COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NOVEL INVESTITURE OF THE GODS BASED ON WOODBLOCK EDITIONS AND POPULAR PRINTS NIANHUA

Abstract

The authors of this paper discuss visual material based on the plot of the Ming dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義), formed on the basis of large corpus of written historical works and Song-Yuan vernacular literature. Various illustrated woodblock and lithographic editions of the novel (published before 1911) are discussed in chronological order with focus on the special features and artistic level of their illustrations, whose content and technique are compared. Popular woodblock prints nianhua from Russian collections are examined in order to trace whether connections with book illustrations exist and what episodes of the novel became more popular and for what reason. The paper refers to materials stored in prominent libraries, museums and research centers of Russia, Europe, US and Asia.