Study On Engraving Illustration Of Romance Of Sui And Tang Dynasties In Ming And Qing Dynasties

From the perspective of the history of printmaking,this essay selects four representative editions of Sui Tang Romance from the Ming and Qing dynasties,taking the Si Xue Cao Tang text as the centre of research,and explores the relationship between the text and the illustrations,the forms of expression,the stylistic features and the regional culture,in an attempt to complement and complete the study of the prints of Sui Tang Romance in the Ming and Qing dynasties.The first chapter compares the process of the formation of the Sui Tang Romance and its textual content,and clarifies the publication of four representative editions of the Sui Tang Romance in the Ming and Qing dynasties.The second chapter examines the relationship between the illustrations and the text of the Si Xue Cao Tang edition of the Sui Tang Romance,which is divided into three categories: those that fit the text,those that exceed the text,and those that contradict the text,and examines the links between the illustrations and the text.The third chapter focuses on the four aspects of the Four Snow Cottages edition of Sui Tang Romance: its thematic expression,composition and layout,characterisation and scene creation,drawing out its artistic characteristics and,by extension,the illustration style characteristics of Suzhou prints.The fourth chapter is based on the collation and analysis of the first three chapters,and cross-compares the illustrations of the four Ming and Qing prints of Sui Tang Romance.It is divided into three parts to explore: firstly,comparing the Si Xue Cao Tang book with the newly published Xu Wen Chang book to draw out the subtle artistic styles and commonalities between Suzhou and Wulin prints;secondly,comparing the Si Xue Cao Tang book with the Wu He Qiao book to draw out the development process of printmaking in different periods of the Qing dynasty through the relationship between embroidered portraits and portraits,from the transition from characters and scenery in one to portraits of characters,from the representation of storylines to a focus on characterisation,and from the representation of storylines to a focus on characterisation.The third chapter compares and relates the newly published Xu Wenchang book to the Xu Wenchang book,clarifying the relationship between the two.The fifth chapter compares the illustrations of Sui Tang Romance with those of other novels and prints.On the one hand,it compares Emperor Yang’s Yangshi and the legacy of Sui history with Sui Tang Yangyi,taking ’Emperor Yang’ and’Hero of Wagangzhai’ respectively as an entry point to explore the similarities and differences between the images presented by different illustrators of the same storyline,and to summarise the style and quality of the two prints.The book also explores the similarities and differences between the illustrators of the same storyline and the quality of the images.On the other hand,a comparison is made with the prints of the novels published in Jian’an and Jinling,summarising the similarities and differences between the styles of prints published in different regions(Suzhou,Jian’an and Jinling)on the same novel subject,and presenting the richness of the prints of the Ming and Qing dynasties.Finally,the prints of Sui Tang Romance are placed in the context of the Ming and Qing dynasties to reveal their artistic and social value.