Deadline approaching [30 Nov] for JEACS special issue: "Ink in Chinese History, Literature, and Culture"
Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies
Special issue: Ink in Chinese History, Literature, and Culture
Guest editors:
Raffaela Rettinger (JMU Würzburg)
Elizabeth Smithrosser (Academia Sinica)
Call for contributions
The editors of JEACS invite submissions of articles for an upcoming special issue tentatively titled “Ink in Chinese History, Literature, and Culture”, to be published in 2026.
The chief goal of this issue is to shift the focus away from the mainstream of ink studies (e.g. calligraphy and ink paintings) to instead draw out the murky backwaters of those more unconventional, unexpected, or understudied aspects such as tattoos, marginalia, metaphor, and materiality. In addition, it seeks to apply fresh perspectives and frameworks to the study of ink from fields like gender and religious studies, sensory history, and animal ethics. Contributions may focus on any time period up to and including the present, and may belong to any discipline(s) within the Humanities and Social Sciences. We also welcome transregional studies involving other cultures.
The issue also hopes to publish a collation of short interviews with ink practitioners such as tattooists, printers, archivists, and calligraphers. This collation would aim to resonate with the thematic topography of the issue as a whole, therefore interviews are to be submitted on a solicited basis only. Please email the guest editors with potential ideas.
Final deadline for papers: November 30, 2025. Early submissions are welcome: suitable articles will be sent for peer review upon receipt, with formal acceptances issued on a rolling basis.
Length: approx. 10,000 words (including bibliography).
Submission details: Complete articles should be submitted directly to JEACS, following the instructions here. Contributors are encouraged (but not required) to supply an abstract for discussion with the guest editors via email in advance of preparing the article.
Issue-specific enquiries to: ink.JEACS@gmail.com.
Contributions are welcome to focus on (but not restricted to) the following topics:
- Metaphors and proverbs invoking ink; textual connotations of ink
- Tattoos; tattoo culture; tattooing practices
- Ink in religious contexts
- Materiality/material culture of ink
- Ink in literature and film
- Environmental aspects; ink in the Anthropocene
- Sensory and experiential aspects of ink
- Use of ink in medicine; as medicine
- Ink and gender
- Ink in printing practices; printer ink
- Ink “substitutes”: blood, water, citrus, etc
- Ink in food history and culture (e.g. squid ink)
- Marginalia: splashes, blotches, stains, etc
- Ink and nationalism
- Solid ink vs. liquid ink
- Coloured ink and monochrome ink
- Animal-based ink and related ethical discourses
- Technologies of ink production
- Discourses on ink by its practitioners (artists, printers, etc)
- Ink within marginal/minority communities
- Geographical/regional/global aspects of ink
- Ink as a tribute good
- Roles of ink in power structures, hierarchies and subversion
- Digital inks: games, social media, shopping websites, etc
- Fingerprints; fingerprint painting
- Water-based practice sheets for calligraphy
- Ink in fashion
- Ink in architecture
- Connoisseurship and collecting of ink
- Ink in museum collections; issues of provenance
- Preservation/restoration practices for ink artworks/objects
- Ink on the market and in trade; adverts and commercials
