Zhao Mengfu

Zhao Mengfu has enormous significance for Chinese art history. This work presents a new, synthetic portrait of the artist's development from the 1280s to his death in 1322, and evaluates his pivotal role in the social-political context in Yuan China as well as the development of the artist's self-consciousness. Shane McCausland's study features detailed interpretations of pictorial forms in light of historical changes, and close readings of critical colophons, many of whic are appended to artworks but neglected as visual sources. These readings are meant to stimulate visual analysis of the oeuvre as well as debate about the use of Tang (618-907) and other period modes as models for the 'Yuan renaissance.' The book challenges stereotypes portraying Zhao Mengfu as a traitor or careerist. The historical background of dynastic change and Mongol rule is treated in a revisionist manner that aims to contextualize the traditional Chinese hostility towards Zhao Mengfu as a Yuan scholar-official. The concern here is for his development, in the context of Mongol rule, as a Chinese scholar-artist. This book will be a must for scholars, curators, and other specialists in Chinese painting and calligraphy, especially those focusing on Yuan dynasty and literati painting. Shane McCauslandis a lecturer in the history of Chinese art in the Department of Art and Archaeology at SOAS, University of London.

The works of Chinese painter and calligrapher Zhao Mengfu 赵孟頫 (1254-1322). Composite 4 Edition.

The Chinese Chan (jap. Zen) abbot Zhongfeng Mingben of the Yuan Dynasty forged a synthesis of buddhist sutra writing and draft-cursive (zhang cao) script in his calligraphy. This highly idiosyncratic, new style of calligraphy prompted innovative trends in Ming Dynasty China and transmitted current Chinese artistic developments to Japan where it had a major impact on Zen- and tea circles.

"Together the text and illustrations gradually reveal many of the major themes and characteristics of Chinese painting. To "read" these works is to enter a dialogue with the past. Slowly perusing a scroll or album, one shares an intimate experience that has been repeated over the centuries. And it is through such readings that meaning is gradually revealed."--BOOK JACKET.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Sept. 28, 2010-Jan. 2, 2011.

Written by a team of eminent international scholars, this book is the first to recount the history of Chinese painting over a span of some 3000 years.

A book without words, recounting a day in the life of an office worker, told completely in the symbols, icons, and logos of modern life. Twenty years ago I made Book from the Sky, a book of illegible Chinese characters that no one could read. Now I have created Book from the Ground, a book that anyone can read. —Xu Bing Following his classic work Book from the Sky, the Chinese artist Xu Bing presents a new graphic novel—one composed entirely of symbols and icons that are universally understood. Xu Bing spent seven years gathering materials, experimenting, revising, and arranging thousands of pictograms to construct the narrative of Book from the Ground. The result is a readable story without words, an account of twenty-four hours in the life of “Mr. Black,” a typical urban white-collar worker. Our protagonist's day begins with wake-up calls from a nearby bird and his bedside alarm clock; it continues through tooth-brushing, coffee-making, TV-watching, and cat-feeding. He commutes to his job on the subway, works in his office, ponders various fast-food options for lunch, waits in line for the bathroom, daydreams, sends flowers, socializes after work, goes home, kills a mosquito, goes to bed, sleeps, and gets up the next morning to do it all over again. His day is recounted with meticulous and intimate detail, and reads like a postmodern, post-textual riff on James Joyce's account of Bloom's peregrinations in Ulysses. But Xu Bing's narrative, using an exclusively visual language, could be published anywhere, without translation or explication; anyone with experience in contemporary life—anyone who has internalized the icons and logos of modernity, from smiley faces to transit maps to menus—can understand it.

This volume of the Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women completes the four-volume project and contains more than 400 biographies of women active in the Tang through Ming dynasties (618-1644). Many of the entries are the result of original research and provide the only substantial information on women available in English. Of note is the inclusion of a large number of women who reached positions of authority during this period as well as women artists and writers, especially poets, during this period of increased female literacy and more liberal social attitudes to women's cultural roles. Wherever possible, entries incorporate translations of poems and sometimes prose works so as to let the women speak for themselves. The book also includes a multitude of entertainers and actresses. The volume includes a Guide to Chinese Words Used, a Chronology of Dynasties and Major Rulers, a Finding List by Background or Fields of Endeavor, and a Glossary of Chinese Names. It will prove to be a useful tool for research and teaching.

Subject of this book is the social and cultural history of Chinese art collecting during the early years of Mongol rule in China (the Yuan dynasty, 1276-1368). At the core of Weitz’s book is a complete translation of the Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One’s Eyes (Yunyan guoyan lu), an art catalog written by the Song dynasty loyalist Zhou Mi (1232-1298). This text contains detailed records of more than forty private art collections that the author saw in Hangzhou between 1275 and 1296. The careful annotations, scholarly introduction, and well-researched appendices help to broaden our understanding of the early care and transmission of artworks, the social dimensions of art collecting, and the development of a multi-ethnic society in Yuan China.