China and Korea Flashcards
Guang with Tiger and Owl Décor, Shang dynasty, 13th century BCE
found in burial sites: ritual pouring vessels- ceremonial activities- ritualistic libations from animal forms
in West- “ryton”- associated with Middle Eastern, Sumerian culture- bulls or other symbols of royal power imbibed taken into oneself to receive animal’s power
here: largest cat on earth- tiger- in head/body; rear portion of owl= hunting life of Shang
notion of hunting/warfare in art dominant in other cultures- Mongols, Muslims, etc.
Ceramic Soldiers, The mausoleum of Emperor Shihuangdi, Lintong, Shaanxi. Qin dynasty, c. 210 BCE.
1974, peasants digging found mausoleum- one of the most important archaelogical finds of the 20th c.
underground army of 8000 terracotta soldiers, 100 life-sized ceramic horses- all in military formation, facing east (sun rises=renewal) with weapons; detailed physiognomy, idiosyncratic
tomb mound unexcavated but believed to reproduce world as known to Qin- stars overhead, rivers, mountains below- like Egyptians & Etruscans ensure underworld match human world with everything needed for immortality
Painted Banner, from the tomb of the Marquess of Dai, Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan. Han dynasty, c. 160 BCE
colors on silk, all items shown reference actual burial practices; end of mythocentric age (belief in close relationship b/w human & supernatural)- mythocentric age seen in Egypt and retained in West (Giotto- The Last Judgment- 1305)
worldview: heaven, earth, underworld; largest section is heaven itself- sun=mythical crow; moon=mythical toad; torch dragon= primordial deity of man w/ serpent tail
gate w/ 2 guardian figures, dragons: intertwining, loops through circular jade piece, forms bi=symbol of heaven
deceased + 3 attendants on platform, 2 kneeling attendants welcome him into heaven
below: earthly, underworld realms: bronze bells, stone chimes, ritual bronze vessels, music, food, wine for deceased
muscular man holds up platform on pair of fish (in bi shape) fish/other creatures in underworld
Altar to Amitabha Buddha, Sui dynasty, 593.
New Sui emperor- devout Buddhist- new style fusing Indian, central Asian, Chinese styles; most popular sect in China & Japan- Amitabha Buddha in Western Pure Land- paradise promised to followers w/ rebirth, message of salvation
7 celestial figures- incense burner below; Amitabha (flame halo) in paradise, seated on lotus throne under trees, flanked by elongated, sensual Bodhisattvas, including Guanyin w/ pomegranate
lions below (Buddha’s sermon), + 2 smaller bodhisattvas, Buddha- “have no fear” mudra, topknot, monk’s robe
combines sensuality of India, schematic abstraction of central Asia, linear grace/rhythm of Chinese
The Western Paradise Of Amitabha Buddha, Detail of a wall painting in Cave 217, Dunhuang, Gansu. Tang dynasty, c. 750.
along Silk Road, 500 caves- carved painted clay sculpture, wall paintings- worked on over 1000-year period
most popular wall painting from Tang dynasty; Amitabha Buddha seated with flame halo, surrounded by bodhisattvas
architecture modeled on Tang palaces (cantilevered, overhanging roofs)- Buddha’s image of Nirvana anchored in the here and now
Great Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci’en Temple, Chang’an, Shanxi. Tang dynasty, first erected 645; rebuilt mid 8th century CE
Chinese adapt architectural structures from S. Asia: Indian Buddhist stupa + Chinese watchtower (cantilevered, overhanging eaves)= stone pagoda
built for monk Xuanzang (600-64) upon return from 16-year pilgrimage to India- translated Buddhist scriptures for Chinese
entirely in brick, but imitates wooden architecture, walls resemble bays, bracket systems reproduced under roofs
Tang ideals- simplicity, symmetry, proportions, grace- tame flamboyant flourishes of earlier Buddhist architecture
Seated Guanyin Bodhisattva, Liao dynasty, 11th-12th century CE (the painting and gilding were restored in the 16th century).
Guanyin popular in China- Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion- appears in many guises- here Water & Moon Guanyin (sits on rock by sea, steps on lotus)
elegant attire, jewelry, crown; wood carving- removing unwanted material from sculpture- subtractive process- but outside dried faster= cracks; Chinese solved problem w/ joined-block construction- pieces carved separately and assembled w/ dowels, nails, whole piece hollowed out, polychromed/painted
positon of royal ease- w/ right arm on raised right knee, left arm/foot hang down=royal sophistication, sensuous languor- inspired by Indian bodhisattvas (5th century)
Fan Kuan, Travelers among Mountains and Streams, Northern Song dynasty, early 11th century CE. hanging scroll with ink colors on silk
progress of Chinese art from mythocentrism (Han)- religious images/human actions (Sui)-aesthetic/avoidance of human condition- ideals through symbolism- use landscape- most esteemed subject- does not show supernatural; careful study of species but not topographically accurate
acts of drama: each introduced next: foreground: low lying rock formation, middle ground: travelers/mules, waterfall spanned by bridge, background: mountain rising from mist; human scale- smallness vs. vastness of nature; vastness also by avoidance of perspective
like Western- personal experience of nature (God’s creation)= understanding of divine
feeling- climbing mountain, leave human world, face-to-face w/ Great Ultimate (taiji); Daoist ideal: nature uncorrupted by humans
central peak flanked by lesser peaks= emperor & ministers (Confucian) or Buddha & bodhisattvas (Buddhist)
Zhao Mengfu, Autumn Colors On The Qiao And Hua Mountains, Yuan dynasty, 1296
descendant of Song painter, calligrapher & poet; served in Yuan govt, influenced younger artists
handscroll w/ink & color on paper, shifting perspective illustrated as unroll by section from right to left
style: Archaic, elegant, Tang dynasty style- nostalgic for China’s distant past, military/cultural power
“literati” painting: “spirit of antiquity”- unassuming brushwork, subtle colors (or only ink), landscape as personal message (usually for close friend)
Ni Zan, The Rongxi Studio, Yuan dynasty, 1372
Zhao’s ideas serve as model; most famous painting entirely in ink; motifs of Chinese landscape- mountains, rivers, waterfalls, trees, rocks, temples, boats, etc.
reduces detail further- open areas of negative space, less descriptive, dry-brush technique (brush lightly inked, let run out, white paper “breathes” through ragged strokes)
technique adopted by later painters, he was model for literati painters- eccentric- notoriously clean (washed several X per day, had trees washed), wealthy, at end of life gave away possessions, became hermit
Forbidden City (Now the Palace Museum), Beijing. Mostly Ming dynasty.
Palace complex surrounded by moats & towers; like Angkor Wat; enter through Meridian gate; perpendicular, easily defensible side wings like Versailles, courtyard crossed by bow-shaped waterway, spanned by 5 arched, marble bridges
5: elements of nature- earth achieves stability through balance of elements; past bridges to Gate of Supreme Harmony- opens onto larger courtyard w/ 3 ceremonial halls raised on platform
lion statues= royalty; emperor sat on throne, facing south, overlooking all below=structure of universe & heaven; emperor=son of Heaven, maintain cosmic order from throne in middle of world
city is heaven on earth
Shen Zhou, Poet On A Mountaintop, Leaf from an album of landscapes; painting mounted as part of a handscroll. Ming dynasty, c. 1500.
very influential type of painting; invented motif- poet surveying a landscape on a mountain plateau
dry-brush technique- similar amateur, individualized brushwork- informal, relaxed, straightforward
previously landscape dominated- now poet dominates- clouds beneath
reflects Ming philopsophy- mind not physical world is basis for reality
Shitao, Landscape, Leaf from an Album of Landscapes. Qing dynasty, c. 1700
ink and color on paper- artist descended from 1st Ming emperor, with Qing takeover, refuge in Buddhist temples; Qing dangerous for those in Ming circles- many committed suicide/hid in monasteries
painters expressed anger, defiance, frustration, melancholy in art; individualists: expression of personal feelings; brink of abstraction
same Ming subject- scholar in structure on mountain, but progress through painting differently, dry-brush, loose, suggestive, not detailed- like Ni Zan & Zen Buddhism
dots not longer indicate vegetation or rocks- life of their own, overwhelming- monk not dominate landscape-swallowed by it
new literati painting to differentiate from carefully defined Qing court style
Wu Guanzhong, Pine Spirit, 1984
founder of modern Chinese painting; combined French training w/ Chinese background- semiabstract style for landscape
preliminary sketches on site (en plein air like Courbet); finish composition in studio w/ free interpretations based on feeling and his vision
rhythmic underlying abstraction of landscape but not topographically accurate; traditionally Chinese calligraphy, landscapes & subject matter combined w/ new abstract, modern style
subject is Yellow Mountains- can see craggy outcrops but expressionistic, conceptual like Kandinsky, landscape not shown from unified viewpoint, suggested
AbEx like Pollock but tied to tradition- dry-brush technique, rapid painting, expressing emotions= literati- from Ming period- Shen Zhou
landscape still important subject for modern Chinese painters + calligraphy
