This book takes an innovative approach to one of the great figures of Chinese culture, the writer and painter Wen Zhengming (1470-1559). Renowned as one of the great "scholar painters" of the Ming dynasty, Wen was enmeshed in a complex web of social obligations, his "elegant debts" as he called them, which led to many of his most celebrated works. Using an unprecedented quantity of primary sources for his life and work, Elegant Debts looks at the ways in which social obligation and gift exchange were central to personal and ...
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This book takes an innovative approach to one of the great figures of Chinese culture, the writer and painter Wen Zhengming (1470-1559). Renowned as one of the great "scholar painters" of the Ming dynasty, Wen was enmeshed in a complex web of social obligations, his "elegant debts" as he called them, which led to many of his most celebrated works. Using an unprecedented quantity of primary sources for his life and work, Elegant Debts looks at the ways in which social obligation and gift exchange were central to personal and individual identity in the Ming period. The book also examines Wen's family relationships, his friends, mentors, and pupils, his sense of a distinct local identity, and the interplay of national and regional politics with the achievements of his long life. It uses the insights of a range of scholarship - art history, social and literary history, and anthropology - to show how "self" was constructed in Ming China. In doing so, it makes a major contribution toward a more diverse art history that is less dependent on European conceptions of artists and their work. Craig Clunas has published extensively in the field, and is widely recognized as one of the world's le
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Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Fast Shipping.
Excellent study on on the social history of a Chinese literati painter Wen Zhengming, applying Mauss' anthropological theory on the gift to the field of sinology by looking at the social interactions of elite literati men in the mid-Ming and the reasons and functions of the presentation and receiving of gifs (paintings and calligraphies) in the social interactions of Wen Zhengming with his patrons, friends, customers, and family members.
You will however be disappointed if you expect any discussion on Wen Zhengming's paintings or calligraphies themselves, they only figure as props on a stage inhabited by Wen and other actors. The turn from anthropology to art history is not made in this book, even though it is profusely illustrated with images. But illustrations, that is exactly what they remain.
Nevertheless, the book will probably remain essential reading for knowledge on the life and dealings of a literati painter, but hopefully a next study can situate this discussion on painting and social relationships better in the discourse of art history rather than the social history of China.
