Ten Thousand Things: Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art.
Winner of the 2002 Joseph Levenson Book Prize for pre-1999 China"A truly unique book to clarify the mind about what Chinese art is now and what it was."--Choice"[A] stimulating and provocative overview of the theme of creativity in Chinese art . . . This may be a book with a large and ambitious thesis, but it is also one very firmly grounded in specifics . . . illustrated with a richness and aptness which is rarely seen today . . . The clarity of exposition and the liveliness of the language makes each of the eight linked essays a pleasure to read on its own . . . The work deserves a wide readership, drawn from anyone who thinks that creativity matters."--Craig Clunas,Burlington Magazine"While the idea that traditional China can be defined by its production processes is not entirely new, only with Lothar Ledderose'sTen Thousand Thingshas that argument been made comprehensively, and in terms that fully engage the social and art historian . . . [A]n excellent resource for the social and art history of China."--James A. Flath,Pacific Affairs"Ledderose's book, although written to be accessible to a nonspecialist reader, should have an equally impressive impact on scholars. . . . After reading it, one cannot but be excited about the future direction and possibilities of Chinese art history."--Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt,Journal of Asian Studies