Ellen Johnston Laing – författare

In the second half of the twentieth century, studies in Chinese painting history have been greatly aided by several major lists of Chinese artists and their works. Published between 1956 and 1980, these lists were limited to Imperial China. The current index covers the period from 1912 to around 1980. It includes the names of approximately 3,500 traditional-style artists along with lists of their works, reproduced in some 264 monographs, books, journals, and catalogs published from the 1920s to around 1980. With a few exceptions, artists working after 1949 outside continental China are excluded. Revised Edition, 1998; first published by the Asian Studies Program, University of Oregon, 1984.

Up in Flames is the first comprehensive study of the traditional Chinese craft of paper sculpture: the construction in bamboo and paper of human figures, figures of gods, buildings, and other objects—all intended to be ritually burned. The book documents this ancient craft as it exists today in Taiwan. The fascinating fundamentals of the craft, the tools and materials, as well as the techniques used to construct houses and human figures, never investigated before, are described and illustrated in detail. The written material is augmented by many color photographs showing the objects and the men and women who make them.Although the tradition of burning objects as a part of religious ceremonies is still strong, the traditional paper and bamboo objects are being more and more often replaced by plastic components and whole preprinted cardboard counterparts. The resulting changes in the personal, business, and especially the creative and artistic side of the craft are therefore also addressed.