 It is an important early example of colour printing.The work was commissioned by Shen Xinyou (), son-in-law of the famous playwright Li Yu, whose mansion in Lanxi, Zhejiang province was known as Jieziyuan, or Mustard Seed Garden.Shen possessed the teaching materials of Li Liufang (李流芳), a painter of the late-Ming dynasty, and commissioned Wáng Gài (), Wáng Shī (), Wáng Niè () and Zhū Shēng () to edit and expand those materials with the aim of producing a manual for landscape painting.