CHAPTER 7: CHINA AND
KOREA TO 1279
Nadia DelMedico, Crystal Poole, Kelly Tappan
Period 3 AP Art History, Ms. Packer
Key Concepts
Innovations and Artworks of Neolithic China
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Large, multifamily houses were uncovered at archeological sites.
These houses had pens for domesticated animals, pottery kilns,
storage pits, and cemeteries.
Much of the art was made for funerary purposes, such as the
“earthenware” bowls and silk banners for coffins.
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For example, The First Emperor of Quin was a massive tomb filled with
more than 6,000 life-sized terracotta figures. This tomb led to the creation
of many more as time went on.
The Han Dynasty introduced the “rubbing” technique, which was
used on reliefs to transfer the design to paper.
Architecture was very grandiose with lacquered wood walls and
mural paintings. Their empires were embellished with extravagant
wooden structures and gold, silver, and bronze. There were large
scale projects that opposed this norm, for example, a massive rock
cut relief, which emphasized simplicity over detail.
Key Concepts
Art & Architecture of the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han
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Shang Dynasty (1600-1050 BCE)
Royal burials at Anyang provide examples of Chinese art at the time: statuary, weapons, jade,
ivory, lacquer, gold, silver, and bronze are all found in the king's tomb
This dynasty is known for the casting of elaborate bronze vessels that served as containers for
ritual offerings in divination ceremonies
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gong (covered libation vessel for sacrificial rites) is made of bronze during this time
animal motifs are common during this dynasty
Zhou Dynasty (1050-256 BCE)
Art from this dynasty is indistinguishable from the Shang Dynasty until the 4th century BCE
when new designs arose
Carved jade reached its technical zenith. Even after the invention of bronze tools, Chinese
sculptors largely relied on grinding and abrasion rather than drilling and chiseling due to the
intricacy of their designs.
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jade was a symbol of fortitude, moral perfection, and rank
bi disks were found made of jade (symbolized the circle of heaven and were collected and traded)
dragons became a big symbol during this time and were often found on bi disks (symbolizing the
unification of heaven and earth)
Key Concepts
Art & Architecture of the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han
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Qin Dynasty (475-221 BCE)
Began construction of the Great Wall in the north
Terra cotta figures found in the tomb of the first emperor of the Qin
The figures are almost all unique because they were made by assembling pieces from
varying molds, they are noted for the formalism and realism of detail
Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 581CE)
Traded as far as Rome through the Silk Road, bringing influence from other cultures
Painting on silk
Pictorial narratives are carved into stone walls of shrines
No Han buildings survive, but models of houses found in tombs and representations
from paintings and carvings give historians an idea of the architectural style
Architectural style: walls do not bear the weight of the building, and are merely
screens that separate the inside from the outside
Key Concepts
Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Art and Architecture
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Buddhism traveled to China via the Silk
Road during the Period of Disunity
Buddha's are a common symbol in
Chinese art (usually shown meditating
with legs crossed and palms together)
Buddhist temples were built along the
Silk Road where great carvings of the
Buddha can be found
Early Chinese Buddhist statues were of
bronze
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the Shakyamuni Buddha is the first known
Chinese representation of a Buddha
Chan Buddhism was created in China
during the Song Dynasty
Sixth Chan Patriarch Chopping
Bamboo by Liang Kai
Key Concepts
Materials and Formats Used by Chinese Painters
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Materials
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Round tapered brushes
Soot-based ink
Silk, Paper, Walls
Colored minerals for pigments, finely ground and
suspended in a gluey medium
Watery washes of mineral and vegetable dyes
Formats are personal and intimate, designed to
be viewed by only one or two people at a time.
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Hanging Scrolls, hung vertically for display on
walls
Handscrolls, long and narrow scrolls the viewer
would unroll horizontally in sections from right to
left
Album leaves, small panels painted on paper
leaves then stored in albums
Fans, usually stiff and round or arched and folding
Lohans Giving Alms to
Beggars by Zhou Jichang
Key Concepts
Art & Architecture of the Tang and Song Dynasties
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Tang Dynasty (618 CE – 907 CE)
A period of unequaled magnificence, with an influx of foreign people, wealth, and
ideas
Built large scale sculptures such as Vairocana Buddha at Luoyang, which is 44 ft. tall
Developed curved roofs supported by a complex grid of beams and brackets that
supported the overhanging eaves
The golden age of Chinese figure painting
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Song Dynasty (960 CE – 1279 CE)
Most technologically advanced society in the world in the early second millennium
Landscape painting at its zenith
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The Thirteen Emperors by Yan Liben
Fan Kuan a pioneer in accurately depicting light, shade, distance, and texture in his hanging
scrolls
The Song Dynasty was interrupted by the Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty saw developments in architecture such as the Foguang Si Pagoda
Key Concepts
Korean Contributions to Art & Architecture
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Much of their art was based on Chinese
models.
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The artisanship was high quality, demonstrated
in the Silla Crown from a tomb near Kyongju. It
was cut from sheet gold and embossed along
the edges with jade. It was thought to
symbolize life and supernatural power. The
style was very intricate.
Most of the Buddhist temples did not survive
the test of time; however, near the summit of
Mount Toham, a granite Buddhist monument is
preserved with high quality reliefs. There is an
eleven foot tall Buddha carved from a single
block of granite.
Crown from Kyongju, Korea
Significant Artworks
Bi Disk with Dragons from Luoyang, China
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Name: Bi Disk with Dragons
Date: ca. fourth to third century BCE
Period/Style: Eastern Zhou Dynasty
Artist: Unknown
Material/Technique: Nephrite, a species of Jade, grinded,
pierced, and engraved
Function: Symbols of circle of Heaven that were status
symbols in both life and afterlife
Context: The Chinese started using nephrite in the Neolithic
period for its beauty, hardness, and toughness. These
qualities became metaphors for the fortitude and moral
superiority of the beholder. Nephrite was also believed to
have magical properties that protected the dead.
Description: The circle is decorated with dragons on the
outside and the inside of the drilled hole in the center. The
detailing is ornate with natural, fluid lines.
Ideas: Dragons are symbols of good fortune in East Asia,
hence their popularity in artwork. They also symbolized
the ability to meditate between heaven and earth, as
dragons flew between the two realms to bring rain.
Bi Disk with Dragons from Luoyang, China
Significant Artworks
Army of the First Emperor of Qin from Lintong, China
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Name: Army of the first emperor of Quin
Date: ca. 210 BCE
Period/Style: The Zhou and Qin Dynasties
Artist: Ordered by the First Emperor of Qin, a large army of artisans was needed (more than
700,000)
Material/Technique: terracotta soldiers. All were produced from common molds, yet each figure
has an individualized appearance.
Function: Funerary palace for the emperor that resembled the palace the emperor occupied in
real life.
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Context: Became a model for many future tombs
because many less large-scale tombs were
excavated.
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Description: Over 6,000 life-sized terracotta
soldiers with varying stances, garments,
equipment, and facial features. Bronze horses
and chariots were also present.
Ideas: The blend of uniformity and individuality
may suggest ideals of the culture during the era.
"The whole is only as great as the sum of its
parts."
Significant Artworks
Shakyamuni Buddha from Sokkuram, Korea
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Name: Shakyamuni Buddha, in the rotunda of the cave
temple, Sokkuram, Korea
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Date: 751-774 CE
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Period/Style: Unified Silla Kingdom
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Artist: Commissioned by Kim Tae-song, a member of the
royal family and prime minister
Material/Technique: Full round subtractive carving in granite
stone
Function: Centerpiece of a Buddhist monument
Context: Representative of Shakyamuni, the historical
Buddha, and faces the entrance to the chamber. The Buddha
touches his hand to the earth as a symbol of the moment of
his enlightenment.
Description: Broad shouldered, rounded features, meditative
position, frontal, symmetrical
Ideas: Statue and monument demonstrate the importance of
Buddhism to Koreans during that period, as they believed
the Buddhist shrines and monuments were supernatural
defenses against physical threats.
Shakyamuni Buddha from Sokkuram, Korea
Comparative Analysis
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 5
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made of celadon
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red-figure painting
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subject is nature, cranes
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material is ceramic
varying thicknesses of
glaze to create tonal
variation
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narrative, human
subjects
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Ca. 918-1000
Archaic period, Ca.510
BCE
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Three Revelers amphora
decorative, not
narrative
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Maebyong Vase, Koryo
Dynasty
partially engraved
seamless pattern all
around vase
Similarities
both glazed
repeated geometric designs
vessels that can hold something
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Foreshortening
employed
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has handles
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wider opening
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design only in one panel
show same species of figure in
different, unusual positions, studies of
form
rounded, hourglass and half
hourglass shapes