China

by Rawski, Evelyn S.; Rawson, Jessica

• ISBN13: 9781903973691
• ISBN10: 1903973694
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-01
• Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts

Summary

Featuring hundreds of pieces never seen outside China, this sumptuous book focuses on the most powerful rulers of China's last dynasty, the Qing. With glorious, specially commissioned color photographs and authoritative text from experts in the field,China: The Three Emperorsfeatures more than 370 treasures-precious robes and palace furnishings, paintings and painted scrolls, weapons and ceremonial armor, clocks and astronomical instruments, and even an imperial throne. An incisive series of essays explores the many fascinating themes linking these artistic and cultural treasures, describing the complex rituals and intriguing personalities that created them.

Table of Contents

The 'prosperous age' : China in the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns	p. 22
The Qianlong emperor as art patron and the formation of the collections of the Palace Museum, Beijing	p. 41
Imperial architecture of the Qing : palaces and retreats	p. 54
Catalogue
Images of imperial grandeur	p. 64
Qing dynasty court painting	p. 76
Ritual	p. 116
Religion	p. 128
Territories of the Qing	p. 154
Diplomats, Jesuits and foreign curiosi	p. 178
The Kangxi emperor : horseman, man of letters, man of science	p. 208
The Yongzheng emperor : art collector and patron	p. 240
The Qianlong emperor : virtue and the possession of antiquity	p. 270
Silent satisfactions : painting and calligraphy of the Chinese educated elite	p. 306
The auspicious universe	p. 356
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