Chinese & Korean Art BEFORE 1279T, R, 12-1:20PMProfessor Paige Prater

China• Covers an area slightly larger than the continental

United States!• Jade objects• Oracle bones• Writing• Taotie – ancient mask motif (so-called by

historians)• Buddhism• Daoism• Confucianism

Chinese Dynasties• Shang Dynasty (1700-1100 BCE)• Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BCE)• Qin Dynasty (221 BCE-206 BCE)• Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)• Six Dynasties period (265-589 CE)• Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-618 CE; 618-907 CE)• Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE)

Shang Dynasty (1700-1100 BCE)• Yellow River Valley: walled cities, palaces, vast

royal tombs• Stratified society• Bronze weaponry• “Shangdi” = chief deity + ancestors, nature, and

fertility deities• Oracle bones>writing• Warrior culture: splendor and violence• Human and animal sacrifices

Shang Dynasty: FANG DING, Tomb 1004, Houjiazhuang, Anyang, Henan, 12th century BCE. Bronze, 24.5”

Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BCE)• Feudal society• Peaceful for 300 years, then warring states• 25’ long, 65 bronze bells, two tones (center/rim)• Taotie on front and back of each bell

433 BCE, Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, Suixian, Hubei. Bronze with bronze and timber frame. 9’ high.

Qin Dynasty (221 BCE-206 BCE)

• Unity under SINGLE RULER: Shihuangdi• Mausoleum at Lingtong in Shaanxi province• 1974: mound uncovered – thousands of terracotta

soldiers/horses

Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)• Peaceful,

prosperous, stable

• Silk Road – land route to Rome (silk and spices)

• Daoism• Confucianism

Daoism• Dao = “The Way” of

the universe; like water• Book: Daodejing, or

The Way and its Power• Immortality achievable

on earth: experimentation with diets, exercise, etc.

• Yin-yang and feng-shui

Incense Burner, Tomb of Prince Liu Sheng, Mancheng, Hebei. Han dyasty, 113 BCE

Confucianism• Emphasizes propriety, deference, duty, and self-

discipline• Goal: attainment of equity• Han Emperor, Wudi (141-87 BCE) – made it official

imperial philosophy; rituals added, mixed with Chinese cosmology

Detail form rubbing of a stone relief in the Wu Family Shrine, Jiaxiang, Shandong. Han dynasty, 151 CE, 27 ½”x 66 ½”

Six Dynasties (265-589 CE)• Three warring dynasties; nomadic central Asian

attacks, court fled South; Northern and Southern developed separately for 300 years.

• Chinese painting: spiritual value• Six principles by scholar Xie He (fl.c. 500-535 CE)• Spirit consonance (Daoist ‘qi’) imbues art with “life’s

movement”• Brushstrokes= bones of a picture

• Buddhism • Calligraphy

Six Dynasties: Detail of Admonitions of the Imperial Instructress to Court Ladies, handscroll, ink, and colors on silk , 9 ¾”x 11’6”.

Calligraphy• Pictographs>ideograph

s• Radicals• Brushwork• Different dialects, ONE

written form of communication! • Maintains unity of

civilization

Wang Xizhi Portion of a Letter from the Feng Ju Album, mid-4th century CE, 24.7 x46.8 cm.

Buddhism• India, 5th century BCE, spread north into central

Asia• Consolation in life, promise of salvation after

death• Temples and monasteries built; monks and nuns

Seated Buddha, Cave 20, Yungang, Datong, Shanxi. Northern Wei dynasty, c. 460 CE, stone, 45’ high.

Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE)• General from the north

reunified the empire; Buddhist• Pure Land sect• Altar to Amitabha Buddha, 593

CE, bronze, 30 1/8” height• Indian style• Central Asian abstraction• Chinese emphasis on rhythm

Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) • Strong, vigorous, noble, idealistic, realistic, and

pragmatic

Great Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci’en Temple, Chang ‘an, Shanxi. 645 CE; rebuilt mid 8th century CE.

From Stupas to Pagodas• Stupas (Buddhist Relic Mounds) + Han dynasty

watchtowers = multistoried, stone/wood structures with tile, projected-upward-curving roofs

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/pbs2_unit07.htm

Nanchan Temple• Earliest important example of surviving Chinese

architecture• Mount Wutai, eastern Shanxi, constructed 782 CE• Elaborate BRACKETING system for overhanging,

curved eaves• Bay = basic unit/module of construction for

Chinese architecture 3 bays in Nanchan Temple• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s-7YKEe9QI

Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE)• New capital at Bianjing (present-

day Kaifeng) until Manchurian, Jurchen tribes invaded> new capital at Hangzhou.

• Introspective, weaker military, greater wealth (advances in agriculture, commerce, and technology)

• Seated Guanyin Bodhisattva, Liao dynasty, 10-12th century, 95x65”, wood, paint, and gold.

• Bodhisattva = close to enlightenment but voluntarily stay on earth to help others

Song dynasty painting• “ I merely transmit, I do not create; I love and

revere the ancients.” –Confucius• Copying = an acceptable practice

Attributed to Emperor Huizong. Detail of Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk, copy after a lost Tang dynasty painting by Zhang Xuan. Early 12th century, CE, handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 14.5 x 57.5”

Neo-Confucianism – Song dynasty• Daoist and Buddhist ideas

to strengthen Confucianism• Universe: two forces, li

(principle or idea) and qi (matter)

• Eternal first principle-“Great Ultimate” – completely present in every object

• Rid qi of impurities through education/self-cultivation to realize oneness with Great Ultimate

• LANDSCAPE painting: study of nature and matter, passion for realistic detail (self-cultivation)

Fan Kuan, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams, early 11th century CE, 6’ x 9.5”

Zhang Zeduan, Spring Festival on the River (detail), 12th century, emperor Huizong’s court

Song Dynasty – Guan Ware• Imperial use• Crackle glaze technique• 1279 – Kublia Khan

conquered China; Mongol Empire

Southern Song Dynasty, 13th century CE, Gray stoneware with crackled grayish blue glaze, 6 5/8” high.

KOREAN ART• 57BCE – 668 CE - Three Kingdoms Period• 3 independent nation-states:• Silla (southeast)• Baekje (southwest)• Goguryeo (north)

• Tomb mound monuments

CROWN – 6th century (probably)• From Gold Crown Tomb,

Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province

• Gold with jadeite ornaments

• 17 ½”• Made for burial• Gold wire holding

together thin cut gold sheet

Ceremonial Stand with Snake, Abstract, and Openwork Decoration – 5-6th century

• Gray stoneware, natural ash glaze

• 23 1/8” high• Three Kingdoms period,

Silla kingdom• Stoneware: impervious

to liquids

Bodhisattva Seated in Meditation• Probably Silla kingdom,

Three Kingdoms Period, early 7th century

• 35 7/8” high• Gilt bronze• 372 – Buddhism

introduced from China• 527 – Buddhism made

official religion of Silla state

KOREAN ART• 660-935 Unified Silla Period• 660 Silla conquers Baekje• 668 Silla allies with Tang dynasty and defeats Goguryeo

• Gyeongju = Silla capital• Buddhism• Temple construction

• Goryeo Dynasty, est 918 - 1392• 935 – eliminated Unified Silla

• Gaeseong (northwest of present-day Seoul)• Celadon-glazed ceramics!

Seokguram – Unified Silla Period, 751 CE

• Artificial cave temple• Buddhism in Koreahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBFqBC89hG4

Maebyeong Bottle with Decoration of Bamboo and Blossoming Plum Tree• Late 12th-early 13th

century, Korea, Goryeo dynasty.

• Inlaid celadon ware• 13 ¼”• Black and white slips

inlaid into intaglio lines• http://www.youtube.co

m/watch?v=2vSpWt7qC_M

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPza4Ot_Dfc

Buddhist Painting in Korea

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thvh5PdR6yM