Qing Court Paintings from the Perspective of Natural History

Abstract

In recent years, academic inquiries such as the history of science, natural history culture, visual culture, iconography, and local knowledge of anthropology have almost simultaneously been applied to the research of ancient artworks. Among these, the analysis from the perspective of natural history is unique and foundational. This requires researchers to be well-versed in history and local knowledge, and to make full use of modern natural science disciplines such as taxonomy and ecology to describe the details of antiques basically. The aim is to reveal the “life-world” scenes and cognitive levels of the local people at that time and subsequently discuss the cultural, historical, and political implications. The Qing court left behind numerous natural history-themed paintings and related archival materials. It is highly necessary to analyze their natural history details and local characteristics. Qing court paintings exhibit distinct natural history characteristics in inheriting Han culture, integrating Manchu culture, and reflecting Chinese-Western material and cultural exchanges. Substantive analysis of these Qing court painting cases will provide a highly promising potential approach for the natural history research of ancient artworks.

Keywords

Qing court painting / natural history analysis / local knowledge / visual culture

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Higher Education Press