Chinese and Korean Art Notes

Terracotta Soldiers

  • Discovered in 1974 in Shanxi, China by a peasant digging a well.
  • Over 7,000 terracotta soldiers were unearthed.
  • The discovery transformed Shanxi into a bustling tourist attraction.
  • Each soldier is life-sized and was created to guard the tomb of Emperor Shu Gundai.
  • Shu Gundai united the states of China and was a prominent leader.
  • The soldiers carried daggers, swords, spears, and axes to protect the emperor's grave.
  • Some soldiers still have remnants of paint.
  • Horse-drawn chariots were also discovered, though the wooden parts have disintegrated.
  • Weapons constructed out of early bronze were unearthed but are not displayed for safety purposes.

Yai He and the Six Principles of Painting

  • Yai He was a famous writer, historian, and critic who developed the six principles of painting.
  • The six principles are:
    • Spirit Resonance.
    • Bone Method.
    • Correspondence to Object.
    • Suitability to Type.
    • Division and Planning.
    • Transmission by Copying.

Spirit Resonance

  • The overall energy of a work of art.
  • It evokes a feeling or emotion.
  • Yai He believed that if a work lacked spirit resonance, it was not worth further consideration.

Bone Method

  • A way of using the brush closely linked to calligraphy.
  • Calligraphers were highly honored in ancient China and today.
  • Creating calligraphy was a spiritual experience involving specific posture and brush strokes.
  • The lines in paintings influenced by calligraphy are never too bold or dominating.

Arts of Korea

  • Korea developed its own distinct style of art.

Three Kingdoms Period

  • During this period, the three independent nation states of Silla, Baekje, and Goryo were established.
  • Large mounds were built containing memorabilia from this period.

Silla

  • A headdress made of thin pieces of gold sheet metal was found in the Old Crown Tomb.
  • The ornaments on the headdress suggest wings or feathers, symbolizing the deceased's journey to the afterlife.

Unified Silla

  • A seated Buddha was found in Chilkuram inside an artificial cave modeled after Chinese cave temples.
  • The Buddha is made of cut blocks of granite and stands 11 feet tall.

Goryeo

  • Maybang bottles were produced using Celadon high-fired glaze, a pale bluish-green hue.
  • The glaze was applied over gray stoneware invented in China.
  • Koreans experimented with the glazes to create beautiful ceramics.
  • Goryeo Celadon rivaled the best Chinese quartz ceramics.
  • People from all social classes, from peasants to noblemen and religious leaders, enjoyed these ceramics.