A Study On Ancient Pornographic Pictures In Late Ming

Few attentions, among domestic researches, have been paid to the Ancient Pornographic Pictures, which is regarded as a special painting form. The Ancient Pornographic Pictures made by R. H. Van Gulik from Holland should be the earliest one. The paper here seeks to study the topic of ancient pornographic pictures, thoroughly & systematically, by tactically turning to eight ancient pornographic pictures in late Ming Dynasty.Ancient Pornographic Pictures was also named as Secret Licentious Pictures which could probably derive from Han Dynasty, but no works had been found. Late Ming Dynasty was a very special period in Chinese history, during which economy was flourishing, and Capitalism was at its earlier stage, while politics became more inclusive, a few schools of thought like "Wang" School & traditional "Tai zhou" School began to be present. All of these factors contributed absolutely a lot to the presence & popularity of ancient pornographic pictures in this period. Especially, with the rapid development of woodblock printing technology, it’s definitely possible that ancient pornographic pictures could be printed on a large scale while transmitted more widely & conveniently. At the same time, ancient pornographic pictures were born primarily because of the technology of chromatic woodblock printing. Ancient Pornographic Pictures in Late Ming Dynasty was therefore chosen as the main subject by the paper.The Ancient Pornographic Pictures here discussed in the paper will be only confined to the periods from Wan-li to Tian-qi, Chong-zhen in Ming Dynasty. We find that, through our deep examination, sexual differences in the pictures are quite vague because it’s hard for us tell female from male. Both of them are depicted to be stout & clumsy. Meanwhile, figures in the pictures are not closely associated with their surroundings because of a shallow depth of focus, which might just a hint for sex skill or illustration. Pictures in Tian-qi, Chong-zhen periods, however, are sharply different from those in Wan-li period, in which a clear distinction, between female & male, in physique and appearance has been delicately obtained, while figures & their surroundings intermingle with each other more subtly. Also, authors in those periods have paid much attention to the composition of the pictures, so that pictures began to be more narrative, daily-life-related instead of just an illustration for sex.Two factors could definitely account for the transformation of ancient pornographic pictures from pure illustration for sex to more narrative & daily-life-related. Firstly, the presence of pornographic novels in late Ming Dynasty has enriched ancient pornographic pictures, by which they are utilized as inset pictures by pornographic novels, therefore the narrative function of those pictures are consequently underlined. Secondly, "Courtyard painting with figures" in Song Dynasty & Yuan Dynasty began to be more influential & assertive, therefore, a few elements like folding screen, rockery, flowers, trees, and lake rocks have been incorporated with ancient pornographic pictures, by which cultural implications of those pictures change fundamentally & accordingly.The paper maintains that studying the authors of ancient pornographic pictures becomes a complicated question owing to the particularity of those pictures. The paper still strives to focus on a few authors in the field of ancient pornographic pictures in late Ming Dynasty like Yi-ming, Huang & Yi-kai, Huang from She County of An-hui Province, as well as Tang-yin, Qiu-ying, Wang-gen and so on. Meanwhile, pornographic novels, poems, traditional operas during that period, which have connected with pornographic pictures, are also taken into our consideration in the paper.Late Ming Dynasty is considered as the climax of ancient pornographic pictures in China, in which literature & art all contribute a lot to the prosperity of those pictures. The paper, therefore, states that those pornographic pictures could be a perfect perspective for us to examine and survey how culture, art & society in late Ming Dynasty grow, develop & thrive. Finally, the paper also announces the close connection between those pornographic pictures in late Ming Dynasty in China and Ukiyoe in Japan, where a few similarities from both sides could be clearly explored.