Material and visual culture of China’s long 19th century is understandably overshadowed by the traumatic warfare, land shortages, famines and uprisings which impacted the lives of a population of around 400 million people. However, innovation can be seen in material culture (including print, painting, calligraphy, textiles, fashion, jewelry, ceramics, lacquer, glass, arms and armor, rugs, silver, money, and photography) during a century in which China’s art, literature, crafts and technology faced unprecedented exposure to global influences. Despite this however, until recently, the 19th century in China has been often defined – and dismissed – as an era of cultural decline.
Building on the critically acclaimed British Museum exhibition China’s hidden century: 1796–1912, this publication seeks to redefine perceptions about 19th-century Qing arts. Essays by some of the world’s leading authorities on Qing culture reveal the social, cultural, religious, creative, economic and political history of makers, users, owners and collectors. Areas of focus include painting and patronage; calligraphy and seal carving; commerce and fashion; and craft technology and technology ensuring that the book will be a manual for the arts of China’s long 19th century.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Painting and Patronage
Introduction to section, by Craig Clunas, Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, University of Oxford.
Chapter 1: ‘The ‘stuff’ of Liulichang’, by Michele Matteini, Assistant Professor, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Chapter 2: ‘Tactful Relations: networking through touch in early 19th-century literati art’, by Michael Hatch, Assistant Professor, Miami University.
Chapter 3: ‘Ren Bonian and the Shanghai Fan in Motion’, by Roberta Wue, Associate Professor, University of Irvine, California.
Chapter 4: ‘Empress Xiaoquancheng’s Portraits: the beginning of the end of Qing court patriarchy and the rise of female subjectivity’, by Ying-chen Peng, Assistant Professor of Chinese Art History, American University, Washington D.C.
2. Calligraphy and Seal Carving
Introduction to section, by Roderick Whitfield, Professor Emeritus SOAS.
Chapter 5: ‘Model-letters compendia and regional memories of Qing Guangzhou’, by Yan Weitian, Assistant Professor, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Chapter 6: ‘Marks and manifestations: the religious art of Su Renshan (1814—c.1850)’, by Yeewan Koon, Associate Professor, Associate Professor, School of Humanities (Fine Arts), University of Hong Kong.
Chapter 7: ‘The seal carving and publishing of seal manuals in the late Qing’, by Yang Chia-ling, Professor of Chinese Art, University of Edinburgh.
3. Vernacular painting and prints
Introduction to section, by Yu–Ping Luk, Basil Gray Curator: Chinese Paintings, Prints and Central Asian Collections at the British Museum.
Chapter 8: ‘Pictorial Versatility: Ancestral Images in Late Imperial China’, by Wen-chien Cheng, Louise Hawley Stone Chair of Chinese Arts at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Chapter 9: ‘Transmedial Connections as Artistic Choices in Vernacular Art in China’, by Alina Martimyanova PhD candidate in East Asian Art History at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Chapter 10: ‘Spoilum emerges from the shadows – a tribute to Carl Crossman’, by Patrick Conner, Research Fellow at the V&A.
4. Maps, Money and Magic Lanterns
Introduction to section, by Shane McCausland, Percival David Professor of the History of Art and Head of the School of Arts, SOAS University of London.
Chapter 11: ‘Managing Borderlands through Images: Maps in Memorials during the Daoguang Reign (1821–50)’, by Xue Zhang, Assistant Professor at Reed College.
Chapter 12: ‘Missionaries, Manchus and the Military: The Transmission of Knowledge during China’s Long 19th Century, as told through British Library Collections’, by Emma Harrison, Curator, Chinese Collections, British Library.
Chapter 13: ‘Intercultural Interactions: Isabella Bird and her Chinese interpreter and guides’, by Amy Matthewson, Lecturer of Chinese History, University of Iceland and Research Associate for the Department of History, Religions, and Philosophies, SOAS, University of London.
Chapter 14: ‘The British Museum collection of money and medals of the Qing period’, by Helen Wang, Curator of East Asian Money, British Museum and Joe Cribb, Adjunct Professor of Numismatics, Hebei Normal University and Former Keeper of Coins and Medals, British Museum.
5. Commerce and Fashion
Introduction to section, by Dorothy Ko, Professor of History and Women's Studies, Barnard College. Columbia University.
Chapter 15: ‘Flowers, Feathers and Fashions: Hair, Nature and Design Innovation in Late Qing China’, by Sarah Cheang, Head of Programme, History of Design, Royal College of Art.
Chapter 16: ‘Fish Belly White and Capital Blue: naming and taming textile colours in 19th-century China’, by Rachel Silberstein, Independent Scholar.
Chapter 17: ‘The Japan Connection: Meiji Decorative Arts and the Late Qing ‘New Policies’ Reforms, by Mei Mei Rado, Assistant Professor, History of Dress, Textiles and Decorative Arts, Bard Graduate Center in New York.
6. Textiles
Introduction to section, by Yuhang Li Associate Professor of Chinese art in the Department of Art History, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Chapter 18: ‘The Cultural Connotations of Qing Dynasty Court Costumes’, by Jacqueline Simcox, Collector, Dealer and Independent Scholar.
Chapter 19: ‘From Monks to Mothers: Evolutions of Patchwork Textiles in China’, by Nancy Berliner, Wu Tung Senior Curator of Chinese Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Chapter 20: ‘Invented Tradition: The Transformation of Chinese Carpets in the 19th Century’, by Lin Chi Lynn, University of Wisconsin – Madison.
7. Decorative Arts
Introduction to section, by Cheng-hua Wang, Associate Professor, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University.
Chapter 21: ‘Drawers of Knowledge, Embodiment of Modernity: A Case Study of the Hybridity of Cantonese-style Furniture’, by Xiaoxin Li, Curator of the Chinese collections, V&A.
Chapter 22: ‘From Palace to Folk: 19th-century Qing Glass’, by Xue Lu (Shelly), Associate Professor, Shanghai Institute of Visual Art and Researcher, Shanghai Museum of Glass.
Chapter 23: ‘How Innovative was Ceramic Production in China’s Long 19th Century?’, by Jessica Harrison–Hall, Head of the China Section, British Museum.
Chapter 24: ‘Gifts to Great Prince Nickolai Alexandrovitch, the Heir to the Russian Throne from the Chinese Emperor Guangxu in 1895 and 1896’, by Maria Menshikova – Senior Research Fellow, Curator of the Chinese decorative arts and jewellery, Oriental Department, the State Hermitage Museum.
8. Craft technology and the environment
Introduction to section, by Shih Ching-fei Professor at the Graduate Institute of Art History, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
Chapter 25: ‘Wu Qijun: Transcribing Mining Technology for the Empire’, by Wang Yijun, Assistant Professor of History, New York University.
Chapter 26: ‘Extractive Romances: Crafting Silver Mythologies in Treaty-Port China’, by Susan I. Eberhard, Lecturer, Art and Design, California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.
Chapter 27: ‘China’s 1800s and Global Environment History: Some Visible Intersections’, by Jonathan Schlesinger, Associate Professor of History, Indiana University.
Bibliography
Index
