The Social Life of Inkstones Read Along: Chapter 5

[forestofglory]

Welcome to our read a long of The Social Life of Inkstones: Artisans and Scholars in Early Qing China by Dorothy Ko! For this post we are reading "Chapter 4: Fuzhou: The Collectors"

Previous posts:
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

You are welcome to join in at any time!

This chapter was about inkstone collectors and the culture of collecting

What where the main arguments in this chapter? Did you find them convincing?

Did any historical figures introduced in the chapter stand out to you? In what way?

Did any of the inkstones or other objects in the chapter stand out to you? In what way?

What did this chapter make you want to learn more about?

Did anything in this chapter remind you of fiction you enjoy? Or inspire creative writing thoughts fic or otherwise?

Comments

[forestofglory]

I thought the main argument of the chapter was about the role inkstone collecting played in social networks, and what this meant for the "ownership" of inkstones. Some men where able to use inkstone collection to move up the social ladder. I had a bit of trouble following exactly what she was trying to say about the "alienability" of inkstones.

Chen Zhaolun seems like an adorable fan boy!

There are some pretty inkstones in this chapter but the thing I spent the most time starting at was fig 5.11, the printed page. Partly because I was trying read it, but also because handwriting is fascinating.

I'm very curious what Huang Xiulang thinks of all of this.

[blueshiftofdeath]

I think the "alienability" of the inkstones was mostly about the ironic way that defined their status as collectable items. Inkstones got much of their value from being items that other people might strongly covet, as well as being items that could be easily transferred or gifted. And of course, inkstones being valuable made their "owners" desire to hold onto them in their collections all the more greatly. So the alienability of inkstones simultaneously is the force driving inkstones both away and towards a given collection. And I think this double-force serves to connect people (inkstones as a piece of social networks) and heighten individual feelings regarding artistry and scholarship (inkstones as a piece of personal collections).

That's my read anyway -- it took me a very long time to get through this chapter, so I might be missing something...