2016/01/01 by Pak-sheung Ng · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Chinese history and philosophy #Japanese History and Culture #China #Calligraphy #History #Chinese literature #CONQUEST #Interpretation (philosophy) #Painting #Literature #Art #Ancient history #Art history #Philosophy #Archaeology
paper · doi:10.1353/sys.2016.0004
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/04/05
A Regional Cultural Tradition in Song China:"The Four Treasures of the Study of the Southern Tang" ('Nan Tang wenfang sibao') Ng Pak-sheung Introduction The Southern Tang 南唐 (937–975) was one of the regional regimes that were founded after the collapse of the Tang dynasty,1 and has drawn increasing scholarly attention in recent years, as shown by a proliferation of academic [End Page 57] publications.2 Researchers have primarily focused on the political, social, and cultural aspects of the regime, with an emphasis on literature and art.3 This article, based on my analysis and interpretation of the Nan Tang wenfang sibao 南唐文房四寶, attempts to examine these artifacts of material and literary culture through the perspective of a regional cultural tradition. The term Nan Tang wenfang sibao refers to the "Four Treasures of the Study" that were produced in the Southern Tang kingdom and continued to be produced in this regime's former territories after their conquest by the Northern Song. These "Four Treasures" were brushes made by the Zhuge family (Zhuge bi 諸葛筆); "dragon tail" inkstones (Longwei shiyan 龍尾石硯 or Longwei yan 龍尾硯); inksticks made by Li Tinggui (Li Tinggui mo 李廷珪墨) and the Li family (Lishi mo 李氏墨); and paper that was used in the Hall of the Pure Heart 澄心堂 (Chengxintang zhi 澄心堂紙) in Li Yu's palace in Jinling 金陵 (modern-day Nanjing). The Nan Tang wenfang sibao characterized a highly diverse literati culture, and served as carriers of a distinctive cultural heritage that was closely associated with historical traditions, painting, calligraphy, [End Page 58] and literary production. All four of these literary materials were produced in the prefectures of Shezhou 歙州 and Xuanzhou 宣州 (modern-day Anhui), which were ruled by the Southern Tang kingdom before their absorption into the Song Empire.4 Since Naitō Konan 內藤湖南 (1866–1934) declared that the Tang and Song represented the pivotal period of transformation in Chinese history, as a watershed between the medieval and late-imperial eras, this academic viewpoint has exerted a profound impact on sinology.5 As indicated by numerous publications on Tang-Song China, historians have widely adopted the model of the Tang-Song transformation to interpret political, social, cultural, economic, legal, and military phenomena.6 However, the conceptual framework [End Page 59] of this article focuses on the significance of a regional cultural tradition of the Southern Tang and the Jiangnan region, as opposed to the conventional wisdom of the Tang-Song transformation. In other words, the aim of this article is not to assess how the Tang-Song transformation occurred, nor to assess its impact on the shaping of Chinese history. Instead, my primary goal is to explore the significance of the Nan Tang wenfang sibao in enriching literati culture in Song China. In this sense, the Tang-Song transformation is merely the timeframe during which the importance of a regional cultural tradition associated with the Southern Tang can be assessed. Presumably, wenfang sibao were of profound significance to Song literati culture. Brushes, inksticks, paper, and inkstones had served as major traditional writing instruments for many centuries; closely integrated, they played important roles in calligraphy and painting, gaining a reputation as the "Four Treasures" of the study.7 However, we may err by taking the importance of wenfang sibao for granted, as they only gradually assumed their central cultural position. This article will examine how the attitude of Song literati towards the Nan Tang wenfang sibao changed from initial unawareness to subsequent appreciation. It will also examine how this regional cultural tradition helped shape and enrich Song literati culture by examining how numerous Song literati perceived, used, and wrote about the "Four Treasures of the Study" [End Page 60] associated with the Southern Tang to show their appreciation and interest in using these writing tools.8 How should the significance of this cultural phenomenon be interpreted? This article will assess the validity of the conceptual framework of cultural memory for Song literati perceptions of the Nan Tang wenfang sibao. When theorizing his analytical framework for the connections amongst memory, identity, and culture, Jan Assmann has elaborated upon the functions of memory as a force shaping cultural identity, in addition to serving as a means to retain information.9 As Assmann has explained: We...