Details

Subject(s)

• Textile fabrics—China—History—18th century [Browse]
• Textile fabrics—China—History—Ming-Qing dynasties, 1368-1912 [Browse]
• Textile fabrics—Europe—History—18th century [Browse]
• Clothing and dress—China—History—Ming-Qing dynasties, 1368-1912 [Browse]
• Cultural fusion—China—History—18th century [Browse]
• China—Court and courtiers—Clothing—History—Ming-Qing dynasties, 1368-1912 [Browse]
• China—History—Qing dynasty, 1644-1912—Social life and customs [Browse]

Publisher

Yale University Press [Browse]

Summary note

"In the early modern period luxury textiles circulated globally as trade goods and diplomatic gifts, fostering cultural exchange between distant regions. By the eighteenth century, both China and Europe had developed a splendid tradition of silk and tapestry weaving. While the role of Chinese silk imports in Europe has been well studied, this book reconstructs the forgotten history of the eastward movement of European textiles to China and their integration into the arts and culture of the Qing Empire. The Empire's New Cloth explores how Qing court workshops adapted European textile designs and techniques and uncovers the specific uses and meanings of these textiles in imperial military ceremonies, religious spaces, and palace interiors. Through careful study of a wide range of previously unpublished objects, Mei Mei Rado illuminates how these cross-cultural textiles provided the visual and material means for the Qing ruler to convey political messages. By revealing how Qing imperial patrons and artisans responded and assigned meanings to European influences, this volume highlights the reciprocity in eighteenth-century Sino-European exchanges and centers textiles within the dynamic global flow of objects and ideas"--Publisher's description.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-184) and index.

Source of description

Description based on print version record and online resource (A&AePortal, viewed on February 23, 2026).

Contents

• Introduction : Cross-cultural textiles and the Qing empire
• 1. Foreign splendor : European silks at the Qing court
• 2. "For his majesty's use" : Western silks and Manchu rulership
• 3. Encoding global aspirations : European tapestries for the Qing emperor
• 4. Staging imperial narratives : the Qing Western tapestries
• Textile terminology and measurement systems
• Chinese glossary.

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Other title(s)

Cross-cultural textiles at the Qing court

ISBN

0-300-29306-2

OCLC

1574219317

Doi

10.37862/aaeportal.00426

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