Follows the path of an everyday object, from quarry to desk

An inkstone, a piece of polished stone no bigger than an outstretched hand, is an instrument for grinding ink, an object of art, a token of exchange between friends or sovereign states, and a surface on which texts and images are carved. As such, the inkstone has been entangled with elite masculinity and the values of wen (culture, literature, civility) in China, Korea, and Japan for more than a millennium. However, for such a ubiquitous object in East Asia, it is virtually unknown in the Western world.

Examining imperial workshops in the Forbidden City, the Duan quarries in Guangdong, the commercial workshops in Suzhou, and collectors’ homes in Fujian, The Social Life of Inkstones traces inkstones between court and society and shows how collaboration between craftsmen and scholars created a new social order in which the traditional hierarchy of “head over hand” no longer predominated. Dorothy Ko also highlights the craftswoman Gu Erniang, through whose work the artistry of inkstone-making achieved unprecedented refinement between the 1680s and 1730s

The Social Life of Inkstones explores the hidden history and cultural significance of the inkstone and puts the stonecutters and artisans on center stage.

"For those interested in material culture histories, Chinese art history or Chinese culture more broadly, this is a must-read."

"Ko’s book, in its reach and ambition, manages to make inkstones diagnostic of, among other things, “the state of politics, art, and manufacture” and “contend-ing knowledge cultures, entanglements between words and things, as well as sensitivities about gender and embodied skills.”"

"Eloquently written and beautifully produced."

"The Social Life of Inkstones is likely to captivate the reader by conjuring a material world in which the inkstone comes into being and acts within the productive conduits constituted by stoneworkers and carvers as well as in the social networks of collectors."

"Enchanting . . . thoroughly researched, lucidly written, and beautifully illustrated. [Ko] guides us through a long and winding journey from prospectors and quarrymen deep in the mountains of Manchuria and Guangdong to carvers and customers in the alleys of Suzhou and Fuzhou, not to mention imperial patrons and bondservant designers behind the high walls of the Forbidden City. . . . Meticulously worked like the best stone from the old pit, it surely will be bought, read, discussed, envied, and remembered by the students of generations to come."

"Advocate[s] for the unsung craftspeople of China, effectively giving them voice and visibility. . . . Beautifully and informatively illustrated, this thoughtful study is a model of scholarship."

"Impressive . . . Ko’s book positions inkstones, their makers, and collectors, in the socio-political context of the early Qing without ever losing sight of her aim: to dwell with the often-illiterate miners and artisans who drew on deeply embedded rituals, experience and local knowledge in their production of exquisite objects. . . . For those interested in material cul-ture histories, Chinese art history or Chinese culture more broadly, this is a must-read."

"The Social Life of Inkstones lays a solid and fascinating foundation for scholars in a variety of fields to engage with material objects in order to take on the larger issues of the dramatic changes to knowledge, craft, and culture that occurred in Ming and Qing China."

"This is in almost every sense an excellent book. . . . The University of Washington Press has produced a fascinating contribution to the study of the art and aesthetics of writing in China, and to the cultural history of the Qing."

"A template for the successful marriage of material culture and intellectual history. . . . Embracing the entanglement of production, consumption, and use, the author expertly unearths the ambient voices in China’s knowledge cultures often subdued by historical accounts: women, labourers and artisans. . . . [The Social Life of Inkstones] brings to light the value and knowledge of an artefact which has, until now, been hidden in plain sight."