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UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Porous Privacy: The Literati Studio and Spatiality in Song China Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3b71s80k Author Zhang, Yunshuang Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Porous Privacy: The Literati Studio and Spatiality in Song China A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Yunshuang Zhang 2017 © Copyright by Yunshuang Zhang 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Porous Privacy: The Literati Studio and Spatiality in Song China by Yunshuang Zhang Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Jack W. Chen, Chair My dissertation examines the distinctive significance of the studio during the Song dynasty (960–1279) through its various literary and visual representations. Simply speaking, the studio was an enclosed site specifically used for reading, writing, and art creation. Pre-Song texts have records of a few early examples of studio sites in China. However, it was during the Song dynasty that the studio became a prominent cultural space for literati. The studio became both an object of scholarly representation and the medium through which the literatus’ everyday practices were effected. In this way, the studio served as a medium for the reproduction of literati culture itself. This dissertation concentrates on the spatiality of this medium. I argue that in Song literary representations, the studio was a porous private space: on the one hand, it provided a confined space for personal practices and self-cultivation; on the other hand, the studio was open to limited public interactions and was an emblematic display of literati self-identity. The main body of this dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first chapter traces the evolution of the literary configuration of the studio till the Song dynasty, to demonstrate the pivotal role that Song literature played in the construction of the studio space. Chapter two ii tackles the issue of how the represented studio worked as a private space for Song literati. However, the studio was a mostly private space in the sense that it also allowed for limited interactions and was used for display. Hence, in the third chapter, I argue that the studio can also work as a particular kind of social space. Chapter four analyzes the porous privacy of the studio from another dimension, the interrelationship among literati, scholarly objects, and the studio. The last chapter examines the studio in its relation to the exterior space—the interplay between the cultural studio and its natural surroundings in literary and pictorial representations. iii The dissertation of Yunshuang Zhang is approved. Natasha Heller Hui-shu Lee David Schaberg Richard Strassberg Jack W. Chen, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv To my family v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ ix Vita ..................................................................................................................................... xi Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 I. Topic and Argument ....................................................................................................1 II. Historical Context .......................................................................................................3 III. Literature Review and Areas of Contribution ...........................................................6 IV. The Principal Sources .............................................................................................17 V. Overview of Chapters ...............................................................................................20 Chapter 1: Evolution of the Representation of the Studio ...........................................23 I. The Prehistory ............................................................................................................24 II. Song Explorations ....................................................................................................37 Chapter 2: The Studio as a Private Space .....................................................................55 I. The Spatial and Temporal Dimensions ......................................................................55 II. Literati Activities in the Physical Studio ..................................................................67 III. The Construction of a Temporary Studio ................................................................84 IV. The Studio in the Mind ...........................................................................................97 Chapter 3: The Studio as a Social Space .....................................................................107 I. Invitations to the Studio ...........................................................................................110 II. Naming the Studio ..................................................................................................134 Chapter 4: Objects in the Studio ..................................................................................167 I. “We Have Our Own Joyful Land” ...........................................................................172 II. “Four Treasures” or “Four Friends” in the Studio? ................................................184 vi III. Personified Objects ................................................................................................194 IV. Studio Objects in Circulation ................................................................................200 Chapter 5: Constructing Nature and Culture in and out of the Studio ....................226 I. Framed Nature, Framed Culture ..............................................................................226 II. “Crossing the River” or “Going to the Five Lakes?” .............................................253 Conclusion: Leaving the Studio ....................................................................................269 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................281 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Mi Fu, Inscribing on the Preface to Orchid Pavilion 題蘭亭序 ....................87 Figure 2. Mi Fu, Colophon of the Preface to Orchid Pavilion in the Yellow-Silk Edition Copied by Chu 褚臨黃絹本蘭亭序跋贊 .......................................................................................89 Figure 3. Anonymous, Seated Gentleman with His Portrait 人物圖 ...........................98 Figure 4. Section of Mountain Villa 龍眠山莊圖: the Hall of Ink Meditation ...........108 Figure 5. Sobriquet Categories ....................................................................................161 Figure 6.1 & 6.2. The She inkstone in the tomb of Lü Zhishan ..................................168 Figure 7. Stationery tools in the tomb of Zhang Tongzhi ...........................................170 Figure 8. The Duan inkstone in the tomb in Lanxi .....................................................171 Figure 9. Occurrences of wenfang in Quan Tang shi 全唐詩 and Quan Song shi 全宋詩 ..........................................................................................................................................175 Figure 10. Cai Xiang, Letter to Yanyou 致彥猷尺牘 ..................................................201 Figure 11. Anonymous, Sima Guang’s Garden of Solitary Enjoyment 畫司馬光獨樂園圖 ..........................................................................................................................................230 Figure 12. The reconstruction of the layout of Sima Guang’s Garden of Solitary Enjoyment ..........................................................................................................................................234 Figure 13. Liu Songnian, Reading the Book of Changes by the Autumn Window 秋窗讀易圖 ..........................................................................................................................................245 Figure 14. Anonymous, Reading in the Willow Hall 柳堂讀書圖 .............................245 Figure 15. Anonymous, Reading the Book of Changes by the Cold Window 寒窗讀易圖 ..........................................................................................................................................251 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my deepest gratitude to my doctoral advisor and mentor Jack W. Chen. It is my great fortune to study with him. During my doctoral research, Prof. Chen has equipped me with a new set of methodology for literary and cultural studies, and has broadened my understanding of literature. Throughout the whole process of writing this dissertation, he fully supported my academic interests, and at the same time gave me incisive instruction and boundless help. My heartfelt thanks also extend to all my doctoral committee members. David Schaberg has provided insightful thoughts on my research and unreserved support to my career, no matter how busy he is. Natasha Heller and Hui-shu Lee not
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