Literati Lifestyle and Cross-cultural Perception: A Red Cliffs Bowl from the Hunterian Collection

This paper investigates Early Qing China's urban life in general and the literati lifestyle in particular as exemplified by a porcelain bowl. From the Hunterian Collection in Glasgow, this high-quality blue-and-white ware with 'Red Cliffs' decoration was produced in early 18^th-century Jingdezhen.

Derived from poet Su Shi's celebrated proses, the Red Cliffs theme lingered in Chinese culture for centuries representing literati aesthetics. The 17^th century witnessed this subject become an iconography of porcelain decoration in mass production for domestic and overseas markets, notably the Red Cliffs bowls, accompanied by mediocre quality and mundane features. The Hunterian bowl, however, is an exceptional example of its kind that rekindles the spiritual pursuit connected to the depicted theme. Besides the exquisite appearance and refined artisanship, a colophon also distinguishes this bowl from earlier examples, indicating it to be a scholar's object. Usually behaved in a highly civilized manner, or so were considered, the gentry class once again affected porcelain production to follow their preferred forms and styles. The Hunterian bowl symbolizes a transcendent level of experience appreciated by its owner, combined with Chinese philosophical unity when viewed solely and multisensory perception when placed in a studio setting. The latter resonates with the Western consumers' reception of similar objects, captured by Jacques Linard in his two paintings both entitled Les cinq sense. The speculation of this bowl's owner being of Manchu ethnicity opens up further discussion of the Sinicization of the Manchus.