Superfluous Things
Subtitle: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: May 2004
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 219
ISBN-13: 9780824828202
Subjects: Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 500 to c 1500; Cultural studies; c 1500 to c 1600; History - General History; China; Philosophy; Anthropology - Cultural; Asia - China; Eastern; 20th century; History; Social classes
Description: "This 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 toward them. He informs his discussions with references to both socio-cultural theory and current debates on eighteenth-century England concerning luxury, conspicuous consumption, and the growth of the consumer society."--Jacket.