Art+of+China+and+Korea

= ﻿ Art of China and Korea=

//from Mr. Bowers AP Art History Courses at East Chapel Hill High School// //this wiki is about the art and culture of China and Korea

Key Terms
media type="custom" key="7706151"

media type="youtube" key="jkPW0lUvbWY?fs=1" height="385" width="480" align="left" http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=jkPW0lUvbWY

Overview
The Chinese mastered very different and difficult styles of art. Chinese civilization is most known for its early advancement in ceramics, metalwork and elaborate working of jade and porcelain. What made the technological advancements in ceramics of the Chinese distinguishable was their creation of the potter's wheel, their mastery of reduction firing, and the invention of high-fired stoneware/porcelain, ideas that we still use today. Creative bronze casting with inscribed characters and skilled techniques of mold making were the highlights of this civilizations metalwork. The work that they did with jade showed their passion and dedication for refinement and for the subtleties of shape, proportion, and surface texture. The Chinese imaginitive minds allowed their unique art to possess great detail in their ceramic glazes and monochrome ink painting. The art of the Chinese displayed human relationships and heroic ideals by using the Confucian values of conduct and social order. As Buddhism spread from India to China, the Chinese would often depict the divine potential of the human condition through meditative and yet powerful figures of Buddha. One of the most commonly known ways that the Chinese presented philosophical ideas was through the theme of landscape. Some were painted with the simplicity of black ink alone which often depicted mountains and water. These two natural elements represented the vastness, abundance, and endurance of the universe. Chinese art influenced art all throughout East Asia and is valued greatly because of it's advancement in the art field.

The Middle Kingdom
China and its culture have developed over 8000 uninterrupted years. The name China comes from the Qin dynasty in which China was first united under the ruler, Emperor Shihuangdi, however, the inhabitants themselves call their country, the Middle Kingdom. The geographical features of China played a large role in the country’s history and culture. China covers an area larger than the United States in central Asia. The heart of China, sometimes called Inner China, is the land surrounding China’s 3 major rivers; the Yellow, the Yangzi, and the Xi. The Qinling Mountains divide Inner China into 2 different parts, each with distinct qualities. The northern part is characterized by steppes and desert that are a harsh frontier while the southern part is characterized by fertile plains and a rich coastline. The cultures and histories of these two parts are very different as well. The north had nomadic invaders from Mongolia but also had the path for travelers from the west. Along the southern coast line are natural harbors sprouting port cities and tradition of water trade. The south had a large amount of farming and maritime trading that influenced the culture there.

Neolithic Cultures


Findings suggest that agriculture, a sign of Neolithic culture, existed in China in about 5,000 BCE. Another sign of Neolithic culture is the emergence of towns and cities. Around modern day Xi, evidence of up to 100 homes has been found dating from around 4,000 BCE, demonstrating a highly developed early society. Different cultures in the Neolithic time period were defined by distinctive forms of pottery. One example is a shallow red bowl that is an artifact of the Yangshao culture, one of the most important of the "Pottery Cultures." Even without the development of a pottery wheel, the bowl is perfectly round and polished and also has markings and decorations that may be an example of early writing in China. The fish decoration on the inside of the bowl implies that fishing was very important to the villagers. A human face between the fish suggests that the ancestor worship was a fundamental element of later Chinese beliefs.

The Liangzhu culture existed near the Hangzhou Bay. The art of the Liangzhu culture shows intricate carvings in jade, demonstrating their sophisticated technical ability. Half-human, half-animal images with large eyes, flat noses, and retangular mouths were found carved in low relief on a cong made of jade. These masks are what historians call taoties. The meaning of the mask like creatures is hard to be determined, but could possibly be a representation of deities or ancestors (supernatural beings). Similar mask motifs are found later in Chinese history, showing how the Neolithic cultures merged to form the single Chinese civilization.

Bronze Age China
The Bronze Age in China began when piece-mold casting was developed. There are three dynasties of the Bronze Age; the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou. The Xia and Shang dynasty tend to be dismissed as legendary, but scientists have proven the historical existence of the Shang.

**Shang Dynasty**
The Shang Kings ruled from capitals located in the Yellow River Valley. Their society was highly stratified, with the ruling group controlling the bronze technology to make weapons. They claimed power from being intermediaries between supernatural and human realms. The Shang dynasty constantly competed for resources and dominance because it was surrounded by many other states. The main deity was the Great Ancestor while there were also nature and fertility spirits. They believed that in order to keep these supernatural beings alive, they had to make animal sacrifices. The Shang priests would communicate with the supernatural through the use of oracle bones. They thought that by writing a question on an oracle bone, they could decipher the answer by analyzing the cracks made by heating the bones. They oracle bones have some of the earliest known Chinese writings. Because of a constant need for dominance, A Shang warrior culture developed which used bronze technology brought from the Near East. Shang tombs show this warrior culture of great wealth, containing jade, ivory, gold silver and bronze objects. Bronze vessels were used in ritual practices and would serve as containers for food and wine. One such Bronze vessel is the Fang Ding. It is square shaped with four legs and is decorated with various and complex animal forms. It is one of hundreds found in Shang capitals however it is one of the largest, weighing over 240 pounds. The taotie is replaced with a large deer’s head and the rest is filled with images of birds, dragons, and other creatures. Their arts, similar to that of the Vikings, emphasizes animal imagery, which shows their great connection to the supernatural world.

**Zhou Dynasty**
The Zhou dynasty conquered the Shang in 1100 BCE and developed a feudal society. The supreme deity became known as Tian, or Heaven. The king was then known as the Son of Heaven which is an idea that continued on into later dynasties. Also during the dynasty, music develops in order to communicate with the supernatural world. The first 300 years of the Zhou dynasty were peaceful, however, in 771 the dynasty was defeated by a nomadic tribe. The Zhou moved east but had a loss of authority, so the individual states of the feudal society began to fight and conquer each other. However, during this turmoil, China’s great philosophers arose (such as Confucius, Laozi, and Mozi) and there was a shift from focusing on the supernatural world to focusing on the human world.

Qin Dynasty
The Qin dynasty began when the state of Qin launched several military campaigns to conquer the other states. In 221, they triumphed, and all of China was finally united under the ruthless emperor of Qin, Shihuangdi. He was a powerful man full of strength and the drive for victory which, in turn, made him lead a successful empire. He developed a system of laws based on a totalitarian philosophy called legalism; he did not allow for philosophies, other than his own, to be tolerated, so people who had other beliefs were executed. Seeking immortality, Shihuangdi began building his mausoleum at Lintong, and it was continued until 206 BCE when a rebellion ended the dynasty. This mausoleum contains the famous terra-cotta soldiers and horses that were meticulously modeled and individualized. They were originally painted, but after 2,000 years, they are now a grayish-white. The mausoleum also had mountains, rivers, and stars so it seemed as if the spirit world mirrored the human world. Despite the harsh, legalistic laws of the dynasty, the Qin dynasty did establish the centralized bureaucracy and also divided the counter into provinces and prefectures. During this dynasty, China was culturally as well as politically unified. The writing and currency systems were standardized, roads were built, and the Great Wall began to form. The administrative framework used during this dynasty is still in use in modern day China.

Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty overthrew the Qin in 206 BCE, and was a period of peace, stability, and prosperity. This dynasty marked the opening of the Silk Road, a route that allowed China to trade all the way to Greece and Rome. Throughout the early Han, called the mythocentric age, people believed in a close relationship between the human and supernatural worlds. The Han interpreted the Great Ancestor as a man with a long serpent's tail, and believed that a circular jade piece called a bi was a symbol of heaven. A T-shaped banner is one of the best preserved artworks from this dynasty and exemplifies these supernatural ideals. It was found inn the tomb of a noblewomen and dates from the second century BCE. The banner is separated into three levels, with the top portion showing heaven, the middle block showing the human realm, and the very bottom of the banner depicting the underworld.

After the mythocentric age, as the belief in the supernatural fades, philosophies such as Daoism and Confucianism from the Zhou dynasty became central to Chinese thought. Daoism focused on the relationship between humans and nature, and the quest for harmony and immortality. It was thought to give Chinese people //Dao// or, the Way, of the universe. The Incense Burner shows how this philosophy influenced the arts. It portrays a popular Daoist tale involving the mountainous island called the Isles of the Immortals. It is a bronze casting depicting the waves of the sea that eventually rise to a mountainous island. Living on the island are the people who discovered immortality.

On the other hand, Confucianism emphasized the human world and aimed to attain equity with a system of ethics, social order, and correct relationships among people. Confucianism called for self-discipline that could eventually strengthen family. This philosophy was particularly attractive to the Han rulers, who wanted to move away from the legalism of the Qin dynasty, and starting from the Han, Confucianism became the official imperial ideology for more than 2,000 years. Emperors used the idea of the mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. Mixed iconography of both philosophies is a common characteristic of Han artworks. Rather than having equal emphasis on heaven, the human realm, and the underworld as in the early Han dynasty (Painted Banner), the late Han dynasty artworks focus on the human realm. One relief from the Wu shrine depicts the emperor as holding the mandate of heaven, and portrays the Confucianist theme of order and respect for authority. The figures in the artwork are highly stylized.



Only ceramic models of Han architectural buildings remain. These models have been interpreted, and historians have found that the Han used a bracketing system to support the broad eaves of the houses’ tilted roofs, now understood to be a standard element of East Asian architecture. The walls, both exterior and interior, of Han buildings are painted, and the walls of palaces are decorated with precious metals and stones. The paintings on the outside of the house are mostly decorative but also evoke the outside world.

Six Dynasties
After the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E., China split into three kingdoms. The kingdoms were briefly untied but invasions from nomadic tribes in the north forced the court to move south. Therefore, for the next three centuries, northern and southern China developed separately. As sixteen kingdoms arose in the North, six short dynasties sprouted in the South from 265 to 589 CE since the constant fighting never allowed dynasties to last very long. The Confucian system lost its effectiveness in the South among all the turmoil, and many intellects withdrew from public life as they turned to Daoism, which idealizes escaping elements; however Confucianism remained the official doctrine in the southern courts. The Chinese withdrew from public life and openly expressed their disdain of the world through writings, poetry, and calligraphy. This idea of an intellectual escape, however, was only available to those who were educated. Others, who were not educated, sought out works of magic and superstitions of Daoism. Eventually, the spread of Buddhism in China assisted the troubled China during the Six Dynasties.

Few paintings remain form this period, but from literary works it can be deduced that painting was important and that landscape painting first appeared in this time. Landscapes were a major theme in artworks since Daoists saw the countryside as a source of spiritual refreshment. Applying the Daoist mindset to the arts, painters found that wandering through the mind's eye could provide spiritual cleansing. This idea of wandering contrasted most to the Confucian view of art where the focus is towards moral uses. Paintings also inspired the first works on theory and aesthetics. The six principles set out by the scholar Xie He were derived from the ideals of Chinese paintings with the first two being the most influential. The first principle states that "spirit consonance" incites the painting with "life's movement." The spirit in these paintings is also known as qi. The artist must build up their own spirit so that it in turn infuses their works. The second principle states that brushstrokes are the "bones" or basic structures of an image and were used to judge the quality and vitality of a painting. The Chinese believed that each brushstroke represents its own form of expression, where the spirit is connected.

In the painting of Admonition of the Imperial Instructress to Court Ladies, the artist uses controlled and rhythmical lines and used the newly developed format of handscroll, which were meant to be viewed by two to three people at a time. The expressiveness and structural importance of brushstrokes led to the writing of calligraphy.

Calligraphy was known as one of the highest forms of expression in China. Calligraphy used the same types of brushes as Chinese paintings. It was believed to reveal the character of the painter and was considered the highest level of expression. China's government officials and Confucius scholars considered themselves of this art. This type of style is done in a relaxed and easygoing manner. The brushstroke in this style happens to create a sense of rhythmic vitality; each character written, runs together as the brush moves from one to the other without lifting off the page. The overall effect of this style creates a fluid and graceful, yet strong and dynamic sense. The most important practitioner was Wang Xizhi, who created excellent works throughout generations, including Feng Ju. Feng Ju is an example of “walking” or semi-cursive style.

As Buddhism reached China from the Silk Road, it became very popular because it offered consolation in life and the promise of salvation after death. Many monasteries and temples were built due to the new religion. There are hardly any remains of Buddhist architecture of the Six Dynasties, but surviving architectures in the Japanese temple Horyu-ji that were based on Chinese structures are used as a reference. The most impressive creations of the Buddhists from the Six Dynasties were their carvings on the rocks of caves. The earliest phases of Buddhist sculpture included the monumental Seated Buddha in Cave 20.

**Sui & Tang Dynasties**
In 581 CE, a general took the throne from a child emperor and established a dynasty of his own, the Sui dynasty, and centralized China once more. This dynasty fell shortly afterwards in 618 CE, but helped pave the way for one of the greatest Chinese dynasties, the Tang which lasted from 618 CE to 907 CE. In fact, Modern Chinese sometimes even still refer to themselves as "Tang People".

Because the new Sui emperor was a devout Buddhist, his reunification of China fused and developed the styles of Buddhist sculptures. Buddhism continued to spread, and the Pure Land sect became the most popular type of Buddhism in China. Under the Sui emperor, a few styles of Buddhist sculpture synthesized together to create a new style, as seen in a bronze altar to Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha was a simple message of salvation and influenced the popular form of Buddhism in China. This sculpture shows Amitabha in paradise on a lotus throne underneath canopy trees. The focus was made on his expression and his symbols of power. It also combined the sensuality of Indian art, schematic abstraction of Central Asian art and Chinese emphasis on linear grace and rhythm. Amitabha is surrounded by four bodhisattavas who are his messengers to the world.

The Tang era was strong, idealistic, and vigorous, especially in military power, nobility. Buddhism reached its greatest development China during the Tang dynasty. Eventually all, form the royals to the common peasants, adopted the Buddhist faith. This was because early Tang emperors proclaimed religious tolerance, but in the ninth century, Confucianism was reasserted and Buddhists were persecuted for a time. Thousands of temples, shrines, and sculptures were destroyed. The Nanchan Temple is one of the most important structures from earlier than 1400 to have survived. It is a highly recognized structure due to its characteristics of both temples and palaces of the Tang dynasty. The bay was common system of construction where a cubic unit is formed by four posts and their lintels. It was a module or a basic unit for Chinese construction, and to increase the size of buildings, architects just added more bays.

[[image:Fig10_17.jpg width="292" height="220" align="right" caption="Great Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci'En Temple, Chang'An. Shanxi. Tang Dynasty, first erected 645 CE; rebuilt mid-8th century CE."]]
Another important piece of architecture from the Tang Dynasty is the Great Wild Goose Pagoda. A pagoda is an East Asian Buddhist structure which originated from the Indian Buddhist stupa, the elaborate burial mound that housed relics of the Buddha. This structure was combined with the Han watchtower to produce The Great Wild Goose Pagoda which was built in masonry. The walls are decorated in low relief to resemble the bays and the bracket systems that are reproduced under the projecting roofs of each story. The Great Wild Goose Pagoda imitates the wooden architecture of the time.

The Tang dynasty was recognized as China's great age of figure painting, but only a few scroll paintings can be identified as belonging to the Tang. However, the Song-dynasty had created copies of works of the Tang which are better preserved; this is seen in the hand scroll, Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk. Its refined lines and bright colors displayed the grace and dignity of Tang sculpture and architecture.

Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty followed the Tang dynasty, with a more introspective atmosphere due to China's weakened military situation. The Song dynasty was split up into two parts. Northern Song (960-1126 CE) was invaded by tribes from Manchuria, and as a result, Song forces withdrew south and reestablished the new capital at Hangzhou, where the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279 CE) officially began. Despite losing its northern territory, China continued to advance in agriculture, commerce, technology, as well as the arts because of increased patronage and wealth. Song culture was more Chinese, meaning that it was not as influenced by outside cultures as the Tang dynasty.

Restoration of Confucianism continued during the Song dynasty; however, philosophers combined Daoist and Buddhist beliefs with Confucianism to create Neo-Confucianism., a more satisfying and all embracing explanation of the universe. Neo-Confucianism teaches that there are two interacting forces in the universe, //li// (principle/idea) and //qi// (matter). The end-goal is to become enlightened by ridding our //qi// of impurities through education and self-cultivation and purifying our //li//.

In the Northern Song dynasty, Neo-Confucian ideas found visual expression in art, mainly landscape, so artists examined nature closely for exact details, which was their form of self-cultivation. The artists’ goal, however, was not to depict specific details, but rather to paint the eternal essence or spirit of nature. Painting landscapes required artists to focus and bring about his cumulative understanding of li in all its aspects, thus expressing the desires for spiritual communion with nature, which is a key to enlightenment. Landscape paintings were also used to convey human emotions and showing deepest feelings. One thing to keep in mind is that the major forms of Chinese artistic expressions moved from the mythical, through the religious and ethical, and finally to the philosophical and aesthetic styles. Unlike European painters, the goal of Chinese paintings is to avoid straight forward limits and show a totality beyond what we are normally given to see.

Eleventh-century painter Fan Kuan (active c. 990-1030) was one of the first great masters of Song landscape. His surviving major work, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams, is viewed as a great monument of Chinese art. The painting, including its elements such as the waterfall and mountain rocks, expresses the feeling becoming face to face with Great Ultimate in a spiritual communion. All the elements are depicted with precise detail, but the landscape itself does not depict a specific place. Instead, it reflects ideas of the three major Chinese philosophies through nature. For instance, the mountains with a central peak and lesser peaks on either side demonstrates the Confucian notion of social hierarchy. Chinese landscape painters did not want to paint an exact view; rather, they wanted to reveal nature through an all-seeing, mobile viewpoint, a shifting perspective. Another work that gives the audience a sense of shifting perspective is Xu Daoning’s painting, Fishing In A Mountain Stream, which has many different vantage points depending on where the viewer is looking. The transition from Northern Song to Southern Song had an influential effect on landscape painting. Xia Gui cultivated his own style due to his interest in landscape and created Twelve Views from a Thatched Hut. This handscroll shows an intimate, lyrical view of nature instead of the majestic, austere landscapes of Northern Song painters. Xia Gui uses subtle ink washes but also some detail to create a scene that appears clear and fading all at once. This serene style contrasts with the lively paintings of the Tang dynasty.

The Southern Song dynasty fell in 1279 to Mongolians, who founded the Yuan dynasty. Despite the Mongolians setting up the capital in the northeast city, Beijing, the cultural center of China stayed in the south.

The Arts of Korea
Korean art had always been highly influenced by the art of the Chinese, and toward the beginning of Korean civilization, there were almost no differences. But as their culture progressed and differentiated itself from Chinese culture, their own style began to develop into a luxurious and colorful one. Their sculptures, for example, began to use several forms of bright and luminous glazes beginning in the eighth and ninth centuries. They also used black and white slips to create underlying designs with contrasting colors. Many elaborately designed vases have been found in tombs, and were used for food offerings to nourish the decease's spirit.

During the Three Kingdoms period of Korea, three independent nation-states, Silla in the southeast, Baekje in the southwest and Goguryeo in the north, were established. The lasting monuments of this period were the large tomb mounds built during the fifth and sixth centuries. Koreans are known for their simplistic style in art. The trappings of royal authority are the most spectacular items recovered fro these tombs. Crown was made especially for burial from thin gold sheets held together by gold wire. Ceramics were also found in these tombs, usually containers for offering food to the spirit of the deceased, mostly in the shape of tall stands. Impervious, unglazed stoneware tended to be the medium of the ceramics.

Buddhism also became more integrated into Korean art, in what was first general imitation of Chinese style, and would later become a hugely spread philosophy in that area. Eventually, Korean sculptors created their own style that helps distinguish their Buddhist art as Korean.

With the help of the Tang dynasty in China, the Silla kingdom conquered the other two kingdoms in 660. In this United Silla Period, many important temples were built around the Silla capital. The greatest monument of this period is Seated Shakyamuni Buddha. It is located in a cave temple and displays many Chinese influences.

The Goryeo dynasty followed the Unified Silla Period and is best known for its celadon-glazed ceramics. Chinese potters invented celadon glazes and had created celadon-glazed wares since the first century CE. In the eighth and ninth century, Korean potters began to experiment with those glazes and produced wares that mimicked the style and ornamentation of Chinese ceramics. Potters produced celadon-glazed vases and ceramics, with the finest arts displayed to palaces, nobles and even to powerful Buddhist clergies. Similar to the Chinese ceramics, Korean celadons added little decoration to their ceramics. Many potters incorporated black and white stripes as decorative elements and created underglazed designs to contrast colors. By the mid-twelfth century, Korean potters finally began to experiment with new styles and techniques for decoration. Patronage for Buddhist artworks increased during the Goryeo dynasty. The most elaborate Buddhist artworks from this period are paintings, where Buddha is painted with rich colors and gold pigment.

=Take the Quiz=