Visual Culture in Imperial China

Recent scholarship on visual culture during the Ming and Qing dynasties reveals a dynamic interplay between imperial authority, religious practices, and societal values. Unlike studies on modern Chinese visual culture, which often rely on Western theoretical models, research on the imperial era draws more from art history and anthropology. Key findings highlight how the imperial court used visual elements to project authority, while also exploring auspicious symbolism in tomb contexts, Buddhist and Daoist influences, Confucian values through writing and imagery, urban consumerism via woodblock illustration, rural visual traditions, vernacular images, erotica, and the assimilation of foreign visual elements. This approach provides a nuanced understanding of how visual culture evolved alongside political and social changes over two millennia.

Murray, J. K. (2018). Visual Culture in Imperial China. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.208