A Study of Bogu huahui: The Collaborative Work of Zhu Cheng and Ren Xun in 1872

The thesis focuses on the collaborative work of Zhu Cheng and Ren Xun in 1872. The first part of the thesis illustrates the goals and visual effects of composite rubbings. The main difference between existing illustrations and composite rubbings is the surface texture of bronzes that composite rubbings show. In the second part, this thesis reconstructs the way of making composite rubbings and indicates that making composite rubbings relies on sketching. Because the composite rubbings of the collaborative work of Zhu Cheng and Ren Xun in 1872 show some compositions that do not meet the structures of bronzes, there are carved rubbings in this work. The final part of the thesis focuses on how Zhu Cheng and Ren Xun painted flowers. By analyzing the positions of flowers we can discover this work is completed after Ren Xun painted it. However the owner Lansheng entrusted this work to Zhu Cheng again. Zhu Cheng and Ren Xun both worked in Shanghai. In the second half of the nineteenth century Shanghai became the center of the epigraphy and painting activities so bogu huahui prevailed in Shanghai. This thesis tries to revise previous studies that define composite rubbings as mechanical reproduction technology. The collaborative work of Zhu Cheng and Ren Xun in 1872 indicates bogu huahui no longer confines to a specific group of collectors, and bogu huahui becomes professional painting.