Clear and Expand Five Hundred Arhats (Upper and Lower)

Author: Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The culture of China is profound and long-standing, with ancient records as vast as the sea. According to Teng's data, China is the country with the most classic books (around 100,000 types) and the richest variety of book types. Ancient Chinese printing and publishing can be divided into three major systems—official, private, and workshop printing—as well as two auxiliary branches—temple and academy printing. Due to the multiplicity of sources, a large number of authentic and inauthentic classics are mixed in. According to the requirements of book studies, to properly utilize them, extensive work such as plate identification, collation, and distinguishing between genuine and spurious texts needs to be done. However, due to limitations in time, manpower, and financial resources, coupled with the randomness of manuscript sources, the fast-paced and variable nature of the book market, and other factors, our publishing work cannot be perfect. We can only select the essentials based on our judgment of the market and our understanding of books. The original work was titled Five Volumes of Arhat Pictures, a Qing Jiaqing-era woodblock printing. After revision, it was renamed Five Hundred Arhat Images from the Qing Woodblock, combining into two volumes with a redesigned layout and binding.