Reconstructing The Essential Criteria Of Antiquities:hierarchy,Taste And Identity In 12^th-15^th Century China

This thesis focuses on a connoisseurship book in Ming dynasty Ge Gu Yao Lun(GGYL),which is one of the first systematic connoisseurship books in China and has its unshaken status in the Chinese art history.The thesis argues that GGYL has its own hierarchical system of antiquities,which was categorized and ranked by the author Cao Zhao through his criteria,taste and language.From the contrast and comparison of GGYL with Dongtian qinglu(?????)and Baibao zongzhenji(?????),it further investigates both the writing style and publication ideas of Cao Zhao,as well as the underlying relationship between Chinese literati and antique merchants.This antiquarian trend among Chinese literati group was first brought up in Song dynasty and had evolved itself into Ming dynasty with very different collecting attitude and purposes,not only the supreme status of bronzes had confronted challenges,the emergence of luxurious objects,ceramics and lacquer had also suggested a glorious collecting era to come.Unlike late Ming connoisseurship books,GGYL takes very little of contemporary Ming objects and mostly focuses on collecting antiquities of previous dynasties,which not only helps us to further extrapolate Chinese literati and antiquarians'tastes on ancient objects but also provides us with an insight into the archaistic interests of Song and Yuan.During the Ming dynasty,painting themes as “examining the antiquities” started to emerge,together with collecting guidances as GGYL,they both served a role for Chinese literati,not only in the knowledge of connoisseurship,but also as a tool to enter certain social hierarchy,a way to suggest their literati identity and social status.It is also worth noting that this literati identity is constantly changing,in a way by moving ancient objects in and out of collection,and by the way people use and display antiquity.The publications of collecting guidance such as GGYL not only established the author's own social identity but spread to wider audiences the knowledge of collecting and antiquities,and thus had an impact on redefining the elite status into those hands who had the wealth to purchase and learn.Price analysis further suggests that the hierarchical system GGYL constructs,generally goes with price,with only a few exceptions.The analysis advances the research by using historical records of prices to further prove GGYL's hierarchical system and also revived a vivid past of collectors and collections,as well as the vicissitudes of antiquity destinies.