From "The Other"to"The World": Methodological Challenges and Breakthroughs in Craig Clunas's Approach to Chinese Art History 

Ma Shuhui

Affiliation:Nanning College of Technology ,Guangxi Nanning,541006；

Abstract : British sinologist Craig Clunas 's Art in China abandons the traditional narrative of dynasty replacement and reconstructs the history of Chinese art with the five themes of tomb, court, temple, literati and market. This writing strategy is not only an innovation of compilation style, but also a profound revolution of aesthetic methodology. This paper argues that Craig Clunas 's breakthrough lies in : first, through the perspective of ' material culture ', he bridged the traditional tension between art history and aesthetics, transforming static aesthetic objects into dynamic social life ; secondly, with the help of Pierre Bourdieu 's theory of " distinction, " Craig Clunas dismantled the central discourse hegemony long occupied by literati paintings, and broke the " wall of distinction " between elite art and folk crafts, painting and embroidery, East and West ; third, from the standpoint of ' cosmopolitanism ', Chinese art is liberated from the marginal position of the ' other ' and incorporated into the equal dialogue of global art history. The path of Craig Clunas is not unassailable, but his practice of " how to write non-western art history " provides an important reflection reference for Chinese local aesthetic research.

Keywords: Craig Clunas; Art in China; material culture; theory of distinction; cosmopolitanism

References

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