Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper.

Since the end of Ming dynasty and in the Qing dynasty, Suzhou Tao-hua-wu wood-cut was recognized as one of China’s excellent works of art. It later had a great influence upon the Japanese engravings that it was named "the Suzhou Engraving" by the Japanese engraving historians and has won international recognition.

After the Culture Revolution in China, Suzhou engraving maintained the excellent work of traditional woodblock prints and introducing the contemporary style of depicting the landscapes of South of the Yangtze River to the world. This style of prints has gained high reputation both at home and abroad and were exhibited extensively in England, Canada, Japan, U.S. and other countries.

Woodblock Printing Technique

The basic technique of woodblock printing consists of first writing the words or sketching the image onto a sheet of thin paper, which then is glued to a wooden plate. The paper is removed, leaving the design on the wood, which then is carved with a Quan Dao (a special knife used for woodblock carving). The portion to be printed is left at surface level, while all other areas are carved away. The surface portion then is inked and can be used to make multiple impressions.

Woodblock Printing for Text

Early use of smaller stamps on cloth can be found in China from the third century A.D. The earliest mention of woodblock printing of text was for printing Buddhist scriptures in the early Tang Dynasty (618-907). The "Diamond Sutra," discovered in 1907, is the earliest actual "book" (actually a 16-foot long scroll) that has been found, and is dated back to 868. However, it is considered to be of such high quality that experts assume woodblock printing for text had been in use for quite some time previously.

Artistic Uses

Woodblock printing of pictures followed its use for text. During the Song Dynasty (960-1278), many examples can be found of Buddhist images decorating religious texts. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) saw woodblock used in even more artistic ways, and also the use of more complex coloring techniques, but it was still largely used only to reproduce existing images.

Modern Uses

Only in the 20th century did Chinese artists begin to carve the woodblocks to create their own art. During this time, its use by political movements as a means of expression also became common. Woodblock printing now is used by many artists, and is seen as a merging of traditional and modern Chinese art.