I really really enjoyed the topics of this week! This week we learned about the four important objects to a scholar, which are paper, ink, brush and inkstone. For class Tuesday, we listened to a podcast with Dorothy Ko, the author of The Social Life of Inkstones. This podcast was really fascinating, even though I have not read her book. I thought it was really awesome that the author made sure she would write about something that she could first try her hand at. She stated in the podcast that she really tried to weave, but it did not work out so she learned to embroider. A big topic of the podcast was inkstones, and especially about the only woman artisan known to make inkstones in Chinese history. It was really interesting to hear so much about her life in the podcast even though it was very hard to find out this information! She learned from her grandfather how to carve inkstones which she could then make a job out of. I am sure it was hard for her has a woman to be accepted by men, especially since she learned her craft from men, sold it to men, and also taught it to other men. It is so awesome to hear about her work because Chinese history seems to be very masculine because men were seen as holding all the power and profit in a family and as rulers. After learning more about inkstones and seeing some images of them, the designs and the amount of detail put into these inkstones is so awesome but also insane because I can only imagine the amount of time (and probably frustration) that those artisans must have gone through to make such wonderful masterpieces. I have some experience with carving using wood, and it is quite a process that takes a lot of time to master, so I can imagine learning how to carve inkstones is the same way. I really enjoyed how this class was focused more on the art side of Chinese history and at the end of class where we were able to relax and look at a picture of an inkstone and draw it, paying close attention to detail. I honestly think we should bring inkstones back around because the process of using them and having them always on hand to create ink is such a useful resource, although it may take a little bit to form the ink.
On Thursday, we met in the library where we got to see one of the Chinese books found in the Trexler Library collection! There is so much time and skill put into this book, with the spacing of characters, to the binding, to making sure a picture looked correct when folding it over a block. It is so awesome to see the creativity of the Chinese culture and how it differs from what I have learned about things such as the Gutenberg Printing Press.
New Books in East Asian Studies, interview with Dorothy Ko, author of The Social Life of Inkstones. The Social Life of Inkstones: Artisans and Scholars in Early Qing China. A Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute Columbia University. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017.
McDermott, Joseph Peter. A Social History of the Chinese Book : Books and Literati Culture in Late Imperial China. Understanding China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2006.
Smithrosser, Elizabeth. “Bookcare in Medieval China.” Medievalist.net.
