Islamic Art in China: Objects and Cultural Exchange
The history of Islamic art usually deals with the arts within regions governed by Islamic rules, mainly spanning from Central and West Asia to the Mediterranean. This course introduces an Asian perspective- the connection between Islamic art and China. This connection consists of two components: the Muslim arts in China and the cultural exchange between China and the Islamic World.
China currently hosts over 20 million Muslims, half of whom are Chinese-speaking . This course delves into the history of Islamic art in China, exploring historical mosques, Arabic calligraphy, and various artifacts. As Muslim migrants arrive d in China, they contribute d to the cultural landscape and play ed a role in the export of Chinese goods to West Asia, such as celadons and blue-and-white porcelains. The course also provides a scope of the artistic exchange between China and the Islamic world, including ceramics, paintings, and more.
In this seminar, we explore the interconnected perspectives of
East Asia, Central Asia, and Europe. We aim to have a methodological
discussion on the localization and diversity of Islamic Art, while
also examining the impact of cultural transfer on the arts.
Teaching: Dr. Shunhua Jin
Recommend readings :
1. Armijo, Jacqueline M. “Chapter 5.3 China”, in The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Archaeology, edited by Bethany Walker, Timothy Insoll, and Corisande Fenwick, 575-594. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
2. Park, Hyunhee. Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia, 1-19. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
3. Steinhardt, Nancy S. “China's Earliest Mosques”. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 3 (2008): 330-361.
4. Carswell, John. “Blue-and-white in China, Asia and the Islamic World”, in Blue and white: Chinese porcelain and its impact on the Western world, edited by John Carswell, 27-35. Catalogue of an exhibition at the David and Alfred Smart Gallery, University of Chicago, 1985.