Leisure is not doing nothing: it involves complex signifying practices that communicate social status and have to be performed to be legible to others. The practice of leisure fills the pages of the eight-year diary of Li Rihua (1565–1635), an artist and art collector of the late Ming who devoted an extended mourning sabbatical to building a major art collection and socializing with like-minded colleagues. For someone outside government service, leisure was an organized project absorbing time and money. Its apparent goal was pleasure, but it was also about accumulating objects and the value and status they conferred. As a man of leisure, Li achieved a prominent place within the regional gentry elite without ever having to return to office, but also without challenging the state's foundation of status.

中文翻译：

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三角洲之夏：李日华日记中的休闲作品

休闲并不是什么都不做：它涉及传达社会地位的复杂的表征实践，并且必须执行以使其他人清晰易读。晚明艺术家和艺术收藏家李日华（1565-1635）的八年日记充满了闲暇的做法，他在漫长的哀悼假期中建立了一个重要的艺术收藏品并与志同道合的同事交往. 对于政府部门以外的人来说，休闲是一个有组织的项目，可以吸收时间和金钱。它的明显目标是快乐，但它也是关于积累物品以及它们赋予的价值和地位。作为一个有闲的人，李在地方士绅精英中取得了显赫的地位，而无需返回办公室，也没有挑战国家的地位基础。