Chinese Works
一字值千金。
A single written character is worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Chinese proverb
Cambridge University Library acquired its first Chinese book in 1632 as part of the collection of the Duke of Buckingham, but the first substantial holdings of Chinese books came with the donation of 4,304 volumes by Sir Thomas Wade (1818-1895), first Professor of Chinese in the University from 1888 until his death. The Wade Collection, assembled during forty years' residence in China, including ten years as British Minister at Peking, is particularly strong in the areas of history, law and diplomacy, but also contains several rare and unique items, notably materials relating to the mid-19th century Taiping Rebellion, some of which are shown here.
Oracle bones and unseen beauty: wonders of priceless Chinese collection now online - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/oracle-bones-and-unseen-beauty-wonders-of-priceless-chinese-collection-now-online#sthash.djwrMvWU.dpuf
A banknote from 1380 that threatens decapitation, a set of 17th-century prints so delicate they had never been opened, and 3000-year-old ‘oracle bones’ are now freely available for the world to view on the Cambridge Digital Library.
This is the earliest and finest example of multi-colour printing anywhere in the world.Charles Aylmer
The treasures of Cambridge University Library’s Chinese collections are the latest addition to the Digital Library website (http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/chinese) which already hosts the works of Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Siegfried Sassoon, as well as unique collections on the Board of Longitude and the Royal Commonwealth Society.
The oracle bones (ox shoulder blades and turtle shells) are one of the Library’s most important collections and are the earliest surviving examples of Chinese writing anywhere in the world. They are the oldest form of documents owned by the Library and record questions to which answers were sought by divination at the court of the royal house of Shang, which ruled central China between the 16th and 11th centuries BCE. (http://bit.ly/1RJkZEG).
As the earliest known specimens of the Chinese script, the oracle bone inscriptions are of fundamental importance for Chinese palaeography and our understanding of ancient Chinese society. The bones record information on a wide range of matters including warfare, agriculture, hunting and medical problems, as well as genealogical, meteorological and astronomical data, such as the earliest records of eclipses and comets.
Never before displayed, three of the 800 oracle bones held in the Library can now be viewed in exquisite detail, alongside a 17th-century book which has been described as 'perhaps the most beautiful set of prints ever made' (http://bit.ly/1fMfAf3). Estimated to be worth millions on the open market, the ‘Manual of Calligraphy and Painting’ was made in 1633 by the Ten Bamboo Studio in Nanjing.
Charles Aylmer, Head of the Chinese Department at Cambridge University Library, said: “This is the earliest and finest example of multi-colour printing anywhere in the world, comprising 138 paintings and sketches with associated texts by fifty different artists and calligraphers. Although reprinted many times, complete sets of early editions in the original binding are extremely rare.
“The binding is so fragile, and the manual so delicate, that until it was digitized, we have never been able to let anyone look through it or study it – despite its undoubted importance to scholars.”
Other highlights of the digitisation include one of the world’s earliest printed books http://bit.ly/1HRsK0k), a Buddhist text dated between 1127 and 1175. The translator (Xuanzang) was famed for the 17 year pilgrimage to India he undertook to collect religious texts and bring them back to China.
‘The Manual of Famine Relief’ has also been digitised. This 19th-century manuscript contains instructions for the distribution of emergency rations to famine victims and includes practical advice about foraging for natural substitutes to normal foodstuffs in the event of an emergency.
3000-year-old oracle bones1 of 4
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Elsewhere, a 14th-century banknote (http://bit.ly/1O8QJwB) is one of the more unusual additions to the Chinese Collections. Paper currency first appeared in China during the 7th century, and was in wide circulation by the 11th century, 500 years before its first use in Europe.
By the 12th century the central government had realised the benefits of banknotes for purposes of tax collection and financial administration, and by the late 13th century had printed and issued a national paper currency – accounts of it reached Europe through the writings of Marco Polo and others.
The Library’s banknote, printed on mulberry paper from a cast metal plate, was first issued in 1380. The denomination of the banknote (one thousand cash) is shown by a picture of ten strings of copper cash (10 x 100 = 1000), flanked by a text in seal script which reads: 'Great Ming Paper Currency; Circulating Throughout the World'. The text underneath threatens forgers with decapitation and promises that anyone denouncing or apprehending them will receive not only a reward of 25 ounces of silver but also all the miscreant’s property.
Huw Jones, part of the digitisation team at Cambridge University Library, said: “The very high quality of the digital images has already led to important discoveries about the material – we have seen where red pigment was used to colour inscriptions on the oracle bones, and seals formerly invisible have been deciphered on several items. We look forward to new insights now that the collection has a truly global audience, and we are already working with an ornithological expert to identify the birds in the Manual of Calligraphy and Painting.”
Cambridge University Library acquired its first Chinese book in 1632 as part of the collection of the Duke of Buckingham, but the first substantial holdings of Chinese books came with the donation of 4,304 volumes by Sir Thomas Wade (1818–1895), first Professor of Chinese in the University from 1888 until his death.
The Chinese collections at Cambridge University Library now number about half a million individual titles, including monographs, reprinted materials, archival documents, epigraphical rubbings and 200,000 Chinese e-books (donated by Premier Wen Jiabao in 2009).
- See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/oracle-bones-and-unseen-beauty-wonders-of-priceless-chinese-collection-now-online#sthash.djwrMvWU.dpuf
《十竹齋畫譜》八卷，明胡正言輯選，明高陽、凌雲翰、吳士冠、魏之璜、魏之克、胡宗智、高友及行一和尚等同校。胡正言、汪楷等刻。明崇禎十七年（1644）南京胡氏十竹齋彩色套印本。蝴蝶裝。《十竹齋畫譜》屬於畫冊性質，兼有收錄名畫講授畫法供人們鑑賞和臨摹的功能。分為《書畫譜》、《墨華譜》、《果譜》、《翎毛譜》、《蘭譜》、《竹譜》、《梅譜》、《石譜》等八大類，收入他本人的繪畫作品和復制古人及明代的名作三十家。每譜中大約有40幅左右的畫，每幅都配有書法極佳的題詞和詩，總共180幅畫和140件書法作品。
1書體介紹編輯
胡正言的《十竹齋畫譜》，全部採用餖版法印成，所謂餖版，是將彩色畫稿按不同的顏色分別勾摹下來，每種顏色刻成一塊小木板，然後依次逐色套印或迭印，最後形成完整的彩色畫面。印一幅畫，多的能用上千塊版，少的也要十幾塊。因為一塊塊鐫雕的小木板形似餖飣，故稱餖版。用這種辦法印出的畫面，其色彩的濃淡深淺、陰陽向背，都可以隨心所欲地表現出來，幾乎與原作無異，藝術效果令人嘆為觀止。在中國版畫史上，明代彩色套印版畫所遺作品最多，成就也最高，自宋、元以來，人們長期探索的木刻彩印技術，至此產生了質的飛躍。餖飣版的出現，使中國的版刻和印刷能隨心所欲地調節濃淡色調，不僅僅是彩繪，就是單色繪畫，也達到了與畫家手繪同等的效果。可以說這是中國雕版木刻印刷術的又一場革命，對國內外產生了巨大的影響。雖然我們不能說是胡氏發明了這一技術，但可以說胡氏將這種技術發揮到了淋漓盡致的地步。直到今天，木版水印全過程中的具體分工，大體上還是沿襲胡氏的模式。
2作者介紹編輯
胡正言，徽州休寧人。字曰從，別號十竹主人、默庵老人，生於明萬曆十二年（1584），卒於清康熙十三年（1674）。經歷了明萬曆、泰昌、天啟、崇禎、清順治、康熙六代，壽高命長。南明時曾官中書舍人，入清後不仕，三十歲後移居金陵（今江蘇南京）雞籠山側，專心從事刻書、藏書之事。因所居房前院內種竹十餘竿，故室號為十竹齋。胡博學多才，精擅六書，長於書畫、篆刻，又能製紙墨，並喜藏書、刻書。著有《印存初集》、《印存玄覽》、《胡氏篆草》《詞林紀事》等書，刻有《六書正》、《千文六書統要》、《牌統孚玉》、《古今詩餘醉》、《詩譚》等。但最具有代表性的當為他輯選並採用餖版和拱花技術套印的《十竹齋書畫譜》和《十竹齋箋譜》二書。刊版套印之精、施墨著色之嫻雅妍麗，在印刷技術上可以說達到了一個新的高峰，在世界印刷史上開創了一個新紀元。
3《翎毛譜》編輯
《十竹齋畫譜》中《翎毛譜》卷首有天啟七年（1627）楊文驄（字龍友，貴陽人，萬曆舉人，善書畫，崇禎時任江寧知縣）序。《書畫譜》有崇禎六年（1633）醒天居士序，應為序文最晚的年代。說明胡正言在天啟初已致力版畫套印技術的研究，將研製樣本分批刊出，至崇禎六年（1633）將全套《十竹齋畫譜》完成。胡正言不僅是畫家和書法家，他對雕刻和印刷也很有研究，這使他具有得天獨厚的條件。為完成這部《畫譜》，胡正言嘔心瀝血，集中了當時一流的刻工，並與刻工朝夕研討，十年如一日。由於餖版技術繁複，要求高，分版、刻版、對版、著色、印刷來不得半點馬虎。因此，在付印前他都要親加檢校，以保證質量。所以，印出來的作品達到了前所未有的化境。可稱“濃濃淡淡，篇篇神采；疏疏密密，幅幅亂真。”（楊文耿《十竹齋畫譜》小引）胡正言因此堪稱是印刷史上的傑出人物。
《十竹齋畫譜》
4原版編輯
初印本用化紙印製，傳世稀少，在版本學上佔有極重要的地位。現行世的多為清人翻刻，如康熙五十四年（1715）重刊胡氏彩色套印本、乾隆年間重刊胡氏彩色套印本、嘉慶二十二年（1817）芥子園重刊胡氏彩色套印本等等。國家圖書館收藏的這部《十竹齋畫譜》原為鄭振鐸先生舊藏，畫面上展示的是取自《書畫譜》的高陽“菱藕蓮實”、凌雲翰“秋海棠等花草”和取自《墨華譜》的高友“墨華海棠”、胡正言“靈芝草石”。
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