Art and Empirical Inquiry in Pre-Modern China

Art and Empirical Inquiry in Pre-Modern China is a project undertaken by Jennifer Purtle (University of Toronto) and Kathleen Ryor (Carleton College) to develop and publish work relating to the mobilization of empirical knowledge of the world by scholars, technicians, and artisans in premodern China. College Art Association Annual Meeting, Chicago  15 February 2024 (Thursday), 11:00am - 12:30pm (in person)   This session invites paper proposals that explore the relationships between any form of art production in China before 1700 in relation to indigenous Chinese empirical knowledge, such as the analogues of astronomy, botany, chemistry, geology, mathematics, physics, or zoology (among others). Some questions for consideration might include: How does visual art enact or collaborate in the investigation of the physical world? What are the interconnections between fundamental concepts within Chinese cosmology, discrete areas of scientific knowledge, and visual imagery? How might the mat