Introductory Remarks 2

The use of shading and washes original: 渲染 (xuànrǎn). The technique of applying layers of water and pigment to create depth and atmosphere. in painting is incredibly subtle. It depends entirely on a quality of being light, clear, thin, and distant. When one captures this divine mystery, what can be applied to paper with a brush cannot easily be carved into a wooden block with a knife. Conversely, what is carved with a knife cannot necessarily achieve that same light, clear, and distant quality of a wash on paper. Because of this, I hesitated, sighing that my hands were tied and my skills exhausted. Could it be that Heaven and Earth intended to keep these profound principles secret and did not wish them to be passed down?

It is essential that the engraver be able to use the knife as a substitute for the brush, capturing the lively, "flying" style of the brushwork. Similarly, the printer must be able to use the printing brush original: 帚 (zhǒu). Literally "broom," but here referring to the wide, flat brushes used in woodblock printing to apply ink and color washes to the blocks. to create washes, capturing the light and clear method of shading. Only then can the secrets of brush and ink be transmitted to posterity.

Consequently, I searched far and wide for skilled hands. After eighteen years, I finally found the right people. We applied ourselves with great care to the engraving, and put our whole hearts into the shading and washing. At times, where the painter's brush failed to reach, the engraver’s knife succeeded. Where the engraver’s knife failed, the printer’s brush succeeded.

As a result, to produce the colors of a single image, we distinguished between what came first and what came last across dozens of separate blocks, sometimes stacking them until the pile was over a foot high. The labor for a single block involved dozens of gradations of pressure and weight; some prints took a considerable amount of time to complete. Whenever a picture was finished, not only did art lovers praise it enthusiastically upon seeing it, but even master painters marveled at the results and gave their full approval.

This collection focuses on "Plants and Flowers" as its primary theme. Among plants, we have the "Four Gentlemen": the orchid of spring, the bamboo of summer, the chrysanthemum of autumn, and the plum blossom of winter. Throughout history, the works of those who specialized in just one of these species are of such beauty they cannot all be contained. Therefore, I have compiled these into the First Part.

A friend privately laughed original: 咲 (xiào). An archaic variant of the character for "laugh." that common people always insist on hanging pictures according to the four seasons, and he asked if I were merely following that dull custom in this publication. In truth, it was simply that as I organized the volumes, the natural divisions happened to correspond to the seasons.

Following this, I will compile "Flowering Herbs" with the addition of "Insects," and "Woody Plants" with the addition of "Birds," into the Second Part.

Dated the Xinsi year [1701].