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

by Dorothy Ko

Book Overview

Follows the path of an everyday object, from quarry to desk

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,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0295749172
• ISBN13: 9780295749174
• Release Date: February 2021
• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.7" x 9.7"