QU0QB1
Qu Yuan; Xiao Yuncong illus.; additional illus. by Men Yingzhao: QINDING BUHUI XIAO YUNCONG LISAO QUANTU. (The Augmented Imperially Commissioned Version of 'Encountering Sorrow' Illustrated by Xiao Yuncong). Shanghai, 2002. 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 49; 56; 90 folded leaves Chinese-style. Woodblock illustrations throughout. 3 vols. 32x20 cm. Baobei (wrapped back), cloth case.
GBP 70.00
Excellent facsimile of an important illustrated work. Qu Yuan's poetic anthology, 'Songs of the South' - which includes his famous elegy, 'Encountering Sorrow' - is the fountainhead for an alternative tradition of Chinese poetry. The wildly imaginative shamanic poems have attracted the attention of many painters, notably Li Gonglin in the Tang period and Chen Hongshou in the Ming. Xiao Yuncong (1596-1673) produced an incomplete set of 64 illustrations for the anthology. These came to the attention of the Qianlong emperor who ordered that be augmented by Men Yingzhao who produced a further 91 illustrations. The result was a complete illustrated edition that Qianlong then had copied into the monumental encyclopaedic manuscript library, 'Siku Quanshu'. This facsimile is carefully prepared from the Siku original, reproducing the manuscript text and its apparatus. The illustrations are particularly well handled in this facsimile, giving something of the impression of collotypes (detail, texture and reproduction of paper tone) although presumably produced using fine photolithography. In Chinese only.
Subjects: Illustrated Books
Available, as of: 03/07/2008
Was item 236 in printed List 140.
Record produced by Hanshan Tang Books, www.hanshan.com.
