Artistic Characteristics of Huizhou Printmaking

The artistic characteristics of Huizhou prints are reflected in:

I, beautiful and charming mood, neat and exquisite painting style. The basic style of all the prints before the Ming Wanli Calendar is "thick lines and simple composition". If there is any difference between the northern prints and the southern prints, it is only that the degree of "thick" and "simple" is slightly different. If there is any difference between the northern prints and the southern prints, it is only that the degree of "boldness" and "simplicity" is slightly different. The Huizhou School of printmaking swept away the wind of stoutness and robustness to form a neat and delicate style of painting. The compositions are novel, innovative and colorful. The lines are as thin as silk, smooth and elegant, the image is vice true and vivid, the layout is elegant and simple, the knife method is meticulous, and it has the air of literati elegance. The publication of the yearbook, pictorials, paintings, notes, as well as operas, novels illustrations, in terms of skills have reached a very high level, the composition of the perfect, the image of the accuracy, the line of the slender, for the same time as the other schools of thought.

Secondly, they were far away from the noisy city and pursued a quiet and peaceful mood. Prints are painted, engraved and printed by painters, engravers and printers independently, which are coordinated by publishers in the middle. As Huizhou publishers with a high cultural level, they are not only coordinators, but also directly involved in the creation. Naturally, their thoughts and values would also penetrate into the art style of printmaking, especially those popular literature readings such as operas and novels that reflected the life of the citizens and their thoughts and feelings at that time, because the merchants themselves belonged to the citizen class. After fierce business battles and intense work, merchants felt tired and exhausted, and wanted to get away from the noisy dusty city and pursue tranquility and peace. The elegance and subtlety, tranquility and happiness embodied in Huizhou prints are exactly this mood.

Third, the theory of Chinese painting and its techniques and forms of expression in printmaking. Due to the participation of literati painters in the creation of prints, the theory of Chinese painting and its techniques and forms of expression were applied to prints, and prints began to show a tendency to merge with Chinese painting, which was the innovation brought by the Huizhou School of prints to the traditional Chinese art of prints, and also a characteristic of the Huizhou School of prints in its own time. Chinese painting brushwork pay attention to hooks, strangulation, chapping, rubbing, point, which in turn to chapping the most elaborate, there are more than ten kinds of chapping, pima chapping, big axe chopping, cow hair chapping, etc. The so-called brushwork is actually the line. The so-called penmanship is actually lines, Wanli before the prints appear stout and lifeless, the lack of Chinese painting lines that a variety of chapping. The color printing is also a national painting coloring brought about by the revelation. The organic combination of poetry, calligraphy, seals and drawings is a unique form of expression of Chinese painting. And many works of Hui School prints are also poetry, calligraphy, seal and painting combined together. Wanli twenty-third year (1595) began to publish the engraving of the Cheng's Ink Garden" poetry, calligraphy and seal is still outside the picture. Wanli forty-four years (1616) Huang Duanfu engraving of the "Qinglou rhyme" many illustrations, poetry and text has been dissolved into the painting. To the Qing dynasty in the twenty-ninth year of the Kangxi period (1690), Huang Songru, Huang as engraved, Wu Yi drawing of the "Ancient Sheyang mountains and rivers", purely to the composition of the Chinese painting to draw prints, poetry, calligraphy, seals have become an inseparable part of the painting.