Drawing Boundaries
Subtitle: Architectural Images in Qing China
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: October 2004
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 210
ISBN-13: 9780824826635
Subjects: Architecture; Subjects & Themes - General; General; Art; Reference; China; International Architecture - Asian; Asian; Architecture in art; Architectural drawing; Buildings in art; Ming-Qing dynasties, 1368-1912; Painting, Chinese
Description: "Qing China (1644-1912) witnessed a resurgence in architectural painting, a traditional subject category known as jiehua, or boundary painting. Drawing Boundaries concerns itself with the symbolic implications of this impressive and little studied reflorescence. Beginning with a concise and well-illustrated history of the evolution of the tradition, this new study reveals how these images were deployed in the Manchu (Qing) imperial court to define political, social, or cultural boundaries. Characterized by grand conception and regal splendor, the paintings served to enhance the imperial authority of rulers and, to a segment of the elite, to advertise social status. Drawing Boundaries thus speaks to both issues of painting and architectural style and the discourse of powerful cultural forms." "Drawing Boundaries is the first full-length study of an important tradition of premodern Chinese art and architecture."--BOOK JACKET.