A Study Of Suzhou Printing In Qing Dynasty

The essay is about the advancement of the Print of Suzhou during Ming and Qing Dynasty, and illustrates how it gets thriving and deterioration under developing in the three periods of illustration printing between Ming and Qing Dynasty, solo printing in the mid of Qing Dynasty and Taohuawu woodcut printing in the later time of Qing Dynasty. From the mid of Ming Dynasty, Suzhou was the center of book cut and print around Jiangnan. It went to be a school of illustration printing of Suzhou with the character of comely, meaningful and exquisite. After it got mature, it accelerated and accumulated the skills of cut and print for the thriving of solo printing in the mid of Qing Dynasty. The solo was separated from book illustration printings but for expressing the feature of the flourishing city of Suzhou and figures of lady and madam. This kind of printing showed obviously the artic facet of the Print. But when the society got dwindling in the last period of Qing Dynasty, with the occurring of new technology of printing, the Printing of Suzhou was coming to be Taohuawu woodcut printing in the end of Qing dynasty. It was a focal and civil handcraft with the artic characteristic fading. Viewing the history of the Print of Suzhou, we can learn that behind the developing and decaying of a form of artworks, there are many factors deciding and leading it to grow or change, which may be economical, cultural and technological causes. Then we can say that the progression of the technology of cut is a key to the development of the Print of Suzhou.