Hu Zhengyan (c. 1584 – 1674) was a Chinese artist, printmaker and publisher. He worked in calligraphy, painting, and seal-carving (his own seal pictured), but was primarily a publisher, producing academic texts and records of his work. Hu lived in Nanjing during the transition from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty. A Ming loyalist, he designed the Hongguang Emperor's personal seal and was offered a position at the emperor's remnant court, but declined the post, and held only minor political offices. He largely retired from society after the emperor's capture and death in 1645. He owned and operated an academic publishing house called the Ten Bamboo Studio in Nanjing, where he practised various multi-colour printing and embossing techniques. Hu's work pioneered new techniques in colour printmaking, producing delicate gradations of colour not previously achievable. He is best known for The Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting and Calligraphy, an artist's primer which remained in print for around 200 years.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_Zhengyan

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1542:

Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo became the first European to set foot on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Island,_California

1763:

Following Great Britain's acquisition of New France after the end of the Seven Years' War, King George III issued a Royal Proclamation closing most of this land to the residents of the Thirteen Colonies and reserving it for indigenous peoples. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Proclamation_of_1763

1919:

KLM, the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLM

1976:

Hua Guofeng succeeded Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Communist Party of China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Guofeng

2001:

War on Terrorism: The War in Afghanistan began with an aerial bombing campaign targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

flack: To publicise, to promote. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flack

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Forgiveness is an absolute necessity for continued human existence.   --Desmond Tutu https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu