Conclusion

Abstract

This book has explored several different visual and written representations of Yellow Mountain, mostly from the seventeenth century. This chapter reiterates that a more effective understanding of the youji can be achieved through reading the landscape and perceiving it as a product of various representational practices that have been brought about within late-Ming Jiangnan's political, social, cultural, and economic contexts. Qian Qianyi's “Account of My Travels at Yellow Mountain” depictes a self-realization in which a religious pilgrimage was undertaken while in his writing he remained grounded in orthodox Confucian philosophy. Qian was able to present the landscape within the context of his literary heritage for he believed that the site could be best understood through text. Looking into the text, though, reveals that Qian owed much to his literary forefathers.