My Project

My Project - Home Page

Welcome!!

I am a final year student at Glasgow University studying Joint Honours in History of Art and English Literature. For one of my History of Art papers, I chose to take a ‘Multimedia Presentation and Development’ Course rather than a standard paper. I therefore had to design a website based on a History of Art subject.

This is my website.

I hope you enjoy it.

What is Xixiang ji - The Story of the Western Wing?

Xixiang ji, is a well known and well loved Chinese drama, which is referred to in English as The Story of the Western Wing or The Romance of the Western Chamber. Wang Shifu (ca.1250-1300) during the Yuan Dynasty. The play dramatises the romance of a young Chinese couple who fall passionately in love but who encounter frequent and often amusing setbacks in their relationship.

What is my Project about?

The Story of the Western Wing was a source for much Chinese artwork, including the decoration of Chinese Ceramics. In this project I intend to study this decoration on certain ceramics which depict scenes from the drama. I interlink and refer to both the drama and the ceramics and the connections between them.

Although there are many ceramics which are decorated with scenes from the drama, I concentrate on those housed in The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, as they are close to home and therefore easily examinable, ultimately allowing for a more thorough analysis. Therefore my project also involves an insight into The Burrell Collection and its donator, Sir William Burrell.

There are nine pieces in The Burrell Collection which all date back to the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi period in China. They were also all made in the town of Jingdezhen in the Kangxi province. I therefore investigate the history of this time and place in order to gain a better understanding of the ceramics.

I study the ceramics in depth and a view of the full selection with descriptions is available in the Gallery, which also displays some other artworks depicting scenes from the story.

Site Navigation

I hope you will find this site easy to view and find your way about. To make it easier the contents bar will always be available at the left hand side of the screen so if you get lost, just click on the appropriate page you wish to visit or get back to. To get to a page just click on the icons which look like this:

You will also find forwards and backwards arrow buttons at the bottom of each page which should help to guide you. In addition there is also a home icon at the bottom of each page which when clicked on will take you back to this original page if need be.

If you have any comments or suggestions to make about my website I would be most grateful if you could fill out the form or alternatively click on the e-mail sign in the contents bar and e-mail me directly.

Thank you very much – Enjoy the site.