The Forger's Creed

Reinventing Art History in Early Modern China
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-0-520-40380-2
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 240 Seiten, Cloth Over Boards, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 771 g

The first in-depth look at the history and legacies of forgeries in Chinese art.

In 1634, scholar-official Zhang Taijie (b. ca. 1588) published a book titled A Record of Treasured Paintings (C. Baohui lu), presenting an extensive catalogue of a purportedly vast painting collection he claimed to have built. However, the entire book is Zhang's meticulously crafted forgery; he even forged paintings to match the documentation, and profited from trading them. Furthermore, the book intriguingly mirrors unfounded art-historical claims of its time. Prominent figures like Dong Qichang (1555–1636) made entirely fabricated arguments to assert legitimate lineages in Chinese art, designed to create a fictionalized history shaped by preferred beliefs rather than reality.

While presenting the first comprehensive exploration of various forgery practices in early modern China—fabricated texts, forged paintings, and fictitious art history—The Forger's Creed examines the cultural, social, and genealogical desires, anxieties, and tensions prevalent in early modern China. Through thorough scrutiny of the historical irregularities introduced by these forgeries, J. P. Park highlights a peculiar and paradoxical phenomenon wherein forgeries transform into legitimate materials across Chinese history.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Park, J. P.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Kunstsammlung, Museen, Ausstellungen
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Fälschung, Kunstraub
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Kunstförderung, Mäzenatentum, Auktionen
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunststile Asiatische Kunst

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

List of Illustrations

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

Prologue: James Cahill, Art Historian and Forger

Introduction: Zhang Taijie, the Greatest Art Collector in Chinese History?

1. The Literary Making of the Past: Reading History from Forged Texts

2. To Deceive Is to Believe: Paintings Forged

3. Inventing Traditions: Fabricated Art History

Conclusion: Zhang Taijie, Dong Qichang, and the Carnival

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

J. P. Park is the June and Simon Li Professor in the History of Art at the University of Oxford.