"Cheng Mexico Court" Image Research

CHENG SHI MO YUAN is the ink-manual of the Cheng family in late Ming China,compiled by a famous ink-stick maker Cheng Dayue in Anhui Shexian. The illustrationsof ink-stick designs are made by the famous painters Ding Yunpeng and WU Tingyu etc.,and engraved by the Huizhou woodcut workers of Huang family. CHENG SHI MO YUANfeatures more than500illustrations of ink-stick designs, including55color printings and4Western Bible patterns. Many of the ink designs are adapted from different sources,such as Chinese paintings, printings, jades, ceramics and lacquers, reflecting theconversion and the spread of images among different media. It marks a transition in thehistory of color printing, reflecting the cultural exchanges between the East and the West.It is a masterpiece in terms of ink-stick designs, paintings，and calligraphies combined.From the perspective of printmaking, this study combines images with historical data iniconic circuits method. This article will focus on exploring the source images，thetransforming relationship between ink-sticks and printings, color printings technicalproblems and the connection with the ink-sticks’ color ornamentation, and thetransforming relationship between the woodcut Bible images and the original etchings.This book reveals the active exchange of images between different medias showingunique beauty of different materials. We can regard CHENG SHI MO YUAN as a mirrorof the times, which reflects visual images interaction in the vibrant cultural environmentof the Ming Dynasty.