Single book exhibition in Hermitage with hand-written tome on war ruse of ancient China

The Hermitage museum has opened an exhibition of the Rare Book From Saint-Petersburg publishing house, and it features not mere books but true masterpieces. Ancient the most rare texts designed by contemporary artists, bookbinders and paper dressers, either exist in a single or a few copies. This unique project carries on for over 10 years in Saint Petersburg, and this year it presents a tome on war ruse from the ancient China titled The 36 Stratagems.

“It is another masterpiece that demonstrates the skill of our scribes and artists. We are excited to present The 36 Stratagems: Canon of the Ancient China Warcraft”, says Mikhail Piotrovsky, The Hermitage General Director.

Museums from all over the world literally battle to exhibit such editions. One can never be purchased as they are either presented or auctioned. The run may sit between one and several dozens of copies, and the price at times can well head to millions of roubles! But naturally the money is not the essence here.

“As you can see, the golden dragon that represents strength and power of China, serves as a background for the warriors that resemble the Chinese Terracotta Army from Xiang. These are bronze, embossment, patination and gilding“, comments Pyotr Suspitsin, Manager of the Rare Book from Saint-Petersburg publishing house.

The text itself, its history and the work by contemporary artists are of no less interest. The treatise was found accidently in 1939 and created a stir in the 70s of the same century having miraculously survived Mao Zedong’s “Cultural revolution”. It has been translated, studied, researched and literally put under the microscope, yet neither the author, nor the dates when it was created are known – the most accurate estimate points to approximately three thousand years ago. Another opinion says this work is a collection of essays by various generals from different eras. Both historians and linguists spend their efforts to decipher the text to the present day.

The authors of this very copy strived to translate power, wisdom and beauty of the text in printing. Engravings and lithographs involved a whole team of artists from Saint Petersburg, while text comments were scribed by special guest calligraphers Lo Lei from China and Russian calligraphy painters, members of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy project, Denis Lotaryov and Natalia Lotaryova.

“This is an absolute human work. Me and my husband have written all 30 copies by hand”, says Natalia Lotaryova, graphic artist and member of the Rare Book from Saint-Petersburg project. The 36 Stratagems has been illustrated by famous Saint-Petersburg book illustrators with each of them having rendered the ancient Chinese text in their own manner brilliantly using various engraving and lithography techniques.

The tome is stored in a purpose-designed case clad with red silk, and even the lock on it is an applied art example. As mentioned above, there are only 30 copies produced; yet each of them bears its own special features, such as colour, letter positioning or unique embossment pattern, which is natural for any original work.

Single book exhibition in Hermitage with hand-written tome on war ruse of ancient China