The Social Life of Inkstones Read Along

theladyscribe and I are doing a read along of The Social Life of Inkstones: Artisans and Scholars in Early Qing Chinaby Dorothy Ko

Here’s the description:

An inkstone, a piece of polished stone no bigger than an outstretched hand, is an instrument for grinding ink, an object of art, a token of exchange between friends or sovereign states, and a surface on which texts and images are carved. As such, the inkstone has been entangled with elite masculinity and the values of wen (culture, literature, civility) in China, Korea, and Japan for more than a millennium. However, for such a ubiquitous object in East Asia, it is virtually unknown in the Western world.

Examining imperial workshops in the Forbidden City, the Duan quarries in Guangdong, the commercial workshops in Suzhou, and collectors’ homes in Fujian, The Social Life of Inkstones traces inkstones between court and society and shows how collaboration between craftsmen and scholars created a new social order in which the traditional hierarchy of “head over hand” no longer predominated. Dorothy Ko also highlights the craftswoman Gu Erniang, through whose work the artistry of inkstone-making achieved unprecedented refinement between the 1680s and 1730s

The Social Life of Inkstones explores the hidden history and cultural significance of the inkstone and puts the stonecutters and artisans on center stage.

I’m excited to learn more about inkstones!

We would be very happy to have anyone who would like to participate join us. The book is available on JSTOR so if you have academic access you may be able to get it that way.

Here’s the schedule:

Wednesday February 15: Introduction

Wednesday March 2: Chapter 1. The Palace Workshops: The Emperor and His Servants

Wednesday March 16: Chapter 2. Yellow Hill Villages: The Stonecutters

Wednesday March 30: Chapter 3. Suzhou: The Crafts(wo)man

Wednesday April 13: Chapter 4. Beyond Suzhou: Gu Erniang the Super-Brand

Wednesday April 27 Chapter 5. Fuzhou: The Collectors

Wednesday May 11: Epilogue: The Craft of Wen