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Chapter 3 brings us to the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) periods, widely regarded as the highpoint in traditional times of both Chinese technological creativity as well as the visual portrayal of technology. Before turning to five landmark works from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, each of which represents a new level of achievement in the graphic presentation of technology, we examine one style or technique of Chinese painting, “ruled-line painting” (jiehua), which is the only important non-freehand style of drawing and painting ever developed in China and which, more than any other style, also displayed remarkable potential for the portrayal of technological subjects. We shall see how certain artists realized this potential but also how certain impediments prevented broader use and enhancement of these techniques. We shall also consider the complex role of a government that often supported and promoted technology but also, in its efforts to keep control over certain technologies firmly in its own hands, could serve as a brake on technology itself as well as on its depiction.

Chapter 2 deals with the period mainly from the third to the tenth centuries when the continuing paucity of surviving illustrations of technical subjects obliges us to examine general developments in painting in order to tease out what they might be able to add to our knowledge of technical depictions at this time. We shall see that, during these centuries, Chinese painting remained generally committed to realistic narrative representations, with many artists devoted to creating greater verisimilitude in their paintings. But just as the prevailing aesthetic values were encouraging greater realism in painting and drawing, the almost exclusive use of the Chinese brush for visual representations may have impeded the development of certain representational techniques. Moreover, while the invention of woodblock printing toward the end of this period made possible a much wider reproduction and circulation of illustrations, it was a technology that also contained in itself the potential to inhibit advances in illustration techniques.

The final chapter takes up developments in the Qing period, above all the fascinating story of the Jesuit efforts to introduce into China the most up-to-date painting and drawing techniques from Europe (along with much else from Renaissance culture), and Chinese responses to those efforts. Two outstanding figures will help flesh out this story: Wang Zheng, the first Chinese to attempt to engage seriously with Renaissance mechanics, and the painter Jiao Bingzhen who produced under imperial sponsorship a remarkable new series of illustrations for the Pictures of Tilling and Weaving that were very much influenced by the new western techniques, especially linear perspective. Our examination of certain developments in Renaissance Europe that found little or no resonance in China will help us to understand the difficulties Wang encountered in trying to get an intellectual grip on both the ideas and the illustrations of the new science of mechanics as well as the limited influence Jiao’s and similar efforts had on Chinese painting practice. In the latter case, the new techniques were met with considerable skepticism as to their value or usefulness even when they enjoyed a certain admiration for their cleverness.

The Song and Yuan dynasties witnessed not only unprecedented achievements in technological illustration but also a major reorientation of much of Chinese life and culture, the subject we turn to in Chapter 4. By the end of the eleventh century, a new scholar-official elite now dominated the political and cultural scene in China. To a degree unique among ruling elites anywhere, many of them took up painting as one expression of their cultural superiority. In so doing, they frequently subscribed to a view that rejected the importance of realistic representation in favor of painting that supposedly enabled highly cultivated artists of superior character to give expression to their moral and intellectual pre-eminence. In place of technical skill, many literati critics and connoisseurs even came to admire a certain clumsiness or awkwardness which they held to be harder to achieve than mere skill. These ideas ran directly counter to the kind of exactness and accuracy that make portrayals of technology informative.

The Song and Yuan dynasties witnessed not only unprecedented achievements in technological illustration but also a major reorientation of much of Chinese life and culture, the subject we turn to in Chapter 4. Many of these developments are reflected in altered thinking about just what the aims of painting should be. By the end of the eleventh century, a new scholar-official elite now dominated the political and cultural scene in China. To a degree unique among ruling elites anywhere, many of them took up painting as one expression of their cultural superiority. In so doing, they frequently subscribed to a view that rejected the importance of realistic representation in favor of painting that supposedly enabled highly cultivated artists of superior character to give expression to their moral and intellectual pre-eminence.

Chapter 1 takes up the appearance and evolution of early graphics in China. We introduce some of the first surviving Chinese efforts to portray technical subjects and the context out of which they arose. In particular, we shall direct our attention to the emergence of certain ideas – a preference for generality over specificity, great emphasis on the moral and persuasive power of pictures – that had an enduring influence on the role illustrations later came to play not only in the graphic arts and in the illustration of technology but also in Chinese culture generally. In this chapter, we also pay special attention to the unique importance of early illustrations of farming and clothmaking in China.