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Focusing on two groups of manuscripts from Tsinghua collection, in this article, the author reconstructs two Warring States manuscripts to illustrate the diversity of the manuscript format of early China. The reconstruction is based on a series of observations on the materiality and textuality of the manuscripts. The first group consists of three manuscripts concerning the stories of two historical figures: Yi Yin and Shang Tang of the Shang dynasty. Based on the basis of verso line, bamboo nodes, and the narrative chronology, the author determines these three manuscripts originally formed one continuous scroll. The second example is theMathematical Chart, also from the Tsinghua University collections. Based a series of observations of the physical features such as the verso imprints, the traces of decayed silk, and signs of damage to the bamboo slips, it is suggested that theMathematical Chartmanuscript was not in the familiar “scroll” format, but rather a “folded” format. This reconstruction provides the first concrete evidence of a “folded” book format since the archaeological discoveries of early Chinese manuscripts in the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tiaozi 条子, or reinforcing strips, are traditionally used to protect and support the cracked or torn areas often seen in rolled Chinese hanging scrolls. They are usually adhered to the verso after a first new lining has been applied or as a repair to the burnished back of a scroll. However, this traditional method can also create as many problems as it solves, especially when it is used to reinforce old weak acidic paper. This article discusses the possible reasons for this and examines an alternative method for the tiaozi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pair of Chinese scrolls representing the earth and sky were donated to the Bodleian Library in 1684. They are thought to be ephemeral items printed during the late Ming dynasty. Records indicate that in 1883 the scrolls were trimmed, patched with transparent paper, backed with cloth and mounted in an unsympathetic manner. In this paper, we consider the conservation and preservation measures adopted by the then Bodleian Librarian and reflect on his participation at the St. Gall Conference in 1898. The conservation treatment of the scrolls completed in 2015 was guided by their past repairs, current ethical considerations and scientific analysis. Breaking the strong bond between the transparent paper and the fragile surface of the scrolls required experimentation with the Albertina Compress and Gellan gum. The recreation of functional hanging scrolls involved the use of traditional scroll-mounting techniques and the reinterpretation of the Chinese mounting style from a western conservation perspective. We also discuss the experience gained in treating two artefacts with almost identical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 1656 handscroll painting by the Chinese artist Huang Xiangjian which depicts an ascent of Mount Jizu in Yunnan Province, China. More specifically, the author discusses how the artist exploited the spatial and temporal potential of the handscroll format to create a constructed experience which takes viewers of the painting on a visual voyage that culminates in a daguan, or “grand view, at the summit of the mountain. This panoramic vista, the author argues, metaphorically implies the comprehensive understanding of certain enlightened individuals.

Copyright of Conservar Património is the property of Associacao Profissional de Conservadores-Restauradores de Portugal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Conservar Património is the property of Associacao Profissional de Conservadores-Restauradores de Portugal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The twenty-seven-meter long scroll known as the Ordination Scroll of Empress Zhang (1493) in the San Diego Museum of Art is an important Daoist artifact from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It contains meticulously-painted images and a long inscription that records and certifies the ordination of Empress Zhang (1470-1541), consort of the Hongzhi emperor (r. 1488-1505), by Zhang Xuanqing (d. 1509), the forty-seventh Heavenly Master. This paper examines the visual features and format of the scroll in order to situate it in relation to other kinds of Daoist and imperial documents and images. It begins by identifying visual sources that may have shaped the design of the Ordination Scroll, namely, Heavenly Court images, imperial edicts and documentary paintings as well as Daoist registers. This paper then compares the scroll to another Ming dynasty work known as the Investiture of a Local God. Although the two scrolls record different Daoist rituals, this paper argues that the two scrolls share notable similarities in their formats. The paper also compares the Ordination Scroll to model ritual documents compiled in Zhou Side's (1359-1451) Shangqing lingbao jidu dacheng jinshu (Golden Writings on the Great Achievement of Deliverance by the Numinous Treasure of Highest Purity). In this compendium, there is a standard certificate with the same kind of textual format as the Ordination Scroll. It is also referred to as "tablet of transcendence," which is the shortened formal title of the scroll. These comparisons suggest that Daoist documents certifying transmissions of scriptures and registers shared conventions in format not only in text but maybe also in images. The Ordination Scroll is a highly elaborate example of such documents that includes both text and images. However, this paper questions whether the Ordination Scroll was the actual certificate of ordination that was transmitted to Empress Zhang in ritual. This is because of the separate depiction of the empress' image, the absence of traces of authorization from priests, and prescribed treatment of ordination documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects on the preservation and conservation of traditional antique Chinese painting and calligraphy seen through observation and examination of works of art. The section discusses the importance of examination and research into historic works of Chinese painting and calligraphy as a means to observing the effects of preservation and conservation methods, present and past. It describes the deterioration of hanging scrolls and hand scrolls, along with traditional storage enclosures, as well as several conservation techniques for these materials.

This article examines the multiple meanings depicted by the hand-scroll painting "The Ear Picker," by Southern Tang court painter Wang Qihan. The analysis was conducted by adopting the strategy of cultural biography and examining colophons to determine how three sets of previous viewers constructed the significance of the hand-scroll painting. The inscriptions that frame the painting, together with three ostensibly imperial Northern Song seals, were patently forged, poor imitations of the slender-gold calligraphy of Song Emperor Huizong.

The article presents abstracts of art history. They include “Let there be irony: cultural history and media archaeology in parallel lines,” “Re-reading inscriptions in Chinese scroll painting: the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries,” "The imaginative dimension of an early eighteenth-century garden," and “Something is happening.”

Examines a pair of hand scrolls written by Lou Shu known as the Pictures of Tilling and Weaving. Currencies in which the vast majority of Chinese farmers during the Song period paid their taxes; Consequences of excessive taxation during the Song period; Recommendations for tilling and weaving practices included in the scrolls.

This article examines the life and career of Hungarian-born British archaeologist Aurel Stein, who discovered numerous cultural relics on scientific expeditions throughout Central Asia during the early 20th century. Here, the focus is on Stein's "discovery" of thousands of valuable Buddhist texts and drawings at Dunhuang, in Gansu Province, China, in 1907. The texts and drawings, made between the 5th and 10th centuries, were in fact discovered by a Taoist monk, Wang Yuanlu, who sold more than nine thousand scrolls and more than five hundred drawings to Stein, who then shipped them to the British Museum and other British archival institutions. The article traces the many archaeological finds made by Stein in China, and the often severe conditions under which he and his staff worked, noting also that Stein was responsible for the removal of a substantial amount of Chinese national treasures. [ABSTRACT FROM CONTRIBUTOR]

The article offers information on traditional Chinese mounting styles used in art. Particular focus is given to the presentation techniques used for scrolls. Additional topics discussed include one-colour and two-colour mounting styles, a painting in the Lingnanbiao style that features cursive script from the calligrapher Gao Jianfu and the use of materials including carrageenan in the mounting.

The article presents information on the conservation of archaeological paper. The author discusses a 1902 excavation by Swedish explorer Sven Hedin in the Gobi desert of Central Asia that resulted in the discovery of Chinese paper manuscripts dated from the 2nd century A.D. and a 1907 excavation by British officer Sir Aurel Stein of a Buddhist monastery library in a rock cave in Dunhuang, China, that included the discovery of well-preserved silk scrolls, paper scrolls, and manuscripts.