Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Dynasty Mian Ling Engraved Multi-color Printed Books

Author: Wang Rongguo et al. (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This book is the most complete collection of Min Ling engraved books to date; the first comprehensive collection of Ming Dynasty book printing; an important historical material for the history of Chinese printing. These illustrations combine the achievements of Ming Dynasty woodblock prints, album leaves, and multi-color printing. Whether in creativity, design, or printing, they reached the peak of ancient Chinese woodblock print history. Multi-color printing from woodblocks is a product of the development of woodblock printing to a certain level. It represents a significant innovation based on the foundation of woodblock printing technology. China invented multi-color printing from woodblocks as early as the Yuan Dynasty, and was renowned for specializing in the engraving and printing of multi-color books during that time. The first book printers to use multi-color printing technology were Ming Dynasty woodblock engravers Min Qiji. Most of Min Ling's engraved books were multi-color printed, with similar formats and features, such as:
1. Single borders on all four sides, with no vertical dividing lines in the center;
2. If only one reviewer is present, red and black are used to distinguish them. If multiple reviewers are present, different colors are used to identify each reviewer;
3. Collecting various reviewers' copies, with the main reviewer assigned one color and the other reviewers assigned different colors. Of course, there are also some multi-color printed books with numerous reviewers, whose color-coding meanings are unclear;
4. The main text is printed in a Fangsong typeface, with neat and uniform specifications. The comments and marginal notes are handwritten, creating an open and pleasing layout;
5. Most woodblock books have a half-page format with eight lines per page, each containing eighteen characters, or nine lines per page with nineteen characters. There are a few exceptions.
From the 44th year of the Wanli era to the end of the Chongzhen era, through the joint efforts of dozens of Min and Ling family members over nearly three decades, multi-color printed books were successively published in red and black, three colors, four colors, and even five colors. Due to the continuous increase in the number of Min and Ling's multi-color printed books, their mature and distinctive techniques, combined with their novel forms and exquisite craftsmanship, gained widespread fame. Later generations referred to them as "Min Engraved Books," "Ling Engraved Books," or collectively as "Min-Ling Engraved Books."
The original intention behind Min and Ling's engraving was to promote the circulation of books through innovative formats and techniques. Later, collectors valued their exquisite woodblock prints as rare artistic treasures and collected them as prized possessions. After more than three hundred years of circulation, by the first half of the 20th century, "Min-Ling Engraved Books" had become as rare as stars and phoenixes. The famous collector Tao Xiang, deeply fond of "Min-Ling Engraved Books," spent a fortune to meticulously search for them, accumulating them over decades of effort. In 1932, he compiled 120 of these multi-color printed Min-Ling books into The Preliminary Collection of Poems and Prose Critiques from Ming Wu Xing. In 1933, he compiled A Catalog of Min Engraved Books, listing 130 of the "Min-Ling Engraved Books" he owned (with nine additional known but unobtained ones appended). To this day, it remains the most complete catalog of "Min-Ling Engraved Books" available.