Knowledge by design- architecture and jade models during the Qianlong reign (1735-1796)

Abstract

Archival household records and artifactual evidence suggest that the Qing emperors and 'court officials' use of models was part and parcel of a systematic appropriation of in-between communication devices in technical and artistic production. This essay analyses when and how officials and craftsmen employed models with a view on architecture and jade production. What made such sampling fashionable and what function did actors of the period assign to such devices for the circulation of aesthetic and technical concerns? Starting with a highly personal case of communication between the emperor and jade craftsmen the chapter shows how models became part of the standardization of methods of circulation across trade boundaries. Bureaucratic handling promoted the unification of descriptive and prescriptive modes that included both sketching and three-dimensional modeling. Clerks further explained material, size and color schemes on yellow strips attached to the model. In such bureaucratic procedures actors considered the aesthetic and technical information given in models conclusive and valid. Imperial workshops then functioned more as design bureaus than as producing sites per se.