How fascinating were the Guangzhou Tomcass paintings more than a hundred years ago?

Guangzhou was the only port of trade authorized by the Qing government at the time, and because of the popularity of the paintings, thousands of people were employed by the dental firms of the time to make them. The paintings were used by Western artists to record and understand the daily lives and customs of the Chinese people, and because the merchants saw a business opportunity, they produced large quantities of these paintings and sold them through the ports of entry to Western countries.

Tongchao paper was cut from a plant called tonto wood, which was inexpensive for the people of the time, and the pigments rendered on it would not fade over time, so it was loved by many people at the time. Tongzhu painting is in the Tongzhu paper through the watercolor figures painted on the paper, after air-drying, Tongzhu paper on the characters are exquisite, vivid, three-dimensional sense is very strong, at that time very popular among Westerners.

In addition, because at that time there was no camera, so for the Westerners at that time, want to understand China's history and human customs, then only through the paintings to show the human face. It was not until the popularization of photography that Westerners gradually lost interest in the paintings, which then gradually declined and eventually fell into obscurity.

However, a hundred years later, a foreigner brought the paintings back to Guangzhou, China, and donated the collection of more than seventy pairs of paintings to the Guangzhou Museum, which greatly improved the research process of Chinese paintings. Though the art of making Tongcao paper has been lost, the art of Tongcao painting still exists.

The emergence of the painting was a great opportunity for Westerners, who had little knowledge of China, to learn about the culture and customs of China through the paintings. Tongchao paintings are also like a postcard, although it is a small one, but it will be the life of the people at that time and the customs of the people are perfectly presented.

This is an important contribution to the study of ancient history in China, and it also gives the Chinese people an insight into the lives of the ancient people.