Chinese Art
Unit 6-2
Chinese art : A brief introduction
• Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. Different forms of art have been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political leaders. Chinese art encompasses fine arts, folk arts and performance arts.
Gu Kaizhi (顾恺之)
• Gu Kaizhi (顾恺之，ca. 344-406), is a celebrated painter of ancient China. His style name was 'Changkang' (长康). He was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu province and first painted at Nanjing in 364. He was also a talented poet and calligrapher. He wrote three books about painting theory: On Painting (画论), Introduction of Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晋胜流画赞) and Painting Yuntai Mountain (画云台山记). He wrote: "In figure paintings the clothes and the appearances were not very important. The eyes were the spirit and the decisive factor."
• Gu's art is known today through copies of three silk handscroll paintings attributed to him. Many of the major works are in the hands of foreign museums. They are under protection and care, but it is uncertain if China will ever request their return.
晋 顾恺之：女史箴图
Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies
•
晋 顾恺之 洛神赋图卷（宋摹本）
Nymph of the Luo River
Zhan Ziqian (展子虔)
• Zhan Ziqian (展子虔 c. mid to late 6th century) was a famous painter of ancient China from Yangxin county (阳 信县), Shandong province. His birth and death dates are unknown. It is known that in the Sui dynasty (581 – 618) he was appointed to the office of Chaosan Dafu (朝散大 夫) and later of Zhangnei Dudu (帐内都督).
• Artwork in the Ming dynasty perfected color painting and color printing, with a wider color range and busier compositions than Song paintings.
History of the Art
• In early imperial China, porcelain was introduced and was refined to the point that in English the word china has become synonymous with high-quality porcelain.
History of the Art
• Under efforts of masters from the Shanghai School during the late Qing Dynasty, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of the “Chinese painting” (国画). The Shanghai School challenged and broke the literati tradition of Chinese art, while also paying technical homage to the ancient masters and improving on existing traditional techniques.
Porcelain art (Yangshao Culture)
Jade Carving (Hongshan and Liangzhu Culture)
History of the Art
• Around the 1st century AD, Buddhism arrived in China, though it did not become popular until the 4th century. At this point, Chinese Buddhist art began to flourish, a process which continued through the 20th century. It was during the period of Imperial China that calligraphy and painting became highly appreciated arts in court circles, with a great deal of work done on silk until well after the invention of paper.
Terracotta Army (兵马俑)
• The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. (秦始皇陵). The figures vary in height (183–195 cm - 6 ft– 6 ft 5in), according to their role.
西汉霍去病墓石雕 东汉马踏飞燕（甘肃张掖出土）
隋朝的鎏金菩萨像
山西五台山南禅寺唐代彩塑
元代释迦牟尼白瓷佛像
明代鎏金观音坐像
History of the Art
• Buddhist architecture and sculpture thrived in the Sui and Tang dynasty. Of which, the Tang Dynasty was particularly open to foreign influence. Buddhist sculpture returned to a classical form, inspired by Indian art of the Gupta period. Towards the late Tang dynasty, all foreign religions were outlawed to support Taoism.
《溪山楼观图》燕文贵 卷
History of the Art
• In the Yuan dynasty, painting by the Chinese painter Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫) greatly influenced later Chinese landscape painting.
• According to the historical documents, he painted a number of genres and religion paintings which have not survived. He was especially noted for his paintings of pavilions and people, and horses. His paintings of people were particularly lifelike. The only painting by him that survives today is Strolling About in Spring, which is a perspective arrangement of mountains.e Song Dynasty, paintings of more subtle expression of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which conveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this period that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the previous period.