Literati culture is a hallmark of the Chinese humanistic tradition, bridging aesthetics, ethics, and ecology. Huancuitang explores the strategies of the later literati, in particular, their practice of using aesthetic artifacts to define and experience ethical dimensions of civilization. In the present era of cultural renewal, this may have considerable relevance to the development of Chinese art and society.
Huan Cui Tang is a private organization that undertakes curatorial projects, publications, and educational ventures. It assists private collectors of literati materials in developing collaborations with museums and institutions as a means of addressing a wider public. Huan Cui Tang also provides discussion of new publications and events in the field, and addresses the practical needs of collectors.
'Huan Cui Tang' recalls a private garden in Anhui Province built around 1600 as an ideal site for literati gatherings. A guided viewing of a woodblock printed handscroll depicting this garden is shown in the 'features' section.
Eric Otto Wear 華立強 and Chuk-Kwan Ting 丁竹筠
Shanghai, 2009-2010
