Tea, Fragrance, and Music : Ephemeral Arts and the Formation of Scholar-Artist Communities in Northern Song China / Kin Sum Li.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Li, Kin Sum, author.

Series:

Ancient languages and civilizations ; Volume 9.

Ancient Languages and Civilizations ; Volume 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tea--Social aspects--China--History--To 1500.

Tea.

Ephemeral art--China.

Ephemeral art.

China--Intellectual life--960-1644.

China.

China--Civilization--960-1644.

China--History--Song dynasty, 960-1279.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Leiden, The Netherlands : Brill, [2025]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book explores one of the central questions among many disciplines: how communities are formed. It investigates this question through the perspectives of scholar-artist communities in Northern Song China. You will learn how some of the then popular ephemeral artistic practices, such as whisking tea, burning aromatic substances, and playing and listening to qin music, were performed. Through these practices related sensory experiences were generated. The formation process of communities invovled many other aspects such as the interplay among people, materials, ephemeral arts, and sensory experiences, which is hard to identify in pure textual sources. See Less

Contents:

Front Cover

‎Half-Title Page

‎Series Title Page

‎Title Page

‎Copyright Page

‎Contents

‎Acknowledgements

‎List of Maps, Figures, and Tables

‎Abbreviations

‎Chronology, Dating, Protagonists, and Conventions

‎Introduction

‎1. Cultures of Tea, Fragrance, and Qin Music Today

‎2. Key Terms, Main Arguments, and Approaches

‎3. Community Formation and Scholar-Artists

‎4. Community Formation Involving People, Materials, Experiences, and Ephemeral Practices

‎Chapter 1. Cultural Construct

‎1. Relationship between Tea, Fragrance, and Music

‎2. Tea

‎2.1. Motivations for Appreciating Tea

‎2.1.1. Not Merely Religion

‎2.1.2. Not Merely a Matter of Health

‎2.1.3. Not Merely Preservation

‎2.2. Tea as a Cultural Construct

‎2.2.1. Tea Preparation and Appreciation

‎2.2.2. Preparation of Tea-Drinking Materials

‎2.2.3. The Appearance of the Tea

‎2.2.4. Taste, Texture, and Fragrance of the Tea

‎2.2.5. Special Functions of Tea Utensils in the Tea-Tipping Process

‎2.2.5.1. Bowl and Color

‎2.2.5.2. Ewers and Subtle Sensations

‎2.3. Regulated Tea Practices and the Politics of Tea Culture

‎3. Fragrances and Aromatic Substances

‎3.1. Identification of Aromatic Substances

‎3.2. Formulae for Mixing Aromatic Substances

‎3.3. Incense Burners, Containers, and the Use of Aromatic Substances

‎3.4. Narratives on the Burning of Aromatic Substances

‎4. Music from the Qin and the Prosody

‎4.1. Qin

‎4.1.1. Motivations

‎4.1.2. Appreciating the Qin

‎4.1.3. Qin Music

‎4.1.4. Qin Playing Techniques

‎4.1.5. Audial Distinctiveness and Finger Feelings

‎4.2. Prosody

‎4.2.1. Perceptions of Rhymes and Tonal Patterns

‎4.2.2. Melodies in the Three Poetic Colophons

‎Chapter 2. Economic Construct

‎1. Tea and Utensils

‎1.1. From Raw Tea to Consumable Tea.

‎1.1.1. Tea Gardens in Today's Fujian

‎1.1.2. Tea Gardens in the Northern Song

‎1.1.3. Cultivating, Picking, and Processing Tea

‎1.1.3.1. Picking Tea Buds and Leaves

‎1.1.3.2. Processing and Preserving Tea

‎1.1.3.3. Manpower

‎1.1.3.4. Ownership of Tea Gardens

‎1.2. Tea Policies

‎1.2.1. The Eternal Problem of Supply and Demand

‎1.2.2. Punishment and Rebels

‎1.2.3. Why Reforms?

‎1.2.4. Adding Value to Tea and Product Differentiation

‎1.2.4.1. Diversifying Features

‎1.2.4.2. Differentiation

‎1.2.4.3. Creating New Brand Names

‎1.2.5. Exportation and Tea-Horse Trade

‎1.3. Production and Distribution of Tea Utensils

‎1.3.1. Ceramic Vessels

‎1.3.1.1. Types

‎1.3.1.2. Regional Distribution

‎1.3.1.3. Production

‎1.3.2. Dragon Kilns

‎2. Aromatic Substances

‎2.1. Geographical Sources of Aromatic Substances

‎2.2. Trade Routes for Aromatic Substances

‎2.3. Preservation of Aromatic Substances

‎2.4. Government Control

‎3. Qin

‎3.1. Acquisition of Raw Materials

‎3.1.1. Boards of Wood

‎3.1.2. Lacquer Surface

‎3.1.3. Silk Strings

‎3.1.4. Metal and Stone Components

‎3.2. Assembly

‎3.3. Qin-Making Workshops

‎4. Transportation

‎4.1. Geography

‎4.2. Means of Transportation

‎4.3. Porters and Their Sensory Experiences

‎4.3.1. Working Conditions

‎4.3.2. Food and Accommodation along the Roads

‎4.3.3. Loss

‎4.3.4. Sensory Experiences of the Porters

‎Chapter 3. Artistic Construct

‎1. Literati Gatherings as Constructed in Paintings

‎1.1. The Implied Sequence of Artistic Activities

‎1.2. Tea Gatherings in Other Paintings

‎1.3. Tomb Murals

‎2. Forming Their Own Visual Language

‎3. Tea in Literary Works

‎3.1. Allusions

‎3.2. Reclusiveness

‎3.3. Exchanges among the Scholar-Artists

‎4. Aromatic Substances in Literary Works.

‎5. Qin in Literary Works

‎Conclusion

‎1. Summary

‎2. The Formation of Scholar-Artist Communities

‎3. Methodological Reflections on the History of Art

‎4. Impact on Contemporary Issues

‎Bibliography

‎Appendix 1. Tea Utensils

‎Appendix 2. Images of Water at Different Temperatures

‎Appendix 3. Process of One of the Simulation Experiments of Tea-Tipping

‎Appendix 4. Length of Time, Whisking Frequency, and Angle of Inclination of Whisking

‎Glossary

‎Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Li, Kin Sum Tea, Fragrance, and Music

ISBN:

9789004711839

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004711839 DOI