Ming: 50 Years That Changed China

by Craig Clunas (Editor), Jessica Harrison-Hall (Editor)

Published to accompany a major exhibition at the British Museum and drawing on the latest research, this magnificent book explores the extraordinary history of early Ming China: the fabulous imperial courts, the military and cultural achievements, the complex belief systems, and diplomatic and trading missions. Over 250 objects from museums across China and the rest of the world are illustrated here, including spectacular recent archaeological discoveries and come of the most beautiful works of art ever made.

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, China

312 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

Reviews

[Virginprune · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm rating this as a book, because that's how I read it (or tried to) - not as a show programme or a dip-in-dip-out reference manual, and that's what depresses my rating.
The content of the exhibition is truly fascinating/gorgeous/awesome, and still looks great in glossy print format, however this book would very much have benefitted from more diligent editorial work.
There's simply too much repetition of the same details (meaningful in an exhibition context, but tiresome in a book) and the layout (and also quality of writing) goes downhill towards the end.
Still, fascinating subject, and great that so many disparate sources were co-opted.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This colourful volume is the catalogue for the 2014 Ming exhibition at the British Museum. If you saw the show, this is of course an ideal way to refresh your memory, and it shares many of its strengths.

Firstly, the sheer diversity of the material, from ceramics and handscrolls to furniture and lacquer. Secondly, the close examination of Ming contacts with other foreign powers, which includes all sorts of interesting material such as Korean maps, Vietnamese ceramics and illustrated manuscripts in Arabic. Thirdly, the excellent photographs, giving a more detailed view of pieces that you could not explore so closely in the actual displays – for instance, the gold filigree jewellery.

However, reading the book from cover to cover proved less enjoyable than I had hoped. This was a show about history, not a show about art or artists, and the catalogue adheres firmly to this approach. For me at least, this made the reading mostly rather dry, with unexpected highlights such as the section on hunting.

Sometimes material is repeated in more than one chapter, which is fine for important topics like Zhu Di taking power as the Yongle emperor, but faintly irritating for less important topics such as the gifting of giraffes and elephants. The structuring of the material feels choppy too, mainly because your reading of each essay is interrupted by clusters of catalogue entries, which are incorporated in the body of the essay, not left until after.

I don’t regret my purchase and there are some fabulous images, but this is one you do have to work at.

Longer version of this review at http://asianartbrief.com/2015/06/17/b...

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a catalog of an exhibition at the British Museum in 2014. There are hundreds of clear pictures of the artifacts and five scholars, including Craig Clunas, Jessica Harrison-Hall, David Robinson, Marsha Haufler, and Timothy Brook, contribute six essays on the overview of early Ming China (1400-1450), courts, military, arts, religions, and commerce. For readers looking for a dip in early Ming China, you have a bunch of pictures to enjoy; for readers looking for academic refreshment, the six essays are a nice way to be inspired.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully illustrated book. The chapters are academic and assume that the reader has a good background in Chinese history.

[Yasin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most visually pleasing books out there. The glossy sharp finish on all the photos really highlighted the artefacts and artworks.