Things in Between: Splendour and Excess in Ming China

Author(s):  
Craig Clunas

There is plenty of evidence that, during the Ming dynasty in China, the enjoyment of the fruits of commerce was not so frowned upon as the texts of orthodox morality and political economy might imply. The enormous quantities of surviving Ming material culture, which are continuously being augmented by archaeology (since people were buried with goods for use in the afterlife), range from secular and religious buildings, the paintings and calligraphy produced and consumed by the elite, through printed books, furniture, metalwork, textiles, jewellery, carving in a variety of materials from jade to bamboo, and ceramics to weapons and tools. What we find in Ming texts are ways of talking about what we now call ‘consumption’ in ways that are either negative or positive, but which are never detached from a discourse of morality, of good (or bad) governance, and ultimately of a universal order that links humanity and its actions to wider cosmic matters of harmony or disjointedness. This article discusses splendour and excess in Ming China.

明代研究 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (37) ◽  
pp. 001-068
Author(s):  
劉紫依 劉紫依

<p>摺扇的普及,是明代社會風尚異於前代的物質表徵之一。晚明最盛行的二種摺扇中,蘇州摺扇以書畫扇面與精製扇骨著稱,四川摺扇則以進貢聞名,明人常簡稱之為「川扇」、「蜀扇」等,川扇廣義上亦包括各地的仿製品。過往對中國摺扇的研究,多側重扇面書畫藝術與江南製扇工藝,對明代社會生活與物質文化的討論,則一般認為明代宮廷品味的時尚影響、文化底蘊相對不高,川扇不重書畫,又與明代宮廷關係密切,其興衰歷史、風格特點、文化內涵皆未得到充分探討。本文將考證川扇的興衰歷史,並梳理文獻、圖像中川扇的特徵,與明墓屢見出土的無書畫金面摺扇實物比對,指出後者應屬川式扇,並辨析川扇與日本、蘇州、杭州、榮昌等地摺扇的關係,思考不以書畫著稱的川扇在中國摺扇史中的地位,也探究川扇作為方物、貢品、賜物、禮物、商品等在明代的社會文化內涵。川扇大致發端於明初,此後進貢宮廷並成為時尚,作為明代高檔無書畫摺扇的代表,是蘇州書畫扇以外,明代摺扇發展的另一重要線索,體現了明代摺扇文化的豐富性,還對杭州摺扇影響深遠;川扇到晚明已與國計民生、世風人情有深密的交織,後隨明亡而衰落,是明代物質文化中極富時代特色的內容。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>The unprecedented prevalence of folding fans marked one of the significant developments in social customs in the Ming dynasty. Folding fans made in Suzhou and Sichuan were the most famous ones in the late Ming. Suzhou folding fans were renowned for fan leaves decorated with calligraphy and painting and for delicate fan frames, while Sichuan folding fans were famous as tribute to the imperial court. The latter were usually abbreviated as &ldquo;Chuan fans&rdquo; or &ldquo;Shu fans&rdquo; in Ming sources. In a broad sense, Chuan fans also included folding fans in the Sichuan style made in other places in the late Ming. The history, features and culture of Chuan fans have not been fully examined for two reasons. First, past research has mainly focused on literati fan calligraphy and painting and the fan-making craft in Jiangnan. And, second, Chuan fans had close association with the court, but the tastes of Ming court has been generally disregarded by scholars as lacking in cultural depth. Drawing on texts and images, this essay sorts out the history and characteristics of Chuan fans, and links them with the folding fans excavated from Ming tombs, which feature golden leaves without calligraphy and painting. This paper also explores the connections between Chuan fans and those produced in Japan, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Rongchang, and considers the broader place of Chuan fans in the history of Chinese folding fans. Furthermore, this essay explores the social and cultural implications of Chuan fans in the Ming dynasty as local specialties, tributes, bestowals, gifts, commodities and so on. Chuan fans generally appeared in the early Ming, and then became tribute goods as well as trendy items. Representing luxury folding fans that did not have painting or calligraphy, Chuan fans were no less important than the art-adorned Suzhou folding fans. indicating the rich diversity of Ming folding fan culture. Chuan fans also had a deep influence on the subsequent development of Hangzhou folding fans. By the late Ming, Chuan fans had already been closely connected with many aspects of Ming society. As the Ming dynasty fell, Chuan fans also declined, thus remaining of the unique elements of Ming material culture.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7166
Author(s):  
Yukun Zhang ◽  
Songyang Li ◽  
Lifeng Tan ◽  
Jiayin Zhou

The Great Wall of China is more than a wall: it is an extensive cultural route. Pass cities, which are usually large defensive fortresses overseeing an entire fortified area, are an essential part of this heritage and are at the core of the Great Wall’s defense system. Juyong Pass was the closest Pass city to Beijing during the Ming Dynasty when the Great Wall reached its peak. It consisted of five regions—south, east, north, west, and central—that form three fortification levels: core castle, Bao city, and End facility. Based on the Juyong defense area military settlements database, this paper applied spatial analysis methods and found that more than half of the military’s resources for the whole defense area were focused on the western part of the wall, which formed another military core alongside Juyong Pass city. However, the current conservation strategy only focuses on Juyong Pass itself, neglecting the settlements in the western part, thereby destroying the integrity of the Great Wall’s heritage. By clarifying the distribution of cultural heritage in this area, we hope to encourage the preservation of many fortifications according to their authentic historical sphere of control and provide a reference for the sustainable integration of resources along the significant cultural routes of the Great Wall.


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