Interaction of ‘Greater’ and ‘Minor’ Cultures in Late Imperial China: Case of Popular Woodblock Prints Nianhua from the V. Alekseev’s Collection

摘要

The paper examines explanatory notes written by the Chinese mentors (xiansheng 先生) for the popular prints nianhua年畫collected by the Russian sinologist Vasily Alexeev (1881–1951) during his studies in China in 1906–1909. The studied portion of the noted is stored in the archives of the State Museum of History of Religion (Saint-Petersburg). These commentators possess higher or lower level of learning in Confucian classics and traditional literature; some of them are industry insiders with good knowledge of pictures’ meanings. The paper views their notes as a representation of ‘the greater culture’ evaluation or commenting on ‘the minor culture’ of the popular prints. Closer reading of the mentors’ notes reveals their intention to show off rudimentary knowledge of the classics, which is not always relevant to the content or questions raised by V. Alekseev.