廣東通草畫
PITH PAPER PAINTINGS OF CANTON

The Muwen Tang Collection Series Vol. 08
346 pages, with 369 plates in full colour, bilingual text, hardcover, cloth. Hong Kong, 2025.
ISBN: 978-988-71239-0-3

by Simon Kwan

Pith paper painting is a unique painting technique developed by the Cantonese artists during the 19th Century. These paintings were drawn on the pith of a special plant called tong cao. Most of these paintings were designed for the Western market. Very few of it were retained in China. Subjects for these paintings captured the daily lives of the ordinary Chinese people during the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Western techniques used in these paintings marked the beginning of Western influence on Modern Chinese art.