Wang, Wenjia. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-173). / In English with some Chinese; abstract also in Chinese. / Abstract of Calligraphy in the Context of Woodblock-printed Books: --- p.1 / Table of Contents: --- p.5 / List of illustration: --- p.7 / Acknowledgement: --- p.17 / Introduction --- p.18 / Chapter 1. --- Song Dynasty --- p.20 / Chapter 1.1 --- The Universal Acceptance of Yan Zhenqing´ةs Style 顔真卿 and Song-edition Books --- p.20 / Chapter 1.2 --- Liu Gongquan 柳公權 and Fujian Edition --- p.28 / Chapter 1.3 --- Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 and Jiangzhe Edition --- p.33 / Chapter 1.4 --- Song Xieke Editions 宋寫刻本 --- p.37 / Chapter 1.5 --- The Collection of Eulogies on Kunshan 崑山雜詠 and Huang Tingjian 黃庭堅 --- p.37 / Chapter 1.6 --- Su Shi 蘇軾 and the Literary Anthology of Tao Yuanming 陶淵明集 --- p.39 / Chapter 2. --- Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫 and Yuan Book Production --- p.42 / Chapter 3. --- Ming Dynasty --- p.51 / Chapter 3.1 --- Palace Edition Books and Zhao Mengfu's Lingering Influence in the Early Ming --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2 --- Wu School Calligraphy and Popular Typeface in the Mid-Ming --- p.52 / Chapter 3.3 --- Shen Zhou´ةs Calligraphy in his Manuscript and the Later Edition of Shen's Anthology --- p.52 / Chapter 3.4 --- "Wu Kuan's Calligraphy, Handwritten Book and His Published Anthology" --- p.56 / Chapter 3.5 --- The Rise of the so-called Song-style Printing Script 宋體字 and Xieke Editions 寫刻 in the Late Ming --- p.62 / Chapter 3.6 --- Liu Rushi´ةs (1618 -1664) Wuyin cao 戊寅草 and the Standard Song-style Printing Script --- p.62 / Chapter 3.7 --- Liu Rushi´ةs Letters 尺牘（1639-40)，“Carved as Written´ح Preface and Mid- and Late Ming's Frenzy for Su Shi's Style --- p.64 / Chapter 3.8 --- Liu Rushi´ةs Hus hang cao 湖上草（1639) and Mid-Ming's Revival of Zhong Yao´ةs 鍾縣 Style --- p.65 / Chapter 3.9 --- Wang Ranming 汪然明 and Liu Rushi´ةs Publication --- p.69 / Chapter 4. --- Qing Dynasty --- p.73 / Chapter 4.1 --- Quange Ti 館閣體 and Siku Quanshu 四庫全書 --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2 --- Zheng Xie's 6 1/2 Script 六分半書 and His Self-designed Books --- p.75 / Chapter 4.3 --- "The Rise of Evidential and Epigraphical Studies and its Impact on Calligraphy and Printing, Wu Dacheng & the Analects in Seal Script" --- p.83 / Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.86 / Chapter 6. --- Illustrations --- p.88 / Chapter 7. --- Bibliography --- p.163

This project involved a series of linoleum, woodcut, and intaglio prints whose subject matter was derived from my imagination. The inspiration for this work is the ocean and the myriad life forms found there. I perused books on the ocean and created characters from these images. These prints also have a psychological edge and emotional aspect reflecting the state of mind I was in when 1 created them. Putting these ideas together in the intaglio prints as well as using different techniques was the challenge in making this work. My goal was also to explore linoleum and woodcut prints where I used multiple blocks and/or rolled more than one color on a block to achieve a multitude of hues for one image. I found this complex way of making images exciting and feel that the works created have been successfully resolved. / Department of Art

Why was woodblock printing continuously utilized by Tibetan Buddhist monasteries for several centuries, despite the emergence of other printing technologies? How did the societal perception of the printed knowledge as both valuable and sacred in the specific cultural and political context influence the duration of its use? Drawing from sources spanning digital facsimiles of xylographs, museum collections of carved blocks and printing tools, Chinese-language museum publications and Tibetan-language monastic histories and mechanical treatises, this dissertation, “Wood Carvers and Deep Forests: The Expansion of Tibetan-language Woodblock Printing Houses (1642-1900)” historicizes the temporal and spatial development of 177 Tibetan-language printing houses from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries across Tibet and Inner Asia. In my work, I offer a cultural and material history of woodblock printing technology that considers the Buddhist worldview and the artisanal understanding of wood’s materiality. For artisans working with wood, maintaining its healthiness is one of their foremost priorities. The concern for posterity and permanence significantly influences their material practices. I argue that the idea of wood lasting for hundreds of years was particularly appealing to monastic printing houses as the leaders saw themselves as the upholders of an unbroken and an undamaged lineage of authentic Buddhist teachings no longer available elsewhere in the world. Wood as a material that could stand the test of time and woodblocks, as a permanent source from which to print the texts, was highly appealing to the Tibetans. The continued use of woodblock printing in Tibet is not simply a matter of technological stagnation but a complex interplay of cultural, religious, and practical considerations. The Buddhist worldview and artisanal traditions, combined with the adaptability and economic practicality of woodblock printing, have sustained its use through multiple centuries despite the introduction of other technologies.