Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2016

Illustrating Beauty and Utility

Yuejiao Zhang The University of Texas at Arlington

Abstract

This article examines illustrations in two medical texts written in China’s Northern Song dynasty. Compared with medical books produced in previous dynasties, these two texts incorporated more illustrations with enhanced beauty and usability. These visual features, I argue, carried rhetorical attributes that helped these texts negotiate their way into printing, circulation, and becoming canonical in their own genres. At the same time, they also facilitated efficient and accurate reading through reduced visual clutter and enhanced accuracy, and thus appealed to both the elite and the public readership. The article reviews these visual strategies and their implication for technical communication today.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2016-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281616633599
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Li (2020)
    Visualizing Chinese Immigrants in the<i>U.S. Statistical Atlases</i>: A Case St…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Grant-Davie et al. (2017)
    Helping Doctoral Students Establish Long-Term Identities as Technical Communica…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (19)

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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Ross (2008)
    Dam Visuals: The Changing Visual Argument for the Glen Canyon Dam
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Kimball (2006)
    London through Rose-Colored Graphics: Visual Rhetoric and Information Graphic D…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. MacKiewicz (2005)
    How to Use Five Letterforms to Gauge a Typeface's Personality: A Research-Drive…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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