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Details
JIAO, B. Yuzhi Gengzhi Tu -- Imperially Commissioned Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving. Beijing: 1696. 2° (383 x 291mm). Woodblock printed calligraphic preface and 46 full page woodblock illustrations mounted in an accordion-style album. Text in Chinese. Original brocade-covered boards (extremities rubbed).
RARE EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CHINESE ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, commissioned in its best known form by the Kangxi Emperor and first produced in 1696 at the Imperial printing press. The original Gengzhi Tu was compiled by Lou Shou during the Song Dynasty, around 1237 and contained 45 illustrations accompanied by poems. The 1696 edition by the court painter Jiao Bingzhen is known as the Yuzhi (Imperial) Gengzhi Tu to refer to the Emperor's commission of it, and shows a strong European influence. There are acknowledged to be two 1696, first-such editions, one with red seal impressions above the illustration register and one with black seal impressions. The present copy is a red seal version in remarkably good condition for its age, with minimal signs of aging. The album has the original silk brocade covers with the usual wear to the edges, and has been remounted (probably at the beginning of the 19th century).
RARE EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CHINESE ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, commissioned in its best known form by the Kangxi Emperor and first produced in 1696 at the Imperial printing press. The original Gengzhi Tu was compiled by Lou Shou during the Song Dynasty, around 1237 and contained 45 illustrations accompanied by poems. The 1696 edition by the court painter Jiao Bingzhen is known as the Yuzhi (Imperial) Gengzhi Tu to refer to the Emperor's commission of it, and shows a strong European influence. There are acknowledged to be two 1696, first-such editions, one with red seal impressions above the illustration register and one with black seal impressions. The present copy is a red seal version in remarkably good condition for its age, with minimal signs of aging. The album has the original silk brocade covers with the usual wear to the edges, and has been remounted (probably at the beginning of the 19th century).
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