The Social Life of Inkstones: Artisans and Scholars in Early Qing China

by Dorothy Ko

Overview

An inkstone, a piece of polished stone no bigger than an outstretched hand, is an instrument for grinding ink, an object of art, a token of exchange between friends or sovereign states, and a surface on which texts and images are carved. As such, the inkstone has been entangled with elite masculinity and the values of wen (culture, literature, civility) in China, Korea, and Japan for more than a millennium. However, for such a ubiquitous object in East Asia, it is virtually unknown in the Western world.

Examining imperial workshops in the Forbidden City, the Duan quarries in Guangdong, the commercial workshops in Suzhou, and collectors homes in Fujian, The Social Life of Inkstones traces inkstones between court and society and shows how collaboration between craftsmen and scholars created a new social order in which the traditional hierarchy of head over hand no longer predominated. Dorothy Ko also highlights the craftswoman Gu Erniang, through whose work the artistry of inkstone-making achieved unprecedented refinement between the 1680s and 1730s.

The Social Life of Inkstones explores the hidden history and cultural significance of the inkstone and puts the stonecutters and artisans on center stage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295999197
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	05/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	330
Sales rank:	311,865
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dorothy Ko is professor of history at Barnard College. She is the author of Cinderella s Sisters: A Revisionist History of Footbinding and coeditor of The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Conventions xi

Chinese Dynasties and Periods xii

Map of China xiii

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 The Palace Workshops: The Emperor and His Servants 13

Chapter 2 Yellow Hill Villages: The Stonecutters 49

Chapter 3 Suzhou: The Crafts(wo)man 81

Chapter 4 Beyond Suzhou: Gu Erniang the Super-Brand 115

Chapter 5 Fuzhou: The Collectors 153

Epilogue: The Craft of Wen 189

Appendix 1 Inkstones Made by Gu Erniang Mentioned in Textual Sources Contemporary to Gu 205

Appendix 2 Inkstones Bearing Signature Marks of Gu Erniang in Major Museum Collections 213

Appendix 3 Members of the Fuzhou Circle 217

Appendix 4 Textual History of Lin Fuyun's Inkstone Chronicle (Yanshi) 223

Appendix 5 Chinese Texts 229

Notes 231

Glossary of Chinese Characters 277

References 283

Index 295

What People are Saying About This

Foong Ping

Ko fires the imagination in her examination of the inkstone in its full richness, both as a writing tool and a sculptural work of art in early Qing dynasty society. These objects tell us complex stories about artistic competition, gendered values, and the many roles of craft in eighteenth-century China.

Dagmar Schäfer

A master of her trade, Ko draws on artifacts and texts to unfurl Qing material, intellectual, and social life. She enlivens a world in which inkstones constituted hidden treasures and constant companions for daily use. Guiding us into the dark pits and workshops, the collector’s studio and imperial halls, Ko presents a fine example of how gender, regional studies, and the history of technology should be combined. A feast for any historian of material cultures, the arts, and crafts.

Jonathan Hay

A magical text. I have little doubt that The Social Life of Inkstones will become not only a point of reference, but also a book that readers simply love.