Protecting the royal family is called "fan", and displaying imperial power is called "screen". In the Ming Dynasty, the vassal kings were given the important task of vassaling and screening the world, but later generations said that they were useless aristocratic parasites. However, it is these "useless people" who have left countless treasures to the world.
King Jin's Chongshan Temple, King Su's Mysterious View; King Zhou's "Dongshu Tangtie", King Lu's "Dacheng of Painting"; King Lu's antique bronze tripod, Princess Liang's precious gold hairpin... And King Ninghua's old vinegar, the participation or sponsorship of sects and vassals can be seen everywhere.
Through on-the-spot investigation of the material culture of the feudal kings, Cole demonstrated the importance of art to the imperial career of Fanping. Starting from reflecting on the stereotyped biases in historical research, Cole tried to construct a more comprehensive and diverse narrative of Ming history.
