Chinese Art Flashcards

Flashcards about Chinese Art, including painting, calligraphy, architecture, Peking Opera, folk art, paper cutting, kites, and knot tying.

What art form was landscape painting considered in Chinese art?

The highest form of Chinese painting.

What are the three concepts considered in Chinese arts?

Nature, Heaven, and Humankind (Yin-Yang).

Who invented paper in China and when?

Cai Lun, a Han court eunuch, in the 1st Century AD.

What does Chinese art express?

Expresses the human understanding of the relationship between nature and human.

What are the common subjects and themes in Chinese painting?

Flowers and birds, landscapes, palaces and temples, human figures, animals, bamboos and stones.

Who was Xie He?

Writer, art historian, and critic in 5th century China who established the Six Principles of Chinese Painting.

What are the Six Principles of Chinese Painting?

Observe rhythm and movements, Leave spaces for the eyes to rest, Use brush in calligraphy, Use colors correctly, Live up to tradition by copying the master’s artwork, Copy the correct proportion of the objects and nature.

What is calligraphy?

The art of beautiful handwriting.

What popular materials are paintings made of in calligraphy?

Paper and silk.

What are the three main types of roofs in traditional Chinese architecture?

Straight inclined, Multi-inclined, and Sweeping.

What is straight inclined roofing used for?

More economical for common Chinese architecture.

What is multi-inclined roofing used for?

Roofs with two or more sections of incline, used for residences of wealthy Chinese.

What is sweeping roofing used for?

Roofs that has curves that rise at the corners, usually reserved for temples and palaces.

What is Jingju Lianpu?

Peking opera face-painting.

What is Lianpu called?

The false mask.

What does red indicate in Peking Opera face painting (Guan Ju)?

Devotion, courage, bravery, uprightness and loyalty.

What does yellow signify in Peking Opera face painting (Huang Pang)?

Fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness.

What does a green face tell the audience in Peking Opera (Zhu Wen)?

Impulsive, violent, and lacking self-restraint.

What does black symbolize in Peking Opera face painting (Zhang Fei)?

Roughness and fierceness; either a rough and bold character or an impartial and selfless personality.

What does purple stand for in Peking Opera face painting (Lian Po)?

Uprightness and cool-headedness; a reddish purple face indicates a just and noble character.

What does white suggest in Peking Opera face painting (Cao Cao)?

Treachery, suspiciousness and craftiness.

What is xiaohualian in Chinese Opera (Jiang Gan)?

Special makeup patterns for the clown or chou, with a small patch of chalk painted around the nose to show a mean and secretive character.

What are gold and silver colors usually used for in face painting?

Gods and spirits.

What is Yuanbao?

Folded paper that look like gold nuggets or ingots called Sycee, burned in traditional funerals and during the Ghost Festival.

What is a sycee?

A type of silver or gold ingot currency used in China.

What are gold sycees used for?

Symbol of prosperity.

What are Chinese paper cuttings like?

Usually symmetrical in design when unfolded, adapting the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac as themes and motifs, and mostly choosing the red color.

What was the earliest use of paper for?

As a pattern for lacquers, decoration on windows, doors, and walls.

What is Jianzhi?

The first type of paper cutting design.

What is "chuāng huā"?

Window Flower.

Where did Chinese Kites originate?

WeiFang, Sandong, China (City of Kites)

What are the four main categories of Chinese kites?

Centipede, Hard-Winged Kites, Soft-Winged Kites, Flat Kites.

What is Zhongguojie?

The Chinese decorative handicraft art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang and Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in China.