Power and Virtue: The Horse in Chinese Art

Review

One thousand years ago in Asia, the most important luxury goods, symbolizing power and prestige, were horses and silk. Two new books, based on upcoming exhibitions at the China Institute and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. focus on these commodities, which came to be valued for themselves and for what they stood for.

In ancient China and Central Asia, the horse was what the Mercedes-Benz is today, a symbol of beauty, high performance, and authority. Robert E. Harrist, Jr., the author of Power and Virtue: The Horse in Chinese Art, explores this single animal as a signifier of imperial power, a reflection of the penetration of nomadic culture into sedentary China, and an icon of spiritual strength and integrity.

If the Central Asian horse was the Mercedes-Benz of the Chinese, silk was the Armani suit. This most desirable material not only clothed the aristocracy; it was also used to acquire horses from nomadic tribes, pay taxes, supply tribute, and win loyalty. Morris Rossabi, whose comprehensive introductory essay in When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles makes up most of the book's text, clarifies the complex interactions of the Chinese with their neighbors -- the Khitans, the Tanguts, the Jurchens, the Tibetans, and the Mongols, groups that were major players in the Realpolitik of imperial China. Rossabi traces the history of the silk trade and the technology behind this precious textile, as well as the intricate role of silk in Chinese politics, religion, and history.

Karen Kane, of the Museum's Department of Education, lectures on the exchange of horses and silk along the Silk Road and on the Museum's extensive collections of Central Asian and Chinese artifacts.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning