Art history china and Japan midterm

The Neolithic Period was during

7000-1700 BCE

Bowl, from Banpo; Yangshao culture, 5000-4000BCE

• coil

• placed over burial urns of children

Funerary Jars, from Banshan; Yangshao culture, (c. 2400 BCE)

• black and red pigments

• spiral motif

• coils

Torso of a woman, Hongshan culture (c. 3500 BCE)

• likely used in fertility rituals

• early ancestor worship

Jade Cong and Bi, Liangzhu culture, (2700-2200 BCE)

• jade objects were a status symbol

• circlular shape represents heaven

Pig-Dragon; Hongshan, (4th millenium BCE)

• jade - took a long time to make because of tedious grinding w abrasive rather than carving

• zoomorphic

• ritual and funerary significance - found buried, with owners probably

china proper

inner china, traditional core of China, centered around Yellow River

fertility rites

nude female mother-goddess figures, abundance of crops?

nephrite

breaks off of mountains and is washed down to the base

• white, but copper, chromium, and iron deposits cause grey-green and yellow red colors

The Shang Dynasty was during

(c. 1650-1050 BCE)

oracle bones

Anyang sacrificial victims

• beheaded

• offerings to ancestral spirits to appease them

bronze ritual vessels

Shang dynasty

• used in sacrificial meals, offerings, food and wine

• prestige symbol

• ding - 3 leg meat container

piece mold casting

shang dynasty

figure of deity - Shang

• probs held elephant tusk

• guardian probs

• Sangxingdu

Kneeling jade figure - Shang

• fu hao’s tomb

Bronze Bell, 5th cent Zhou

• found in Marquis Yi tomb

• used in rituals - music

• SUPER heavy

Jade linked discs for belt or pendant

Warring states period

• status symbol, jade takes so long to carve

Bianhu (flat vessel ) flask

Warring States

silver inlays and bronze cast

Marquis Yi coffin

Warring States

bronze framed wood painted with laquer - sgraffito

Gold plated bronze tiger plaque

warring states

wealth and prestige

Zun - jar

pan - basin

found in Marquis Yi tomb

Warring states

bronze vessels found in Marquis Yi tomb

1500

• displays aspiration for wealth and prestige - wasnt buried with other royals

• compared to royals he was insignificant

Hu ritual vessel

Zhou period

• more graceful, intricate details

• some spaces left blank

• tall

rhino bronze vessel

han dynasty

surface decorations and naturalistic

Mirror with Queen mother of the west and King father of the east

Han dynasty

represents heaven - yin and yang

House models

Han dynasty

• our only reference for architecture as all buildings were made from wood

incense burner

Han Dynasty

found in tomb of Prince Liu Sheng

• first landscape

Rubbing from stone relief in shrine of Wu Liang

Han Dynasty

Silk funeral banner

Han Dynasty

tomb #1 - Lady Dai

Jade Horse

Han Dynasty

naturalistic

The wheel of law

• represents the teachings and moral order of cosmos

• 8 spokes represent eightfold path

The Middle Way

life of moderation

Mahayana

branch of buddhism

• save all living beings from suffering

• mind training

• become bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

buddhist that has reached enlightenment but postponed thier ascension to nirvana to help others reach enlightenment

Amitabha/Amida

want to be reborn in western paradise

Pure Land/Western Paradise

a place that buddhists that reach enlightenment are reborn and can study without samsara

Chan/Zen

• focus on meditation and the mind rather than directly to dharma

• repetitive movements were thought to allow for a clear mind, leading to enlightenment

Marks of the Buddha

• ushnisha - top knot

• urna - mole between eyes

• chakras - on feet, wheel of law

• elongated earlobes - reference to wealthy upbringing

• hands in mudra

  • meditation

  • be not afraid

  • gift giving

• usually sitting on lotus in criss cross

• mandorla/halo

maitreya

buddha of the future - bodhisattva

• will guide humanity when teachings of Gautama buddha have faded

Lotus Sutra

• most influential text in Mahayana Buddhism

• contains sermons from Shakyamuni

Guanyin

compassion and mercy boddhisattva

• genderfluid

Xie He

six principles of Chinese painting:

1. spirit consonance

2. bone method - structural use of brush line work

3. correspondence to object

4. color must match object

5. division and planning - composition

6. learning by copying

colophon

brief statement at the end of handscroll with additional information, especially when scroll has been through many owneres

Shakyamuni Buddha; North Wei

Shakyamuni Buddha and Prabhutaratna Buddha; North Wei

Shakyamuni Buddha, Cave 20, Yungang caves, North Wei

Standing boddhisattva (Guanyin), Northern Zhou

Cave 285, Period of Disunity

Vairocana Buddha/cosmic buddha

transcendant, everything

Lady Feng and the Bear; handscroll, late 4th century

arhats/luohan

disciples, often in pairs, old and young

• halo above head

• monk clothing

Vairocana Buddha, disciples and boddhisattvas, Longmen caves

Tang dynasty

• finished in 675 under Tang emperor

• used for lavish ceremonies

• nearly 100000 sculpted figures

Paradise of Amitabha, Cave 217, Dunhuang Grottoes, Tang

Wall painting

Buddha in the center, flanked by bodhisattvas, one being Guanyin

Foguang Si (Buddha Radiane Temple)

Tang

post and lintel construction

where buddhist ceremonies took place

Great wild goose pagoda, Tang

Chang’an

largest city in the world - capital of Tang Dynasty

• incredibly planned - cardinal directions and gril style

Attributed to Yan Liben, Emperor Xuan and attendants, from the Thirteen Emperor, handscroll Tang

• hieratical scaling

• higher officials cover hands iwth cloth

• figures overlapping

• perspective

Hunting scene and scene of Tang officials and foreign envoys, wall paintings from tomb of Prince Zhanghuai, Tang

• appreciation of hors

Shining Light of Night, Han Gan - Tang

• appreciation of hors

• musculature

• eye is weird, conveys emotion

• stamped by owners

Sancai glazed earthenware horse

• found in tomb

• 
  

sancai

form of glaze that melts before its fused, causes drips

Ananda and Kasyapa

disciples of Gautama Buddha, often flanking buddha in art

Heavenly King and Heavenly Guardian warrior

• two additional deities, holds pagoda, steps on evil spirit

• guardian has very anmated face n pose, protects shrine from evil spirits

Pashizhi bodihsattva

wisdom

Dashizhi bodihsattva

strength and power

Post and lintel construction

upright element and horizontal element

posts support, not walls

posts not attached to floor

brackets, cermaic tiles

joining wood precisely

weight of building adds stability

sanskrit sutras

• sermons attributed to Buddha or his disciples

lead glaze

• low firing lead glaze base with Sancai on top allowed for the sancai to melt and create patterns

Travelers among Mountains and Streams, hanging Scroll, Northern Song

Silk ground and ink with brush

• super tiny figures, shows magnitude of nature

• mountains and water

• monumental landscape paintings

• brushwork

• no color

A solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks; Song Dynasty

architectural

journey thru space

humans tiny compared to nature

Gazing at a Waterfall; Song Dynasty fan painting

• lyrical

• focused on figures, tells a story, about vastness/beauty of nature

• still on silk and ink

Xia Gui, Twelve landscape views handscroll, Song

• kind of abstract, misty, shows tiny humans and misty island

Attributed to Emperor, The Five-Color Parakeet handscroll, Song

• painting+calligraphy+poetry

• representational accuracy

Foguang Si Pagoda, Liao Dynasty

holds Buddha sculptures on every level

Seated Guanyin, Song

polychrome wood

• relaxed pose

• feminine appearance - genderfluid

• rocky plynth - guanyin lived in mountains

• aristocratic robes

Liang Kai, Sixth Chan Patriarch Chopping Bamboo, hanging scroll; Song Dynasty

• encourages repetitive motion as a way to reach enlightenment

Mountain Market in Clearing Mist; Song

• extremely abstract, ink suggests peak, with stick figures

• inscription

Gui incense burner, Song

• shape resembles ritual vessels

• crackle glaze

Emperor Huizong

• emperor of Song dynasty

• artistic genius and patronage

Cun (texture brushstrokes)

• brushstrokes that give texture instead of shading

Hanging scroll

scroll that is meant to be seen all at once

Three viewpoints

• high: looks from bottom of mountain to its summit

• level: looks across

• deep: looking past foreground into behind

negative space - breathing room

Dao

the formless, eternal, natural flow of the universe, source and creator of everything

NeoConfucionism

• philosophy of nature: balance of Li and Qi, underlying force of universe

• Li - order, pattern

• Qi - vital force, spirit

Ma-Xia School

• filled one corner of painting or one space

• atmospheric space, misty

Fan Painting

• ink painting, calligraphy, and poetry

Album leaf

• small collectible paintings as a bound set, not for public wall display

Imperial Painting Academy

• Emperor Huizong - very into the arts

  • also promoted bird and flower paintings

Bodhidharma

buddhist monk, started Chan Buddhism, first Chinese patriarch

Spontaneous mode

loose, expressive

celadon

green glazed ceramic, mimics look of jade

Chan Patriarchs

foundational early lineage figures that esstablished and transmitted tradition in China