Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Arts of China
Books
The following books have been ordered from the Jeffery Amherst College Store on
South Pleasant Street:
Fong, Wen. Possessing the Past
Wright, Arthur. Buddhism in Chinese History
Wen Fong's book is expensive, but it is one of the best books on Chinese art to have
been published in the last few years and is well worth the price.
All the other readings on the syllabus can be found on reserve in Frost Library.
The Course
The class will meet twice a week (MW) at 12:30, in Fayerweather 117. The course is an
introductory one which assumes no previous knowledge of Chinese art. The lectures
and assigned readings have been selected to provide a variety of perspectives to help
you form your own understanding of the arts of China. We will try to arrange a field trips
to the Sackler Museum, Harvard University and to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to look
at bronze vessels and jades, ceramics, Buddhist sculpture and painting. Since such a
wide range of material is to be covered in only one semester, regular class attendance
is essential. The readings should be completed before each class and you should be
prepared to participate in class discussions. There will be study sheets for most
lectures. In addition, I would like to try having on-line discussions of a number of
readings during the semester on the web site for the course. Most of the images that
we will be covering in class are available on the web site as well.
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Requirements
There will be two required writing assignments, two hour exams and a final paper. The
writing assignments must be typewritten.
1) an essay on ancient bronze vessels, Due September 16 (15%)
2) a comparison of two paintings, Due November 13 (15%)
The hour exams, October 7 and during the exam period (15% each), will consist of slide
identifications and comparisons. The final paper (40%), due on the first day of exam
period, will be on a topic of your choice and should be 12 to 15 typed pages in length.
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Lecture Schedule
Ancient China
Reading Assignment:
Chang, Art, Myth, and Ritual, chs. 3-4
Clunas, pp. 15-34
Watt, "Jade," "The Bronze Age and the first empires," PTP
Sept. 4 (Wed.)
Introduction and Neolithic China
Reading Assignment:
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Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Fong, "Chinese art and cross-cultural understanding," PTP
Medley, pp. 17-28
Rawson, pp. 13-40
Sept. 6 (Fri.)
The Shang Dynasty
Reading Assignment:
Medley, pp. 29-38
Rawson, pp. 41-61
Sept. 7 (Sat.) Bronze Vessels–Shang and Western Zhou
Reading Assignment:
Bagley, “Meaning”
Fong, GBAC, ch. 2-4, look at plates
GBAC, chs. 5 and 6 look at plates
Qian, Out of China's Earth, ch. 1
Rawson, pp. 61-127
Additonal Reading:
Bagley, “Shang”
Sept. 9 (Mon.)
Eastern Zhou Bronzes and the Tomb of Suixian
Reading Assignment:
GBAC, ch. 8, look at plates
Lawton, Warring States, look at plates
Qian, ch. 3
Rawson, pp. 127-17
Additional Reading:
Chan, A Source Book: Confucius, pp. 1418 and 1:1; 4:15; 6:20; 6:23; 7:29; 8:9; 11:11; 12:19; 15:20;
16:10. Lao Tze, pp. 136-139 and 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 21, 25, 28
Sept. 11 (Wed.)
The Qin and Han Dynasties
Reading Assignment:
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Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
GBAC, ch. 10
Fong," The imperial cult" PTP
Priazzoli, pp. 41-60
Qian, ch. 4, 5, 6 look at plates
Wright, pp. 3-20
Additonal Readings:
Fontein and Wu, Han and T’ang, pp. 21-49
Kesner, “Likeness”
Powers, "Artistic Taste."
Wu, “Art in Ritual Context”
The Three Kingdoms and Six Dynsaties
Reading Assignment:
Sullivan, Arts of China, ch. 6
Sept. 16 (Mon.)
The Birth of Landscape Painting and Gu Kaizhi
Reading Assignment:
Cahill, pp. 26-27
Clunas, pp. 35-39
Lawton, Chinese Figure Painting, pp. 1-8,
Stories from China’s Past, pp. 54-63, 72-81
Additional Readings:
Munakata, introduction
Shih, "Poetry Illustration."
First Paper Due
Sept. 18 (Wed.)
Yungang and Longmen: Early Buddhist Art in China
Reading Assignment:
Clunas, pp. 89-96
Watson, The Arts, pp. 113-151
Wright, pp.21-64
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Sept. 23 (Mon.)
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Dunhuang and the Silk Route
Reading Assignment:
Dun-huang, pp. 3-9 and look at plates
Murray, “Buddhism and Early Narrative”
Watson, The Arts, pp. 163175
Whitfield, Caves, pp. 7-23 and plates
The Sui and Tang Dynasties
Reading Assignment:
Sullivan, Arts of China, ch. 7
Sept. 25 (Wed.)
The Founding of the Tang and the Capital of Changan. Video-China’s Cosmopolitan Age
Reading Assignment:
Clunas, pp. 43-52
Hayashi, The Silk Road , pp. 85-135
Schafer, Golden Peaches , pp. 7-39
Wright, pp. 86-107
Sept. 30 (Mon.)
Emperor Gaozong and High Tang Buddhist Art
Reading Assignment:
Fontein and Wu, Han and T’ang, pp. 78-122
Shih, “High Tang”
Watson, The Arts, pp. 176-193, 213-226
Wright, pp. 65-85
Additional Readings:
Soper, "A Vacation Glimpse."
Wang, “Whose Paradise?”
Oct. 2 (Wed.)
Secular Painting and Sculpture from the Six Dynansties to the Tang-Figures, Landscapes and Tomb Figurines
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Reading Assignment:
Cahill, pp. 15-21
Clunas, pp. 40-43
Lawton, Chinese Figure Painting, pp. 1829
Watson, The Arts,195-212
Additional Reading:
Bush, “Tsung Ping’s Essay”
Oct. 7 (Mon.)
First Hour Examination
The Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty
Reading Assignment:
Fong, "Some Cultural Stereotypes," "Song Imperial Portraits,
" PTP
Oct. 9 (Wed.) The Founding of the Song and the Tradition of Monumental Landscape
Painting
Reading Assignment:
Cahill, pp. 29-33
Fong, "Monumental Landscape Painting," PTP
Fong, “Structural Analysis”
Additional Readings:
Bush and Shih, 141-190 sections on Guo Xi only
Cahill, "Some Rocks."
Oct. 16 (Wed.)
Calligraphy and Theories of Chinese Painting
Reading Assignment:
Fong, "The Scholar Official as Artist," PTP
Fu, Traces of the Brush, ch. 1
Wang, Looking, pp. 77-85
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Additional Reading:
Edwards, "Artist and Landscape"
Oct. 21 (Mon.)
Northern Song Narrative Art and Formats and Techniques of
Chinese Painting
Reading Assignment:
Hay, “Along the River”
Wang, Looking, pp. 41-76, 93-107
Whitfield, "Chang Tse-tuan's"
Additional Reading:
Murck, “Eight Views”
Oct. 23 (Wed.)
Emperor Huizong and Art at Court: Bird and Flower Painting and
Ceramics
Reading Assignment:
Barnhart, Peach Blossom, pp. 25-35
Medley, chapters on Song
Watt, "Antiquarianism and Naturalism"
PTP
Oct. 28 (Mon.)
The Southern Song Academy and the Literati
Reading Assignment:
Bush, The Chinese Literati, pp. 1-13, 67-74
Cahill, "The Imperial Painting Academy,"
PTP
Oct. 30 (Wed.)
Religious Art of the Song and Qin Dyansties
Reading Assignment:
Fong and Ho, "Some Buddhist images,"
PTP
Siren, ch. 3
Yu, “Guanyin”
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Additional Reading:
Berger, “Preserving the Nation”
The Yuan Dynasty
Reading Assignment:
Fong and Hearn, "Imperial portraits of the Yüan Court," PTP
Nov. 4 (Mon.)
The Coming of the Mongols and Early Yuan Painting
Reading Assignment:
Bush, pp. 118-124
Hearn, "Reunification and revival," PTP
Medley, pp. 169-191
Nov. 6 (Wed.)
Against Representation: The Four Great Masters of the Yuan
Reading Assignment:
Bush, pp. 130-139
Cahill, pp. 107-115
Clunas, pp. 144-152
Hearn, "The artist as hero," PTP
Nov. 11 (Mon.)
Viewing Session–Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting
Second Paper Due
The Ming Dynasty
Reading Assignment
Fong, "Imperial portraiture of the Ming Dynasty," PTP
Nov. 13 (Wed.)
The Early Ming Academy and Ming Ceramics
Reading Assignment:
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Barnhart, "The return of the academy,"
PTP
Medley, The Chinese Potter, pp. 192-239
Nov. 18 (Mon.)
Mid-Ming Painting–Amateurs and Professionals
Reading Assignment:
Cahill, Chinese Painting, pp. 123-148
Fong, "The literati artists of the Ming
dynasty," PTP
Additional Readings:
Cahill, The Painter’s Practice, pp. 71-112
Li, Chinese Scholar’s, pp. 37-51
Nov. 20 (Wed.)
Dong Qichang and Late Ming Painting
Reading Assignment:
Cahill, Compelling Image, pp. 36-69
Fong, "Creating a synthesis," PTP
Fong, "The expanding literati culture," PTP
The Qing Dynasty
Reading Assignment:
Cahill, The Painter’s Practice, pp. 113-148
Clunas, pp. 72-88, 131-133, 165-168, 191-193
Dec. 2 (Mon.)
Art at the Manchu Court and the Orthodox Painters of the Early Qing
Reading Assignment
Cahill, pp. 161-167
Fong, "Imperial patronage of the arts under the Ch'ing," PTP
Fong, "The orthodox school of painting," PTP
Watt, "The antique-elegant," PTP
Dec. 4 (Wed.)
Qing Individualists
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Reading Assignment:
Fong, "The individualist masters," PTP
Additional Readings:
Barnhart, Master, pp. 13-19
Cahill, Shadows, pp. 76-84
Fu and Fong, Wilderness
Wilson, "Kung Hsien"
Dec. 9 (Mon.)
Art of the Mid and Late Qing and the Legacy of Traditional Chinese
Art
Reading Assignment:
Li, Trends, ch. 1, 5
Sullivan, ch. 12
Additional Reading:
Medley, pp. 240-267
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Bibliography
Bagley, Robert. “Meaning and Explanation.” Archives of Asian Art, XLVI (1993), pp. 726. XEROX
-----. “Shang Ritual Bronzes: Casting Techniques and Vessel Design.” Archives of
Asian Art, XLIII (1990), pp. 6-20. XEROX
Barnhart, Richard. Master of the Lotus Garden. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1990.
-----. Peach Blossom Spring. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.
Berger, Patricia. “Preserving the Nation: The Political Uses of Tantric Art in China.” In
Marsha Weidner, ed. Latter Days of the Law--Images of Chinese Buddhism 850-1850.
Lawrence: Spenncer Museum of Art, 1994. pp. 89-124.
Bush, Susan. The Chinese Literati on Painting: Su Shih (1037-1101) to Tung Ch'ich'ang (1555-1636). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1971.
-----. "Tsung Ping's Essay on Painting Landscape and the 'Landscape Buddhism' of
Mount Lu." In Theories of the Arts of China, Susan Bush and Christian Murck, eds.,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983, pp. 132-164.
Bush, Susan and Christian Murck. Theories of the Arts in China.
University Press, 1983.
Princeton: Princeton
Bush, Susan and Hsio-yen Shih. Early Chinese Texts on Painting. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1985.
Cahill, James. Chinese Painting. Lausanne: Skira, 1960.
-----. The Compelling Image: Nature and Style in Seventeenth Century Chinese
Painting. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1982.
-----. The Painter’s Practice--How Artists Lived and Worked in Traditional China. New
York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
-----, ed. Shadows of Mt. Huang. Berkeley: Univ. Art Museum,1981.
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
-----. "Some Rocks in Early Chinese Landscape Painting." Archives of the Chinese Art
Society in America, no. 16 (1962), pp. 77-87. XEROX
Chan, Wing-tsit. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1969.
Chang, Kwang-chih. Art, Myth and Ritual. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1983.
Chinese Cultural Center, ed. Stories from China's Past. San Francisco: Chinese
Cultural Center, 1987.
Clunas, Craig. Art in China. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Dunhuang Institute for Cultural Relics, ed. Dunhuang. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing
Group, 1981.
Edwards, Richard. "The Artist and the Landscape: Changing Views of Nature in
Chinese Painting." Renditions, no. 6 (1976), pp. 30-52. XEROX
Fong, Wen et. al. The Great Bronze Age of China. New York: Metropolitan Museum of
Art, 1980.
-----. Images of the Mind. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ.
Press, 1984.
-----. "Toward a Structural Analysis of Chinese Landscape Painting." Art Journal, no. 28
(1969), pp. 388-397. XEROX
Fong, Wen and James Watt. Possessing The Past--Treasures from the National Palace
Museum, Taipei. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996.
Fontein, Jan and Tung Wu. Han and T’ang Murals. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1976.
-----. Unearthing China's Past. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1973.
Fu, Marilyn and Wen Fong. The Wilderness of Colors. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 1973.
Fu, Shen. Traces of the Brush Princeton: Princeton Unviersity Press, 1973.
Hay, John. "Along the River During Winter's First Snow." The Burlington Magazine 114
(1972), pp. 294-303. XEROX
-----. “The Human Body as a Microcosmic Source of Macrocosmic Values in
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Survey of Chinese Art
Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Calligraphy.” In Susan Bush and Christian Murck, eds. Theories of the Arts in China.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983.
-----. “Values and History in Chinese Painting I.” RES 6 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 72-111.
XEROX
Hayashi, Ryoichi. The Silk Road and the Shoso-in. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1975.
Ho, Wai-kam, et. al. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. Cleveland: Cleveland
Museum of Art, 1980.
Kesner, L. “Likeness of No One: (Re)Presenting the First Emperor’s Army.” Art Bulletin,
vol. LXVII, no. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 115-132. XEROX
Lawton, Thomas. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period. Washington, D.C.: The
Smithsonian Institution, 1982.
Ledderose, Lothar. "The Earthly Paradise: Religious Elements in Chinese Landscape
Art." In Theories of the Arts in China, Susan Bush and Christian Murck, eds.,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983, pp. 165-183.
Li, Chu-tsing. Trends in Modern Chinese Painting. Ascona: Artibus Asiae, 1979.
Li, Chu-tsing, et. al. The Chinese Scholar's Studio. New York: Asia Society, 1987.
Medley, Margaret. The Chinese Potter. Oxford: Phaidon, 1976.
Munakata Kiyohiko. Sacred Mountains. Champaign: Kranert Art Museum, 1991.
Murray, Julia. “Buddhism and Early Narrative Illustration in China.” Archives of Asian
Art, no. XLVIII (1995), pp. 17-31. XEROX
Ning Qiang. “Ritual, Entertainment and Politics: Retrinking the Northern Wall of
Dunhuang Cave 220.” Oriental Art (Winter 1996/7), pp. 5-61. XEROX
Pirazzoli-t'Serstevens. The Han Dynasty. New York: Rizzoli, 1982.
Powers, Martin. "Artistic Taste, the Economy and the Social Order in Former Han
China," Art History, vol. 9, no. 3 (1986), pp. 285-305. XEROX
Qian Hao et. al. Out of China's Earth. New York: Abrams, 1981.
Rawson, Jessica. Ancient China, Art and Archaeology. New York: Harper and Row,
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Fine Arts 60
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1980.
Schafer, Edward. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand. Berkeley: Univ. of California
Press, 1963.
Shih, W. “High Tang Art in the Maogao Caves.” Orientations, vol. 23 (May, 1992), pp.
52-60. XEROX
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(1976), pp. 6-29.
Silbergeld, Jerome. Chinese Painting Style: Media, Methods, and Principles of Form.
Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980.
Siren, Oswald. The Chinese on the Art of Painting. New York: Schoken Books, 1963.
Soper, Alexander. "Vacation Glimpses of the T'ang Temples of Ch'ang-an." Artibus
Asiae, vol. XXIII, 1 (1960), pp. 15-40. XEROX
Sullivan, Michael. The Arts of China.. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
Wang Yao-t’ing. Looking At Chinese Painting. Tokyo: Nigensha, 1995.
Wang, Y. “Whose Cave is it Anyway? The Lotus Sutra Tableau in Dunhuang’s Cave
217 Revisited.” Orientations, vol. 27, no. 10 (Nov. 1996), pp. 44-49. XEROX
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Whitfield, Roderick. Caves of the Thousand Buddhas. London: British Museum, 1990.
-----. "Chang Tse-tuan's 'Ch'ing-Ming Shang Ho-T'u'." In Proceedings of the International
Symposium on Chinese Painting. Ed. National Palace Museum. Taipei:National Palace
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Wilson, Marc. "Kung Hsien: Theorist and Technician in Painting." The Nelson Gallery
and Atkins Museum Bulletin, no. 4 (1969). XEROX
Wright, Arthur. Buddhism in Chinese History. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press, 1959.
-----. "The Cosmology of the Chinese City." In Wm. Skinner, ed. The City in Late
Imperial China. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1977, pp. 33-73, 682-687.
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Fine Arts 60
Fall 2002
Prof. Morse
Wu Hung. “Art in a Ritual Context--Rethinking Mawangtui.” Early China, 17 (1992), pp.
111-144. XEROX
Wu Tung. Tales from the Land of Dragons--1,000 Years of Chinese Painting. Boston:
Museum of Fine Arts, 1997.
Yu, Chun-fang. “Guanyin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara.” In Marsha
Weidner, ed. Latter Days of the Law--Images of Chinese Buddhism 850-1850.
Lawrence: Spenncer Museum of Art, 1994. pp. 151-182.
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