ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the social history of watching elephants in late imperial China. Elephants were native to early China, but they had migrated to the southwestern margin of the country and Southeast Asia by the tenth century. After the Song dynasty, they were brought back to the capital as tributary animals or diplomatic gifts. They entered the public arena by, for example, being used in imperial parades. In the Ming dynasty, the washing of elephants in the city moat outside the imperial palace in early summer evolved into a captivating urban spectacle. This phenomenon instigated the creation of various artworks but also took on additional layers of social significance.
