Emperor Books in China
Well,I guess not a lot has been written on the subject ,especially in Israel.I don´t think many people know and understand when it comes to books printed for the use of the emperors of Imperial China.I myself had no knowledge on the subject,and only after I came to China and by chance stumbled on a piece and did some reaserch on them,did I see and apreciate the work,art and effort put into it. What does it mean books printed for the emperors?I had no clue at first.Later on,after reading o the issue I began to see that there was great importance attached to the Chinese Emperors.They where seen as gods,and where treated as such.They lived in the Forbidden City,in Beijing,since the the 15th century when Emperor Yong Le built it,and it remaind as such untill 1911,when the last Dynasty fell,the Qing Dynasty.The emperors had the colour yellow which only they could use.Most items they used and TOUCHED had yellow and the symbols of dragons and clouds where also seen as imperial.Now to the part about Imperial Books.When a book was orderd to be presented to the emperor,be it the emperor himself or someone in the Forbidden City asked for it to be printed for the emperor,then at the imperial printing houses/rooms they would start to print.The books where hand made,on special paper of high quality,not inferior paper as bamboo paper,but paper which was normaly expensive and even made abroad,such as Korean paper,which was seen as one of the finest in Asia.Fine craftsmen where used to prepare the blocks of printing and the woodcuts where carved by the finest artists,and detail was of the highest importance.The covers of the books where normaly of fine yellow silk depicting the "dragons in the clouds".Most printed books where printed in a handfull amount,at times only one survives if at all.To see one of these works of art is breath taking and a fascinating part of book making.Hope this interests someone.
Well,I guess not a lot has been written on the subject ,especially in Israel.I don´t think many people know and understand when it comes to books printed for the use of the emperors of Imperial China.I myself had no knowledge on the subject,and only after I came to China and by chance stumbled on a piece and did some reaserch on them,did I see and apreciate the work,art and effort put into it. What does it mean books printed for the emperors?I had no clue at first.Later on,after reading o the issue I began to see that there was great importance attached to the Chinese Emperors.They where seen as gods,and where treated as such.They lived in the Forbidden City,in Beijing,since the the 15th century when Emperor Yong Le built it,and it remaind as such untill 1911,when the last Dynasty fell,the Qing Dynasty.The emperors had the colour yellow which only they could use.Most items they used and TOUCHED had yellow and the symbols of dragons and clouds where also seen as imperial.Now to the part about Imperial Books.When a book was orderd to be presented to the emperor,be it the emperor himself or someone in the Forbidden City asked for it to be printed for the emperor,then at the imperial printing houses/rooms they would start to print.The books where hand made,on special paper of high quality,not inferior paper as bamboo paper,but paper which was normaly expensive and even made abroad,such as Korean paper,which was seen as one of the finest in Asia.Fine craftsmen where used to prepare the blocks of printing and the woodcuts where carved by the finest artists,and detail was of the highest importance.The covers of the books where normaly of fine yellow silk depicting the "dragons in the clouds".Most printed books where printed in a handfull amount,at times only one survives if at all.To see one of these works of art is breath taking and a fascinating part of book making.Hope this interests someone.