This Tao-Art lined blank journal glorifies ink plum blossom painting, at its very finest, in the Yuan Dynasty tradition. Featuring reproductions from Plum Blossoms in Early Spring, by the renowned Tao-Artist Wang Mien, this coptic bound journal is a masterpiece in its own right. Great for journaling on the go, the hand-stitched binding allows every page to lay perfectly flat. The Plum Blossoms Handstitched Tao Journal also features a Accordion Keepsake Pouch at the back to keep all of those loose odds and ends in one easy-to-access place, and an elastic end-leaf enclosure to mark your place or enclose the entire book. Ideal with our genuine bamboo pens. Made from the finest archival, lignin-free papers and available in an unlined version perfect for free-form writing or a finely-milled version ideal for drawing.

Front Cover Close up: Plum Blossoms Handstitched Tao Journal.

Back Cover View: Plum Blossoms Handstitched Tao Journal.

Plum Blossoms Handstitched Tao Journal Details
Measures 7 x 9 x .6 inches. Covers are high quality Tao-Art reproductions of Plum Blossoms in Early Spring mounted on archival board with a durable silky smooth matte varnish finish bound in a Coptic fashion. Inside softly lined (wide-rule) archival quality pH balanced (acid-free), lignin-free cream pages and Accordion Keepsake Pouch all held together with an elastic closure.

About the Tao-Artist Wang Mien
Taoist Wang Mien lived from 1287 to 1359, during the short lived Yuan Dynasty, in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, China, and was popularly known by his nicknames Fan-niu-weng and Chu-shih shan-nung. In his youth, Wang Mien worked as a peasant water buffalo herder; living outdoors he was inspired by nature–to capture the inner essence of nature's visual form–and was compelled to paint it. He was especially known for having great influence in the Tao-Art movement specifically in the painting of plums. In his Mastery of Chinese landscape painting and following the tradition and style of the Sung painter Yang Pu-chih, Wang Mien was particularly skillful in the painting of bamboo, rocks and most importantly plum blossoms, all in ink on paper and silk.

Arguably his most important work, Plum Blossoms in Early Spring, as beautifully reproduced in a silky matte finish on the journals front and back covers, is a quintessential Tao-Art masterpiece. Wang Mien brings focus to the harmonization of one’s personal being with the natural harmony and justice of Nature as found in Plum Blossoms in Early Spring. The best Tao-Art reveals inexhaustible nothingness; Nature is stabilized by order, and everything, humans included, exist within nature. Through Tao-Art we see that the universe is sacred and can't be improved. Trying to change nature, especially through art, would ruin it–just as the plum blossom transforms to fruit–we must understand and be in harmony with Nature's change.

About the Paper
Lovely, smooth, archival, lignin-free, extra-thick, cream colored pages fill the lined blank journal; this, along with a superior binding method, give our book a long term archival survivability of over 100 years! The inside archival, lignin-free paper is superiorly engineered and ideally suited for modern writing instruments such as: ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, gel pens, marker pens, most technical pens, and pencils; writing with these instruments is exceptionally smooth. Bleed through is not a problem as the archival, lignin-free paper is 5.5 mil thick. Due to the archival engineering of the paper, some Sumi inks may not form an even spread on the page. While some fountain pens write just fine on this paper, we recommend modern pen or pencil, as non-modern era inks work best on paper manufactured just for calligraphy.

Detailed View: Using the Plum Blossoms Handstitched Tao Journal's Accordion Keepsake Pouch.

Accordion Keepsake Pouch
An archival, lignin-free Accordion Keepsake Pouch in the back of the lined blank journal is ideal for storing odds and ends, money, your passport, plane tickets, a small book, photos, and whatever else you want to tuck away–very handy! While this 8.5 x 6 inch cloth Accordion Keepsake Pouch expands to a full 1.5 inches at its opening, and is technically large enough to fit a whole turkey sandwich, we don't recommend using your lined blank journal as a replacement for a lunch box, as your lunch would get smashed to the size of a pancake! Editor's Note: I can easily fit my quarter inch thick pocket museum guide (which is too big to fit in my pocket!) into the Accordion Keepsake Pouch, as the Coptic Bookbinding has the ability to withstand the added .25 inch thickness without breaking the book; no modern binding would do that!

About the

Detailed Spine View: Coptic Bookbinding Benefits.

Close up View (above): Plum Blossoms in Early Spring Coptic Bookbinding Hand-stitching Detail.

Benefit of Coptic Bookbinding: Lays Perfectly Flat for Ease of Writing.

Plum Blossoms Handstitched Tao Journal's Coptic Bookbinding
Coptic bound journals are ideal for writing, either right or left handed, on either side of the page. Coptic Bookbinding was introduced in the far east more than 2000 years ago and is a MORE DURABLE binding method than standard adhesive or modern sewn bindings. If you removed the cover on a modern bound book, it would be very evident why many binding methods fail–they are not bound by a means that will withstand extended use. The fact that Coptic Bookbinding doesn't need to rely on any additional, and mostly cosmetic, coverings over the spine is apparent the moment you open the lined blank journal. The extremely thick thread used is six times the size of threads commonly used in modern binding techniques, and provides great advantages when no paper, cloth, or other encumbrance is needed over the bound edge. Coptic bound journals serve the needs of writers and readers better; lending to comfortable handing and the long term archival qualities of the book.

Coptic Stitching is a unique looking non-adhesive hand-stitched binding method introduced during the 4th century A.D. in ancient Egypt by the Copts and followers of the Christian Coptic Church. Various forms of coptic stitching techniques have remained popular for over 1500 years and are still in use today. The spine of the book is usually left exposed when a coptic stitching technique is used. The type of knot that is used in the journals and blank books JournalsandBooks.com sells is called a chain stitch, and it is appreciated by bookmakers and booklovers alike for its intricate beauty. Chain stitching allows the book to open a full 360 degrees without damage to the book! While machines can be used to sew a coptic stitch, hand-stitching is still preferred; as such, this Plum Blossoms in Early Spring lined blank journal is completely hand-stitched. The combination of an open-backed binding method and the braided look of a coptic stitch yields an attractive and interesting lined blank journal.

Coptic stitching uses separate threads in pairs or groups. Waxed archival, lignin-free linen thread is used for ease of handling. Pages are grouped together into signatures, which is common to most methods of book making. The greatest advantage to coptic stitching is the ability of the book to open and lay completely flat with no stress on the spine and no damage to the book. Sketchbooks and journals are ideally bound using coptic stitching as artists and writers especially enjoy unfettered access to the entire page without bending at the spine. Journal pages and signatures hold tight, and do not shift around loosely without the use of glue or posts, yielding a durable archival quality book.

Plum Blossoms in Early Spring by Wang Mien; Tao-Art courtesy the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China