An Illustrated life of Confucius. Late Qing woodblock Edition Kong zi sheng ji Tu

SHENGJI TU. (Illustrated Scenes from the Life of the Sage, Confucius). 30x40 cm. chinese tex,t, maps, illustrations, portraits + 105 woodblock prints depicting the life of confucius, in the original chinese sewn binding. protected in later chinese style blue cloth box, with straps and ivory needles. a very good copy. scarce.A recent article by Chun Shum in the 'East Asian Library Journal' (Vol. 10, no. 1) provides a wealth of information on what amounts to an exemplary sub-genre of Chinese illustrated book production. In fact, scenes from the life of the Confucius are, arguably, at the fountainhead of book illustration in China. Illustrations of Confucius' life exist in three media: as paintings, engraved on stone (typically reproduced in collections of rubbings), and as woodblock printed editions. The earliest painted version were probably produced in during the Eastern Han period; three sets of stone engravings are said to exist; and there have been many woodcut editions of the Sage's illustrated life. The earliest printed versions are thought to date to the 13th century, but no such Song editions survive. There are several Ming editions. The quality of the illustrations and of the prints differ greatly. This one is taken fromt blocks that appear to be the best we have seeen.The present work is a late Qing edition, most likely a later printing from the blocks prepared by Kong Xianlan in 1874. This edition is noted and described in Chun Shum's article (pp. 153-55), and the sample illustration reproduced matches the corresponding images in the present work. All 105 images collated by Chun Shum are present, along with the introductory text taken from the biography of Confucius in the 'Shiji'. Quality of paper and printing indicate that this may be a somewhat later impression from Kong's blocks, impossible to date precisely. the impressions are clear and the book is a rich source of the visual imagery - based on earlier, Ming model - produced at the time. Scanned samples available on request. Confucius - Pictorial works. | Wood-engraving, Chinese - Ming-Qing dynasties, 1368-1912. bellissima edizione novecentesca di splendida fattura stampata a Pechino delle classiche illustrazioni sulla vita di Confucio, da incisioni su legno di tarda epoca Qing. raro, originale, in buone condizioni. the original item, not a reprint