In Focus: Design and Ritual in Imperial China—A Case Study

One of the primary aims of this seminar is to explore the feasibility of building a Focus Gallery exhibition around a long-neglected book on things: an illustrated dictionary from the tenth century known as Illustrations to the Three Rites Classics, or Sanli tu. The book discusses 371 ritual objects mentioned in the Confucian Classics, ranging from ceremonial dress, musical instruments, and archery equipment to court insignia and a wide range of sacrificial utensils. The book’s completion coincided with the founding of the Song dynasty, and its images played an important role in the dynasty’s self-presentation as a Confucian state and formed part of the project that led to the rise of the Song scholar elite. Although criticized early on for some of its images, the book remained in use for centuries, and a few of its images are still used in modern dictionaries. This class is thus concerned with artifacts and designs for Chinese state and court ritual, with their early historiography, and with identifying possible objects for an exhibition. 3 credits. Satisfies the pre-1800 or the non-Western requirement.