Richard Stodart is a broadly talented artist who also worked with Kenneth Stubbs in re-interpreting sensual and erotic art from ancient cultures. In this 50 card deck, Stodart illustrates a portion of the Ishimpo, a thousand-year-old Chinese medical treatise. Stodart's cards portray stylized oriental backdrops with a couple enjoying one of the enumerated positions in the foreground. The back of each card provides a translation of position's name (Great Bird Soars Over Dark Sea, for example) and a description using many classic euphemisms, such as Bamboo Horse and Celestial Palace. In tone, the paintings are earthily sensual rather than blatantly "hot", respectful of the Taoist teachings underlying the Ishimpo.
Make love like the Ancient Chinese Emperor