Hu Zhengyan - The Shi Zhu Zhai Notebook - Shi... Lot 1580

Hu Zhengyan - The Shi Zhu Zhai Notebook - Shi zhu zhai jian pu - The Book of the Ten Bamboo Study Room. Four volumes with woodcut, ink and color on paper, illustrated with 283 color woodcuts; text in Chinese. Beijing, published by Rong bao zhai xin ji 1952, first edition. Double-sided leaves bound in Chinese style in original silk-bound case with bone clamps. 31.5 x 21 cm. - Originally compiled by the seal carver Hu Zhengyan (1584-1674) from the Ming dynasty, the work was first printed on poetry paper around 1644. It contains characters from the ancient classics and is completed by blind embossing and printed in multiple colors. The techniques developed promoted the art of printing at this time. Only a few copies of the original survived. One was later discovered by the historian Zheng Zhenduo and the writer Lu Xun and became the master copy of the Republic, which was reprinted by Zheng Zhenduo in the 1930s. However, this edition was incomplete due to the poor condition of the original text. The 1952 print by the Rong Bao Zhai studio in Beijing is a faithful reproduction of the 17th century edition made from recut blocks and even with the blind-stamping technique of the gauffrage (gonghua "embossed pattern" or "arched pattern").