Description
Book SynopsisEighteenth-century consumers of the Qing and Ottoman empires had access to an increasingly diverse array of goods, from home furnishings to fashionable clothes and new foodstuffs. While this tendency was of shorter duration and intensity in the Ottoman world, some urbanites of the sultans’ realm did enjoy silks, coffee, and Chinese porcelain. By contrast, a vibrant consumer culture flourished in Qing China, where many consumers flaunted their fur coats and indulged in gourmet dining. Living the Good Life explores how goods furthered the expansion of social networks, alliance-building between rulers and regional elites, and the expression of elite, urban, and gender identities. The scholarship in the present volume highlights the recently emerging “material turn” in Qing and Ottoman historiographies and provides a framework for future research. Contributors: Arif Bilgin, Michael G. Chang, Edhem Eldem, Colette Establet, Antonia Finnane, Selim Karahasanoglu, Lai Hui-min, Amanda Phillips, Hedda Reindl-Kiel, Martina Siebert, Su Te-Cheng, Joanna Waley-Cohen, Wang Dagang, Wu Jen-shu, Yıldız Yılmaz, and Yun Yan.
Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures and Tables Notes on Editors and Contributors Introduction Elif Akçetin and Suraiya Faroqhi 1 Setting the Stage Elif Akçetin and Suraiya Faroqhi Part 1: Dead Grandees and Their Inventories 2 Elite Objects and Private Collections in Eighteenth-Century China: A Study of Chen Huizu’s Confiscated Goods Yun Yan 3 Ali Paşa and His Stuff: An Ottoman Household in Istanbul and Van Amanda Phillips 4 Cutting a Fine Figure among Pots and Pans: Aghas of the Sultan’s Harem in the Eighteenth Century Yıldız Yılmaz 5 Challenging the Paradigm of the Tulip Age: The Consumer Behavior of Nevşehirli Damad İbrahim Paşa and His Household Selim Karahasanoğlu Part 2: Urban Life: Generating a Self-Image through Textiles, Pictures, and Buildings 6 Furnishing the Home in Qing Yangzhou: A Case for Rethinking “Consumer Constraint” Antonia Finnane 7 A Preliminary Study of Local Consumption in the Qianlong Reign (1736–1796): The Case of Ba County in Sichuan Province Wu Jen-shu and Wang Dagang 8 Women, Wealth and Textiles in 1730s Bursa Suraiya Faroqhi 9 Consuming Luxurious and Exotic Goods in Damascus around 1700 Colette Establet Part 3: Food Culture 10 From Artichoke to Corn: New Fruits and Vegetables in the Istanbul Market (Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries) Arif Bilgin 11 Food and China’s World of Goods in the Long Eighteenth Century Joanna Waley-Cohen 12 Of Feasts and Feudatories: The Politics of Commensal Consumption at the Early Kangxi Court Michael G. Chang Part 4: Materials: Precious and Modest, Luxuries and Necessities 13 Brass Consumption in the Qing Empire Lai Hui-min and Su Te-Cheng 14 Consumption as Knowledge: Pawnbrokers in Qing China Appraise Furs Elif Akçetin 15 Consuming and Possessing Things on Paper: Examples from Late Imperial China’s Natural Studies Martina Siebert 16 Diamonds Are a Vizier’s Best Friends or: Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa’s Jewelry Assets Hedda Reindl-Kiel 17 Of Bricks and Tiles: The History of a Local Industry in the Area of Mürefte (Thrace) Edhem Eldem Conclusion Elif Akçetin and Suraiya Faroqhi Chinese Character Glossary Bibliography Index
