Yao Ning
Rebellion from 1850-1864, many regions especially in south and southeast China
were devastated. Twenty million Chinese died over this fourteen-year period.48 At
the same time, new mechanized printing technologies, particularly lithography by
1876 and the letterpress, were introduced to China from the West. In contrast to
woodblock printing, lithographic techniques are much faster and more efficient. "A
good woodblock might at best produce twenty-five thousand copies, whereas a
lithographic stone could produce one hundred thousand.”49 More importantly, the
lithographic process permitted the rapid production of an image entirely faithful to
the artist’s original design.50 As the major conduit for modern technology, Shanghai
became the centre of the new publishing industry.51 By 1877 there were six
missionary periodicals of which three from Shanghai regularly carried illustrations
of animals, plants, scientific illustrations, and illustrations of biblical passages.52
Between 1884 and 1898, the celebrated pictorial magazine Dianshizhai huabao
printed over 4,000 images using photolithographical techniques.53 The main
themes of the images concerned contemporary Chinese and foreign life, and serialized
fictional illustrations with additional portraits of the figures in the fictions.54 Written
around 1844, the essay Sheying zhi qi ji (Notes on a Mechanism for
Capturing Images) by Zou Boqi f|| (1819-1869) provides a lucid account of the
principles of the camera obscura and the earliest plate camera which was produced
in Guangzhou.55 However, photography as a way of capturing images in the nine-
teenth century was still rare in China.
Woodblock printing was still widely used because of its low price and portability.56
Two woodblock printed books entitled Sheng miao si dian tu kao
(Investigation of the Pictures of the Rites in the Confucian Temples) and Gu shengxian
xiang zhuanlue (The Pictures and Abridged Biographies of the Ancient
Sages and Worthies) were published in 1826 and 1830. Both of them were collected
and edited by Confucian scholar Gu Yuan (1799-1851). The former contained
144 figures of Confucius and his followers, the latter 425 figures ranging from
Confucius's disciples to Confucian scholars. In the latter, more than ten painters and
calligraphers are included, for example Huang Tingjian, Zhao Mengfu Ä JOS (1254-
1322), and Dong Qichang gj (1555-1636). Gu Yuan and several other scholars
also collected and compiled another woodblock printed book of pictures and portraits
of 570 famous worthies from Wujun (today's Suzhou) and its surrounding area
entitled Wujun mingxian tu zhuan zan WW (The Illustrated Biographies
and Eulogies of the Eminent Worthies from Wujun), which was published in 1829. The
vast majority of the 570 figures were famous personalities from both history and
contemporary times; some of them were not originally from Suzhou and may have
travelled there or to its surrounding area only once. All the portraits were engraved
on the wall inside a shrine near the canglang ting (Pavilion of Green Waves) in
Suzhou shortly after.57 More than thirty famous painters and calligraphers ranging
from Gu Kaizhi (345-406) to at least three eminent painters of the Qing
dynasty, Wang Shimin T 0^# (1592-1680), Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715), and
Jiang Tingxi (1669-1732), are to be found in this third book. Wang Yuanqi,
30
Rebellion from 1850-1864, many regions especially in south and southeast China
were devastated. Twenty million Chinese died over this fourteen-year period.48 At
the same time, new mechanized printing technologies, particularly lithography by
1876 and the letterpress, were introduced to China from the West. In contrast to
woodblock printing, lithographic techniques are much faster and more efficient. "A
good woodblock might at best produce twenty-five thousand copies, whereas a
lithographic stone could produce one hundred thousand.”49 More importantly, the
lithographic process permitted the rapid production of an image entirely faithful to
the artist’s original design.50 As the major conduit for modern technology, Shanghai
became the centre of the new publishing industry.51 By 1877 there were six
missionary periodicals of which three from Shanghai regularly carried illustrations
of animals, plants, scientific illustrations, and illustrations of biblical passages.52
Between 1884 and 1898, the celebrated pictorial magazine Dianshizhai huabao
printed over 4,000 images using photolithographical techniques.53 The main
themes of the images concerned contemporary Chinese and foreign life, and serialized
fictional illustrations with additional portraits of the figures in the fictions.54 Written
around 1844, the essay Sheying zhi qi ji (Notes on a Mechanism for
Capturing Images) by Zou Boqi f|| (1819-1869) provides a lucid account of the
principles of the camera obscura and the earliest plate camera which was produced
in Guangzhou.55 However, photography as a way of capturing images in the nine-
teenth century was still rare in China.
Woodblock printing was still widely used because of its low price and portability.56
Two woodblock printed books entitled Sheng miao si dian tu kao
(Investigation of the Pictures of the Rites in the Confucian Temples) and Gu shengxian
xiang zhuanlue (The Pictures and Abridged Biographies of the Ancient
Sages and Worthies) were published in 1826 and 1830. Both of them were collected
and edited by Confucian scholar Gu Yuan (1799-1851). The former contained
144 figures of Confucius and his followers, the latter 425 figures ranging from
Confucius's disciples to Confucian scholars. In the latter, more than ten painters and
calligraphers are included, for example Huang Tingjian, Zhao Mengfu Ä JOS (1254-
1322), and Dong Qichang gj (1555-1636). Gu Yuan and several other scholars
also collected and compiled another woodblock printed book of pictures and portraits
of 570 famous worthies from Wujun (today's Suzhou) and its surrounding area
entitled Wujun mingxian tu zhuan zan WW (The Illustrated Biographies
and Eulogies of the Eminent Worthies from Wujun), which was published in 1829. The
vast majority of the 570 figures were famous personalities from both history and
contemporary times; some of them were not originally from Suzhou and may have
travelled there or to its surrounding area only once. All the portraits were engraved
on the wall inside a shrine near the canglang ting (Pavilion of Green Waves) in
Suzhou shortly after.57 More than thirty famous painters and calligraphers ranging
from Gu Kaizhi (345-406) to at least three eminent painters of the Qing
dynasty, Wang Shimin T 0^# (1592-1680), Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715), and
Jiang Tingxi (1669-1732), are to be found in this third book. Wang Yuanqi,
30