Symbolic Exchange as Recognition

Tu Long's Social Strategies with Paintings and Calligraphy in Late Ming China

Abstract

In the late Ming dynasty, literati gift exchange extended beyond material transaction, becoming a sophisticated medium through which cultural capital was displayed and social recognition was negotiated. This article examines how paintings, calligraphy, and other literary‑artistic objects circulated within Tu Long’s (1543–1605) networks, arguing that these exchanges operated as acts of mutual recognition grounded in shared cultural and religious values, cultivated dispositions, and elite lifestyles. Through case studies of major works—including the Portrait of Master Tanyang and the Buddha‑Mother Painting—alongside landscape paintings, calligraphic pieces, and fans inscribed with poetry, the study demonstrates how Tu Long strategically mobilised cultural objects to navigate overlapping religious and literati circles. Even ostensibly religious artworks were shaped primarily by literati cultural sensibilities and served to reinforce social belonging and to articulate individuality within distinct literati communities. The article further shows how Tu Long converted cultural capital into material support during his post‑dismissal crisis, particularly through exchanges with patrons, revealing the entanglement of symbolic value and economic necessity. Ultimately, the circulation of literary‑artistic objects emerges as a central mechanism through which late-Ming literati pursued esteem, sustained relationships, and positioned themselves within multiple, intersecting social spheres.

晚明文人的禮物交換，兼具社會功能與象徵意義，文化物品的流通成為爭取承認與地位的關鍵機制。本文以屠隆（1543–1605）為例，探討書畫等水墨藝術品如何超越物質交換，轉化為社會資本與文化資本，並成為一種爭取承認的實踐。此類交換植根於共享的價值觀與生活方式，從文化審美延伸至宗教領域。本文通過分析屠隆的策略性贈禮，揭示水墨藝術品交換如何建立並鞏固文人的關係，如何基於文人的文化品格在文人社群中踐行承認的博弈。