ABSTRACT
This chapter uses “state function” to describe a form of political power in the Chinese cultural context that is more immanent than transcendental; here, power can be understood to reside in material orders themselves. This absence of “abstraction of power,” resulting from deliberate cultural strategies of caring for “ten thousand things” (wanwu), gives Chinese cities a different political role from that of the western cities. Chinese cities materialize orders of privilege, hierarchy, and status through physicality of sizes, colors, materials, and figures. Strictly regulated in the imperial context, this practice continues to produce a tremendous impact on China’s urbanization today.
