Seeing things: Forty-eight readers of objects and the world they see

Many masters jointly wrote for the first time

One person and one thing

Explain to readers based on personal experience

What did they see? How to see?

Decode the rich language and meaning contained in cultural relics and artworks

When we see cultural relics in museums, we may only see their most superficial appearance.

How would they see it if they were master researchers who have been immersed in cultural relics and artworks for many years? What messages did they interpret from the "things"?

This book is an unprecedented project. We invite 48 internationally renowned East Asian art historians and archaeologists to each choose an object and lead us into the world of this object.

Each of the 48 scholars has read countless things. When they can only choose one piece, how do they choose the cultural relic that touches them the most and is most willing to talk about it?

The objects they chose include calligraphy and painting, textiles, ceramics, stone tools, unearthed fragments, bronzes, stone carvings, prints, films, photographs, early prints, and even large palace buildings.

Their relationship with objects includes their unique academic insights, the reappearance of shocking cultural relics, unforgettable viewing experiences, and the recurring encounters between people and objects.