Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China Contributor(s): Clunas, Craig (Author) |
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ISBN: 0824828208 ISBN-13: 9780824828202 Publisher: University of Hawaii Press OUR PRICE: $22.80 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2004 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - China - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Social Science | Social Classes & Economic Disparity |
Dewey: 305.509 |
LCCN: 2004001199 |
Physical Information: 0.59" H x 6.22" W x 9.04" (0.89 lbs) 240 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - Chinese |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Now in paperback This outstanding and original book, presented here with a new preface, examines the history of material culture in early modern China. Craig Clunas analyzes "superfluous things"--the paintings, calligraphy, bronzes, ceramics, carved jade, and other objects owned by the elites of Ming China--and describes contemporary attitudes to them. He informs his discussions with reference to both socio-cultural theory and current debates on eighteenth-century England concerning luxury, conspicuous consumption, and the growth of the consumer society. |
Contributor Bio(s): Clunas, Craig: - Craig Clunas is Percival David Chair of Chinese Art at SOAS, London, and the author of Superfluous Things, Fruitful Sites: Garden Culture in Ming Dynasty China, Pictures and Visuality in Early Modern China, and Art in China. |