the influence of the elegant, ingenious and vivid style of the Hui school, the printmaking and illustration art of Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and other engraving centers has also formed its own characteristics. Hangzhou printmaking is known for its beauty and luxury, Suzhou printmaking is known for its small and delicate, Nanjing printmaking began to be relatively simple, and then because of the proximity to Huizhou, its style is also similar to the Huipai. At that time, because of the exquisite painting, engraving and printing of Huipai prints, booksellers around the world used heavy money to hire Huipai engravers and painters. Huipai booksellers, painters, and carvers also worked in Ning, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, creating a more mature style in exchange and competition. It is characterized by more natural character expressions and mutual relationships, good at delicately portraying the psychology of the characters, and setting off the atmosphere with scenery. Typical works include: "Qinglou Rhymes" engraved in Hangzhou in the forty-sixth year of the Wanli Wanli (1618) of Xin'an Huang Yibin; "History of the Sui Dynasty Emperor Yan" published by Suzhou Renruitang in the fourth year of Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty (1631), 8 volumes, 40 times, the author Qi Dongyeren, nameless. Its illustrations are exquisite, and its "Ordinary Cases" is specially illustrated: "The embroidered statues in the street, but slightly human-like, are only for children to play with." He compiled a special pen with a clever hand, conveyed the gods A block, and did his best to compose his magic, showing a volume and a strange and colorful state, vigorous as life, which was equivalent to the opposite of The Tiger Head and Wu Daozi. Isn't it a matter of word rhyme, desk treasure! In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), the engraving master Xiang Nanzhou's "Sun Pang's Fighting Spirit" engraved in Hangzhou, with 20 pages and 40 illustrations in front of the book; the illustrations of the "Lefu WuSao Compilation" engraved in Hangzhou in the eleventh year by The Huipai carver Hong Guoliang and Xiang Nanzhou Chongzhen in the eleventh year are also very exquisite.
Water Margin
History of the Sui Dynasty Emperor Yan
In particular, it should be mentioned that the figure painter Chen Hongshou (No. Lao Lian) in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties devoted himself to book illustration and contributed to Qiwei. For example, the illustrations of "The Tale of the West Chamber", "Chu Ci Nine Songs", "Bogu Leaves", "Water Margin Leaves", "Returning Words", etc., were all conceived by him, outlined the figures, and handed over to the skilled craftsmen at that time to engrave on the board. For example, "The Tale of the West Chamber" is carved by Xiang Nanzhou, with rounded and smooth lines, depicting the vivid artistic images of Zhang Sheng, Cui Yingying, and Hong Niang; "Nine Song Diagrams" is carved by Huang Zhongzhong, the lines are used interchangeably, and the great poet Yuan Chunyue is worried about the country and the people's abundance jumps on the paper; "Bogu Leaves" is immediately shaped by Huang Zi, who loves and hates some high-ranking people with different styles and behaviors. "Water Margin Leaves" praises the heroes of the peasant uprising with extraordinary courage. The painter's design ingenuity is extraordinary, and the engraving skills are exquisite and convey the spirit, which complements each other perfectly. The illustrations are accurately grasped, the characters are distinct, the rules are wonderful, and the lines are strong, which adds to the infinite charm of literary works. If qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming, Wang Shifu and others are brilliantly written and flowers, and the characters are beaded; then, Lao Lian is cut into the clouds and full of paper Xiawei. Such books are exemplary of both illustrated and textual. Zhang Geng of the Qing Dynasty spoke highly of Lao Lian's figure paintings in the "Records of Paintings of the National Dynasty": "The torso is magnificent, the clothing is clear and round, the clothes are fine and strong, there are both Gonglin and Zi Ang's magic, the color study Wu Shengfa, its strength and qi bureau, super plucked and fallen, above Qiu (Ying) and Tang (Yin), Gai has not had this ink for three hundred years." "So Danqing everyone loves the art of illustration, how precious!
Chen Laolian painted the illustration of "The Tale of the West Chamber"
After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, many paintings with thematic nature were also engraved for apprentices. The most representative is the "Tang Poetry Pictorial Notation", which is 8 volumes in the whole book and is divided into 8 special topics. On the front are paintings and on the back are poems. Among them, "Five Words of Tang Poetry Painting Notation", "Six Words of Tang Poetry Painting", "Seven Words of Tang Poetry Painting" 1 volume each, compiled by Huang Fengchi, the master of Jiyazhai, Cai Chonghuan and other paintings, Liu Ciquan and other carvings; "Four Genealogies of Meizhu Lanju" 1 volume, Jiya Zhai carving, Sun Jixian painting; Tang Xieyuan imitation ancient and modern painting spectrum" 1 volume, Qing painting Zhai carved book, Tang Yin as a preface; "Zhang Baiyun Selected Name Public Fan Spectrum" 1 volume, Qing Painting Zhai original carving, Zhang Chenglong (character Baiyun) selected painting; "Herbal Painting Poetry Spectrum", "Woody Flower and Bird Spectrum" 1 kind of each, Jiya Zhai carved.
Tang Poetry Pictorial Notation
Fourth, clear the wind, heel the increase
The illustrated prints of the Qing Dynasty, from the beginning of the Qing Dynasty to the Qianlong period, inherited the Ming style and were also quite prosperous, as Qian Yong said in the "Luyuan Cong dialect • Yineng": "There are engravers everywhere, and Ningguo, Huizhou, suzhou are the most prosperous and the most skillful." The opera illustrations include "Qin Louyue", "Peach Blossom Fan", "Tianma Media", etc.; the novel illustrations include "Sui and Tang Dynasties", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Zhongyi Water Margin", "Dream of the Red Chamber" and so on. The plates are intricate and dense, and the knife carvings are smooth and clean. However, its artistic skill and sophistication are generally slightly inferior to those of the Ming Dynasty. After Qian and Jia, Western copperplate and lithography techniques were introduced, and novels and operas generally no longer used print illustrations.
Sui and Tang Dynasties
It is commendable that Xiao Yuncong painted in the second year of Shunzhi (1645) and Tang, a famous hand in Shexian County, reproduced the "Departure Map", which was cleverly conceived and engraved smoothly; the engraving of "Continuing Golden Bottle Plum" in the seventeenth year of Shunzhi (1660) was engraved 64 times, with exquisite illustrations, from the hands of the famous printmakers Hu Nianyi, Huang Shunji and Liu Xiaoxian in the early Qing Dynasty. Although the literary value is far from the Chongzhen book "Golden Plum Bottle" (illustration 100 leaves), its illustration level is much higher. Li Yu's "Collection of Silent Dramas" engraved in the early years of the Kangxi Dynasty, engraved by Cai Sihuang of Xiaoshan, and paintings by Hu Nianyi, have the legacy of Chen Laolian. In the thirty-ninth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1700), Zhang Chao wrote and engraved the 20 volumes of the "New Chronicle of The Early Yu Dynasty" in Yangzhou. Volume 19 contains the "Seven Wonders" of the Belgian missionary Nan Huairen who came to China in the sixteenth year of Shunzhi (1659), which not only introduces the Seven Wonders of world architecture in text, but also engraves images, including the image of Zeus. During the Qianlong period, he also paid the Zi NeiFu engravings of the "Southern Tour Sacred Classic", "Summer Resort Tu Yong", "Yuanmingyuan Tu Yong", "Jiangnan Scenic Spots" and so on. In the 30th year of Qianlong (1765), Fang Guancheng wrote and painted "Cotton Diagram", advocating cotton planting and cotton textile technology, with a total of 16 figures and text descriptions. Qianlong was greatly praised, and inscribed poems on each map, which became the "Royal Inscription Cotton Map", which was widely circulated. In the fifty-sixth year of Qianlong (1791), Cheng Weiyuan's "Dream of the Red Chamber" had 24 illustrations, which were used as a set-up of characters in the inner room or courtyard; in the fifth year of Jiaqing (1800), Tu Sheng wrote a 20-volume "History of The Dragon", with 61 pages in front of the volume, and the first portrait of the embroidered portrait was the author's portrait; the Jiaqing Taoyin Book house published "Yaohua Biography", the beginning of the volume also had a portrait of the author Ding Bingren and praised himself. In the 20th year of Jiaqing (1815), Jingshi Shanmin Toad Bo Ge Ben "Dream of the Red Chamber Scattered Sets", illustrated imitating Cheng Weiyuan ben; Daoguang 12 years (1832) "Wang Xilian Commented on the Dream of the Red Chamber" 64 illustrations, with flowers and grass to set off the characters; in addition, during the Daoguang years, Zhang Yinglin compiled a biography, Kong Jiyao painted 20 volumes of "Wu County Mingxian Tuzan", engraved with 570 celebrity busts such as Li Bai and Wen Tianxiang; Daoguang 22 (1842) Wei Yuan was entrusted by Lin Zexu to compile 50 volumes of the "Chart of the Sea Country", advocating" Open Your Eyes to see the world", a comprehensive and systematic introduction to the global geographical and historical knowledge he can collect, with a large number of illustrations; during the Xianfeng period, Ren Xiong painted three prints "The Legend of the Swordsman", "The Biography of The Ancestors of Yu Yue", and "The Biography of Gao Shi", which are vividly made.
"Leaving the Riot Map"
"Continuing the Golden Plum Bottle"
"Yu Chu Xinzhi"
Dream of the Red Chamber
In order to list the illustrations of ancient books of the Qing Dynasty, it is also necessary to involve two sets of huge works of volumes: one is the large-scale book "Ancient and Modern Book Integration" with 10,000 volumes, 40 volumes of catalogs, the original series such as Chen Menglei in Kangxi, and later re-edited by Jiang Tingxi and other Feng shu, and printed in copper movable type in the fourth year of Yongzheng. It is divided into 6 compilations, 32 dictionaries, 6109 parts. The content is rich, the distinction is clear, and the illustrations are extensive, and the catalogue of the names of the mountains and rivers is all well-carved wood, which is extremely fine. The second is the opening of the museum in the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong (1722), which began in 10 years, and became the official revision series of the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" of Daguan. Ji Xu, Lu Xixiong, and Sun Shiyi were appointed as general editors, Lu Feiqi was appointed as the chief school officer, and there were more than 360 people under the compilation officer, branch school officer, and supervising officer, most of whom were well-educated. More than 3,800 scribes were also recruited, requiring "neat writing and painting" and "doing things as scheduled." The Siku Quanshu collects 3,503 kinds of books, 79,337 volumes, and more than 168,000 volumes. By the forty-sixth year of Qianlong (1782), the first part was written, and the subsequent six parts were copied and divided into seven cabinets. All the books received, illustrated by hand, are recorded by hand, which is extremely precious. The project of writing the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" is huge, and its honorary recording personnel are selected as "calligraphy and painting workers", "choose their calligraphy and paintings are evenly clean, and can be used for banknote recorders, and take backup at their discretion". Some specialized books, such as the relevant ritual vessel schemas and the "Western Qing Ancient Classics" and other "should be drawn a lot", "Shuowen", "Han Jian", "Han Li Etymology" and other "seal li font and Zhong Ding ancient text", astronomical algorithm books also involve specialized knowledge, then one chooses those who are familiar with the painting method, the six books and the push of the image as a record, for special responsibility. Some ancient books, such as clips, eyebrows, illustrations, etc., depending on their specific conditions, are recorded or depicted in ink, Zhu, blue, and yellow colors, so that they are eye-catching and beautiful.
The illustrations of ancient books on the mainland are magnificent and obo, which are the strange treasures that condense, condense and mark the splendid traditional culture of the Chinese nation, and they need to be excavated and sorted out urgently. Ancient clouds, clean streams, ben sheng mu rong. We call for the emergence of good books with pictures and texts, spreading knowledge, inheriting civilization, and benefiting society.