Chinese Art李鑫荃 （or Victoria Liu) 泊林 (or Shoba Patel) Token White Girl (or Grace Leyden)

Key Ideas:

● Chinese thought, and fine arts were often based off of many of the philosophies of Laozi and Confucius

● Calligraphy is the most respected Chinese art form● The format of chinese paintings included handscrolls,

hanging scrolls, fans and album leaves.● Chinese architecture is based on courtyard style housed

that express the bases of Chinese philosophy in regard to family and social position

● Chinese art is often created with the intent to be monumental and grand

Historical Background● Culture is seemingly monolithic, but actually quite diverse● Art is divided into historical periods named after families

that ruled for long periods of time (dynasties)● First ruler of a united China- Shih Huangdi (3rd century BCE)

○ unified China politically, standardized weights and measures, establishing a uniform currency

○ started Great Wall and his great tomb

● Other notable dynasties: ○ Tang (618-906 CE, also height of the dynastic fortunes) ○ Yuan (under Kublai Khan 1217-1294 CE)○ Ming (1368-1644 CE, Forbidden City built during this period)

Quick Chinese Philosophy lesson: Overview of Daoism and Confucianism

Daoism: ● “Dao” means “the way”● Started by Laozi (604-531 BCE)● Harmony between human life and the

universe● Can’t be named, only described● Be like water● Stresses the importance of intuition ● Journey for self-expression

○ Laozi realized societal pressures● Yin and Yang derived from Daoism ● DAO in nature

Confucianism:● Begun by Confucius (551-449 BCE)● Ideal qualities of man are: loyalty,

morality, generosity, & humanity● Emphasizes duty, self discipline, &

deference ● Attaining equity ● Focus on rational and moral ideas● DAO in right social relations

Patronage and Artistic Life● Ethnically diverse, with the same sized population as all of Europe

○ Multiple languages, and cultures reflected in the diverse artistic styles○ Historical art periods divided by the years and name of the families who

ruled China at the time who formed dynasties● Central Expressions

○ Calligraphy ■ Artistic style between poetry and painting■ Part of the exam to have a state position■ Emperor's accomplished calligraphies

○ Standard writing■ Artistically rendered cursive, or running script seen in paintings■ Employs characters, not letters, which represent an idea or word

Patronage and Artistic Life

● Artists worked under religion or the state● Except the Literati Group-

○ Nonconformist artists ■ Took a more individualized standpoint, going

against public commissions, producing paintings which were individualizing nature

Most famous Literati Artist

● Shen Zhou○ East Coast Chinese○ 1427-1509○ “Poet on a Mountain”

Pagoda-

First traditionally found in India the idea of pagodas and the architecture began to move eastward (along the Greater Silk Road)

Temple of Heaven (1406-1420 Rebuilt in 1889)

● Located in Beijing, The Temple of Heaven is made of wood and has three distinct levels.○ The roof is made of ceramic blue tiles

(symbol of heaven)● The building is sacred, hence “temple”

○ Emperors would have two rituals a year here in order to insure a good harvest

● Interior has 12 column (12 months in a year) and then an additional four columns which symbolize the four seasons

A tower built of many stories. Each succeeding story is identical in style to the one beneath it, only smaller. Pagodas typically have dramatically projecting eaves that curl up at the ends

Forbidden City 1446

● Beijing, China ● In the heart of the city● Largest and most complete imperial palace Complex in

China, and the world! ● Depicts traditional ancient Chinese palace architecture

Hate this pic...keep it small

Forbidden City (continued)

● Size/History:○ 14 years of construction○ Residence to 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing

dynasty (1644-1911)○ Rebuilt multiple times, kept the same architecture○ Over 720,000 square meters○ 753 meters East>West○ 961 meters North>South○ Several dozen compounds, over 10,000 rooms!

Forbidden City (Architecture)

● Medium/Decoration:○ Buildings were made of wood,all are roofed with yellow

painted ceramic tiles, which were added to the stone foundation

○ Brilliant, vibrant colors

● Protection: ○ 10-meter high city walls○ 52-meter wide moat surrounding the complex○ 3 storied towers placed on each corner of the wall

Forbidden City (Palace Museum)

● Contains: ○ 1 million historical relics from the Shang Dynasty

through the Qing Dynasty● Today:

○ Made it to the world cultural heritage list in 1987○ Acts as the largest museum of Chinese cultural relics

today○ Considered a masterpiece in architectural history

Paintings (before and after 1279)● Paintings came in many forms

○ Album leaves, fans, murals, scrolls ○ Not allowed for permanent view; to be admired, not just for decoration○ Silks were preferred by painters, porcelain also used (but had to be glazed). Paper used too ○ Texts mixed with paintings; red stamps are seals that mark artist or owner○ Acceptable to write about art (colophon)

read right to left;

intimate form of art

Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains (1296 CE)Zhao Mengfu. Handscroll, ink and color on paper. 28.6 x 9.3 cm. Yuan Dynasty

● Zhao painted it for a friend from Jinan (painting supposedly depicts Jinan) ● Mountains and trees painted in the archaic manner of the Tang Dynasty● Nostalgia from Tang Dynasty and for Jinan ● Wide open space and emphasized prominent features of the two mountains ● The hills and shoals are done in Dong Yuan hemp-fiber strokes● Coloring is archaic blue-and-green for a revivalist manner● The texture strokes, however, are calligraphic, reflecting Zhao's own innovation. ● Work brims with clarity, ease, and calmness ● Imagery from the mind and heart● “Spirit of antiquity”● Similar to “Winter Landscape” from Japan in terms of the depth of the painting and focus on nature, albeit Winter

Landscape has a more forceful style (seen in that brushstrokes) as a result of the violence from that period

Sculptures (themes, stylistic techniques, before and after 1279)

Seated Buddha c.460

● Carved in situ rock in Shanxi, China○ 45 feet tall

● Gentle smile, with Indian influences in the face● Buddha symbols-- top knot on head, sitting in

lotus position, tight garments● Asian influences-- broad shoulders and pleated

drapery.

Bi with Dragons (fourth-third century BCE)

● Circular jade disk with round center, many believe this symbolizes the heavens

● Dragons are the chinese symbol for good luck○ also they are symbols for weather,

specifically rain● The surface is a very hard jade which has been

carved with finely modulated and raised spirals and very finely carved surfaces.

Sculptures-The Terracotta ArmyTerracotta army (210 BCE)

● Consist of 8,000 terracotta warrior, 100 wooden chariots 2 bronze chariots and 30,000 weapons.○ Soldiers are approximately all six feet tall

(taller than the average person at the time- idealized)

○ Some show proud expressions, some fierce some confident

● Represents the Chinese army marching into the new world.

● The fact that each soldier is different--expresses the Daoist belief of individualism

● Would have been colorfully painter at the time● Was not discovered until 1974!

Sculptures-The Terracotta Army

This image shows the differences between each soldier. From afar they look similar but up close they

are all different

One of only the two created bronze chariots

New Vocabulary● Bi-- a round ceremonial disk found in ancient Chinese tombs. They are characterized by having a circular hole in the

center, which may have symbolized heaven

● Colophon-- a commentary on the end panel of a Chinese handscroll (such as poetry in praise of what has been read or

seen)

● Confucianism-- a philosophical belief begun by Confucius that stresses education, devotion to family, mutual respect,

and traditional culture

● Daoism-- a philosophical belief begun by Laozi that stresses individual expression and a striving to find balance in one's

life

● Literati-- a sophisticated and scholarly group of Chinese artists who painted for themselves rather than for fame and

mass-acceptance. Their work is highly individualized.

● Porcelain-- a ceramic made from clay that when fired in a kiln produces a product that is hard, white, brittle, and shiny

● Yin and Yang-- complementary polarities. The yin is a feminine symbol that has dark, soft, moist, and weak

characteristics. The yangis the male symbol that has bright, hard, dry, and strong characteristics.