Immersed in a room for self-improvement, private meditation and aesthetic sensibility
The term wenfang refers to a reading room or a study where intellectuals in ancient times could enjoy a tranquil moment alone to gain cultural accumulations and to meditate. They therefore demanded a highly aesthetic space, ornamented with fine stationery and objects of appreciation, so that they could be isolated from mundane affairs, even for a brief time in the day.
Chinese Arts From the Literati Studio, an exhibition through Aug 6 at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum, takes the audience into the quiet, elegant time of reading and thinking of a scholar from the past, which is enriched with dozens of works of art and crafts. That is not only decorated with the well-known "four treasures of the study" — ink brushes, ink cakes, ink stones and paper — but also other objects like engraved seals, brush holders and rests, incense burners and musical instruments.
It is to celebrate the craftsmanship that graces a scholar's material and spiritual lives, the tradition of keeping self-improvement and the consistency of cultural lineage, encouraging people today to also integrate the practice and inherit the spirit in their own cultural life.
