Lustrous Jade, Luminous Lacquer

Abstract Studies of medium and materiality often focus on specific materials and assume that the material itself is the end goal. In this article I propose a shift in focus to the conceptual aspects of medium as the end goal by arguing for a quality bridging different materials in early China—“luminous luster” encapsulated by the character ze 澤. While its conceptual substratum allows it to transcend any single material, luminous luster also has a clear physical dimension. I use the term luminous luster to reconstruct the dynamics between abstract concepts and material media that shaped how materials were understood, imagined, and worked into objects that constitute the history of art. The importance of luminous luster since the Warring States period at the latest also reflects a larger interest in making vital life forces visually manifest.