Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting: Volume 5

original: "十竹齋畫譜卷五" (Shizhuzhai Huapu, Juan Wu). This is one of the earliest and most beautiful examples of "color-block" printing, produced by Hu Zhengyan in the 1620s-40s.

Ten miles of river country, half-shrouded in reed rain-cloaks.

The rain has cleared; an old fisherman rests in his solitary boat, lingering in the bitter West.

The "bitter West" likely refers to the harsh light of the setting sun or the solitude of the wilderness.

Cooking fish over a fire of burning twigs; even in the chill, green leaves seem to sprout.

This line praises the vitality of the painting, suggesting the artist's "life-breath" (qiyun) is so strong that the painted wood seems to grow real leaves.

The flora and vines are in the style of Xiao and Xu; the poetry is modeled after the ancients.

original: "蕭徐" (Xiao Xu). Likely referring to the painting styles of Xiao Yuncong (landscape) and Xu Xi (flowers/birds), or perhaps a specific calligraphic lineage.

Friends of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting

original: "友古書畫" (Yougu Shuhua). This refers to the Yougu Xuan or "Studio of Friends of Antiquity," the printing house of Hu Zhengyan, where this manual was produced.

The illustration is a circular landscape (tondo). On the left, a towering cliff is rendered with dense "hemp-fiber" texture strokes. A lone fisherman sits in a small boat on the calm water, his pole extended. The use of multiple colors—soft blues for the water and warm browns for the rocks—demonstrates the "douban" (assembled block) printing technique that made this manual famous.