History of Art in Ancient China and Korea to 1279

• Geographic Scope: East Asia is a vast geographic region encompassing China, the Korean peninsula, and the islands of Japan. Within this region, China stands as the largest nation.

• Topographical Diversity: Because of its enormous size, East Asia is highly varied in both topography and climate. Environments range from vast plains and some of the world's largest rivers to massive mountain ranges, farmlands, and coastal regions.

• Cultural Diversity: The scale of China results in tremendous stylistic and cultural diversity in its art. Unlike smaller civilizations like ancient Greece, which occupied a concentrated area for roughly seven hundred years, China's history spans thousands of years across a massive landmass, making broad generalizations about "Chinese art" difficult and often inaccurate.

The Continuity of Chinese Civilization

• Comparison to Ancient Civilizations: China is a civilization comparable to ancient Egypt or ancient Greece in that it existed in the ancient world and exists as a modern nation today.

• The Argument for Continuous Civilization: Some historians argue that China is the longest continuing civilization in the world.

  • Contrast with Egypt: Ancient Egyptian civilization had a definitive end date when it was fully conquered by the Romans; the modern nation is not considered a continuous extension of the ancient one.

  • Contrast with Greece: Ancient Greece was conquered by the Romans and later the Ottoman Empire, interrupting the continuity between the ancient and modern nation.

  • China's Counter-argument: Some suggest China is the only civilization existing today that has survived continuously since the ancient world. Others argue that the Mongol invasion interrupted this continuity, though China remains the world's most populous and ethnically diverse nation with roots tracing back to the Neolithic period.

• Unifying Factors: Despite diverse regional dialects that are often mutually unintelligible, China is united by a universal written language. This shared script allows for a common literary, philosophic, and religious tradition across the territory.

Neolithic China: The Foundations of Civilization

• Timeline: China is among the oldest world civilizations, with evidence of settled villages appearing around seven thousand to six thousand BC, roughly contemporary with sites like Jericho.

• Agricultural Development: Full agricultural rice production was established in China by approximately five thousand BC.

• Criteria for "Civilization": To be classified as an early civilization, a culture must meet specific requirements, including:

  • Formal government structures.

  • Organized agricultural production.

  • Storage capabilities for surplus resources.

• Neolithic Settlement Features: Archaeological sites in ancient China reveal:

  • Uniform multi-family housing made of wood, bamboo, and plaster, equipped with hearths.

  • Pens specifically for domesticated animals.

  • Kilns for the production of ceramics.

  • Dedicated cemeteries for the burial of the dead.

• Art and Material Culture: Much of the surviving artwork from Neolithic China is associated with burials. The preferred materials for artists and artisans during this period were:

  • Clay: Specifically fired clay (ceramics).

  • Jade: A material that holds particular cultural and historical importance in China.

History and Technology of Chinese Ceramics

• Early Innovation: East Asia is recognized as one of the first regions—potentially the very first—to develop ceramic technology. This technology existed in China even before the invention of the Potter's wheel.

• Surface Decoration: Early ceramics, such as those from the Majiayao culture, often featured surface painting with abstract or non-representational geometric patterns.

• Glazing: Chinese potters developed the technique of coating clay vessels with a glaze, which creates a hard, glassy surface upon firing.

• Types of Ceramic Vessels:

  • Earthenware: Chronologically the first type developed. It is fired at low temperatures in open pits or simple kilns. The resulting clay bodies remain soft and porous even after firing, which can eventually allow liquids to seep through. Neolithic artists used earthenware to create terracotta figures of humans and animals.

  • Stoneware: Developed as kiln technology improved to reach temperatures up to approximately two thousand degrees. These vessels are fired at higher temperatures, resulting in a harder, denser body. Historically, these often range in color from yellow to dark brown due to mineral impurities in the clay.

  • Porcelain: A much purer type of clay that is white to almost clear in color. While it is the most famous Chinese ceramic, it was not developed until much later, around the tenth century.

• The Majiayao Culture:

  • Located around the upper Yellow River, dating to approximately three thousand three hundred BCE (contemporary with pre-dynastic Egypt).

  • Produced diverse shapes for eating, storage, and mixing.

  • Primarily found in graves to serve the deceased in the afterlife.

  • Stylistic uniformity: Painted decorations in shades of red and brownish-black on a cream background, utilizing angular and curvilinear geometric motifs.

The Dynastic System and Ruling Mandates

• Definition of a Dynasty: Chinese history is subdivided into dynasties, which are ruling families where kingship is determined by heredity.

• The Divine Mandate: Most dynasties associated their power with a spiritual or heavenly connotation.

• The Zhou Dynasty: The longest-running dynasty in Chinese history, ruling for approximately seven hundred eighty-nine years.

  • They introduced the concept of the "Son of Heaven."

  • They asserted a divine mandate to rule, claiming that God allowed them to overthrow the previous Shang dynasty because of this mandate.

  • This established a system where there was no separation between church and state.

• Historical Discovery: For a long time, the oldest dynasties were considered legendary or mythical. However, archeological evidence from the last hundred years has physicalized the existence of these ancient royal houses.

The Bronze Age and the Sanxingdui Discovery

• Sanxingdui (Excavated in nineteen eighty-six): This discovery provided a significant lesson in art history. Artifacts found at this site were radically different from the contemporary Shang dynasty art found elsewhere.

• Significance: Sanxingdui was an independent kingdom in Southwest China. Its discovery challenged broad generalizations about Chinese art in the early Bronze Age, proving that diverse, separate artistic identities existed simultaneously within the region.

• The Bronze Age: Generally marked by the development and use of metal tools.

The Qin Dynasty and China's First Emperor

• The Warring States Period: A tumultuous period of civil strife between individual kingdoms at the end of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. This era of upheaval saw the birth of major philosophies: Legalism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

• Qin Shi Huangdi: The king who emerged victorious from the Warring States period and reunified the empire. He is known as China's First Emperor.

• Accomplishments and Governance:

  • Unified China: Consolidated previously separate warring factions into a single empire.

  • Standardization: He standardized the written language, weights, measures, and coinage.

  • Infrastructure: He began the construction of the first Great Wall of China.

  • Bureaucracy: He replaced regional feudal lords with paid, salaried administrators (bureaucrats) who reported directly to him, reducing the risk of revolt.

  • Meritocracy: Created one of the world's first meritocracies, particularly in the military, where success was based on hard work, intelligence, and bravery rather than high birth.

• Brutality: He was famously brutal, employing strict laws and punishments and repressing all schools of thought except Legalism (the philosophy of absolute obedience to state authority).

• Burial: He is internationally famous for his massive burial complex, which included the famous Terracotta Army.

The Han Dynasty and the Silk Road

• Rise of the Han (two hundred six BCE): Following a revolt and the assassination of the First Emperor's son, the Han dynasty was founded, ruling for four centuries.

• Governance: They maintained the unification reforms of the Qin but integrated more liberal and forgiving policies.

• The Silk Road: A complex network of trade routes connecting the East and West. While silk (the finest natural fabric) was the primary driver, it facilitated a massive cultural exchange.

  • Goods traded: Silk, wealth, and various commodities.

  • Ideas traded: Religions and philosophies, most notably the transmission of Buddhism from India to China.

• Philosophy: Confucianism replaced Legalism as the official state philosophy during the Han dynasty.

The Six Dynasties and the Arrival of Buddhism

• Period of Division (two hundred twenty to five hundred eighty-one): Following the fall of the Han, China returned to a state of civil strife with competing states.

• Religious Shifts: Buddhism took root in China via the Silk Road during this time. It did not displace Taoism or Confucianism but prospered alongside them, eventually merging elements with Confucianism.

• Artistic Impact: The period saw the emergence of the earliest Chinese Buddhist art as well as art reflecting Confucian values, such as "Lady Feng and the Bear."

The Sui and Tang Dynasties: The Golden Age

• Sui Dynasty (five hundred eighty-one to six hundred eighteen): Short-lived but significant for reuniting China after three hundred fifty years of division and reestablishing a centralized government. They were heavy sponsors of Buddhist art and architecture.

• Tang Dynasty: Known as a cultural high point and a "Golden Age" of unequal magnificence.

  • Expansion: The empire marched across Central Asia, leading to an influx of foreign wealth, people, and ideas.

  • Chang'an: The Tang capital was the greatest city in the world in the seventh and eighth centuries. It occupied more than thirty square miles and was laid out on a sophisticated grid scheme.

  • Cosmopolitanism: The city was a diverse "Babylon" of traders, missionaries, and travelers.

The Song Dynasty and Technological Advancement

• Rise of the Song: Established by General Zhao after popular uprisings weakened the Tang.

• Civil Service: The Song curtailed hereditary privileges of the elite, instead using civil service exams to make political appointments based on education and merit.

• Technological Innovations: Song China was the most technologically advanced society in the world, inventing:

  • The magnetic compass.

  • Printing with movable type.

  • Paper money.

  • Gunpowder.

• Landscape Painting: The period is famous for vertically and horizontally aligned hanging scrolls. These were meditative works characterized by precise brushstrokes and a sense of a unified whole.

The Mongol Invasion and the End of the Era

• End Date of (one thousand two hundred seventy-nine): This year marks the fall of the last Song emperor to the Mongols.

• Genghis Khan: Invaded Northern China in twelve ten and destroyed the Jin dynasty capital at Beijing in twelve fifteen.

• Kublai Khan: The grandson of Genghis Khan, he completed the conquest of the Song dynasty in one thousand two hundred seventy-nine and proclaimed himself Emperor of China.

Ancient Korea: The Three Kingdoms

• Geography: Located on the Northeast Asian peninsula, bordering China and Russia, and facing Japan. Korea served as a pivotal "middleman" for cultural transmission between China and Japan.

• Timeline: Neolithic cultures produced pottery around six thousand BCE. The Stone Age lasted roughly five thousand years, with the Bronze Age beginning around one thousand BCE.

• The Three Kingdoms: For over seven hundred years, the peninsula was controlled by three native kingdoms:

  • Goguryeo

  • Baekje

  • Silla

• Identity: While influenced by Chinese art and initially using the Chinese alphabet, Korea developed a distinctive artistic identity and eventually its own phonetic alphabet.