Chinese and Korean Art (Unit 3)

1279

The year the Yuan Dynasty was established

Yuan Dynasty

Mongol-ruled dynasty in China

Chinese authenticity

A recurring goal in Chinese art spurred by the constant foreign rulers. Captured through expression of philosophy or intellectualism/spiritualism

Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty

The final three dynasties in China

China being under control of the Mongols

The trauma of this has a long-lasting impact on Chinese art and sets the tone for the final three dynasties

What does it mean to be authentically Chinese?

This recurring question that becomes integral to Chinese art

barbarian outsiders

What the Han Chinese viewed the Mongols as

Ming Dynasty

Out of the three final dynasties, this was the only one ruled by ethnic Han Chinese

Mongols

From Mongolia, invaded Northern China and eventually conquered Southern China

Southern China

Considered the real heartland of China, along with Sichuan and Hunan

previous Song Dynasty

The South of China was the historical location of this

Beijing

Where the Mongols first developed their capital. Huge cultural center

Genghis Khan

Whom the Mongols descended from. Infamous Mongol warlord who conquered vast areas of Central Asia all the way to Europe

imperial taste

The division between the administrative capital in the North and the cultural capitals in the South led to a split in this for the cultural elite

North Surin

What imperial taste is based on. Centered around Court

intellectual cultural style

This is the style born out of Southern China (cultural capitals)

Zhao Mengfu

Descendant of the Sung intellectual elite from a family of deep thinkers

intellectual bureaucrats

A rise of this occurs during the Chinese imperial period. Highly-trained, very literate scholars that began to see roles in governance

blending intellectual elitism into governments

Sometimes worked, sometimes failed. Intellectual elites were often trained in poetry and philosophy which would often leave them ill-equipped with the practical demands of the job

Tang Dynasty

What the intellectual, cultural style of Chinese painting looked back on as a model for being authentically Chinese

Literati painting

Intellectual paintings. Southern, cultural style based off Tang Dynasty works. Largely fueled by the Literati themselves - intended for a specific, small audience, private display and contemplation

Literati

The intellectual class that primarily fueled painting of their namesake

artists creating art for its own sake

This idea begins to rise during the Yuan Dynasty - art made for appreciation of beauty instead of fame or fortune, as the money was in the imperial North

Ming Dynasty rulers

Native Han Chinese rulers. Incredibly mistrustful of the intellectual elite, so the division stands

highly decorative, lavish

The look of the Chinese imperial styles of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties

cultured, stark

The look of the intellectual, cultural Chinese style

public display

What Ming Court works were meant for as opposed to the specific audiences of the cultured works of the elite

propaganda

This element to Ming Court Works is a big reason they were meant for public display

court members admiring main rulers

Birds admiring peacocks is a reference to this. Propaganda piece

bird and flower themed paintings

These kinds of subjects had a long history dating back to the Song periods

Qiu Ying

Southern artist and a prominent collector interested in things from the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty painters

Specialized in depictions of courtly, highly-refined women performing everyday tasks

layered historical reference

Example - image of Han Dynasty as it would be represented by a Tang Dynasty painter but done by a Ming Dynasty artist. Indicator of the narrow intellectual audience literati painting was aimed at

ancient technique and subject matter

What Ming Dynasty intellectual artists celebrated through literati paintings with layered historical references

decorative arts

What the Ming Dynasty is best known for in the West. Thrived in the imperial and independent sectors

refined porcelain ceramics

These were made from a white clay body then fired at extremely high temperatures

blue under glaze designs

There was a commitment to this during the Ming Dynasty. Classic, Chinese-style porcelain. Huge export

kaolin

A type of Chinese ceramic. Soft, white clay - essential ingredient in manufacture of porcelain. Named after hill in China

process of blue under glaze designs

This would involve putting highly-detailed blue designs onto the unfettered vessel, covering them with a clear glaze, then firing it, creating a strong contrast between the white ground and the blue painting

literati furniture

This style of furniture involves a laborious process relying on careful planning and interlocking parts appreciated by the intellectual elite

mortise and tenon joints

Used in literati furniture in place of nails

The Forbidden City

The creation of this is seen as the “greatest” artistic achievement of the Ming Dynasty and one of the rare surviving examples of ancient Chinese architecture

Mongol Yuan Dynasty

The Forbidden City was initially established by this, but the Ming enlarged and restructured it

city surrounded by wall laid out in grid pattern

This is the typical Chinese city planning style (structure + how it is designed)

barrier between outer city and inner city

What the walls around a city are meant to create

outer city

In typical Chinese cities, this is where the commoners lived

inner forbidden city

In typical Chinese cities, this is where the rulers lived

Mandate of Heaven

The Chinese emperor was believed to remain emperor because he had received this

harmony

The Chinese emperor’s job was to ensure the world and cosmos functioned in this

detailed ritualized practices

The Chinese emperor was expected to perform these to keep the universe in balance and prevent natural disasters that he would otherwise be blamed for not averting

ritualistic purpose

Everything within the Forbidden City had this

decoration

Similarly to structures in the Forbidden City, these also play into the idea that Chinese emperor is meant to maintain balance in the universe in interior spaces

Hall of Supreme Harmony

A gate inside the Forbidden City

gorgeous garden complexes

A more domestic style of the literati. Made in response to the pop of imperial architecture by those disillusioned with it. People would withdraw from that society to concentrate on artistic activities

integrate architecture into natural elements

This was the goal of literati garden design - to do this in a balanced and harmonious way

Dong Qichang

A literati scholar and painter. Produced a significant body of landscape paintings

formulation of art history for Chinese paintings

This is one of the things Dong Qichang was best known for creating

contrasting traditions in Chinese landscapes

In his formulation, Dong Qichang analyzed and described these, explaining why certain styles are more or less prevalent than others at certain times and why

different poles

Dong Qichang did not assess northern and southern styles as a geographical split and assessed them as these

Zen Buddhism

Dong Qichang connected his ideas of northern and southern styles of the Chinese poles to this religion

traditional and conservative

How Don Qichang described the Northern Chinese art style

individualized and unorthodox

How Don Qichang described the Southern Chinese art style

creative individual brilliance

Don Qichang argued the southern style was more important because it underlined this

monochromatic

Individualized, unorthodox works in Chinese art were usually of this quality which put emphasis on appreciating individual brushstrokes. Individualized with no ties to propaganda

Qing Dynasty

Manchus from Manchuria, never embraced by the ethnic Han Chinese

Manchu Qings

Always seen as outsiders which contributed to their downfall

Ming culture

The Manchu and Qing tried to embrace this as much as they could

literati style becomes orthodox

This happens during the Qing Dynasty

individualist painting

Rises as an alternative to the newly-adopted orthodox literati style of the Qing Dynasty

counterweight

Literati painting served as this to the more official imperial style in the Ming Dynasty

Individualist schools

Emphasized emotional content and individual expression along with the idea that the artist is expressing himself through the application of paint

artistic expressionism

There has been a relative loosening of restrictions on this since the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the successive republic, and the establishment of the Communist regime in China

censorship

Chinese artistic life and culture has been somewhat subjected to this since the country became a communist state

Wu Guanzhong

Artist who trained abroad in France but returned to China

modernized version of landscape painting

Chinese artist Wu Guanzhong experimented with this. Acknowledges trends in western art but kept up with the long tradition of landscape painting and Chinese art

Neo-Confucianism

Chosen Joseon Dynasty leaders adopted this - an example of how the Korean dynasty was modeled off the Ming Dynasty

Joseon Dynasty

Famous for its great intellectual and scientific advancements. Truly devoted to achievements in intellectual life: science, art, etc.

Buncheong ware

Joseon ceramics. This particular style used a stoneware clay body and a very pale glaze

calligraphy

The Buncheong ware style is deliberately meant to recall this

Korean painters

Looked to Chinese models for inspiration for centuries

Silhak style

Emerged by the 1700s. Uniquely Korean. Very personal yet decidedly Korean meant to be independent of Chinese influences