"Illustrating Blossoms from Tang Poetry" elevates the "Classic Illustrations" series, surpassing its predecessors ("Flora from the Book of Songs" and "Birds from the Verses of Chu") in refinement. The Five-Step Method empowers beginners to create elegant classical florals effortlessly. Its innovative dual-cover design — techniques on the left, floral gallery on the right — pairs 12 detailed flower tutorials with 10 instructional videos. While tracing 100 artworks, one can't help but recall the Tang ideal: "Each poem a painting, each petal a verse".
— Editor's Choice

★ Where Poetry Meets Pigments: Features 12 seasonal flowers painted with the signature Five-Step Method and Dunhuang-inspired color palettes, creating a tutorial rich in classical Chinese aesthetics that balances literary charm with artistic beauty.
★ Dual-Cover Dual Function:
Left-bound section: Technical guide (tools + Five-Step Method + 12 floral tutorials)
Right-bound section: Floral compendium (100 traceable artworks + 10 video tutorials)
★ Digital-Enhanced Learning: Includes bonus instructional videos and a classical painting resource library, enabling "poetry-painting-botany" interactive learning for all skill levels.

This series includes 3 titles:
"Illustrating Flora from the Classic"
"Illustrating Birds from the Classic"
"Illustrating Blossoms from the Classic"

Drawing on decades of teaching experience, the author presents this meticulously crafted guide using the practical Five-Step Method and resplendent Dunhuang color schemes.

Centered around twelve monthly representative flowers from Tang poetry, the book teaches readers to paint 100 beloved blooms. The book integrates also selected Tang poems, botanical notes and a traceable floral archive, enabling readers to appreciate the beauty of poems from the Tang dynasty as the same time.

Beyond painting techniques, the digital resource library provides extended content like classical masterpiece analysis. Whether you're a watercolor enthusiast or literature lover, this multidimensional work delivers knowledge, artistry, and practicality in one exquisite package.

Jie Ji
Pseudonym of Liu Xin, acclaimed illustrator and former university art instructor (2010-2016). Since 2015, he has specialized in botanical documentation, blending Western scientific illustration precision with Eastern ink-wash literati aesthetics. His signature "Five-Step Method" reflects classical Chinese poetry sensibilities, often applied to everyday objects.
Notable achievements:
"Flower Map" (2016) – Finalist, Frankfurt Global Illustration Exhibition
"Border Town illustrations" – Finalist, China's First Watercolor Illustration Exhibition
Published works include: "Illustrating Flora from the Book of Songs", "Illustrating Birds from the Verses of Chu", "Illustrating Blossoms from Tang Poetry", "Watercolor Notes" – multiple bestsellers with international rights sold.

[Volume 1: Watercolor Floral Techniques]

Tools
Paper
Brushes
Pigments
Water
Other Tools

Methods
Five-Step Method

Painting
Orchid
Winter Jasmine
Peach Blossom
Peony
Pomegranate Flower
Lotus
Crape Myrtle
Osmanthus
Chrysanthemum
Hibiscus Mutabilis
Camellia
Plum Blossom

[Volume 2: Watercolor Florilegium]

Compendium
Lily
Iris japonica
Weeping Crabapple
White Plum Blossom
Red Spider Lily
Larkspur
Ice Flower
Calla Lily
Milk Thistle
Azalea
Dahlia
Nymphaea
Lilac
Cotton Rose
Cosmos
Garden Balsam
Hypericum
Banana Shrub
Saxifrage
Nasturtium
Silk Tree
Prince's Feather
Hemerocallis
Canna
Morning Glory
Hibiscus
Allium Flower
Kapok
Okra
Cypress Vine
Daphne
Spider Flower
Chinese Peony
Firecracker Flower
Blackberry Lily
Rose
Dendrobium
Bougainvillea
Queen of the Night
Hollyhock
Cyclamen
Narcissus
Potato Flower
Geranium
Sunflower
Japanese Quince
Flamingo Flower
Bird of Paradise
Evening Primrose
Moth Orchid
Frangipani
Pagoda Tree Flower
Oleander
Violet
Honeysuckle
Cockscomb
Balloon Flower
Paperbush
Ixeris
St. John's Wort
Wintersweet
Tiger Lily
Plumbago
Clivia
Trumpet Vine
Bamboo Orchid
Ixora
Pear Blossom
Periwinkle
Forsythia
Jasmine
Iris
Chinese Snowball
Apricot Blossom
Blue Poppy
Daylily
Christmas Cactus
Dayflower
Hydrangea
Cotton
Snow Lotus
Rape Flower
Bauhinia
Poppy
Plum Blossom
Tulip
Salvia
Iris
Magnolia
Tung Oil Flower
Plantain Lily
Red Powderpuff
Chinese Rose
Gardenia
Daphne Genkwa
Dandelion
Amaryllis
Wood Sorrel
Redbud
Wisteria

The author said

Five years of experimentation led me through multiple creative evolutions for this project. My earlier works — "Illustrating Flora from the Book of Songs" and "Illustrating Birds from the Verses of Chu" — employed traditional Chinese painting techniques. For this Tang poetry-inspired floral collection, I initially made several changes:
1. Adopted Western realism with elaborate backgrounds, but the results felt unsatisfactory.
2. Embraced watercolor's fluidity, yet the paintings lacked depth.
3. Achieved better visual harmony, but missed the poetic essence of Tang Dynasty.
4. Combined flowers with Tang artifacts — an interesting but forced pairing.
Creative fatigue set in until Editor Zhang Yan proposed "Watercolor Notes", a companion to my "Book of Songs" series. While working on it, I reconsidered the floral project but remained unconvinced by simply replicating past techniques.
True inspiration struck in 2023 when two students independently gifted me books on Dunhuang cave art. During a discussion with Editor Zhang, I suddenly connected Tang poetry's blossoms with Dunhuang's palette — the perfect aesthetic bridge.
Dunhuang murals, flourishing during the Tang Golden Age, embody China's cultural DNA through their elegant yet vibrant colors and rhythmic compositions. Similarly, Tang poems celebrate flowers everywhere — from Du Fu's "countless blooms bending branches low" to the peonies that "stirred the capital." To capture this "imperial splendor," I realized Dunhuang's colors could best revive Tang's floral glory.
Thus, in a spring dawn, I began painting Chang'an's flowers through Dunhuang's prism — this book is the fruit of that epiphany.