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- TitleTravel through the Song Dynasty with an adorable cat
- English TitleCats of the Song Dynasty
- AuthorGuajila
- PublisherYuanliu
- Publication Date2019-11-27
- Language：Traditional Chinese
- ISBN10: 9573286793
- ISBN13: 9789573286790
- BindingPaperback / 208 pages / 19 x 26 x 1.3 cm / General audience / Full color printing / First edition
- Price:500 yuan(Books.com.tw 博客來)
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20230625
This book, *A Journey Through the Song Dynasty with Adorable Cats*, is illustrated by Chinese artist Guajila and takes readers on an imaginative and adorable historical journey filled with feline charm. It is similar to her previous work...Painting Cats - Meng TangThe content and layout of the Tang Dynasty-themed book are similar.
As the title suggests, the core subject of this book comes from the social customs and humanistic landscape of ancient China during the Song Dynasty. The author skillfully combines historical materials with fiction, allowing readers to see familiar yet novel scenes of customs and folkways, seamlessly integrating anthropomorphic cats into the story.
The artist's dedication is evident in the details of the artwork; the lifelike expressions of each cat are sure to bring a smile to your face! 🐱
In addition to the exquisite illustrations, the book also includes simple text descriptions of the images or culture, as well as small single-panel comic illustrations, allowing readers to explore the trajectory of history in a relaxed manner.
Recommended for those who love cute cats or traditional Chinese style paintings~
Official Introduction
★ A parallel universe created by Guajila, the "Number One Cat Painter in Cat Kingdom".
★ A beautifully illustrated and incredibly heartwarming collection of adorable cat illustrations, featuring over 50 cat pictures and more than 800 feline characters.
★ Includes an interview with the author, Guajila, in Traditional Chinese.
History is incomplete without cats.
Watch cats roam the streets and markets, wander into taverns and teahouses, linger in brothels and theaters, drink tea, play football, wrestle, herd livestock, recite Song Dynasty poems, perform puppet shows, and even cruise the Grand Canal, sing and drink their way home, ride the Qiantang River tide, and participate in the imperial examinations...
Daily life in the Song Dynasty was so vibrant and elegant, so comfortable and pleasant.
Only a cute cat can truly capture its flavor and essence!
[The Song Dynasty was completely cat-ified]
Guajila, known as the "Number One Cat Painter in the Cat Kingdom," recreates the fluffy, round world of the Song Dynasty.
Guajila imitates Song Dynasty genre paintings such as "Peddler's Picture," "Village Doctor Picture," and "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," replacing them with lively and adorable cat characters to depict more than fifty classic scenes that combine surreal fun with historical charm.
Cats can be playful or classic.
Guajila, skilled in comic book style, depicts cats in all their diverse forms—a charming newlywed cat, a drunken cat returning home singing, a tense and amusing female cat sumo wrestler, a clever cat vendor soliciting customers at the night market, a kitten with a bewildered expression during its first birthday celebration, and an elegant literary cat reciting poems and composing lyrics, all vividly and charmingly.
Guajila is also skilled in traditional Chinese painting techniques such as ink wash, as well as the warm and elegant color tones often found in the Song Dynasty, to reproduce the paper-based style that resembles ukiyo-e.
[A Cat-like Daily Life in History]
The book references numerous historical records from the Song Dynasty, including official histories, vernacular stories, notes, and poems. These include works such as *Dongjing Menghualu*, which meticulously records daily details of food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, and entertainment, as well as official and unofficial histories like *Song Shi*, *Menglianglu*, *Mengxi Bitan*, and *Yijian Zhi*. It draws upon anecdotes and historical allusions, and recites poems and songs, creating a vividly realistic world of "Song Cats," full of unique charm.
It particularly focuses on the lives of ordinary people, with each chapter named after a ci poem titled "Fisherman's Song," "Drunken Peace," and "Painted Hall Spring," depicting the customs, fashions, and crafts of the Song Dynasty. It also captures glimpses of everyday life in the streets and alleys, such as taverns, teahouses, Cuju (an ancient Chinese football game), weddings, first birthday celebrations, village doctors, village schools, spring outings, moon gazing, puppet shows, and women's sumo wrestling, making it all very captivating.
Content
- 003 – Foreword by Guo Zheng, Huang Zonghui, Yang Jiaxian, and Xie Jinyu
- 006 – Preface
- 007 – Episode 1: Fisherman's Song - Idle Talk in the Countryside of the Song Dynasty
- Peddler Cat / Village Doctor Cat / Village Cat Wedding Ceremony / Village Cat Schoolyard Mischief / Herding / Group of Blind Cats / Singing and Drunkenly Returning Home / Tavern / Silkworm Woman
- 039 – Chapter Two: Leisurely Musings on the Everyday Life in the Song Dynasty
- Teahouse / Daxiangguo Temple / Puppet Show / Cuju (ancient Chinese football) / Jinming Pond in March / Three Pagodas of West Lake / Women's Sumo Wrestling / Variety Show Cat / Paw Crossing Ceremony / Chef Cat / Night Market
- 077 – Chapter 3: A Record of Customs in the Song Dynasty (A Piece of Gold)
- Spring Garden Antiques / Spring Outing and Evening Return / Nuo Cat Dance / Lotus Fragrance in Summer / Qiantang River Tide Rides / Autumn Mountains and Red Trees / Jade Terrace Moon Walk / Snow Hall Cat Tales / Zhou Zui Grand Ceremony
- 111 – Chapter Four: A Brief Account of Life in the Drunken and Peaceful Song Dynasty
- The Grand Canal / Maritime Silk Road / Border Trade / Woodblock Printing / Imperial Examinations / Interrogation and Verification / Bone Steaming Examination / Song Dynasty Porcelain / Horses / Cat Armor
- 151 – Chapter 5: Anecdotes about the Literary Cats of the Song Dynasty in the Painted Hall Spring
- Song Dynasty Lyrics and Folk Songs / West Garden Gathering Cats / Literary Cat Life / Artistic Cats / The Roar of the Lioness of Hedong / Catching a Son-in-Law Under the Examination Results / Playing with Cats Under the Banana Tree / Playing with Kittens
- 179 – Chapter Six: The Phoenix Arrives at the Court – Anecdotes from the Song Dynasty Court
- Cats carrying imperial entourage / Cat emperors and empresses of the Song Dynasty / Emperor Renzong watching sumo wrestling / Male cats adorned with flowers / Auspicious cranes playing the zither / Calligraphy on a silk fan / Emperor Liu Shan of the Southern Tang Dynasty / Liao, Jin, Western Xia, and Mongol dynasties
- 204 – A Message to Taiwanese Readers – An Interview with Guajira (Traditional Chinese Edition)
- 207 – Bibliography
About the Author
Guajila
Independent illustrator/comic artist. Graduated from the China Academy of Art.
He has long been lurking in the cat market to gather inspiration, drawing everything from ancient times to the present. He is known as "the number one cat painter in the cat kingdom".
His representative works include "Guajila", "Guajila: A Budget Trip to Italy", "Guajila: The Time Machine of Memories", "Meow Star Yearbook", "Dog Star Yearbook", "Foodie", "Talking Cats" (all in simplified Chinese), and "Painting Cats: Dreaming of Tang".
"Traveling Through the Song Dynasty with Adorable Cats" is a brand-new upgrade to the Guajila Cat Painting Series, which uses adorable cats to depict the charm of the Song Dynasty and is full of fun.
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Is the style similar to that of Su Zhenglou? Is there much repetition in the content related to the Song Dynasty?
The styles are indeed very similar 🤣 The theme is the Song Dynasty, so there will be some recurring themes~ However, the illustrations are all different. I personally think it's quite interesting to compare the two books!