Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)

<p>The <em>Ordination Scroll of Empress Zhang</em> (1493) in the San Diego Museum of Art, a highlight at the <em>Taoism and the Arts of China</em> exhibition in 2000, is an unusual object among surviving visual material from Ming dynasty China (1368 – 1644). At over twe...

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Main Authors: Luk, Y, Luk Yu Ping
Other Authors: Clunas, C
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
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author Luk, Y
Luk Yu Ping
author2 Clunas, C
author_facet Clunas, C
Luk, Y
Luk Yu Ping
author_sort Luk, Y
collection OXFORD
description <p>The <em>Ordination Scroll of Empress Zhang</em> (1493) in the San Diego Museum of Art, a highlight at the <em>Taoism and the Arts of China</em> exhibition in 2000, is an unusual object among surviving visual material from Ming dynasty China (1368 – 1644). At over twenty-seven metres long, the scroll contains meticulously painted images and a detailed inscription that records the Daoist ordination of Empress Zhang (1470 – 1541), consort of the Hongzhi emperor (r. 1488 – 1505) by the Orthodox Unity institution. The event it documents, which elevates the empress into the celestial realm, would be unknown to history if not for the survival of this scroll. This dissertation is an in-depth study of the <em>Ordination Scroll</em> that also considers its implications for understanding the activities of empresses and their representations during the Ming dynasty.</p> <p>The first three chapters of this dissertation closely examine the material, visual and textual aspects of the <em>Ordination Scroll</em>. The remaining two chapters situate the scroll within the broader activities of Ming empresses. A complete translation of the main inscription in the scroll is provided in the appendix.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:797fc7ce-34c7-4af3-a96d-928cec15098a2022-03-26T20:37:50ZEmpresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)Thesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:797fc7ce-34c7-4af3-a96d-928cec15098aHistory of art and visual cultureHistory of Asia & Far EastEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2010Luk, YLuk Yu PingClunas, C<p>The <em>Ordination Scroll of Empress Zhang</em> (1493) in the San Diego Museum of Art, a highlight at the <em>Taoism and the Arts of China</em> exhibition in 2000, is an unusual object among surviving visual material from Ming dynasty China (1368 – 1644). At over twenty-seven metres long, the scroll contains meticulously painted images and a detailed inscription that records the Daoist ordination of Empress Zhang (1470 – 1541), consort of the Hongzhi emperor (r. 1488 – 1505) by the Orthodox Unity institution. The event it documents, which elevates the empress into the celestial realm, would be unknown to history if not for the survival of this scroll. This dissertation is an in-depth study of the <em>Ordination Scroll</em> that also considers its implications for understanding the activities of empresses and their representations during the Ming dynasty.</p> <p>The first three chapters of this dissertation closely examine the material, visual and textual aspects of the <em>Ordination Scroll</em>. The remaining two chapters situate the scroll within the broader activities of Ming empresses. A complete translation of the main inscription in the scroll is provided in the appendix.</p>
spellingShingle History of art and visual culture
History of Asia & Far East
Luk, Y
Luk Yu Ping
Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)
title Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)
title_full Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)
title_fullStr Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)
title_full_unstemmed Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)
title_short Empresses, religious practice and the imperial image in Ming China: the ordination scroll of Empress Zhang (1493)
title_sort empresses religious practice and the imperial image in ming china the ordination scroll of empress zhang 1493
topic History of art and visual culture
History of Asia & Far East
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