"Professor Hammers combines a rigorous history of art and science in early modern China with keen social analysis, uncovering document after document that paintings and poems of rural production were situated at the heart of a major controversy over the n

"Concern for the common man is manifest in this theme that embraces both painting and poetry, technology and human relationships. To the codification that ensured success in agriculture and silk weaving, Roslyn Hammers delivers a resourceful and intellige

"Depictions of tilling and weaving were an important means for sponsors, particularly rulers, to demonstrate their interest in the welfare of the people. To my knowledge, there has never been a serious study of the origins of this tradition and the politi

Roslyn Lee Hammers is an assistant professor of art history at the University of Hong Kong.