Cultural People's Bookplate

Author: Deng Ming
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-11-01
Features: This book includes a large collection of bookplates from famous cultural figures. These bookplates are rich in content, where a small space can encompass vast worlds, command landscapes, express emotions through objects, and contemplate the universe. The bookplates collected in this volume are meticulously crafted, possessing high artistic value, and are suitable for bookplate enthusiasts to collect, appreciate, and reference.
In 1986, after the establishment of the China Bookplate Research Association, a group of print artists in Beijing were organized to design bookplates for cultural theorists, writers, and poets such as Lin Mohan, Liu Baiyu, Zang Kejia, Yao Xueyin, Ai Qing, Cao Ming, Xiao Jun, and Gu Cheng. This demonstrated the social function of bookplates in the budding Chinese bookplate movement. At that time, the art of bookplates was relatively unknown, but within a few years, it became widespread across all provinces, cities, autonomous regions, and regions such as Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, gradually gaining recognition both domestically and internationally.
At the beginning of the new century, to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Lu Xun's birth, Shanghai Pictorial Publishing House published Cultural Figures' Bookplates, and a companion exhibition was held at the Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Hall. This marked another valuable opportunity to further raise public awareness of bookplates and inspire authors to create more works in this field.
The content of bookplates is an "edge" art form, differing from other forms of printmaking and painting. Originally, bookplates were markers indicating the ownership of books, which is why the owner's name must be included. Bookplates are a foreign concept to China, similar in function to traditional Chinese book seals, serving as symbols of book ownership and tokens for readers' pursuit of knowledge, beauty, and emotional expression.
Early bookplates were mostly miniature prints. With advancements in art and printing techniques, in addition to black-and-white or multi-color woodcuts, other methods such as screen printing, etching, lithography, and even computer-generated images, lasers, and inkjet printing have been employed. Although bookplates are small in size, they contain infinite depth within their limited space, embodying the creator's inspiration and the owner's love for reading. They are a form of edge art and are highly sought after by collectors. In cultural exchanges, bookplates play an immeasurable role.