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oapen-20.500.12657-501892021-12-22T15:43:02Z Making the Palace Machine Work Siebert, Martina Jun Chen, Kai Ko, Dorothy Siebert, Martina Chen, Kai Jun Ko, Dorothy China, Qing Court, Material culture Imperial Household Department bic Book Industry Communication::G Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects::GM Museology & heritage studies bic Book Industry Communication::H Humanities::HB History::HBJ Regional & national history::HBJF Asian history This volume brings the studies of institutions, labour, and material cultures to bear on the history of science and technology by tracing the workings of the Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu) in the Qing court and empire. An enormous apparatus that employed 22,000 men and women at its heyday, the Department operated a "machine" with myriad moving parts. The first part of the book portrays the people who kept it running, from technical experts to menial servants, and scrutinises the paper trails they left behind. Part two uncovers the working principles of the machine by following the production chains of some of its most splendid products: gilded statues, jade, porcelain, and textiles. Part three tackles the most complex task of all, managing living organisms in nature, including lotus plants grown in imperial ponds in Beijing, fresh medicines sourced from disparate regions, and tribute elephants from Southeast Asia. 2021-07-23T15:11:47Z 2021-07-23T15:11:47Z 2021 book ONIX_20210723_9789048553228_24 9789048553228 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/50189 eng application/pdf n/a 9789048553228.pdf https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048553228 Amsterdam University Press Asian History 10.5117/9789463720359 10.5117/9789463720359 dd3d1a33-0ac2-4cfe-a101-355ae1bd857a 9789048553228 Asian History 347 open access
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This volume brings the studies of institutions, labour, and material cultures to bear on the history of science and technology by tracing the workings of the Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu) in the Qing court and empire. An enormous apparatus that employed 22,000 men and women at its heyday, the Department operated a "machine" with myriad moving parts. The first part of the book portrays the people who kept it running, from technical experts to menial servants, and scrutinises the paper trails they left behind. Part two uncovers the working principles of the machine by following the production chains of some of its most splendid products: gilded statues, jade, porcelain, and textiles. Part three tackles the most complex task of all, managing living organisms in nature, including lotus plants grown in imperial ponds in Beijing, fresh medicines sourced from disparate regions, and tribute elephants from Southeast Asia.
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