Elegant debts : the social art of Wen Zhengming, 1470-1559

A mine of information on Wen Zhengming and the elite culture of his period, Elegant Debts enriches in substanial ways our understanding of China and of what art is in general. It sets a new standard, and it will probably serve as a model for similar studies on artists in China and elsewhere. (Lothar Ledderose, chair of East Asian art, University of Heidelberg) "This book takes an innovative approach to one of the great figures of Chinese culture, the writer and painter Wen Zhengming (1470-1559). Renowned as one of the great 'scholar painters' of the Ming dynasty, Wen was enmeshed in a complex web of social obligations - his 'elegant debts', as he called them - which led to many of his most celebrated works." "Elegant Debts uses an unprecedented quantity of primary sources for Wen's life and work. It looks at the ways in which social obligation and gift exchange were central to personal and individual identity in the Ming period. It also examines Wen's family relationships, his friends, mentors and pupils, his sense of a distinct local identity, and the interplay of national and regional politics with the achievements of his long life. It uses the insights of a range of scholarship - art history, social and literary history and anthropology - to show how 'self' was constructed in Ming China. In so doing, it makes a major contribution towards a more diverse art history that is less dependent on European conceptions of artists and their work." "Featuring many images of the work of one of China's major painters, this book is accessible to all who are interested in China's culture and history, as well as to students and scholars of art history and the history of culture."--Jacket Renowned as one of the great 'scholar painters' of the Ming dynasty, Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) was enmeshed in a complex web of social obligations - his 'elegant debts' as he called them - which led to many of his most celebrated works. This book takes a different approach to the classical Chinese writer and painter Wen Zhengming (1470-1559).