Formal Methods for Components and Objects

Sinoglossia places the terms of embodiment, mediality, and translation at the center of analytical inquiry into Chinese and Sinophone cultures. Converging in the rubric of Sinoglossia, the chapters in this volume introduce a theory defined by cultural formations not overdetermined by Sinitic linguistic ties. The concept of Sinoglossia combines a heteroglossic and a heterotopian approach to the critical study of mediated discourses of China and Chineseness. From the history of physical examinations and queer subalternity to the cinematic inscription of Chineseness-as-landscape, and from Sinopop to the translational writings of Eileen Chang and Syaman Rapongan, this book argues for a flexible conceptualization of cultural objects, conditions, and contexts that draws attention to an array of polyphonic, multi-discursive, and multilingual articulations. In this new horizon of understanding, place or topos necessarily constitutes the possibility of friction and source of innovation.“Sinogloss

High Gothic: Christian Art & Iconography of the 13th–14th Century showcases classic examples of statuary, stained glass, diptychs, textiles and caskets that were used in the expression of Christian devotion in Western Europe.‘Gothic’ was originally a derogatory term coined by scholars during the Renaissance to describe the ‘barbaric’ medieval architecture that arose with the decline of the classical forms of the Roman Empire. The word is now understood to describe a style of buildings and objects created between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries which incorporate elements such as novel advances in masonry work and the characteristic ogival arch.The Gothic period saw an increased emphasis on the power of images, where vision became an active force for activating emotion and inspiring contemplation. The great cathedrals constructed in this period―with their thin walls and high vaults filled with statuary and stained-glass windows―were designed to evoke awe among visitors. The exqui

Simply keeping the mind clear and calm was, for many post-Tang Daoists, the path to eternal life and freedom. Through sheer serenity, practitioners believed they could attain immunity to hunger, eliminate sexual function, suspend breath and pulse, engage in astral travel, and command spirits and natural forces.In his meticulously researched study, Stephen Eskildsen examines how this perspective informed Daoist internal alchemists after the Tang dynasty (618–907), including prominent representatives of the Quanzhen tradition in the north and the Nanzong in the south. Drawing on a wide array of textual sources, he analyzes the teachings of figures like Qiu Chuji (1143–1227), Yin Zhiping (1169–1251), Zhang Boduan (ca. 984–1082), Bai Yuchan (1194– 1229), Li Daochun (fl. 1288–1292), Yu Yan (ca. 1253–1314), and Wu Shouyang (1574–after 1641), among others. These adepts emphasized passive, straightforward methods that they believed gave rise to spontaneous psychic, sensory, and physiological p

The number 8 plays a crucial role in mythology. In Asian art this can be seen in the 8 trigrams of the I Ching, the 8 Immortals, the 8 Buddhist symbols and the 8 Auspicious symbols. These interrelated elements are often depicted as a group of 8 in the form of a serial narrative, which are supplemented by motifs of pairs, figures or scenes from stories, landscapes, plants, flowers, animals, ornaments and symbols.To illustrate this point, nine objects—each consisting of eight sections or eight motifs—were selected from the UMAG collection. The items, including an eight-part panel with silk painting, each demonstrate the diversity and richness of serial narratives in Chinese art and craftsmanship. In addition to the narrative structure, these eight-part objects can be understood as components of superordinate systems. In the microcosm of their diverse details, they refer to the macrocosm of mythology, which results in a network of relationships that continuously refer back to one another.