Visual Grammar in Qing-Dynasty Foshan Woodblock New Year Paintings: Implications for Heritage Documentation and Interpretation
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Foshan woodblock New Year paintings operated as recurring visual media in Qing-dynasty ritual and social life, yet scholarship has emphasized history, craft, and subject matter more than the patterned relation between formal design and communicative function. This study examines a purposively selected, fixed maximum-variation corpus of 36 figural works across four functional types. A single Master Evidence Matrix links item metadata, observable coding, pixel-based proportion measurement, contextual interpretation, and verification status. Observable formal variables were coded separately from contextual interpretations, and all aggregate results were generated from item-level records rather than inferred from category totals. During revision, all 36 works were verification-recoded with a final operational codebook, and a second coder independently assessed a stratified 12-work subset. The matrix yields 16 door images, six deity portraits, six auspicious or festive figures, and eight narrative or historical scenes; 11 are attributed to the mid-Qing and 25 to the late-Qing. Symmetry occurs in 14 works, centralized composition in nine, and red in 27. Line weight separates into fine or delicate (20), moderate or intermediate (10), and bold or vigorous (six), while line character is recorded independently through nonexclusive descriptors. Eighteen works were measurable, with head-to-body ratios from 1:2.5 to 1:6; item-level exclusions and type-specific missingness are reported. Revision-stage agreement ranged from 83.3% to 91.7%, and Cohen's kappa ranged from 0.76 to 0.89 across the four variables. Localised Iconology supports a bounded synthesis of authority, blessing, affinity, and mixed cases. The study contributes an auditable visual-communication framework for heritage cataloging and interpretive documentation without making population or causal claims. Its proposed heritage applications require future institutional and stakeholder validation.
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ทัศนะและความคิดเห็นที่ปรากฏในบทความในวารสารศิลปการจัดการ ถือเป็นความรับผิดชอบของผู้เขียนบทความนั้น และไม่ถือเป็นทัศนะและความรับผิดชอบของกองบรรณาธิการ ยินยอมว่าบทความเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของวารสารศิลปการจัดการ
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