HIST 292: Material Culture in China (HC)

An exploration of the evolution of Chinese dress, from the dragon robes and lotus shoes of the imperial era to the modern Mao suit. It demolishes the myth of an ancient, unchanging mode of dress. The text is supplemented by six essays by scholars of Chinese dress.

Exhibition catalog with many illustrations and scholarly entries for all exhibits. Also includes a series of essays by leading experts that explore artistic and cultural treasures, describe complex rituals, and explain the social context.

Discusses the meanings behind hundreds of common motifs and symbols found in all forms of Chinese art. A thorough examination of the diverse usage of natural symbols, colors, numbers, inanimate items and personages.

A history of the reception of Chinese painting from the sixteenth century to the present. Argues that audiences within China were crucial to the evolution of Chinese painting, Clunas introduces ideal types of viewers: the scholar, the gentleman, the merchant, the nation, and the people. But he also emphasizes that the diversity and quantity of images in Chinese culture make it impossible to generalize definitively about what constitutes Chinese painting.

Analyzes the multiple and complex ways in which urban Chinese subjects saw themselves interacting with the new visual culture that emerged during the turbulent period between the 1880s and the 1930s. The media and visual forms examined include lithography, photography, advertising, film, and theatrical performances.

This is an innovative and accessible history, seen through the riches of its images and objects. Clunas uses a wide range of pictures and objects such as painting and ceramics as well as weapons, architecture, textiles and items of dress, printed books.

Claudia Brown's account ranges from the tumultuous Ming/Qing transition to the end of imperial rule. She examines major influences shaping the period: the role of patrons and collectors, printmaking and publishing, religious themes, women artists and Western influences.

This volume closely "reads" thirty-six masterpieces of Chinese painting from the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The book examines multiple layers of meaning- style, technique, symbolism, past traditions, and the artist's personal circumstances-through accessible texts and numerous large color details.

By focusing on the significant years of the early Ming dynasty and through the themes of court people, extraordinary developments in culture, religion, diplomacy and trade, this book brings the wider history to colorful life. This period also saw the creation of beautiful textiles, paintings, ceramics, gold, jewellery, furniture, jade, and lacquer.

This study of material culture in modern China is divided into one section on the dissemination of new materials and objects, and another on their appropriation in the home and on the body. Covers the period from the middle of the 19th century to the founding of the PRC in 1949.