An incomparable look at how Chinese artists have used
mass production to assemble exquisite objects from standardized
parts Chinese workers in the third century BCE created
seven thousand life-sized ...terracotta soldiers to guard the tomb of
the First Emperor. In the eleventh century CE, Chinese builders
constructed a pagoda from as many as thirty thousand separately
carved wooden pieces. As these examples show, throughout history,
Chinese artisans have produced works of art in astonishing
quantities, and have done so without sacrificing quality,
affordability, or speed of manufacture. In this book, Lothar
Ledderose takes us on a remarkable tour of Chinese art and culture
to explain how artists used complex systems of mass production to
assemble extraordinary objects from standardized parts or modules.
He reveals how these systems have deep roots in Chinese thought and
reflect characteristically Chinese modes of social organization.
Combining invaluable aesthetic and cultural insights with a rich
variety of illustrations, Ten Thousand Things make a
profound statement about Chinese art and society.
A general lack of higher-order regularity in temporal organization is one important feature that differentiates qin music of the Chinese literati from most other genres of traditional Chinese music, ...but this has seldom been discussed in scholarly circles. To fill this gap, the present paper provides a systematic discussion of the freedom in metrical structure characteristic of qin music. Because rhythmic elements in qin music are not notated in the tablature score, and fine nuances arising from a variety of fingering techniques can affect the perception of phrasing and hierarchies of pulsation, studying the metrical structure of qin pieces is an act of interpretation and depends on a thorough grasp of traditional performance conventions and common melodic patterns in the music. Both authors being experienced qin players, this study is based on our interpretation of music of important qin players of the present and previous generations. Categories of temporal organization without higher-order regularity identified by the authors include "changing meter," "metrically ambiguous," and "free rhythm," as well as the particular category of "pulsation with interpolated half-beats," forming a continuum where each category merges into the next. Our case study of a representative example of the last category demonstrates an accelerating basic pulsation interrupted irregularly by interpolated half-beats. Such a feature has not been well described in traditional non-Western music, and defies the usual binary division of musical time organization in world music studies into categories with or without a basic regular pulse. This interpretation is confirmed by measurement of inter-onset intervals and linear regression analysis. With the irregular interruption, the listener is sometimes not sure whether certain notes are “on a beat” or are syncopated. Together with irregular interruptions to periodicity at higher levels, the metrical structure can be very ambiguous. The performer might have wanted to create an effect of syncopation or hemiola, but was not concerned with maintaining an overall regular pulsation or any higher-order regularity. The freedom in metrical structure in qin music demonstrates the importance of contextual factors in shaping musical characteristics. The distinctive aesthetic and philosophical perspectives of qin players are particularly important in developing this freedom, which we regard as a Daoist conception. The temporal organization in qin music, and in particular, the category "pulsation with interpolated half-beats," should provide useful insights into future work on temporal organization in world music, and indeed toward future work on the typology of temporal organization in music in general.
The Franciscan Order was one of the most important missionary orders in China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. While rooted in the local communities, they also engaged in various forms of ...interactions with Chinese literati. This article will begin by briefly discussing the issue of the Franciscans changing from religious habit into Chinese dress as well as their evolving attitude towards Confucianism and Chinese rituals, aiming to illustrate the process of shaping their “Western Confucian” image and their adaptation to Chinese culture. Subsequently, the focus of this paper will be shifted to exploring the modes of interactions between the Spanish Franciscans and the Chinese literati. The author argues that the interactions between the two sides were primarily power-based. These power-based interactions entailed establishing connections with officials and leveraging their influence to safeguard missionary activities. It can be further categorized into three types. The first type involved socializing with officials, while the second type included interaction with Jesuit officials in court, and the third type was direct involvement in official positions. In their engagement with literati, the Franciscans demonstrated a thorough understanding of and adaptation to Chinese societal and cultural norms, thereby facilitating the development of their mission.
Aesthetic psychological distance is an important topic in the aesthetics field. Based on Bullough’s theory of psychological distance and Zhu’s extension of that theory, this paper studies the ...aesthetic psychological distance in Chinese traditional arts. The traditional literati painting wastaken as an example to examine the aesthetic psychological distance. The results show that aesthetic psychological distance induces a unique painting technique in literati painting:there is a certain gap between the creator’s intention and the real world referent; aesthetic psychological distance promotes the shift from literati painting to modern ink and wash painting, without losing its aesthetic meaning. The research findings lay the theoretical basis for the aesthetic and artistic activities of contemporary ink and wash painting.
This paper attempts to examine the spread of medical prescription knowledge during the Song dynasty and the role played by the literati officials through a reconstruction of the transmission of ...Painongneibusan, a prescription to treat abscesses. An examination of the origins of Painongneibusan shows that after being confirmed in the Qianjinyaofang, it was passed down through Waitaimiyao, Taipingshenghuifang, Shengjizonglu, and Taipinghuiminhejijufang. In particular, in the records from Taipinghuiminhejijufang, which was revised and enlarged during the Shaoxing period (1131-1162) unlike transmissions that were almost identical to those from previous periods, we can find a clear increase in the knowledge regarding medicinal effects, medicinal ingredients, administration methods, precautions and so on. However, if we examine the same prescription record included in Hongshijiyanfang published by Hong Jun in 1170, we can see that the contents are almost exactly the same as those in Taipinghuiminhejijufang and that Hongshijiyanfang had even more content. Through this study, we can deduce that the prescription recorded in these two books were from the same original text. In addition, we can conclude that the original text is likely to be sourced from the knowledge of folk medicine. According to the records, Hu Quan received this prescription from an “outsider,” and Hu Quan gave this to Hong Kuo, who wrote an introduction and published it as a stone carving in Huizhou. After this, knowledge about this prescription became known far and wide. While Chen Yan criticized the abuse of this prescription, Hong Jun still included it in Hongshijiyanfang, and Hong Mai included it in Yijianzhi, leading to it becoming even more widespread. Due to this spread of the prescription, the transmission of the description that is connected from “Outsider – Ho Quan – Three Hong Brothers” continued to appear in many medical anthologies by literati officials. Whenever this prescription was mentioned, they referred to Three Hong Brothers, and it went as far as to cause the practice to sometimes be called Hongshineibusan.” Chen Ziming continued the criticism of Chen Yan in Waikejingyao; while the prescription made famous by Hong Kuo had the same contents as prescription in Taipinghuiminhejijufang, the fact that criticism was only directed at Hong Kuo is a proof of his influence in the spread of related knowledge. In conclusion, this happened during an active time of accumulation, exchange, and competition in the knowledge of prescription, as can be observed in various sources from the Song Period. There were various communications and exchanges between officials, locals, and literati officials, and tensions could also sometimes be found. We can say that the role of the literati officials was to collect, record, publish, and spread the knowledge of medicine taken from various sources. In addition, in relation to the spread of the knowledge of medicine, the influence of the literati officials exceeded Taipinghuiminhejijufang, which was the official text at that time.
This article, based on analysis and interpretation of the Four Treasures of the Study (wenfang sibao), examines the role played by the Southern Tang in enriching Song literati culture. With the ...success of cultural rejuvenation, the Jianghuai region would become essential to fulfilling the function. Despite that the wenfang sibao originated in a weak southern kingdom, such roots did not affect their eminent image in the slightest. The profound impact of the wenfang sibao upon Song literati culture manifested itself in numerous ways, ranging from enriching connoisseurship and esthetic appreciation to the perpetuation of artistic beauty. Rigorous searches for esthetic artifacts found outside of China by Song literati not only posed challenges to the eminent position of wenfang sibao originating in the Southern Tang, but also necessitated the rethinking of what Huayi zhibian, Sino-barbarian dichotomy, exactly meant in Song China. As a whole, the study of the Nan Tang wenfang sibao substantiates regional legacy as a valid concept for the study of Song literati culture.
La relación entre texto e imagen constituye un tópico literario y un tema importante
en la cultura visual contemporánea. El presente artículo propone indagar las estrategias
representativas para la ...construcción de la identidad del sabio abstinente e inquirir las funciones
expresivas, las semejanzas y las diferencias entre texto e imagen mediante la comparación entre
una pintura (c. 1680-1689) de Shi Tao y un grabado de bronce de Vaenius y Brum (1672).
The relationship between text and image constitutes an important literary topic in
contemporary visual culture. This article proposes to investigate the representative strategies for
the construction of the identity of the abstinent sage and to inquire into the expressive functions,
similarities, and differences between text and image through a comparison between a painting (c.
1680-1689) by Shi Tao and a bronze engraving by Vaenius and Brum (1672).
本文彙整並討論了十三世紀中期的筆記《鶴林玉露》之中的數十篇條目。該書的編撰者是羅大經，他對當時的社會風氣看法頗為悲觀，並且描述了不少暴力事件。通過分析，本文認為《鶴林玉露》的其中一個撰作目的，是要幫南宋讀者作好面對蒙古帝國入侵的心理準備。這本書編織了一幅政治凋敝、英雄輩出，天道有仁、世道不仁的圖景。該作品反映出的複雜性和不確定性使羅大經將「智」定義為適應性，並列舉出諸多時事為例, ...Synthesizing entries from the mid-thirteenth century biji (miscellany 筆記), Helin yulu 鶴林玉露, this article argues that the work, with its bleak view of contemporary times and many tales of violence, can be seen in part as preparing its Southern Song readers for the imminent conflict with the Mongol empire. The text’s vision weaves together political decline and virtuous heroes, as well as a moral heaven and an amoral world. Such complexity and unpredictability leads its compiler, Luo Dajing 羅大經 (c. 1195-after 1252), to define wisdom (zhi 智) as adaptability and supply examples throughout society.
„Postimehest" lugesin, et keegi naisterahvas olevat Kirjameeste Seltsi viimase aastapäeva puhul liikmeks vastu võetud, hädaohust hoolimata, et seltsi siiamaalne rahu seeläbi rikutud oleks. Kui sel ...kombel kõigiti õigustatud ning paljuproovitud naisemantsipatsioonile ka meie eesti naiste seas uksed kõrgeks ja väravad laiaks tehakse, siis palusin kirjalikult Hurt'i, et ta ka minu muide üsna tugevaile ja terveile kopsudele võimaldaks kõige tervislikumat arenemist mainitud kirjandusringis.
This article aims to create a dialogue between a painting (1667) by Shi Tao and a
bronze engraving by Vaenius and Brum (1672), two very different cultural sources. On the one
hand, from the ...perspective of semiotics and sociocultural analysis, we explores the expression
strategies of hermitage life in works of the 17th century; on the other hand, we analyze the
analogies and definitions between text and image
Mediante la comparación entre una pintura (1667) de Shi Tao y un grabado de bronce
de Vaenius y Brum (1672), dos corpus de fuentes culturales muy distintas, el presente artículo
pretende, por un lado, inquirir desde un análisis semiótico y sociocultural las estrategias
expresivas para la representación de la vida eremítica en las obras del siglo XVII; por otro lado,
indagar las analogías y disimilitudes entre texto e imagen
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