"The Illustrated Biography of the New Odes of Baimei"
"The Illustrated Biography of the New Ode of Baimei" is a character woodblock print book written by Yan Xiyuan, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, with four volumes. The great painter Wang Hui drew the painting, and later Yuan Mei annotated the book. This book brings together more than a hundred women in Chinese history and folklore, including hundreds of biographies of ladies and beauties from past dynasties, accompanied by pictures and literati's poems. This volume was roughly published in the 10th year of Jiaqing (1805).
This book was once a shining pearl in the history of Chinese printmaking. It is a literary treasure that integrates images, biography, poetry and calligraphy. It was first engraved during the Qianlong period and contains hundreds of biographies, hundreds of pictures and more than 200 poems by scholars such as Yuan Mei and other famous ladies of the past dynasties. It was compiled by Mr. Yan Xiyuan, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty, and painted by Mr. Wang Fei, a famous painter who served in the inner court of the Qing Dynasty at that time.