Chinese
Art
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Buddhism
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Religion and Philosophy; began ~6th and 4th century
BCE.
Based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian
prince.
Siddhartha abandoned life of luxury for knowledge and
enlightenment.
When he reached Enlightenment/Nirvana, he becomes
known as the Buddha ("the awakened one").
Different branches of Buddhism -Theravada ("The
School of the Elders“ and oldest surviving branch) and
Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle").
Buddhism (Cont.)
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Karma is the force that drives Saṃsāra, the cycle of
suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skillful
deeds and bad, unskillful actions produce "seeds" in the
mind which result in consequences either in this life or
in a subsequent rebirth.
Rebirth refers to a process where beings live a
succession of lifetimes as one of many possible forms
of life, each running from birth to death.
Buddhist Concepts
Four Noble Truths:
 Life leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one way
or another.
 Suffering is caused by craving.
 Suffering ends when craving ends. Eliminating delusion
will result in reaching a liberated state of
Enlightenment (bodhi).
 Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following
the path (Eightfold Path) laid out by the Buddha;
basically right living, attitudes, and meditations
Taoism
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Tao = “path” or “way”
Taoism emphasizes the Three Jewels of the Tao:
compassion, moderation, and humility.
Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the
relationship between humanity and the cosmos.
Harmony with the Universe
Balance between opposing forces (yin-yang)
Confucianism
•Developed from the teachings of the
philosopher Confucius
•The cultivation of virtue and the
development of moral perfection
•Golden Rule: "do not do unto others
what you would not have them do unto
you."
Confucianism (Cont.)
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Social harmony
"Filial piety“ is among one of the greatest
virtues. “Filial” characterizes the respect that a
child should show to his/her parents.
Loyalty was considered one of the greater
human virtues. Loyalty to one's family came
first, then to one's spouse, then to one's ruler,
and lastly to one's friends.
Chinese Paintings
Gu Kaizhi
Gu Kaizhi is a notable painter of ancient China
born in Wuxi.
 He wrote three books on painting theory.
 The three books were named, On Painting,
Introduction of famous paintings of Wei and Jin
Dynasties, and Painting Yuntai Mountain.
Three of Kaizhi’s paintings are still intact. Their
names are, “Admonitions of the Instructstress to
the Court Ladies.", "Nymph of the Luo River”and
Gu Kaizhi’s painting,
"Wise and Benevolent Women".
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Admonitions Scroll
Calligraphy
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In ancient China just like painting, Calligraphy was one of the
most appreciated works of art.
Amateurs, school officials, and aristocrats had the leisure to
perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great
brushwork.
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Calligraphy are a brush pen, made
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of animal hair, and black inks, made from pine soot and animal
glue.
Writing and painting was originally done on silk, but with the
invention of paper in the 1st century, silk was quickly replaced.
Wang Xizhi was a renowned Chinese Calligrapher in the 4th
century AD. His most famous work of art is the Lanting Xu,
which is the preface for a collection of poems written by
numerous poets.
Tang Dynasty (618-907)
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In the Tang Dynasty, the primary subject matter of paintings
was landscape. This was known as Shanshui painting.
In these paintings the purpose was to grasp an emotion or
atmosphere so as to catch the feeling of nature.
Painting in this traditional style is done with a brush dipped in
black or colored ink. The finished work is then mounted on
scrolls, which can be hung or rolled up
Dong Yuan was an excellent painter in the Southern Tang
Kingdom.
He was recognized for his figure and landscape paintings, and
his graceful style became the standard for brush painting in
China over the next 900 years.
He studied the styles of Li Sixun and Wang Wei, but added a
number of techniques, including more sophisticated
perspective, use of pointillism and crosshatching to build up
vivid effect.
Mountain Hall by Dong Yuan
Song Dynasty (960-1279)
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In the Song Dynasty more restrained expression appeared; vast
distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines,
mountain contours were vanishing into the mist, and impressionistic
behavior of natural phenomena.
Paintings emphasized the spiritual qualities of the painting and the
artist’s ability to expose the inner harmony of man and nature as
perceived according to the Taoist and Buddhist concepts.
Liang Kai was a Chinese painter who lived during the Song
Dynasty. He referred to himself as "Madman Liang," and spent his
entire life drinking and painting. Eventually Liang retired and
became a Zen monk and is recognized with inventing the Zen
school of Chinese art.
Wen Tong was another important figure in the Song Dynasty. Tong
was famous for his ink paintings of bamboo. He was so impressive
at painting bamboo that he could hold two brushes in one hand and
paint two different distanced bamboos simultaneously.
Yuang and Min Dynasty
Yuang Dynasty
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Wang Meng was a prominent painter in the Yuan Dynasty and was
known for his well known work the Forest Grotto.
Zhao Mengfu was a Chinese scholar, painter and calligrapher during
the Yuan Dynasty. He rejected the placid brushwork of his age in
favor of the more crude style of the 8th century. This was considered
to have been a uprising that shaped the modern Chinese landscape
painting.
Ming Dynasty
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Chinese culture bloomed in the Ming Dynasty. There were narrative
paintings, a wider range of color, and a busy composition.
Illustrated manuals on the art of painting began to be published as
the techniques of color printing were being perfected.
Jieziyuan Huazhuan is a five-volume work first published in 1679
and has been utilized as a technical textbook for artists and students
ever since.
Chinese Architecture
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architecture was built according to severe rules of design which
made Chinese buildings follow the way of Taoism as well as other Chinese
philosophies
Earlier than the Shang Dynasty, around the time of 1500 BC, Chinese
buildings looked very similar to Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City
(Beijing, 1450 AD). Long pillars and curved roofs were distinguishable.
Palaces of Qin Dynasty and Chou Dynasty, continued in this style
Hall of Supreme Harmony,
Forbidden City (Beijing, 1450 AD)
Chinese Architecture Continued
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The Chinese architecture altered throughout the Han dynasty around 200’s
B.C, when Buddhism came to China
The Buddhists who settled in China built Pagodas for sacred things
Around the Tang (500 AD) and Sung dynasty (1000 AD) Pagodas began to
become fancier as well as thinner with tall spires in order to make them look
taller.
Square pagoda in Shanghai is a Buddhist pagoda, containing a large statue of
Buddha; it was a pilgrimage site. This type of architecture is closely associated
with China.
Chinese Sculpture
Terracotta Army
• Carved during the short-lived Qin Dynasty
• in Mausoleum of First Qin Emperor Qin Shi Huang
• buried in 210-209 BC
• 7,000 terracotta figures of horses and warriors
• had paint when unearthed in 1974; pigment has
since faded; each head is unique.
Chinese Sculpture
THE TANG DYNASTY (618-907 CE)
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Access to India, Middle East through the Silk Road
results in Buddhist influence
Sculpture reaches zenith; time of prosperity and
technological sophistication
Characterized by tri-colored ceramic figurines
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Mogao Caves
Mogao Caves
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Located in the center of Dunhuang in Gansu province
It is made up of 492 temples in 25 kilometers
The first cave was started in 366 AD
Serves as a place for worship for Buddhists
Buddhist monks would put scriptures from the west in
the caves while pilgrims that came in could paint murals
on the walls
Murals cover 450,000 square feet
Has some of the best Buddhist art that spans over
1,000 years
Caves were closed off sometime after the 11th century
and rediscovered in the early 1900’s
First dated example of block printing
Considered one of the three most famous ancient
sculptural sites of China
Yungang Grottoes
Yungang Grottoes
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Near a city of Datong in the province Shanxi
Constructed between 460-525 AD during the Northern
Wei dynasty by about 40,000 people
Grotto- a small cave or cavern
Used for worship (Buddhist temple grottoes)
Place of privacy for private prayer
Composed of 53 grottoes, over 51,000 statues of
Buddha, and over 1,000 niches
Contains traditional Chinese art with foreign influencemostly Greek and Indian
It is carved from the side of the Wuzhou Mountain and
extends about 1 kilometer
Considered one of the three most famous ancient
sculptural sites of China