Philosophy permeates fine art…..

•China size of Europe

•Most populated country

•Many languages & ethnic groups

•Ruled by dynasties

• The Shang dynasty (ca. 1776–1027 B.C.E.)• Warrior tribe, urban culture

and calligraphy• The Western Zhou

dynasty (1027–771 B.C.E.)• world’s first administration

system

3

Bronze - Ceremonial vessel with a cover, late Shang dynasty, China, ca. 1000 B.C.E. Bronze, height 20-1/16 in

• royal tombs were filled with treasures

• carved jade and bronze

Standing figure, late Shang dynasty, ca. 1300-1100 B.C.E., from Pit 2 at Sanxingdui, Guanghan, Sichuan Province. Bronze, height 8 ft. 7 in.

Bronze Age - Piece Mold Casting & Lost Wax bronze bells from the Zhou dynasty, 433 BCE

•Bells sounded 2 tones, scale in a variety of registers

• Spirits, gods, and the natural order• Important emphasis on

“balance” • The Book of Changes

(China’s oldest known text )

6

• The Book of History, government records, speeches, reports, and announcements by rulers and ministers

• The Book of Songs –300 poems: folk songs, ceremonial and secular poems

• The Book of Rites –texts on rules of conduct for everyday life.

• The Spring and Autumn Annals – commentaries that chronicle events up to the 5 th century b.c.e.

• Analects, the ancient Chinese conviction that human beings must heed a moral order that is fixed in nature, not in divine pronouncement.

• Human character not birth determined the worth and statue of the individual.

• Bing Fa (The Art of War) Sun Wu, ca. 500 and 400 b.c.e.• Military strategy

• Mencius (372-289 b.c.e.)• Expanded Confucian concepts

• Han Fei Zi (? – 233 b.c.e.)• Argued that the rationality of an adult was no more reliable than that of an infant.

Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian

• son of an official historian -Sima Tan. • On his deathbed asked finish writing a history

of the past events of the nation.

• Song of Sorrow, Liu Xijun, ca. 107 b.c.e.• Song: I Watered My Horse at the Long Wall Caves,

Chen Lin (d. 217 c.e.)• “Nineteen Old Poems of the Han”, late second century

c.e.

• major religion indigenous to the country.

• “The Way” (Dao) which is the ultimate truth to the universe.

13

Daoists Priests in Xian, China perform a sacrificial ritual to the kitchen god.

14

Laozi is the famed Chinese philosopher and founder of Daoism.

Daoist nuns look out a window of Beichan Temple in Qinghai Province, China. The temple was build in the Northern Wei period (386-534).

• Yin/Yang, “the foundation of the entire universe,”

• Yin/Yang, “the foundation of the entire universe,”

• The Qin dynasty • Survived only fifteen years but created the basic structure that would govern China for generations to come

17

The Qin Dynasty(221-210 B.C.E.)

•Rome and China traded overland, by way of Asian traders (middleman), but neither reflects the direct influence of the other.

• 1st ruler of united China - Hin/Qin dynasty• Codified written Chinese• Established uniform currency• Started famous Great Wall of China• Began his majestic tomb (SOLDIERS)• Insisted on govt based on

accomplishments rather than family connections

“First Emperor” Shih Huang Ditomb

•700,000 workers to build.•8,000 life-size terra-cotta armed soldiers, with horse drawn chariots.

Soldiers (Army of Emp. Shi Huangdi, terra cotta, c 210 BCE, Qin Dynasty)

•Discovered in 1974

•6’ tall soliders

•8000 warriors, 100 chariots, 2 bronze chariots, 30,000 weapons

•Tomb of 1st Emperor of China

•Shi Huangdi

•Daoism shown in individuality

Soldiers (Army of Emp. Shi Huangdi, terra cotta, c 210 BCE, Qin Dynasty)

•Soldiers were originally painted

“First Emperor” Shih Huang Di (259-210 B.C.E.)

• Royal promotion• Brought wealth• peasant farmers encouraged to

own land• Heavily taxed

The Great Wall of China

•Began 3 rd cen. B.C.E.•1500 miles long

• The Han dynasty • Their intellectual and cultural achievements influenced all peoples near China: Vietnam, Japan, and Korea

Tomb model of a house, eastern Han dynasty, first century, earthenware with unfired pigments

• cartography, medicine, mathematics, astronomy

• paper, block printing, seismograph, crossbow, horse collar, wheelbarrow

• Lamp held by kneeling servant-girl. Bronze, from the tomb of Tou Wan Western Han dynasty

©2010, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 28

Reliefs on tomb entrance,. Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 c.e.

• From the tomb of Liu Sheng at Lingshan• thought to protect the body form decay and assist in

achieving immortality.

. 29

• Prancing horse, eastern Han dynasty second century c.e., bronze

• Descendants of celestial horses.. 30

. 31Buckle ornament with dances, western Han dynasty 206-8 c.e. bronze

Seated Buddha, Stone carving, 45’ tall, 460 CE. China

Shows Indian/Central Asian Buddhist iconography with large shoulders + slender body, lotus position, long ears, ushnishu, and peaceful smile.

Chinese Pagodas

•Pagodas developed from Buddhist stupas; the design was brought from India via the Silk Road

•Built for sacred purpose

Great Wild Goose Pagoda

Ci’en Temple, Xi’an

Tang dynasty, 645 CE

About 210’ tall

Forbidden City - Beijing, China, Ming Dynasty (14th century), Hall of Supreme Harmony. Balance & symmetry, tradition Courtyard style emphasizing empty space with crowded spaces. Reflects Confucianism.

Forbidden City - Yellow roof tiles reserved for royalty. Red also royal color. Dragon symbols appear. Rooftops supported by duogang, used for Imperial buildings.

Tang dynasty, first erected 645 CE; rebuilt mid-8th century CE

• courtyard style residence• larger scale in Forbidden City

• Tang (618-907 C.E.) and Song (960-1279) Dynasty

• Boasted a sophisticated urban culture with city population of one million.

Camel Carrying a Group of Musicians

Tang Dynasty, 8th century CE

Earthenware w/ 3 color glaze, 26” high

Fascination w/Turkic cultures .. Shows Turkish musicans with Han Chinese

Naturalism - new interest and trend in painting & sculpture

Standing Court Lady, Tang dynasty, mid-seventh century. Pottery with painted decoration, height 15 1/8 in.

Horse and Rider, Tang dynasty, early eighth century. Pottery with three-color glaze and painted decoration, height 15 in.

Ru ware, bowl in the shape of a lotus, Northern Song dynasty, twelfth century. Porcelain, height 4 in. National Palace Museum, Taiwan.

• Marvels of calculated simplicity

• The intellectual elite of Tang and Song China were deeply influenced byConfucian traditions.

• China, most revered of sculptured images

• Beings who have postponed entrance into nirvana in order to assist others in attaining enlightenment

Guanyin, tenth to early twelfth century. Wood with painted decoration

CALLIGRAPHY

•Chinese calligraphy considered the highest art form.

•Literati - Confucian scholars- practiced this art form

Portion of a letter by Wang Xizhi

Six Dynasties period,

mid 4th century CE

Feng Ju style -

‘walking” or semi cursive style fluid & graceful strokes, not too informal, but dynamic

A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks, Northern Song Dynasty

Li Cheng (attrib.) (919-967), c. 940-967. Hanging scroll, ink and slight color on silk,

ivory roller, 44 x 22".

•The Tang and Song eras were a Golden Age of landscape painting.•Chinese landscapes offer a holistic and contemplative view of nature, A feature they share with Daoism and Buddhism.

• Han Gan (618–906 ce), was known for portraying not only the physical likeness of a horse but also its spirit.

•Landscape paintings highly prized in Chinese art.•Does not represent a particular forest, mountain, or view, but an artistic construct yielding a philosophical idea

Travelers Among Mountains and Streams,

Fan Kaun

Northern Song Dynasty, 11th century CE

•Hanging scroll, ink & colors on silk, 6’9” high

•Subtly graded ink tones

Northern Song painting

Dwelling in the Qinghian Mountains, 1617,

ink on paper, Ming Dynasty

Dong Qi Chang - famous literati painter, influenced by Daoism

Jar, Ming dynasty, China

15th Century, 19”high

Xuande mark (1426-1435)

Porcelain painted in underglaze blue

• Buddha - Siddhartha Gautama(Sanskrit “Enlighten One”)• India• 560-480 or 440-360 B.C.E.• Devastated by his discovery of

the three “truths” of existence- sickness, old age, and death.

• Sitting beneath a bo (fig) tree, he finally arrived at the full perception of reality that became the basis of his teachings.

Four Noble TruthsOne’s spiritual Journey mustlead to the awareness of Four Noble Truths. • Pain is Universal• Desire causes pain• Ceasing to desire relieves pain

• Right conduct provides escape from pain

• Xie Huan, Literary Gathering in the Apricot Garden, detail. 1437. Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 14 3/4 x 94 3/4 in. Ming Dynasty 1368-1644.

•During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) These scholar-gentleman played a major role in the administration of governmental affairs.

Buddhism travels to Japan…

•Various forms of Buddhism became very popular in Japan, especially Zen Buddhism.

•Japanese were influenced by Chinese ink scroll paintings

Buddhism came to Japan during early 6th century BCE, from Korea & China (Asuka Period).

Adopted as state religion, yet existed side by side with Shinto, a nature based religion.

Monk Sewing, Kao Ninga – 14th century

•ordinary activities as a form of meditation. This cultural philosophy still exists..

Innovative wood sculpture by Kosho shows practice of Pure Land Buddhist chanting. Monks traveled around

Kuya Preaching, Kosho, 1207

monk traveling around chanting.. Tiny Buddhas coming out his mouth to represent the 6 syllables of the chang

Phoenix Hall, Kyoto prefecture, Heia period, 1053 CE, example of Pure Land Buddhist temple Chinese influence in roofs and stone base. Water is part of design.

Jocho, Amida Buddha, Phoenix Hall, c 1050 CE, gold leaf and laquer on wood

9’ tall.

• The Birth of the Novel• 8th century• Murasaki Shikibu (978-1016)• The author of the world’s first

novel, was one of a group of female writers.

• The Tale of Genji (1000)

• Niou serenades Nakanokimi (detail from the 12th century Genji Monogatari Emaki scroll).

Masanobu (?), Kabuki stage, ca. 1740. Colored woodblock print.

•The oldest form of Japanese theater, No` drama•14th century • performances in song, dance, and mime.

Ko-omote No mask, Ashikaga period, fifteenth century. Painted wood, height approx. 10 in.

•16th century emerges a new form of entertainment. •Kabuki, literally, “song-dance-art”

• Fans, album leaves, and murals • Handscrolls on silk or cotton with dowels

(meant to be unrolled and enjoyed, not hung on wall).. Read right to left.

• Colophon - write comments or poetry• Hanging scrolls with main scene on front

and title on top back• Same brushes used for painting &

calligraphy

•Aim of traditional painter was to capture not outer appearance but inner energy, and spirit. “DRAGON STEED”

•Rejected color or too much background info

•Pure line to define form, no opaque pigments “white painting”

• At 29 he renounced his wealth.

• Abandoned his family and took up the quest for enlightenment.