Late Ming And The Huzhou Printmaking Test

As a branch of universal history, history of print is an unique joint where all kinds of scholastic efforts meet with each other. Case study in this field is particularly welcomed. The thesis presented here focuses its topic mainly on print in Huzhou district, 1620-1644. It comprises five chapters. Chapter I gives the outline of our study. Chapter II makes a catalog of print in Huzhou district, thus forms the basic material for further analysis. Chapter III writes about publishers. Three dominant publisher families in the said district have been placed against different historical setup and have been observed in detail in order to discover the true meaning of "publish" and "print" within that world. Chapter IV treats with the problem of artist and engraver, with topic centers on the activity of "creating", which involves people of different social identity and status. Chapter V deals with general topics on history of print, such as "style" and "function". The chapter tries to universalize the micro study of Huzhou district.