Term Paper on "Craig Clunas Analysis of Treatise of Superfluous Things"

Term Paper 4 pages (1129 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Craig Clunas' analysis of Treatise of Superfluous Things

Craig Clunas' statement regarding the fact that people were differentiated on account of their role as consumers in the Chinese society ranging from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century accurately exemplifies the way society functioned during the era. People were virtually categorized on account of what they owned at the time, as things were superfluous and merely had the role of representing social status.

Social status was awarded depending on the differences in each individual and in most cases these differences represented personal possessions. The Ming dynasty in particular expressed its interest toward changing the way society functioned until its time and founded a state that was less involved in commerce. Slowly but gradually, emperors in the Ming dynasty became determined to isolate their country from the rest of the world. In order to do this, they put an end to overseas travel and no longer allowed individuals to engage in trade business with other countries. This had devastating consequences of China's fleet, which was actually quite impressive for the time. The fact that influential members of the Ming dynasty terminated what would have brought great triumphs to China is most probably a reason for the difficulties the country went through in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The Chinese society reached a level of cultural distortion because of the prize people started to put on objects. Conditions became critical as individuals were vulgarly interested in material possessions and lost any sense of grace. The late Ming period was seemingly a time when people realized the importance of things, and how objects could be used as a basis to determine a hierarchy.

The emperor did not appear to care that his actions greatly affected his countrymen, as he was only interested in establishing a chain of command that could not be overthrown. Objects practically came to life at the time, being directly responsible for the way people were seen by the rest of society.

It is extremely difficult to determine the exact methods through which things were valued in China during the late Ming dynasty. This is largely owed to the fact that language evolved across time and it is very likely that contemporary meanings of particular words are no longer equivalent to the meanings they had at the time. Another reason for which one is unlikely to produce an accurate account relating the way objects were evaluated during the era is that most information written at the time was supervised by influential individuals, thus meaning that they could modify texts in accordance with their personal interests.

In addition to the fact that differentiation during the late Ming dynasty was done on account on the personal possessions of each individual, women and members of the working class are rarely related to in primary sources, since the upper classes had no regard in the interests of women or of those expressed by poor people.

Although philosophy was thriving during the period, it too was affected by material worth, as philosophers discussed about how physical matter was more important than spiritual matter. Luxury works of art and antiques were related to by philosophers as being of great importance. The Chinese community had turned its attention toward valuing objects that had not necessarily been essential for them, but that simply expressed their owner's intellectual distinction through being exhibited.

Previous to… READ MORE

How to Reference "Craig Clunas Analysis of Treatise of Superfluous Things" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Superfluous Things Term Paper

Superfluous Things: Social Status and Material Culture in Early Modern China

The title of Craig Clunas' book Superfluous Things: Social Status and Material Culture in Early Modern China might at… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1569 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Craig Clunas Material Culture and Social Status in Ming China Research Paper

Craig Clunas and how he portrays material culture in his writings and how John Fairbanks expresses his views on Chinese culture

The question of portraying culture in writing is inherent… read more

Research Paper 10 pages (3438 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA Topic: Art / Painting / Sculpture

---

Things Fall Apart Is a Book Essay

Things fall apart is a book which revolves around the tragic scenes which occur in this material world. The book describes the real life incidents and can also be said… read more

Essay 4 pages (1365 words) Sources: 1+ Style: MLA Topic: Family / Dating / Marriage

---

Things They Carried O'Brien Research Paper

Things They Carried" (O'Brien)

"the Things They Carried"

Tim O'Brien's 1990 collection of war stories "The Things They Carried" is focused on putting across a realistic image of warfare as… read more

Research Paper 6 pages (1756 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Things They Carried Tim O'Brian's Novel Book Review

Things They Carried

Tim O'Brian's novel "The Things They Carried" presents readers with a first-person account involving incidents from the Vietnam War. The book can to a certain extent considered… read more

Book Review 4 pages (1280 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>