The xylographic painting is a replication technique peculiar to China. Integrating painting, engraving and printing, it presents brushwork and ink rhymes according to the principle of water-ink permeation. It can be used not only in creating works of art with their own characteristics, but also in vividly replicating Chinese calligraphy and painting of all kinds.
The xylographic painting boasts a long history in China. As early as in the Tang Dynasty, monochromatic xylographs were already featured by a high level of technique. By the late Ming Dynasty, chromatic surprinting such as chromatographic and arching printing had appeared, indicating greater progress in the technique. Since it has constantly been a handcrafted technique, xylography is now inherited and developed simply as a cultural heritage.
As a very specialized and creative process, production of xylographic paintings entails producers' ability to grasp the original works, as well as their grounding in painting and engraving. Chromatic surprinting, in particular, attaches much importance to exquisite workmanship of producers, quality of materials, pigments, moisture, even temperature and humidity. If anything goes wrong, all previous efforts might go to waste. In light of this, the success ratio of producing xylographic paintings is quite low. Take Shizhuzhai Collection of Calligraphy and Painting, by Hu Zhengyan of the Ming Dynasty for example. It took ten years for tens of professionals to make a set of wooden boards. A large amount of money was also devoted to this huge project. Besides, there is a limit on how long a set of wooden boards can be used. Usually, a whole set can be effectively used a little more than one hundred times.
In Duoyunxuan of Shanghai and Rongbaozhai of Beijing, there are exquisite xylographic works.
