This book takes a look at Chinese art within a variety of contexts—archeological, cultural, historical, social, and ritual/religious. Organized both chronologically and thematically, it covers a full historical span and includes a wide range of media settings for art—from elite to popular. An emphasis on the dynamic processes that effect the history of Chinese art: social, economic, political competition, urbanization, markets and tastes, and quests for cultural authority, allows specific works of art to be discussed in extensive detail, while setting them within larger explanatory stories. A guide to Chinese art for individuals interested in one of the most abundantly artistic cultures in the history of the world.