Multicolour woodblock printing
Impresión xilográfica en varios colores
- Date
- 1340 (dos colores) / 1633 (policromía) · confidence high
- Place
- Jiangling, Jingzhou, Hubei, China
- Credited to
- Zifu Monastery (1340); Hu Zhengyan (1633)
- Field
- Communication
What it is
A 1340 commentary on the Diamond Sutra was printed in red and black using separate blocks; in 1633 Hu Zhengyan published colour prints in Nanjing using the multi-block (douban) technique. It made it possible to reproduce paintings and maps in colour.
What it led to
- illustrated books and colour painting manuals
- Japanese ukiyo-e prints