The Evolution of the Painting and Calligraphy Market Before the Republic of China

Abstract: The painting and calligraphy market before the Republic of China was already mature. The maturity is reflected in two aspects: for one thing, the transaction subjects of the painting and calligraphy market covered all walks of life, including court painters, folk painters, literati, elites, businessmen and ordinary people; for another, the transaction mechanism was reaching stability with relatively independent transaction distributing centers and relatively systematic market competition and price mechanism as well. What’s mentioned above displays the maturity of the Chinese painting and calligraphy market before the Republic of China was founded. And the maturity laid a solid foundation for the further development of the painting and calligraphy market after the Republic of China was founded.

Keywords: painting and calligraphy market; evolution; before the Republic of China

Xiaojun Tao: College of Cultural Industries, Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing, China, Email: jun1905@gmail.com *Corresponding author, Yiyu Wang: School of Foreign Languages & Cultures, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China, E-mail: lxyiyu@126.com