Knowt
Chapter 24: Chinese and Korean Art
Key Notes
Time Period: Prehistoric Times — Present
Culture, beliefs, and physical settings
Ancient Chinese civilizations were very advanced for their time.
Shared cultural ideas throughout Asia stimulated artistic production.
Some of the world’s greatest philosophies and religions developed in China.
Figural subjects are common in Chinese painting.
Daoism and Confucianism, both Chinese philosophies, explore the interconnected nature that people have with the spiritual and natural world.
Cultural interactions
Asian art is influenced by global trends, and in turn influences global trends.
Trade routes connected Asia with the world.
Material Processes and Techniques
The art of China is some of the oldest in the world with the longest continuous tradition.
Chinese artists employ a wide range of materials including ceramics and metal.
Distinctive to China is the development of monochrome ink painting and the pagoda.
Chinese art extensively employs stone and wood carving.
Calligraphy was considered the highest art form in China.
Silk weaving is an important Chinese art form.
Elaborate floral and animal-inspired artwork is a Chinese specialty.
Audience, functions, and patron
Chinese art featured a counterculture approach called the literati.
Chinese architecture is generally religious.
Theories and Interpretations
Art history as a science is subject to differing interpretations and theories that change over time.
Historical Background
China has the size and population of Europe with the same ethnic diversity and number of languages.
Chinese art is divided into historical periods named after ruling families, who formed dynasties that had a significant impact on Chinese culture.
Emperor Shi Huangdi was the first ruler to unify China politically, standardize written Chinese, weights and measures, and establish a uniform currency.
The Tang Dynasty, Yuan of Kublai Khan, and Ming Dynasty were brilliant periods in Chinese history.
The Silla Dynasty in Korea was artistically rich and united with the Tang Dynasty to solidify territorial gains on the Korean peninsula.
The Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1911, replaced by a chaotic rule under the Republic of China.
Twentieth-century East Asia was marked by political turmoil, including the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, Japanese invasion, and communist rule in China under Mao Tse-tung.
The Korean War left Korea divided into North and South, with South Korea becoming a world leader in many scientific and economic fields, while North Korea remains economically stagnant.
Patronage and Artistic Life
Calligraphy is a traditional Chinese aesthetic expression that stands between poetry and painting, and it was an important part of passing state exams and attaining important posts.
Normal written Chinese differs from the cursive writing used in paintings in that each character represents a word or idea, with each character conveying more meaning than a single letter in European languages.
In China, artists were mostly supported by religion or the state, but a counterculture of individualistic painters formed, making highly personalized pieces.
The Korean language was originally written with adapted Chinese characters, but a local alphabet was established in 1444 during the reign of King Kong Sejong, and is now more usually written horizontally and from left to right.
Key Terms
Bi: a round ceremonial disk found in ancient Chinese tombs; characterized by having a circular hole in the center, which may have symbolized heaven
Bodhisattva: a deity who refrains from entering nirvana to help others
Coiling: a method of creating pottery in which a rope-like strand of clay is wrapped and layered into a shape before being fired in a kiln
Colophon: a commentary on the end panel of a Chinese handscroll; an inscription at the end of a manuscript containing relevant information on its publication
Confucianism: a philosophical belief begun by Confucius that stresses education, devotion to family, mutual respect, and traditional culture
Daoism: a philosophical belief begun by Laozi that stresses individual expression and a striving to find balance in one’s life
Hanja: Chinese characters used in Korean script with a Korean pronunciation
Literati: a sophisticated and scholarly group of Chinese artists who painted for themselves rather than for fame and mass acceptance. Their work is highly individualized
Pagoda: a tower built of many stories. Each succeeding story is identical in style to the one beneath it, only smaller. They typically have dramatically projecting eaves that curl up at the ends
Porcelain: a ceramic made from clay that when fired in a kiln produces a product that is hard, white, brittle, and shiny
Potter’s wheel: a device that usually has a pedal used to make a flat circular table spin, so that a potter can create pottery
Throwing: molding clay forms on a potter’s wheel
Vairocana: the universal Buddha, a source of enlightenment; also known as the Supreme Buddha who represents “emptiness,” that is, freedom from earthly matters to help achieve salvation
Yin and yang: complementary polarities.
The yin is a feminine symbol that has dark, soft, moist, and weak characteristics.
The yang is the male symbol that has bright, hard, dry, and strong characteristics
Chinese Philosophies
Daoism and Confucianism are two dominant philosophies of ancient China that influence Chinese art
Dao is a religious journey that emphasizes self-expression, achieving serenity, and oneness with nature
Laozi, the founder of Daoism, believed in escaping societal pressures
The yin and the yang are well-known Daoist symbols
Confucianism is based on behavior, relationships, and duty
The Analects is a series of precepts that presents an ideal man with attributes like loyalty, morality, generosity, and humanity
Respect for traditional values is important in Confucianism.
Chinese Architecture
The stupa, a Buddhist building from India, became the pagoda in China.
Pagodas have a repeated design vertically on each level, achieving height through repetition.
Courtyard-style residences have exterior walls to keep the outside world away and frame an atrium.
The elder members lived in a suite of rooms on the north end of the courtyard, in harmony with Confucian thought.
The Forbidden City follows the courtyard-style arrangement with the emperor's seat in the Hall of Supreme Harmony on the north end.
The Chinese used wood as their principal building material and tiled roofs with eaves that curve up to allow light in and keep rain out.
Wooden columns grooved together provide support, and corbeled brackets transition the tops of columns to the eaves.
Wooden architecture is painted for preservation and artistic effect.
➼ Forbidden City
Details
By Ming Dynasty
15th century —
stone masonry, marble, brick, wood, ceramic tile
Found in Beijing, China
Form
Largest and most complete Chinese architectural ensemble in existence.
9,000 rooms.
Walls were built 30 feet high to keep outside people out and those inside in.
Each corner of the rectangular plan has a tower representing one of the four corners of the world.
The focus is on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the throne room and seat of power; it is a wooden structure made with elaborately painted beams; meant for grand ceremonies.
Yellow tile roofs and red painted wooden beams placed on marble foundations unify the structures in the Forbidden City into an artistic whole; yellow is the emperor’s color.
Function
The emperor’s palace; the seat of Chinese power: the capital of the empire during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Originally built to consolidate the emperor’s power.
Ceremonies took place in the Hall of Supreme Harmony for the new year, the winter solstice, and the emperor’s birthday.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest building in the complex.
Context
Called “Forbidden” in that no one could enter or leave the inner sanctuaries without official permission.
The throne room was placed symbolically at the center.
The emperor is associated with the dragon: sits on a dragon throne, wears dragon-themed robes.
Animals and figures on the roof were placed to ward off fire and evil spirits.
The surrounding wall of the Forbidden City is characteristic of a Chinese city: privacy within provides protection and reflects the containment aspect of Chinese culture.
Mandate of Heaven: heaven bestows a mandate on the emperor, who rules with divine blessing as the Son of Heaven; as a result, his Forbidden City was a reflection of heaven itself.
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Chinese and Korean Paintings
East Asian painting comes in various formats, including album leaves, fans, murals, and scrolls.
Scrolls come in two formats: the handscroll and the hanging scroll.
Handscrolls are read right to left and can be stored in specially designed cabinets.
Silk is the preferred surface for painting, with artists choosing specific silks for color and texture.
Landscape paintings are highly valued and reflect a philosophical idea through the use of crowded and empty spaces.
Chinese porcelain is a form of art that appears utilitarian but stands alone as an object of beauty.
Glazing techniques are used to achieve a glossy finish and protect the vase from wear.
Literati, the artists who rejected the restrictive nature of court art and developed a highly individualized style.
They were often scholars rather than professional artists, and by tradition did not sell their works, but gave them to friends and connoisseurs.
➼ Funeral banner of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui)
Details
From Han Dynasty
180 B.C.E.
painted silk
Found in Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha
Form and Content
Painted in three distinct sections:
Top: Heaven, with the crescent moon at left and the legend of the ten suns at right.
In the center, two seated officers guard the entrance to the heavenly world.
Middle: Earth, with Lady Dai in the center on a white platform about to make her journey to heaven with the walking stick that was found in her tomb.
Mourners and assistants appear by her side.
Dragons’ bodies are symbolically circled through a bi in a yin and yang exchange.
Bottom: the underworld; symbolically low creatures frame the underworld scene: fish, turtles, dragon tails; tomb guardians protect the body.
Function
The T-shaped silk banner covered the inner coffin which contained the intact body of Lady Dai in a tomb.
It was probably carried in a procession to the tomb, and then placed over the body to speed its journey to the afterlife.
Context
Lady Dai died in 168 B.C.E. in the Hunan province during the Han Dynasty.
The tomb found with more than 100 objects in 1972.
Yin symbols on the left of the banner; Yang symbols at right; the center mixes the two philosophies; Daoist elements.
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➼ Travelers among Mountains and Streams
Details
By Fan Kuan
c. 1000
ink and colors on silk
Found in National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Form and Content
Very complex landscape.
Different brushstrokes describe different kinds of trees: coniferous, deciduous, etc.
The long waterfall on the right is balanced by a mountain on the left; the waterfall accents the height of the mountain; embodying the essence of a place rather than likeness.
Not a pure landscape: donkeys laden with firewood are driven by two men; a small temple appears in the forest; people seen as small and insignificant in a vast natural world.
Mists, created by ink washes, silhouette the roof of the temple.
Function: Hanging scroll; meant to be studied and appreciated, not hung permanently.
Context
The artist isolated himself away from civilization to be with nature and to study it for his landscapes; this reflects a Daoist philosophy.
The work contains elements of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.
This might be the artist’s only surviving work; his signature is hidden in the bushes on the lower right.
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➼ Portrait of Sin Sukju
Details
15th century hanging scroll
ink and color on silk
Found in Imperial Bureau of Painting
Form: Hanging scroll.
Function
May have served as a focus for ancestral rituals after death.
May have hung in a private setting in a family shrine; hence the emphasis on the rank badge.
Served as a reminder to his descendants of Sin Sukju’s status in Korean society.
Materials: Painting on silk was a highly desired and a greatly esteemed product.
Context
Korean prime minister (1461–1464 and 1471–1475); scholar and soldier, involved in creating the modern Korean alphabet.
The portrait was made when he was a second-grade civil officer: insignia, or rank badge, designed with clouds and a wild goose.
Korean portraits emphasize how the subject made a great contribution to the country and how the spirit of loyalty to king and country was valued by Confucian philosophy.
Repainted over the years, especially in 1475, when Sin Sukju died, as an act of reverence for a departed ancestor.
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➼ Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan
Details
based on an oil painting by Liu Chunhua, 1969
color lithograph
Private Collection
Form
Mao rises above a landscape that contains a power line as a symbol of industrialization.
Iconic representation of the great leader’s career.
Poster-like; vivid colors, dramatic, and with obvious political message.
Function
Done as propaganda: Mao appears youthful, heroic, and idealized.
May be the most reproduced image ever made: 900,000,000 copies were generated.
Context
Painted during the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976; high art was dismissed as feudal or bourgeois; art was created to be of service to the state.
Based on an oil painting by Liu Chunhua, which first appeared at the Beijing Museum of the Revolution in 1967.
This type of art was done anonymously; individual artistic fame was seen as countercultural in a collectivist society.
A moment in the 1920s; Mao on his way to Anyuan to lead a miners’ strike.
Mao worked for reforms for miners; supported a local strike for better wages, working conditions, and education.
For many people, this action formed a permanent bond with the Communist Party.
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Chinese Sculpture
China is a civilization known for producing large-scale sculptures that are still artistically impressive.
Two examples are the terra cotta army of Shi Huangdi and the seated Buddha at Longmen.
Chinese sculpture also includes many miniature objects, which are intricately designed.
Jade is a particularly valued material for these objects due to its durability and attractive matte green-gray color.
Chinese sculpture also uses a technique of cutting sculptures from rock in situ, likely influenced by India.
➼ Terra cotta warriors
Details
From the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China
From Qin Dynasty
painted terra cotta
c. 221–209 B.C.E.
Found in Lintong, China
Function: Tomb of Emperor Shi Huangdi, founder of the first unified Chinese empire.
Context
The work represents a Chinese army marching into the next world.
Each soldier’s face is unique and expresses the army’s ethnic diversity.
Daoism is seen in the individualization of each soldier despite their numbers.
This is an early form of mass production, alluding to the power of the state.
Discovered in 1974.
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➼ Longmen Caves
Details
From Tang Dynasty
493–1127
Limestone
Found Luoyang, China
Form
The Buddha is arranged as if on an altar of a temple, deeply set into the rock face.
Vairocana Buddha is flanked by monk attendants, bodhisattvas, and guardians; perhaps a portrait of Wu Zetian.
The figures have elongated legs and exaggerated poses.
Sculptures and reliefs are carved from the existing rock—some colossal, some small.
Realistic musculature of the heavenly guardians shows them as able protectors and defenders of the faith.
Patronage
Inscription states that Empress Wu Zetian was the principal patroness of the site and that she used her private funds to finance the project.
Context
More than 2,300 caves and niches are carved along the banks of the Yi River.
Documents attest that 800,000 people worked on the site
They produced 110,000 Buddhist stone statues, more than 60 stupas, and 2,800 inscriptions on steles.
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➼ Gold and jade crown
Details
From Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom
5th–6th century
Metalwork
Found in National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea
Function: Crown is very lightweight and therefore had limited use—maybe for ceremonial occasions or perhaps only for burial.
Context
Stylized geometric shapes symbolize trees.
Antler forms influenced by shamanistic practices in Siberia.
Uncovered from a royal tomb in Gyeongju, Korea; from the Silla Dynasty.
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Porcelain
Ceramics is a tradition found in many world cultures, but China is particularly known for its fine ceramics.
Coiling was the original method of making ceramics in China, where clay was rolled into a cord-like shape and sculpted into a form.
The edges of the clay were smoothed out with an instrument or the artist’s hands to remove the appearance of coils.
The potter’s wheel was later invented, allowing the clay to be shaped as it revolves.
The Yuan Dynasty produced vases with a distinct blue and white color, which was achieved by using imported cobalt from Iran.
➼ The David Vases
Details
From Yuan Dynasty
1351
white porcelain with cobalt-blue underglaze
Found in British Museum, London
Form and Content
The blue color was imported from Iran; Chinese expansion into western Asia made the cobalt blue available.
The vases were modeled after bronzes of the same type.
The necks and feet of the vases contain leaves and flowers.
They have elephant-head-shaped handles.
Central section: Chinese dragons with traditional long bodies and beards; dragons have scales and claws, and are set in a sea of clouds.
Function
Made for the altar of a Daoist temple along with an incense burner, which has not been found; a typical altar set.
Site heavily damaged during the twentieth century.
Materials: Made of Jingdezhen porcelain, the same materials found in Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds
Context
One of the most important examples of Chinese blue and white porcelain in existence.
A dedication is written on the side of the neck of the vessels; believed to be the earliest known blue-and-white porcelain dedication.
Inscription on one of the vases:
“Zhang Wenjin, from Jingtang community, Dejiao village, Shuncheng township, Yushan county, Xinzhou circuit, a disciple of the Holy Gods, is pleased to offer a set comprising one incense-burner and a pair of flower vases to General Hu Jingyi at the Original Palace in Xingyuan, as a prayer for the protection and blessing of the whole family and for the peace of his sons and daughters. Carefully offered on an auspicious day in the Fourth Month, Eleventh year of the Zhizheng reign.”
Named after Sir Percival David, a collector of Chinese art.
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