 these books .   During the 1630s the Ten Bamboo Studio also produced political works extolling the rule of the Ming ; these included the Imperial Ming Record of Loyalty ( Huang Ming Biaozhong Ji , 皇明表忠紀 ) , a biography of loyal Ming officials , and the Edicts of the Imperial Ming ( Huang Ming Zhaozhi , 皇明詔制 ) , a list of Imperial proclamations . After the fall of the Ming Dynasty , Hu renamed the studio the Hall Rooted in the Past ( Digutang , 迪古堂 ) as a sign of his affiliation with the previous dynasty , although the Ten Bamboo imprint continued to be used . Despite Hu 's withdrawal from society after 1646 , the studio continued to publish well into the Qing dynasty , for the most part focussing on seal impression catalogues showcasing Hu 's carving work .   The Ming dynasty had seen considerable advancement in the process of colour printing in China . At his studio , Hu Zhengyan experimented with various forms of woodblock printing , creating processes for producing multi @-@ coloured prints and embossed printed designs . As a result , he was able to produce some of China 's first printed publications in colour , using a block printing technique known as " assorted block printing " ( douban yinshua , 饾板印刷 ) . This system made use of multiple blocks , each carved with a different part of the final image and each bearing a different colour . It was a lengthy , painstaking process , requiring thirty to fifty engraved printing blocks and up to seventy inkings and impressions to create a single image . Hu also employed a related form of multiple @-@ block printing called " set @-@ block printing " ( taoban yinshua , 套板印刷 ) , which had existed since the Yuan period some 200 years earlier but had only recently come into fashion again . He refined these block printing techniques by developing a process for wiping some of the ink off the blocks before printing ; this enabled him to achieve gradation and modulation of shades which were not previously possible .   In some images , Hu employed a blind embossing technique ( known as " embossed designs " ( gonghua , 拱花 ) or " embossed blocks " ( gongban , 拱板 ) , using an uninked , imprinted block to stamp designs onto paper . He used this to create white relief effects for clouds and for highlights on water or plants . This was a relatively new process , having been invented by Hu 's contemporary Wu Faxiang , who was also a Nanjing @-@ based publisher . Wu had used this technique for the first time in his book Wisteria Studio Letter Paper ( Luoxuan Biangu Jianpu , 蘿軒變古箋譜 ) , published in 1626 . Both Hu and Wu used embossing to create decorative writing papers , the sale of which provided a sideline income for the Ten Bamboo Studio .   = = Major works = =   Hu 's most notable work is the Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting and Calligraphy ( Shizhuzhai Shuhuapu , 十竹齋書畫譜 ) , an anthology of around 320 prints by around thirty different artists ( including Hu himself ) , published in 1633 . It consists of eight sections , covering calligraphy , bamboo , flowers , rocks , birds and animals , plums , orchids and fruit . Some of these sections had been released previously as single volumes . As well as a collection of artworks , it was also intended as an artistic primer , with instructions on correct brush position and technique and several pictures designed for beginners to copy . Although these instructions only appear in the sections on orchids and bamboo , the book still remains the first example of a categorical and analytical approach to Chinese painting . In this book , Hu used his multiple @-@ block printing methods to obtain gradations of colour in the images , rather than obvious outlines or overlaps . The manual is bound in the " butterfly binding " ( hudie zhuang , 蝴蝶裝 ) style , whereby whole @-@ folio illustrations are folded so that each occupies a double @-@ page spread . This binding style allows the reader to lay the book flat in order to look at a particular image . Cambridge University Library released a complete digital scan of the manual , including all writings and illustrations in August , 2015 . Said Charles Aylmer , Head of the Cambridge University Chinese Department , " The binding is so fragile , and the manual so delicate , that until it was digitized , we have never been able to let anyone look through it or study it – despite its undoubted importance to
Ġthese Ġbooks Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe Ġ16 30 s Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio Ġalso Ġproduced Ġpolitical Ġworks Ġext oll ing Ġthe Ġrule Ġof Ġthe ĠMing Ġ; Ġthese Ġincluded Ġthe ĠImperial ĠMing ĠRecord Ġof ĠLoyal ty Ġ( ĠHuang ĠMing ĠB ia oz h ong ĠJi Ġ, Ġç ļ ĩ æĺ İ è¡ ¨ å¿ ł ç ´ Ģ Ġ) Ġ, Ġa Ġbiography Ġof Ġloyal ĠMing Ġofficials Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠEd icts Ġof Ġthe ĠImperial ĠMing Ġ( ĠHuang ĠMing ĠZ ha oz hi Ġ, Ġç ļ ĩ æĺ İ è © Ķ åĪ ¶ Ġ) Ġ, Ġa Ġlist Ġof ĠImperial Ġpro cl am ations Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthe Ġfall Ġof Ġthe ĠMing ĠDynasty Ġ, ĠHu Ġrenamed Ġthe Ġstudio Ġthe ĠHall ĠRoot ed Ġin Ġthe ĠPast Ġ( ĠDig ut ang Ġ, Ġè ¿ ª åı ¤ å ł Ĥ Ġ) Ġas Ġa Ġsign Ġof Ġhis Ġaffiliation Ġwith Ġthe Ġprevious Ġdynasty Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo Ġimprint Ġcontinued Ġto Ġbe Ġused Ġ. ĠDespite ĠHu Ġ' s Ġwithdrawal Ġfrom Ġsociety Ġafter Ġ16 46 Ġ, Ġthe Ġstudio Ġcontinued Ġto Ġpublish Ġwell Ġinto Ġthe ĠQing Ġdynasty Ġ, Ġfor Ġthe Ġmost Ġpart Ġfoc uss ing Ġon Ġseal Ġimpression Ġcatalog ues Ġshowcasing ĠHu Ġ' s Ġcarving Ġwork Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMing Ġdynasty Ġhad Ġseen Ġconsiderable Ġadvancement Ġin Ġthe Ġprocess Ġof Ġcolour Ġprinting Ġin ĠChina Ġ. ĠAt Ġhis Ġstudio Ġ, ĠHu ĠZheng yan Ġexperimented Ġwith Ġvarious Ġforms Ġof Ġwood block Ġprinting Ġ, Ġcreating Ġprocesses Ġfor Ġproducing Ġmulti Ġ@ - @ Ġcoloured Ġprints Ġand Ġemb oss ed Ġprinted Ġdesigns Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġable Ġto Ġproduce Ġsome Ġof ĠChina Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġprinted Ġpublications Ġin Ġcolour Ġ, Ġusing Ġa Ġblock Ġprinting Ġtechnique Ġknown Ġas Ġ" Ġassorted Ġblock Ġprinting Ġ" Ġ( Ġdoub an Ġy ins hua Ġ, Ġé ¥ ¾ æĿ ¿ åį ° åĪ · Ġ) Ġ. ĠThis Ġsystem Ġmade Ġuse Ġof Ġmultiple Ġblocks Ġ, Ġeach Ġcarved Ġwith Ġa Ġdifferent Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġfinal Ġimage Ġand Ġeach Ġbearing Ġa Ġdifferent Ġcolour Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġa Ġlengthy Ġ, Ġpainstaking Ġprocess Ġ, Ġrequiring Ġthirty Ġto Ġfifty Ġengraved Ġprinting Ġblocks Ġand Ġup Ġto Ġseventy Ġink ings Ġand Ġimpressions Ġto Ġcreate Ġa Ġsingle Ġimage Ġ. ĠHu Ġalso Ġemployed Ġa Ġrelated Ġform Ġof Ġmultiple Ġ@ - @ Ġblock Ġprinting Ġcalled Ġ" Ġset Ġ@ - @ Ġblock Ġprinting Ġ" Ġ( Ġta ob an Ġy ins hua Ġ, Ġå ¥ Ĺ æĿ ¿ åį ° åĪ · Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġexisted Ġsince Ġthe ĠYuan Ġperiod Ġsome Ġ200 Ġyears Ġearlier Ġbut Ġhad Ġonly Ġrecently Ġcome Ġinto Ġfashion Ġagain Ġ. ĠHe Ġrefined Ġthese Ġblock Ġprinting Ġtechniques Ġby Ġdeveloping Ġa Ġprocess Ġfor Ġwiping Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġink Ġoff Ġthe Ġblocks Ġbefore Ġprinting Ġ; Ġthis Ġenabled Ġhim Ġto Ġachieve Ġgrad ation Ġand Ġmodulation Ġof Ġshades Ġwhich Ġwere Ġnot Ġpreviously Ġpossible Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġsome Ġimages Ġ, ĠHu Ġemployed Ġa Ġblind Ġemb oss ing Ġtechnique Ġ( Ġknown Ġas Ġ" Ġemb oss ed Ġdesigns Ġ" Ġ( Ġg ongh ua Ġ, Ġæ ĭ ± è Ĭ± Ġ) Ġor Ġ" Ġemb oss ed Ġblocks Ġ" Ġ( Ġg ong ban Ġ, Ġæ ĭ ± æĿ ¿ Ġ) Ġ, Ġusing Ġan Ġun ink ed Ġ, Ġimprint ed Ġblock Ġto Ġstamp Ġdesigns Ġonto Ġpaper Ġ. ĠHe Ġused Ġthis Ġto Ġcreate Ġwhite Ġrelief Ġeffects Ġfor Ġclouds Ġand Ġfor Ġhighlights Ġon Ġwater Ġor Ġplants Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġa Ġrelatively Ġnew Ġprocess Ġ, Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġinvented Ġby ĠHu Ġ' s Ġcontemporary ĠWu ĠF ax iang Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġalso Ġa ĠNan jing Ġ@ - @ Ġbased Ġpublisher Ġ. ĠWu Ġhad Ġused Ġthis Ġtechnique Ġfor Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġin Ġhis Ġbook ĠW ister ia ĠStudio ĠLetter ĠPaper Ġ( ĠLu ox uan ĠBi angu ĠJian pu Ġ, Ġè ĺ ¿ è »Ĵ è ® Ĭ åı ¤ ç ® ĭ è Ń ľ Ġ) Ġ, Ġpublished Ġin Ġ16 26 Ġ. ĠBoth ĠHu Ġand ĠWu Ġused Ġemb oss ing Ġto Ġcreate Ġdecorative Ġwriting Ġpapers Ġ, Ġthe Ġsale Ġof Ġwhich Ġprovided Ġa Ġsideline Ġincome Ġfor Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠMajor Ġworks Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠHu Ġ' s Ġmost Ġnotable Ġwork Ġis Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio ĠManual Ġof ĠPainting Ġand ĠCall igraph y Ġ( ĠSh iz h uz hai ĠSh uh u ap u Ġ, Ġå į ģ ç« ¹ é ½ ĭ æ Ľ ¸ çķ « è Ń ľ Ġ) Ġ, Ġan Ġanthology Ġof Ġaround Ġ320 Ġprints Ġby Ġaround Ġthirty Ġdifferent Ġartists Ġ( Ġincluding ĠHu Ġhimself Ġ) Ġ, Ġpublished Ġin Ġ16 33 Ġ. ĠIt Ġconsists Ġof Ġeight Ġsections Ġ, Ġcovering Ġcall igraph y Ġ, Ġbamboo Ġ, Ġflowers Ġ, Ġrocks Ġ, Ġbirds Ġand Ġanimals Ġ, Ġpl ums Ġ, Ġor ch ids Ġand Ġfruit Ġ. ĠSome Ġof Ġthese Ġsections Ġhad Ġbeen Ġreleased Ġpreviously Ġas Ġsingle Ġvolumes Ġ. ĠAs Ġwell Ġas Ġa Ġcollection Ġof Ġart works Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġalso Ġintended Ġas Ġan Ġartistic Ġprimer Ġ, Ġwith Ġinstructions Ġon Ġcorrect Ġbrush Ġposition Ġand Ġtechnique Ġand Ġseveral Ġpictures Ġdesigned Ġfor Ġbeginners Ġto Ġcopy Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthese Ġinstructions Ġonly Ġappear Ġin Ġthe Ġsections Ġon Ġor ch ids Ġand Ġbamboo Ġ, Ġthe Ġbook Ġstill Ġremains Ġthe Ġfirst Ġexample Ġof Ġa Ġcateg orical Ġand Ġanalytical Ġapproach Ġto ĠChinese Ġpainting Ġ. ĠIn Ġthis Ġbook Ġ, ĠHu Ġused Ġhis Ġmultiple Ġ@ - @ Ġblock Ġprinting Ġmethods Ġto Ġobtain Ġgrad ations Ġof Ġcolour Ġin Ġthe Ġimages Ġ, Ġrather Ġthan Ġobvious Ġoutlines Ġor Ġoverl aps Ġ. ĠThe Ġmanual Ġis Ġbound Ġin Ġthe Ġ" Ġbutterfly Ġbinding Ġ" Ġ( Ġh ud ie Ġz hu ang Ġ, Ġè Ŀ ´ è Ŀ ¶ è£ Ŀ Ġ) Ġstyle Ġ, Ġwhereby Ġwhole Ġ@ - @ Ġfol io Ġillustrations Ġare Ġfolded Ġso Ġthat Ġeach Ġoccupies Ġa Ġdouble Ġ@ - @ Ġpage Ġspread Ġ. ĠThis Ġbinding Ġstyle Ġallows Ġthe Ġreader Ġto Ġlay Ġthe Ġbook Ġflat Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġlook Ġat Ġa Ġparticular Ġimage Ġ. ĠCambridge ĠUniversity ĠLibrary Ġreleased Ġa Ġcomplete Ġdigital Ġscan Ġof Ġthe Ġmanual Ġ, Ġincluding Ġall Ġwritings Ġand Ġillustrations Ġin ĠAugust Ġ, Ġ2015 Ġ. ĠSaid ĠCharles ĠA yl mer Ġ, ĠHead Ġof Ġthe ĠCambridge ĠUniversity ĠChinese ĠDepartment Ġ, Ġ" ĠThe Ġbinding Ġis Ġso Ġfragile Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġmanual Ġso Ġdelicate Ġ, Ġthat Ġuntil Ġit Ġwas Ġdigit ized Ġ, Ġwe Ġhave Ġnever Ġbeen Ġable Ġto Ġlet Ġanyone Ġlook Ġthrough Ġit Ġor Ġstudy Ġit ĠâĢĵ Ġdespite Ġits Ġund oubted Ġimportance Ġto