2008-06-30
Dragon Art History
One culture in which dragons and dragon art are prevalent is the Chinese culture, and mythology. The exact origins of Chinese dragons and dragon art is unknown but it is likely that it dates before any written history we have today. Examples of Chinese dragon art include the Wine Jar, from the Ming Dynasty (16th century), a Vase from the Chia Cing reign (16th century), a gilded bronze dragon from the Tang Dynasty (600 AD), the Royal Dragon Robes of Emperors, Tang Dynasty (7th century), and the Jade Coiled Dragon from the Hongshan Culture – 4700 – 2920 B.C. To the Chinese, the dragon symbolizes power, ambition, heroism, divinity, success, optimism and nobility. For this reason the Chinese have embraced dragon art for thousands of years. Western dragons are associated with negative qualities like evil, aggression, temper, murder and so on. Eastern dragons are beautiful, wise, and kind; they are worshipped and even have shrines devoted to them.Dragon fantasy art is very popular because if the mystical attributes of dragons. Did they exist? What were they like? What did they look like? These are all questions that the artist’s imagination can answer on paintings, drawings, illustrations and sketches. Dragon fantasy art accompanied by female warriors or ancient heroes is also an attractive theme for artists as they can create a fantastical legend on canvas. Free dragon clip art can be found all over the internet - just go online and search for the type of clipart you want. Chinese dragon clip art, and Chinese dragon pictures are some of the most popular clip art themes on the internet. Japanese dragon art is also popular but not nearly as potent as interest in Chinese dragons.
2008-06-29
Early Periods
Neolithic cultures produced many artifacts such as painted pottery, bone tools and ornaments, and jade carvings of a sophisticated design. Excavations at B'ei-li-kang near Luo-yang date materials found at that site to 6000–5000 B.C. An excavation in the early 1970s of the royal tomb of Shih-huang Ti revealed an array of funerary terra-cotta images. In Henan, the village of Yang-shao gave its name to a culture that flourished from 5000 to 3000 B.C. Ban-p'o pottery wares were handmade and the area produced a polished red ware that was painted in black with designs of swirling spirals and geometric designs, sometimes with human faces. Later, at Ma-jia-yao in Gansu, brush-painted pottery became more sophisticated in the handling of the design. Knowledge of ancient Chinese art is limited largely to works in pottery, bronze, bone, and jade.
Neolithic cultures produced many artifacts such as painted pottery, bone tools and ornaments, and jade carvings of a sophisticated design. Excavations at B'ei-li-kang near Luo-yang date materials found at that site to 6000–5000 B.C. An excavation in the early 1970s of the royal tomb of Shih-huang Ti revealed an array of funerary terra-cotta images. In Henan, the village of Yang-shao gave its name to a culture that flourished from 5000 to 3000 B.C. Ban-p'o pottery wares were handmade and the area produced a polished red ware that was painted in black with designs of swirling spirals and geometric designs, sometimes with human faces. Later, at Ma-jia-yao in Gansu, brush-painted pottery became more sophisticated in the handling of the design. Knowledge of ancient Chinese art is limited largely to works in pottery, bronze, bone, and jade.
2008-06-27
Chinese Folk Art_____Spring Festival
Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year (1st day of the 1st lunar month)
The biggest and most celebrated festival in China and part of East and South East Asia. It is as important to the Chinese as Christmas is to Westerners. For more details, please refer to my Chinese New Year page.
That day all chinese people to celebrate the festiveal Chinese New Year. People will
order gift(chinese folk art) to their friends,relatives.and on the next day will say good and wish best in the future year. this is chinese Spring Festival,if you want to know more about,plese enter here.
The biggest and most celebrated festival in China and part of East and South East Asia. It is as important to the Chinese as Christmas is to Westerners. For more details, please refer to my Chinese New Year page.
That day all chinese people to celebrate the festiveal Chinese New Year. People will
order gift(chinese folk art) to their friends,relatives.and on the next day will say good and wish best in the future year. this is chinese Spring Festival,if you want to know more about,plese enter here.
2008-06-26
The Gate Gods
Chinese Folk Art____The Gate Gods
In China, there used to be a custom to put drawings of the gate gods on gates during the Chinese New Year. As you may know, there are many gods worshiped in China, especially during traditional festivals. Though Chinese have the traditions of worshipping many gods and most people usually follow the traditions, religions have never been as deeply rooted in Chinese as those in many other countries. The Chinese people are more practical in philosophy or gods. So different gods are invited for different occasions. For an example, when they were lack of money, the god of fortune would be the guest at the table of sacrifice. So we say, 'A god in need is a god indeed.' No matter how things happened, however, you can always find a story proving its inevitability of being there. And the presentation of the gate gods had no exceptions as well.
It is said that long ago there grew a peach forest. The king of the peach trees shaded two stone huts in which lived two brothers, Shen Tu and Yu Lei. Both of them were so strong that in front of them lions would bend down their heads, leopards shivered at them and tigers gave in entirely to promise to serve as guards in the forest. And the two brothers lived there on the peaches.
In the Northeast of Mount Duso, there lived a monster which was said the son of a spirit of a bull. By right of the uncommon strength, it made itself the king of that area. When it heard that the delicious peaches on the mountain of Duso were magic in turning an evil into a god, he couldn't wait to go there. Of course, the monster was refused absolutely by the brothers. The monster was so angry that he led more than 300 ghosts to fight against the brothers. After a fierce fight, the monster was defeated completely and ran away. But the monster wouldn't bury its axe. In the dark, he sent a few of the strongest ghosts to attack the brothers' huts. Though the ghosts appeared with blue faces, long buckteeth and dark red eyes, the brothers were very calm and they determined to give them a hard blow. The elder brother fought ahead with a hard stem of a tree and the younger followed with a strong reed rope. When the brother beat down one of the ghosts, the younger would tie it hard and put it into the mouth of a tiger. The bothers, Shen Tu and Yu Lei, won the battle at that night and the ghosts never dared to annoy them again.
Thus, the reputation of the brothers was spread quickly around the area, and they also helped a lot of people in the area. Many years later, when the bothers died, people thought they had got into the Heaven and became gods there and served as guards by the gate of the Heaven. Because the gate gods were once lived in the peach forest, people thought the branches of peach trees were full of magic. So it began to get popular for people to hang a peach board with the bothers' names on it on each side of their door pinning their hope for peace on the two giants. When paper was used, a picture of them was put up instead of those peach boards.
To learn everything here about Chinese New Year.
2008-06-25
Han Dynasty Daoist Scriptures Found in Ancient Well
Han Dynasty Daoist Scriptures Found in Ancient Well
During June of 2000 villagers of the town of Da'antuo outside of Tianjin discovered the mouth of an ancient well in the village fish pond. Upon further investigation of the wells, archaeologists found a wide array of artifacts. The most significant find consisted of sets of wooden Daoist slips dating to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). This marks the first time that Chinese archaeologists have located such early documents regarding Daoist belief and methodology. Tianjin's History Museum, in conjunction with this excavation, has already launched several archaeological teams to uncover similar structures. So far these teams have discovered seven Warring States (475-221 BC) wells, eleven Han Dynasty wells, two cellars or storage pits, two sets of vehicle tracks, two ash pits and one Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) well (see photo). The Warring States wells extended 4-5 meters in depth and contained pottery guan and a variety of examples of red pottery axes. The Han Dynasty wells consisted of a mixture of brick and wood structures and provided examples of both square and circular mouthed wells. Of this group, Well 2 contained red pottery axes, gray pottery basins and boxes. Well 4 contained a dog's head, cane lined baskets, pottery jars and wooden harrows. Five hundred artifacts in all were discovered in this excavation including examples of stone, pottery, bronze, iron, bone, horn, cane, grass and bamboo. Well 6 was noteworthy, for it contained human remains. Due to the placement of the bones, researchers determined that the victim suffered a violent death. The skeleton consisted of two halves. The upper torso was intact but the bottom half of the bones were jumbled in a pile and placed to the right side of the upper half of the body. The use of these human remains as a sacrifice or punishment have yet to be determined. However, these wells all contain valuable information regarding time periods ranging from the Warring States to the Han and Ming Dynasties. They also provide valuable information regarding production, life, handicrafts, animal husbandry and water storage during ancient Chinese history. Most importantly, the Daoist wooden writing slips provide researchers with important texts elucidating early beliefs in Daoism.
Mei Pengyun, Sheng Lishuang, Jiang Baiguo, and Zhao Chengjiu, Zhongguo wenwu bao (24 September 2000), p. 1.
want to know more about chinese art enter here.
During June of 2000 villagers of the town of Da'antuo outside of Tianjin discovered the mouth of an ancient well in the village fish pond. Upon further investigation of the wells, archaeologists found a wide array of artifacts. The most significant find consisted of sets of wooden Daoist slips dating to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). This marks the first time that Chinese archaeologists have located such early documents regarding Daoist belief and methodology. Tianjin's History Museum, in conjunction with this excavation, has already launched several archaeological teams to uncover similar structures. So far these teams have discovered seven Warring States (475-221 BC) wells, eleven Han Dynasty wells, two cellars or storage pits, two sets of vehicle tracks, two ash pits and one Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) well (see photo). The Warring States wells extended 4-5 meters in depth and contained pottery guan and a variety of examples of red pottery axes. The Han Dynasty wells consisted of a mixture of brick and wood structures and provided examples of both square and circular mouthed wells. Of this group, Well 2 contained red pottery axes, gray pottery basins and boxes. Well 4 contained a dog's head, cane lined baskets, pottery jars and wooden harrows. Five hundred artifacts in all were discovered in this excavation including examples of stone, pottery, bronze, iron, bone, horn, cane, grass and bamboo. Well 6 was noteworthy, for it contained human remains. Due to the placement of the bones, researchers determined that the victim suffered a violent death. The skeleton consisted of two halves. The upper torso was intact but the bottom half of the bones were jumbled in a pile and placed to the right side of the upper half of the body. The use of these human remains as a sacrifice or punishment have yet to be determined. However, these wells all contain valuable information regarding time periods ranging from the Warring States to the Han and Ming Dynasties. They also provide valuable information regarding production, life, handicrafts, animal husbandry and water storage during ancient Chinese history. Most importantly, the Daoist wooden writing slips provide researchers with important texts elucidating early beliefs in Daoism.
Mei Pengyun, Sheng Lishuang, Jiang Baiguo, and Zhao Chengjiu, Zhongguo wenwu bao (24 September 2000), p. 1.
want to know more about chinese art enter here.
2008-06-24
art of china
The Art of China
Reseached by Cynthia
Have you ever seen paper decorating ladies hair? Well, China has an art form called papercuts that does just that. Chinese civilization began more than 4000 years ago. The earliest art forms would use rock and stone for art because they didn’t know to use metal yet. Later there was the Bronze Age, Stone Age, Neolithic or New Stone Age. There were many different dynasties like the T’ang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty were a few dynasties.
Influence
Chinese arts are influenced by three major religions: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Another major influence was nature. The three major kinds of subject they liked to paint were birds, flowers, and landscapes from the countryside. All the religions stress love for nature. All landscape painters tried to get a feeling of the human spirit and the strength of the wind, water, mist and mountains. Painting became an art form more than 2000 years ago then influenced the later painters.
Art Forms
Chinese arts come in many different forms such as: painting, folk arts, silk, calligraphy, pottery, sculpture, metal arts and papercuts. Chinese papercuts were created around the first century in A.D. The Chinese invented paper, which was very important for papercuts. It first started in the Tang Dynasty. People then would hang them up to decorate windows, houses, clothes and even ladies hair. In these thin and fragile papercuts, they would create animals, aerobics, Buddha, opera faces and other subjects.
Sculptures were made of many different materials: stone, jade, lacquer, wood, metal, clay, etc. They weren’t only for admiring but they were used as everyday items like a wine bucket, mirrors, pottery, and pendants. A famous example is the sculptures of the Terra cotta warriors. They were buried with the body of an emperor to protect the emperor in his afterlife.
Paintings became an art form more than 2000 years ago. The Chinese painted emperors, landscape and zodiac animals, flowers, ladies, and birds. Chinese have three thousand years of history of painting starting from 600 A.D T’ang dynasty to the 20th century
Process and Material
The Chinese used many materials such as medal, bronze, lacquer, jade, clay, silk, and cloth. They made the most flexible of material…paper. Chinese people used jade to make mirrors and clay and stone to make pottery and statues. At a ceremony they would use bronze to make wine vessels in animal shapes. The process of a statue in a human figure is molded separately. The front and back has to be made split. Then the two sides would be put together.
Subject and Style
Chinese arts cover a very broad range of subjects. In papercuts they like to cut Buddhas, opera faces, animals, flowers, children, and aerobics. Sometimes in their painting they would use black and white, having one object with each color. One of their favorite subjects was nature. They believed that the spirit of nature gives life to everything, so if painting nature the painter must capture the feeling of nature. Zodiac animals, landscapes, opera faces, figure painting, mountains, and cranes, which were a symbol for long life, were popular subjects for their paintings. Emperors and their court was an another important subject for painting.
Chinese art began more than 4000 years ago. We still appreciate the hard work artists did back then. We visit the museum to look at the magnificent artwork done long ago. The Chinese culture hasn’t changed much, but their art is prized in museums around the world.
Sources
Shirley, Glubok. Art of China. New York, Macmillan Company, 1973
would you want to know more about chines folk art plese enter here
2008-06-23
Chinese dragon
Chinese dragon is considered as one of the foremost auspicious symbols of power, good luck and good fortune, abundance and prosperity, attainment of a great success, protection from unfavorable spirits and events in life, wisdom and courage, loyalty, strong self-esteem, happy marriage and lasting love
2008-06-22
About two bamboo carving artists in Ching Dynasty
About two bamboo carving artists in Ching Dynasty.
by Yoshitaka Takaki, Japan
click on figure numbers to see illustrations: use browser back button to return to text
Abstract: I introduce two newly-discovered chinese bamboo carvings with dates. One fixes the flourishing period of Shang-xun to 1797--1810s. Other backs the literary description of Chang-hsin.
1. Introduction
Since Chinese bamboo carving has been appreciated by literati class from 17th century, we can know many names of the artists as well as I-Hsin ware ceramics. Many chinese decorative arts are anonymous, but some bamboo carvings and some I-Hsin wares have signatures of artists.
To know the absolute date of a bamboo carver, we need enough believable samples with dates. And, reliable literal sources to back it.
Jiading, near Shanghai, was a center of bamboo carving from late 16th century to 20th century. About artists in Jiading, we can reference the book "A record of Bamboo carvers" written in 1807.ref.4 Zhu-san-song(mid 17th century)( see http://www.npm.gov.tw) and Wu-zhi-fan(Kanxi period) are representatives in 17th century Jiading artists.
This is an unpublished brushpot/brushholder by Wu-zhi-fan [fig.1], which has a cyclic year. This date should be 1695, because he was recorded in Kanxi period(1662-1722). Ref.4 call Wu-zhi-fan a successor of Zhu-san-song and a clerk (about 1730s) recorded him. Both 1635 and 1755 are eliminated.
But pre 19th century artists in other areas became unknown persons excluding some artists. Some authors would like to think the date 17th century(late Ming-early Ching) without evidence. Many talk "late Ming-early Ching" as sales-talk. It misleads understanding bamboo carvings.
For example, Chang-chi-ho was often regarded "Bamboo Artist in Ming dynasty" without evidence. I can set him in Yong-gchen period (1723-1735). One hundred years ambiguity shows that dating them has not enough robust base.
2. Dating Shang-xun
Several fine masterpieces have survived by liuqing or by relief. Shang-xun close-up figures in contrast with another liu-ching artist Chang-chi-Ho who likes distant views. Some critics feel more archaic. Faces of figures look strong personalities.
liuqing technique: In working designs, removing the skin from the background area,and articulating the pictorial motifs in the skin that remains in the other areas.
This [fig.2] is a armrest with liuqing technique. length: 21.5cm, wide: 6.3cm. Anonymous, late Quianlong style, early 19th century(?).
Former dating published
Wang-Shixiang: Ming-style ref.1
Wang-Shixiang: 1747 ref.2.
Wang-Shixiang: Jiaquin(1796-1820)---Daoguang(1821-1850) ref.7
Ma-shu-yuan: Quianlong(1736-1795) ref.6
I found an armrest with the date 1797 (fig.3; fig. 4; fig. 5),in personal collection in Tokyo. 25cm length. Relief. The inscription is [2th of Jiaquin,cyclic year is ding-si,Summer](10 characters are official script) ,[Shan-xun](two characters are seal-script).
I think it genuine. Even if it were a copy, it is a direct copy of the original, because, former discussions esteemed his date 1600--1700. Both cases support the Date: 1797 should be reliable. This design depicts an immortal and a deer in ocean. A taoist subject in Ching dynasty. I can't find its iconographic source in taoist legends. The figures likes the 2nd brush holder of the followings, but are carved not by liuqing but by relief.
Former published his masterpieces are
Guangzshou Folk Art Museum, Brush Holder by liuqing, height 10.3cm
"Cooling off in Riverboat"(J ref.2.,ref.1
Europe?, Brush Holder by liuqing
"Immortal and deer" (J ref.2.,ref.7 This has a cyclic year(1807 or 1747 or 1687 or 1627).
Shanghai Museum, Brush Holder by liuqing, height 10.1cm
"Brewing tea under tong tree" ref.6
Beijing National Palace Museum, brushholder by high-relief, height 14.1cm
"Seven sages in bamboo grove and 8 talents" ref.7
New discovery demonstrated the 2nd Brushholder was made in 1807.
I feel this 2nd brush holder should not be made in old age. The scene on 3rd brushholder is sparser than others. I feel this the later work.Therefore I set the flourishing date of Shang-xun 1797?--1810s.
3. Real work of Chang Hsin
Skilled in seal engraving and carving calligraphies on bamboo. Contemporary leading scholars praised his works. Fortunately, his date is known(1811,Haiyen-1848,Beijing).ref.3,5,8. Haiyen city is between Shanghai and Hangchow, and by the sea. I can't find any photographs of his work in published books and magazines. Reprints of two rubbings are found in
Chang Tin-ji(1768-1848), Ching-i-ko Ku-chi-wu-wen[Inscriptions on Ancient Vessels in Collection of the Ching-i-ko]
This fan frame [fig.6] was made in 1836. 26mm wide at top. The larger calligraphies was written by Chang Tin-ji(1768-1848) and carved by Chang Hsin. The small characters is a record line made by Chang Hsin. [March in 1836, Ti-tien-li(location) Chang Tin-ji wrote. Shou-chih(Chang-Hsin' s alias)Chang-Hsin carved. ]
A famous scholar Chang Tin-ji was a patron of him and his uncle.
References
Jin Xinjia and Wang Shixiang, Zhuke yisshu[The Art of Bamboo Carving] ,1980,Beijing
Wang-shi-Sheng and Weng go-Wang Chinese Bamboo Carving 1983 Chinese Institute of America
Ip Yee and Laurence C.S.Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving,vol.(J,1978, vol.2,1982, HongKong
Chin Yuan-yu,Chu-jen-lu(A record of Bamboo Carvers),1st pub.1807,re-published 1983,Hanchow
Chu Tei-i,Chu-jen-hsu-lu(A Supplementary record of Bamboo Carvers),1st pub.1930,Shanghai,re-published 1983,Hanchow
Japan Broadcast Publishing Co.,Ltd.,Shanghai Museum,Vol.5, 1992
Zhongguo Meishu Quanji,11th,wood,bamboo,and ivory,1987,Beijing
Jo-yu,Zhuke Shi-hua[A histoy of Bamboo Carving], in I-lin-tu-lu, vol 8.,1974
by Yoshitaka Takaki, Japan
click on figure numbers to see illustrations: use browser back button to return to text
Abstract: I introduce two newly-discovered chinese bamboo carvings with dates. One fixes the flourishing period of Shang-xun to 1797--1810s. Other backs the literary description of Chang-hsin.
1. Introduction
Since Chinese bamboo carving has been appreciated by literati class from 17th century, we can know many names of the artists as well as I-Hsin ware ceramics. Many chinese decorative arts are anonymous, but some bamboo carvings and some I-Hsin wares have signatures of artists.
To know the absolute date of a bamboo carver, we need enough believable samples with dates. And, reliable literal sources to back it.
Jiading, near Shanghai, was a center of bamboo carving from late 16th century to 20th century. About artists in Jiading, we can reference the book "A record of Bamboo carvers" written in 1807.ref.4 Zhu-san-song(mid 17th century)( see http://www.npm.gov.tw) and Wu-zhi-fan(Kanxi period) are representatives in 17th century Jiading artists.
This is an unpublished brushpot/brushholder by Wu-zhi-fan [fig.1], which has a cyclic year. This date should be 1695, because he was recorded in Kanxi period(1662-1722). Ref.4 call Wu-zhi-fan a successor of Zhu-san-song and a clerk (about 1730s) recorded him. Both 1635 and 1755 are eliminated.
But pre 19th century artists in other areas became unknown persons excluding some artists. Some authors would like to think the date 17th century(late Ming-early Ching) without evidence. Many talk "late Ming-early Ching" as sales-talk. It misleads understanding bamboo carvings.
For example, Chang-chi-ho was often regarded "Bamboo Artist in Ming dynasty" without evidence. I can set him in Yong-gchen period (1723-1735). One hundred years ambiguity shows that dating them has not enough robust base.
2. Dating Shang-xun
Several fine masterpieces have survived by liuqing or by relief. Shang-xun close-up figures in contrast with another liu-ching artist Chang-chi-Ho who likes distant views. Some critics feel more archaic. Faces of figures look strong personalities.
liuqing technique: In working designs, removing the skin from the background area,and articulating the pictorial motifs in the skin that remains in the other areas.
This [fig.2] is a armrest with liuqing technique. length: 21.5cm, wide: 6.3cm. Anonymous, late Quianlong style, early 19th century(?).
Former dating published
Wang-Shixiang: Ming-style ref.1
Wang-Shixiang: 1747 ref.2.
Wang-Shixiang: Jiaquin(1796-1820)---Daoguang(1821-1850) ref.7
Ma-shu-yuan: Quianlong(1736-1795) ref.6
I found an armrest with the date 1797 (fig.3; fig. 4; fig. 5),in personal collection in Tokyo. 25cm length. Relief. The inscription is [2th of Jiaquin,cyclic year is ding-si,Summer](10 characters are official script) ,[Shan-xun](two characters are seal-script).
I think it genuine. Even if it were a copy, it is a direct copy of the original, because, former discussions esteemed his date 1600--1700. Both cases support the Date: 1797 should be reliable. This design depicts an immortal and a deer in ocean. A taoist subject in Ching dynasty. I can't find its iconographic source in taoist legends. The figures likes the 2nd brush holder of the followings, but are carved not by liuqing but by relief.
Former published his masterpieces are
Guangzshou Folk Art Museum, Brush Holder by liuqing, height 10.3cm
"Cooling off in Riverboat"(J ref.2.,ref.1
Europe?, Brush Holder by liuqing
"Immortal and deer" (J ref.2.,ref.7 This has a cyclic year(1807 or 1747 or 1687 or 1627).
Shanghai Museum, Brush Holder by liuqing, height 10.1cm
"Brewing tea under tong tree" ref.6
Beijing National Palace Museum, brushholder by high-relief, height 14.1cm
"Seven sages in bamboo grove and 8 talents" ref.7
New discovery demonstrated the 2nd Brushholder was made in 1807.
I feel this 2nd brush holder should not be made in old age. The scene on 3rd brushholder is sparser than others. I feel this the later work.Therefore I set the flourishing date of Shang-xun 1797?--1810s.
3. Real work of Chang Hsin
Skilled in seal engraving and carving calligraphies on bamboo. Contemporary leading scholars praised his works. Fortunately, his date is known(1811,Haiyen-1848,Beijing).ref.3,5,8. Haiyen city is between Shanghai and Hangchow, and by the sea. I can't find any photographs of his work in published books and magazines. Reprints of two rubbings are found in
Chang Tin-ji(1768-1848), Ching-i-ko Ku-chi-wu-wen[Inscriptions on Ancient Vessels in Collection of the Ching-i-ko]
This fan frame [fig.6] was made in 1836. 26mm wide at top. The larger calligraphies was written by Chang Tin-ji(1768-1848) and carved by Chang Hsin. The small characters is a record line made by Chang Hsin. [March in 1836, Ti-tien-li(location) Chang Tin-ji wrote. Shou-chih(Chang-Hsin' s alias)Chang-Hsin carved. ]
A famous scholar Chang Tin-ji was a patron of him and his uncle.
References
Jin Xinjia and Wang Shixiang, Zhuke yisshu[The Art of Bamboo Carving] ,1980,Beijing
Wang-shi-Sheng and Weng go-Wang Chinese Bamboo Carving 1983 Chinese Institute of America
Ip Yee and Laurence C.S.Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving,vol.(J,1978, vol.2,1982, HongKong
Chin Yuan-yu,Chu-jen-lu(A record of Bamboo Carvers),1st pub.1807,re-published 1983,Hanchow
Chu Tei-i,Chu-jen-hsu-lu(A Supplementary record of Bamboo Carvers),1st pub.1930,Shanghai,re-published 1983,Hanchow
Japan Broadcast Publishing Co.,Ltd.,Shanghai Museum,Vol.5, 1992
Zhongguo Meishu Quanji,11th,wood,bamboo,and ivory,1987,Beijing
Jo-yu,Zhuke Shi-hua[A histoy of Bamboo Carving], in I-lin-tu-lu, vol 8.,1974
2008-06-20
chinese folk art
Chinese Folk Art
Chinese folk art is an important part of the country's extremely rich cultural and art heritage. Chinese folk art has won recognition and praise from experts both at home and abroad for its great variety, sincere rural content, rich flavor of life, distinctive local style, and its artistic approaches of romanticism.
The folkartist is at his best in understanding and depicting life in its wholeness, and apt to show its rhythms and melodies. He relies on his intuition, impressions and memories, as well as his experience and understanding of life to grasp the essence of the phenomena or objects he depicts, thus making the artistic images quite different from their original models. In artistic representation and expression, works of folk art are straightforward, natural, flexible, free from affectedness, vivid and intimate. They reside, in roundabout ways, ideas in particular images, reason in emotion, and feelings in concrete forms. Ingenuity is found in simplicity, exquisiteness in crudeness, and humor in clumsiness. Folk artists also use decorative, figurative, allegoric and symbolic methods with magical deftness. Since ancient times, Chinese folk art has been seeking to understand and present the lofty spirit of the Chinese nation. It has given expression to the indomitable morale and character of the Chinese people shown in their constant efforts to open up new paths for development.
Like a galaxy of brilliant gems, folk art embraces all aspects of daily life and is loved by the masses. The materials that most commonly used are the ordinary natural substances that come readily to hand. Folk artists are familiar with the aesthetic habits of the people, and their feel of life is based on the aesthetic experiences of the masses. In creating art forms, they are guided by their mind, reason and aesthetic rules. Some of their works seem to be crudely made, but they show great ingenuity, originality, simplicity and purity, which implies a profound philosophy of art. Works of folk art afford people not only aesthetic enjoyment and amusement, but also knowledge and education.
Love is the motive force of aesthetic appreciation, and the motive force of creation of the beautiful. Folk artists have been under the edifying influence of folk art since their early childhood, and a seed of beauty was planted in their hearts when they became apprentices to elder folk artists. Their love for the beautiful is eternal.
Crafts, the largest category of folk art, perfectly combines the material and spiritual life of the people because they have both utilitarian and aesthetic value. Folk art is born of heart. It is not something that has become rigidly fixed; instead, it steadily develops as it tries to meet people's need for appreciation of the beautiful. As a form of the traditional Chinese art, folk art is an intermixture of the aesthetic psychology of society and the aesthetic psychology of the artists, which externalizes itself through palpable media. It will develop with history, society and people's life.
The middle reaches of Yellow River are the cradle of Chinese culture. The ancestors of the Chinese people have lived and multiplied the earth here since the primitive age. In Chinese history, Shaanxi had for a very long time been the political center of the country and boasted the nation's most developed culture and art. Xi'an was the capital of the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, Tang and six other dynasties, covering a period of more than 1,120 years. The famous Silk Road started and ran westward from the city, which has long had economic and cultural contacts with Japan and Korea and, through the Silk Road, with India, Indo-China, Middle Asia, West Asia and some European countries and regions. It was once the cultural center of the East.
Ancient artifactsfound in the province include the unsophisticated, beautiful Banpo painted pottery and Tang figurines; the majestic and firm bronzeware of Zhou Dynasty; the bricks of the Qin Dynasty; the tiles of the Han Dynasty; the stone tablets bearing engraved images of the Han Dynasty; the terra-cotta soldiers and horses of the Qin Dynasty; and the stone cavings and murals of the Han and Tang Dynasties. All of them are classic examples of Chinese arts, crystallizing in them the wisdom and skill of the artisans of the past. Xi'an, a city which is reputed to be a large history museum itself, has created a splendid ancient culture, and made a great contribution to the civilization of the world. When we take a close look at the folk art of Shaanxi, we must not overlook or cut it off from its historical origins.
Chinese folk art is an important part of the country's extremely rich cultural and art heritage. Chinese folk art has won recognition and praise from experts both at home and abroad for its great variety, sincere rural content, rich flavor of life, distinctive local style, and its artistic approaches of romanticism.
The folkartist is at his best in understanding and depicting life in its wholeness, and apt to show its rhythms and melodies. He relies on his intuition, impressions and memories, as well as his experience and understanding of life to grasp the essence of the phenomena or objects he depicts, thus making the artistic images quite different from their original models. In artistic representation and expression, works of folk art are straightforward, natural, flexible, free from affectedness, vivid and intimate. They reside, in roundabout ways, ideas in particular images, reason in emotion, and feelings in concrete forms. Ingenuity is found in simplicity, exquisiteness in crudeness, and humor in clumsiness. Folk artists also use decorative, figurative, allegoric and symbolic methods with magical deftness. Since ancient times, Chinese folk art has been seeking to understand and present the lofty spirit of the Chinese nation. It has given expression to the indomitable morale and character of the Chinese people shown in their constant efforts to open up new paths for development.
Like a galaxy of brilliant gems, folk art embraces all aspects of daily life and is loved by the masses. The materials that most commonly used are the ordinary natural substances that come readily to hand. Folk artists are familiar with the aesthetic habits of the people, and their feel of life is based on the aesthetic experiences of the masses. In creating art forms, they are guided by their mind, reason and aesthetic rules. Some of their works seem to be crudely made, but they show great ingenuity, originality, simplicity and purity, which implies a profound philosophy of art. Works of folk art afford people not only aesthetic enjoyment and amusement, but also knowledge and education.
Love is the motive force of aesthetic appreciation, and the motive force of creation of the beautiful. Folk artists have been under the edifying influence of folk art since their early childhood, and a seed of beauty was planted in their hearts when they became apprentices to elder folk artists. Their love for the beautiful is eternal.
Crafts, the largest category of folk art, perfectly combines the material and spiritual life of the people because they have both utilitarian and aesthetic value. Folk art is born of heart. It is not something that has become rigidly fixed; instead, it steadily develops as it tries to meet people's need for appreciation of the beautiful. As a form of the traditional Chinese art, folk art is an intermixture of the aesthetic psychology of society and the aesthetic psychology of the artists, which externalizes itself through palpable media. It will develop with history, society and people's life.
Shaanxi Folk Art
The middle reaches of Yellow River are the cradle of Chinese culture. The ancestors of the Chinese people have lived and multiplied the earth here since the primitive age. In Chinese history, Shaanxi had for a very long time been the political center of the country and boasted the nation's most developed culture and art. Xi'an was the capital of the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, Tang and six other dynasties, covering a period of more than 1,120 years. The famous Silk Road started and ran westward from the city, which has long had economic and cultural contacts with Japan and Korea and, through the Silk Road, with India, Indo-China, Middle Asia, West Asia and some European countries and regions. It was once the cultural center of the East.
Ancient artifactsfound in the province include the unsophisticated, beautiful Banpo painted pottery and Tang figurines; the majestic and firm bronzeware of Zhou Dynasty; the bricks of the Qin Dynasty; the tiles of the Han Dynasty; the stone tablets bearing engraved images of the Han Dynasty; the terra-cotta soldiers and horses of the Qin Dynasty; and the stone cavings and murals of the Han and Tang Dynasties. All of them are classic examples of Chinese arts, crystallizing in them the wisdom and skill of the artisans of the past. Xi'an, a city which is reputed to be a large history museum itself, has created a splendid ancient culture, and made a great contribution to the civilization of the world. When we take a close look at the folk art of Shaanxi, we must not overlook or cut it off from its historical origins.
2008-06-19
Chinese Cultural Studies: chinese art
Compiled from Compton's Living Encyclopedia on America Online (August 1995)
THE VISUAL ARTS
Chinese art, like Chinese literature, goes back many centuries. Early themes were developed from religious and supernatural beliefs or from the natural environment and landscape. One of the oldest and most basic forms of Chinese art is calligraphy, the painting of the Chinese characters with a brush. Calligraphy has developed as a pure art form with its own standards of excellence. Building on the tradition of calligraphy, Chinese painting developed a distinctive style that differs greatly from Western painting. It is more efficient in terms of brushstrokes and appears more abstract. Landscapes have always been a popular theme, and sometimes these appear bizarre to the Western eye. To the Chinese painter, they may represent a figurative view painted with a few swift strokes of the artist's brush.
With their stress on simplicity and economy, Chinese calligraphy, painting, and poetry are closely related. In all of them, the artist seeks to express both inner harmony and harmony with the natural surroundings. Chinese poets and painters often have sought inspiration by withdrawing to isolated, mountainous areas, and these landscapes have become conventional themes of Chinese art. Similarly, Chinese architecture has traditionally aimed to convey harmony with society and nature.
The magnificent life-size terra-cotta statues of men and horses, discovered in the early 1970s in the tomb of an emperor who died in 210 BC, provide some indication of the long history of Chinese sculpture. After the introduction of Buddhism into China, Buddhist subjects became dominant themes of the sculptor's art. Perhaps best known (and most copied) in the West, however, are the works of Chinese decorative artists, such as pottery, bronzes, lacquer ware, and exquisitely detailed jade and ivory carvings.
CHINESE SCULPTURE
Reports of the splendor of Asian art were brought to Europe by Marco Polo. By the 18th century Europeans not only possessed original ceramics, enamels, and furniture from the East but were adapting Asian designs and skills in their own products. Chinese Chippendale furniture and chinaware are examples. The art of Japan was brought into prominence in the mid-19th century in Paris by the Goncourt brothers, and it was Auguste Rodin who first gave public recognition to the sculpture of India. In the latter part of the 19th century, when artists were seeking inspiration for a newer, fresher art, these sources, together with those of Africa and Muslim countries, provided them with rich material.
The Chinese were master craftsmen and produced fine sculpture, especially in bronze. Although bronze casting existed a thousand years earlier, it was in the Chou period (1122-221 BC) that China developed the art to its peak.
This is evident in the great ceremonial vessels used by the nobility for ancestor worship. From tombs of the Han Empire (202 BC-AD 220) have come a rich variety of clay figures of people, animals, and household utensils designed to make life comfortable in the next world. Other objects are wrought in bronze, inlaid with silver and gold, and elaborately ornamented with abstract and fanciful designs. Carvings in jade and bas-reliefs on tomb walls also reached a high degree of excellence.
One of the most magnificent archaeological finds of the century was the tomb of Shi Huangdi at Xi'an, China. In March 1974 an underground chamber was found containing an army of more than 6,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers of the late 3rd century BC. Other nearby chambers contained more than 1,400 ceramic figures of cavalrymen and chariots, all arranged in battle formation.
The prosperous T'ang Dynasty (618-907) developed Buddhist art to its highest level. Stone was a favorite medium for religious sculpture, and iron replaced bronze in the casting of figures. The glazed terra-cotta figures of this period are especially fine.
With the decline of Buddhism in the Sung period (960-1279), Chinese sculpture lost its vigor. Nevertheless, interesting works continued to be produced, such as the Bodhisattvas. In Japan Buddhism and its art followed the Chinese pattern.
This article was contributed by Jack Bookbinder, former Director of Art Education, Philadelphia Public Schools and by Christopher Lyon, Editor, Department of Public Information, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
BUDDHIST ART
Visual art has been a useful instrument in bringing Buddhism to many people. Throughout Asia, drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the Buddha have been used for teaching and veneration.
uddhist art is not just decoration. Images of the Buddha show people what it looks like to have achieved Nirvana, total bliss. He is shown as calm and loving, usually with a soft smile and radiant energy. Some scenes show the Buddha at key moments of his life, for example, sitting under the Bo tree. Others illustrate his teachings. There is a story that tells of the Buddha offering his body as food for a hungry mother tiger and her cubs because he felt that all life was sacred. This scene is a popular visual theme in the cave temples of China and Japan.
ther Buddhist paintings illustrate the sacred writings, as stained glass windows were created to illustrate the Bible in many Christian churches. Since Buddhists believe that anyone can be on the path toward Enlightenment, these visual images of the Buddha along his own path are a helpful addition to the writings that people study. They make the texts more personal and inviting.
uddhist imagery has played a significant role in the development of sacred art and temple architecture throughout Asia. It is through the artistic images and temple remains that scholars have been able to trace the growth and spread of Buddhism. Artistic styles, for example, were carried from one culture to another as Buddhism spread throughout Asia. Many of the Buddhist images of China and Japan had their origin in India many centuries before.
uddhist sacred writings influenced the literature of the countries that accepted Buddhism as a religion. The oldest texts of Buddhism are the Pali Canon, the writings that are held most authentic by the older and more conservative school, the Theravada. These texts concentrate on the Theravada goal of the individual becoming a Buddha. The Mahayana school has for many centuries built on this base, but their writings are more keyed to their own philosophy of serving others.
ike the religion itself and the visual imagery, Buddhist sacred literature began in India and was spread in translation through Asia. Each country made the literature its own and was, in turn, influenced in other areas of cultural development by the teachings of the Buddha.
CHINESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN
In China the potter's workmanship was lifted above the utilitarian level and became a fine art. The great work of the imperial potters at the peak of their excellence has never been equaled in modern times.
Pottery was made in China long before history was set down in writing. A coarse gray earthenware was made before the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC), and a finer white pottery was made during this era. These vessels resemble in size and shape the Chinese bronze vessels of the same period, and it is likely that the bronzes were first copied from pottery.
It is from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) that the history of pottery making in China is ordinarily traced. The ancient Chinese had a custom of burying the dead with pottery images of people, animals, and possessions dear to them during life. These images have given modern students a clear insight into the life and customs of these people.
The period of disunity (220-581) is noted for vigorous modeling of figures, particularly of animals. The pottery horses of the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) are among the most celebrated examples of ancient Chinese art. Glaze was probably first used on the earthenware body in the Han Dynasty. By the time of the Sung Dynasty (960-1279), pottery of simple design was decorated with monochrome glazes. Celadon, or sea green, is probably the best known of these glazes.
Although crazed, or crackled, glazes appear to have been used before the Sung Dynasty, they are commonly associated with this period. This shrinking and cracking of the glaze, due to too rapid cooling, was probably first an accident of firing. The resulting effects were so attractive that crackled glazes became a studied effect in finer wares.
Porcelain gradually evolved in China, probably during the T'ang Dynasty. It grew out of earthenware by a process of refining materials and manufacturing techniques. This true porcelain, sometimes called hard-paste porcelain, was a combination of kaolin, or China clay, and petuntse, also known as feldspar or China stone. These ingredients were called by the Chinese the body and the bone of the porcelain.
The principal porcelain factory in China was the imperial plant at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. Pottery and porcelain probably were made there long before Jingdezhen became the seat of the imperial potteries under Emperor Chen Tsung about AD 1004. The Jesuit missionary Pere d'Entrecolles later described the city and the art of porcelain making in two letters written in China in 1712 and 1722. These brought to Europe for the first time a detailed account of Chinese porcelain manufacture. He described the great porcelain-making center of Jingdezhen as holding approximately a million people and some 3,000 kilns for ceramics.
The glazes and decorations made at the imperial factory were intended to reproduce natural colors. Some of the best-known glazes are celadon; peach bloom, like the skin of a ripening peach; apple green; sang de boeuf, or oxblood; and clair de lune, a pale gray blue resembling soft moonlight. The decoration called cracked ice is said to have been inspired by the reflection of sunny blue sky in the ice of a stream cracking with the first spring thaw.
The rice-grain decoration was achieved by cutting out the decoration from the porcelain body before glazing. The glaze then filled the cutout portions, which remained transparent after firing. Famille rose (rose or soft pink), famille verte (green), and famille noir (black) are decorations in which these colors are dominant.
The porcelains of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were noted for boldness in form and decoration, with great variations in design. They include the blue and white wares, huge and heavy vessels for the imperial temples, and thin and delicate white eggshell porcelain. Great beauty in polychrome decoration was attained in the later Ch'ing, or Manchu, Dynasty (1644-1911), particularly in the reign of Emperor K'ang-hsi (1661-1722).
Some fine white porcelain was made at Dehua in the province of Fujian in South China from the 1400s to the 1700s. Some of this ware was brought to Europe by early traders, where it was known as blanc de chine. It provided many models for the early European porcelain makers.
During a rebellion in 1853 the imperial factory was burned. The rebels sacked the town, killing some potters and scattering others. The factory was rebuilt in 1864 but never regained its former excellence. With the end of the Manchu Dynasty in 1911, the long history of Chinese porcelain making drew to a close.
SILK - HISTORY
Sericulture dates back to about 2640 BC in ancient China. The Chinese Empress Hsi Ling Shi (venerated as the Goddess of Silk) gave her royal patronage to the silk industry. She invented the loom and applied it to the production of highly prized silk fabrics.
For some 3,000 years the secrets of silk productionwere closely guarded by the Chinese. It was not until about AD 300 that a secret mission from Japan succeeded in penetrating China. The members of the mission obtained silkworms and brought four Chinese girls back to Japan to teach the Japanese the art of sericulture and the uses of silk.
According to legend, the silk industry spread to India when a Chinese princess was given in marriage to an Indian prince. When she went to India, the princess carried silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds concealed in her headdress. From India the silk industry spread into Persia and Central Asia, then slowly filtered into the Mediterranean countries.
Beginning early in the 2nd century BC, caravans traveled the Silk Road, a 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometer) trade route linking China with the West. The route began in Sian in China and wound its way to the countries along the eastern Mediterranean shores. From there the silk was transported to Rome. The Silk Road did not begin to decline until the 7th century AD, when the sea trade routes from China became fully developed and were safer to travel than the Silk Road. The Silk Road allowed a highly lucrative trade in silk fabrics to develop.
In AD 552 two Persian monks sent to China by the emperor Justinian I succeeded in bringing back to Constantinople a small supply of silkworm eggs concealed in hollow canes. Constantinople became the center of the silk trade and retained that position until the 11th century.
The Renaissance greatly stimulated the cultivation, manufacture, and use of silk. In Flanders, Italy, and France industrial centers developed for weaving highly decorative and luxurious silk fabrics. In 1522 Hernando Cortez brought silkworm eggs and mulberry trees to Mexico from Spain . From the 17th to the 19th century, the silk industry became established in England and was introduced in most of the other countries of the world, though the industry did not flourish everywhere.
Today, silk has been replaced in many applications by synthetic fibers, which can be produced more cheaply and are generally stronger and easier to maintain. Nevertheless, the production of silk is so small compared with the total world fiber production that the development of synthetic fibers has had little effect on the silk industry overall. Particularly in the luxury apparel market, silk still reigns supreme. (See Clothing; Fibers, Man-Made; Fibers, Natural)
This article was contributed by Ian Holme, Senior Lecturer, Department of Textile Industries, University of Leeds, England.
CHINESE FOLK ART -
China and the Indian subcontinent have civilizations that date back thousands of years. Except for intermittent conquests, these cultures were relatively uninterrupted in their development, and industrialization arrived late. It is likely, therefore, that folk art in these regions has a history dating back to ancient times. Because of the great period of time involved, however, it is not always possible to distinguish true folk art from the tribal, or primitive, arts that may have persisted for several centuries. By contrast, folk art in Japan can be dated back only to the 17th century.
Chinese folk art is as extensive as any in the world. Each section of China had its own styles, and the entire output of art was enormous for both family and community use. The art associated with festivals, weddings, and funerals was extravagant even among the poor, and vestiges of it can still be seen in Chinese holiday celebrations.
Paper was invented in China, and much folk art using paper was devoted to making shop signs and festival objects. The design and execution of wood-block prints has already been noted.
The production of furniture provided some of the finest examples of Chinese folk art. Before the introduction of Buddhism from India in about the 1st century AD, the Chinese used little in the way of furniture, normally sitting on the floor cross-legged or on stools. Buddhism introduced a more formal kind of sitting on chairs with back rests, and with chairs came other types of furniture.
Chinese furniture was mainly of two types: plain hardwood pieces and lacquered wood pieces either inlaid with mother-of-pearl or elaborately carved. Both are products of the finest artisanship and have influenced furniture making in the West. The kinds of furniture produced are chairs, beds, stools, tables, wardrobes, chests, and finely painted screens. As time went on, of course, much of this manufacture moved from the province of pure folk art into the hands of artisans who made it their only occupation.
THE VISUAL ARTS
Chinese art, like Chinese literature, goes back many centuries. Early themes were developed from religious and supernatural beliefs or from the natural environment and landscape. One of the oldest and most basic forms of Chinese art is calligraphy, the painting of the Chinese characters with a brush. Calligraphy has developed as a pure art form with its own standards of excellence. Building on the tradition of calligraphy, Chinese painting developed a distinctive style that differs greatly from Western painting. It is more efficient in terms of brushstrokes and appears more abstract. Landscapes have always been a popular theme, and sometimes these appear bizarre to the Western eye. To the Chinese painter, they may represent a figurative view painted with a few swift strokes of the artist's brush.
With their stress on simplicity and economy, Chinese calligraphy, painting, and poetry are closely related. In all of them, the artist seeks to express both inner harmony and harmony with the natural surroundings. Chinese poets and painters often have sought inspiration by withdrawing to isolated, mountainous areas, and these landscapes have become conventional themes of Chinese art. Similarly, Chinese architecture has traditionally aimed to convey harmony with society and nature.
The magnificent life-size terra-cotta statues of men and horses, discovered in the early 1970s in the tomb of an emperor who died in 210 BC, provide some indication of the long history of Chinese sculpture. After the introduction of Buddhism into China, Buddhist subjects became dominant themes of the sculptor's art. Perhaps best known (and most copied) in the West, however, are the works of Chinese decorative artists, such as pottery, bronzes, lacquer ware, and exquisitely detailed jade and ivory carvings.
CHINESE SCULPTURE
Reports of the splendor of Asian art were brought to Europe by Marco Polo. By the 18th century Europeans not only possessed original ceramics, enamels, and furniture from the East but were adapting Asian designs and skills in their own products. Chinese Chippendale furniture and chinaware are examples. The art of Japan was brought into prominence in the mid-19th century in Paris by the Goncourt brothers, and it was Auguste Rodin who first gave public recognition to the sculpture of India. In the latter part of the 19th century, when artists were seeking inspiration for a newer, fresher art, these sources, together with those of Africa and Muslim countries, provided them with rich material.
The Chinese were master craftsmen and produced fine sculpture, especially in bronze. Although bronze casting existed a thousand years earlier, it was in the Chou period (1122-221 BC) that China developed the art to its peak.
This is evident in the great ceremonial vessels used by the nobility for ancestor worship. From tombs of the Han Empire (202 BC-AD 220) have come a rich variety of clay figures of people, animals, and household utensils designed to make life comfortable in the next world. Other objects are wrought in bronze, inlaid with silver and gold, and elaborately ornamented with abstract and fanciful designs. Carvings in jade and bas-reliefs on tomb walls also reached a high degree of excellence.
One of the most magnificent archaeological finds of the century was the tomb of Shi Huangdi at Xi'an, China. In March 1974 an underground chamber was found containing an army of more than 6,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers of the late 3rd century BC. Other nearby chambers contained more than 1,400 ceramic figures of cavalrymen and chariots, all arranged in battle formation.
The prosperous T'ang Dynasty (618-907) developed Buddhist art to its highest level. Stone was a favorite medium for religious sculpture, and iron replaced bronze in the casting of figures. The glazed terra-cotta figures of this period are especially fine.
With the decline of Buddhism in the Sung period (960-1279), Chinese sculpture lost its vigor. Nevertheless, interesting works continued to be produced, such as the Bodhisattvas. In Japan Buddhism and its art followed the Chinese pattern.
This article was contributed by Jack Bookbinder, former Director of Art Education, Philadelphia Public Schools and by Christopher Lyon, Editor, Department of Public Information, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
BUDDHIST ART
Visual art has been a useful instrument in bringing Buddhism to many people. Throughout Asia, drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the Buddha have been used for teaching and veneration.
uddhist art is not just decoration. Images of the Buddha show people what it looks like to have achieved Nirvana, total bliss. He is shown as calm and loving, usually with a soft smile and radiant energy. Some scenes show the Buddha at key moments of his life, for example, sitting under the Bo tree. Others illustrate his teachings. There is a story that tells of the Buddha offering his body as food for a hungry mother tiger and her cubs because he felt that all life was sacred. This scene is a popular visual theme in the cave temples of China and Japan.
ther Buddhist paintings illustrate the sacred writings, as stained glass windows were created to illustrate the Bible in many Christian churches. Since Buddhists believe that anyone can be on the path toward Enlightenment, these visual images of the Buddha along his own path are a helpful addition to the writings that people study. They make the texts more personal and inviting.
uddhist imagery has played a significant role in the development of sacred art and temple architecture throughout Asia. It is through the artistic images and temple remains that scholars have been able to trace the growth and spread of Buddhism. Artistic styles, for example, were carried from one culture to another as Buddhism spread throughout Asia. Many of the Buddhist images of China and Japan had their origin in India many centuries before.
uddhist sacred writings influenced the literature of the countries that accepted Buddhism as a religion. The oldest texts of Buddhism are the Pali Canon, the writings that are held most authentic by the older and more conservative school, the Theravada. These texts concentrate on the Theravada goal of the individual becoming a Buddha. The Mahayana school has for many centuries built on this base, but their writings are more keyed to their own philosophy of serving others.
ike the religion itself and the visual imagery, Buddhist sacred literature began in India and was spread in translation through Asia. Each country made the literature its own and was, in turn, influenced in other areas of cultural development by the teachings of the Buddha.
CHINESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN
In China the potter's workmanship was lifted above the utilitarian level and became a fine art. The great work of the imperial potters at the peak of their excellence has never been equaled in modern times.
Pottery was made in China long before history was set down in writing. A coarse gray earthenware was made before the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC), and a finer white pottery was made during this era. These vessels resemble in size and shape the Chinese bronze vessels of the same period, and it is likely that the bronzes were first copied from pottery.
It is from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) that the history of pottery making in China is ordinarily traced. The ancient Chinese had a custom of burying the dead with pottery images of people, animals, and possessions dear to them during life. These images have given modern students a clear insight into the life and customs of these people.
The period of disunity (220-581) is noted for vigorous modeling of figures, particularly of animals. The pottery horses of the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) are among the most celebrated examples of ancient Chinese art. Glaze was probably first used on the earthenware body in the Han Dynasty. By the time of the Sung Dynasty (960-1279), pottery of simple design was decorated with monochrome glazes. Celadon, or sea green, is probably the best known of these glazes.
Although crazed, or crackled, glazes appear to have been used before the Sung Dynasty, they are commonly associated with this period. This shrinking and cracking of the glaze, due to too rapid cooling, was probably first an accident of firing. The resulting effects were so attractive that crackled glazes became a studied effect in finer wares.
Porcelain gradually evolved in China, probably during the T'ang Dynasty. It grew out of earthenware by a process of refining materials and manufacturing techniques. This true porcelain, sometimes called hard-paste porcelain, was a combination of kaolin, or China clay, and petuntse, also known as feldspar or China stone. These ingredients were called by the Chinese the body and the bone of the porcelain.
The principal porcelain factory in China was the imperial plant at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. Pottery and porcelain probably were made there long before Jingdezhen became the seat of the imperial potteries under Emperor Chen Tsung about AD 1004. The Jesuit missionary Pere d'Entrecolles later described the city and the art of porcelain making in two letters written in China in 1712 and 1722. These brought to Europe for the first time a detailed account of Chinese porcelain manufacture. He described the great porcelain-making center of Jingdezhen as holding approximately a million people and some 3,000 kilns for ceramics.
The glazes and decorations made at the imperial factory were intended to reproduce natural colors. Some of the best-known glazes are celadon; peach bloom, like the skin of a ripening peach; apple green; sang de boeuf, or oxblood; and clair de lune, a pale gray blue resembling soft moonlight. The decoration called cracked ice is said to have been inspired by the reflection of sunny blue sky in the ice of a stream cracking with the first spring thaw.
The rice-grain decoration was achieved by cutting out the decoration from the porcelain body before glazing. The glaze then filled the cutout portions, which remained transparent after firing. Famille rose (rose or soft pink), famille verte (green), and famille noir (black) are decorations in which these colors are dominant.
The porcelains of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were noted for boldness in form and decoration, with great variations in design. They include the blue and white wares, huge and heavy vessels for the imperial temples, and thin and delicate white eggshell porcelain. Great beauty in polychrome decoration was attained in the later Ch'ing, or Manchu, Dynasty (1644-1911), particularly in the reign of Emperor K'ang-hsi (1661-1722).
Some fine white porcelain was made at Dehua in the province of Fujian in South China from the 1400s to the 1700s. Some of this ware was brought to Europe by early traders, where it was known as blanc de chine. It provided many models for the early European porcelain makers.
During a rebellion in 1853 the imperial factory was burned. The rebels sacked the town, killing some potters and scattering others. The factory was rebuilt in 1864 but never regained its former excellence. With the end of the Manchu Dynasty in 1911, the long history of Chinese porcelain making drew to a close.
SILK - HISTORY
Sericulture dates back to about 2640 BC in ancient China. The Chinese Empress Hsi Ling Shi (venerated as the Goddess of Silk) gave her royal patronage to the silk industry. She invented the loom and applied it to the production of highly prized silk fabrics.
For some 3,000 years the secrets of silk productionwere closely guarded by the Chinese. It was not until about AD 300 that a secret mission from Japan succeeded in penetrating China. The members of the mission obtained silkworms and brought four Chinese girls back to Japan to teach the Japanese the art of sericulture and the uses of silk.
According to legend, the silk industry spread to India when a Chinese princess was given in marriage to an Indian prince. When she went to India, the princess carried silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds concealed in her headdress. From India the silk industry spread into Persia and Central Asia, then slowly filtered into the Mediterranean countries.
Beginning early in the 2nd century BC, caravans traveled the Silk Road, a 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometer) trade route linking China with the West. The route began in Sian in China and wound its way to the countries along the eastern Mediterranean shores. From there the silk was transported to Rome. The Silk Road did not begin to decline until the 7th century AD, when the sea trade routes from China became fully developed and were safer to travel than the Silk Road. The Silk Road allowed a highly lucrative trade in silk fabrics to develop.
In AD 552 two Persian monks sent to China by the emperor Justinian I succeeded in bringing back to Constantinople a small supply of silkworm eggs concealed in hollow canes. Constantinople became the center of the silk trade and retained that position until the 11th century.
The Renaissance greatly stimulated the cultivation, manufacture, and use of silk. In Flanders, Italy, and France industrial centers developed for weaving highly decorative and luxurious silk fabrics. In 1522 Hernando Cortez brought silkworm eggs and mulberry trees to Mexico from Spain . From the 17th to the 19th century, the silk industry became established in England and was introduced in most of the other countries of the world, though the industry did not flourish everywhere.
Today, silk has been replaced in many applications by synthetic fibers, which can be produced more cheaply and are generally stronger and easier to maintain. Nevertheless, the production of silk is so small compared with the total world fiber production that the development of synthetic fibers has had little effect on the silk industry overall. Particularly in the luxury apparel market, silk still reigns supreme. (See Clothing; Fibers, Man-Made; Fibers, Natural)
This article was contributed by Ian Holme, Senior Lecturer, Department of Textile Industries, University of Leeds, England.
CHINESE FOLK ART -
China and the Indian subcontinent have civilizations that date back thousands of years. Except for intermittent conquests, these cultures were relatively uninterrupted in their development, and industrialization arrived late. It is likely, therefore, that folk art in these regions has a history dating back to ancient times. Because of the great period of time involved, however, it is not always possible to distinguish true folk art from the tribal, or primitive, arts that may have persisted for several centuries. By contrast, folk art in Japan can be dated back only to the 17th century.
Chinese folk art is as extensive as any in the world. Each section of China had its own styles, and the entire output of art was enormous for both family and community use. The art associated with festivals, weddings, and funerals was extravagant even among the poor, and vestiges of it can still be seen in Chinese holiday celebrations.
Paper was invented in China, and much folk art using paper was devoted to making shop signs and festival objects. The design and execution of wood-block prints has already been noted.
The production of furniture provided some of the finest examples of Chinese folk art. Before the introduction of Buddhism from India in about the 1st century AD, the Chinese used little in the way of furniture, normally sitting on the floor cross-legged or on stools. Buddhism introduced a more formal kind of sitting on chairs with back rests, and with chairs came other types of furniture.
Chinese furniture was mainly of two types: plain hardwood pieces and lacquered wood pieces either inlaid with mother-of-pearl or elaborately carved. Both are products of the finest artisanship and have influenced furniture making in the West. The kinds of furniture produced are chairs, beds, stools, tables, wardrobes, chests, and finely painted screens. As time went on, of course, much of this manufacture moved from the province of pure folk art into the hands of artisans who made it their only occupation.
2008-06-18
tiger shoes
Residents of China's rural villages often lacked basic medical care, and consequently often relied on superstitious beliefs to ensure that their children would lead long, healthy lives. These beliefs often influenced what the children wore, for their clothing often had various auspicious designs embroidered or appliqued on it--these designs were thought to help ward off evil spirits. Many clothing items were made in the shape of dogs or pigs or other animals so that evil spirits would be fooled into believing that the child was just an ordinary animal--and the spirits would have no reason to harm these animals.
One animal frequently used for protection was the tiger, the king of beasts, for it was thought that the tiger would scare away ghosts. Tigers appeared on hats, stuffed animals, pillows, and shoes; parents hoped that by having these tigers around, the child would be more likely to grow up to be as strong and as brave as a tiger. Furthermore, the tiger eyes in tiger shoes would give a child additional eyes to see more clearly while walking. Tiger garments were also significant because of a wordplay: the character for tiger is pronounced in a way similar to the way the character for wealth is pronounced (both are pronounced hu), and thus many parents thought tiger clothing would help the child to have a prosperous future.
The above information is adapted from Arts and Crafts of China by Scott Minick and Jiao Ping, published by Thames and Hudson in 1996 (p. 20).
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2008-06-17
Chinese Fans
No one knows exactly how fans in China were invented. The invention or rather the discovery of the fanning function could have been as accidental as follows: a primitive man irritated with lots of flies and mosquitoes, picks up a big leaf off a plant next to him to drive the pests away. To his delight, his effort resulted in cooling air movements.
Before long, fans acquired ceremonial significance. More than 3,000 years ago, fans were made with bird's feathers and were an outstnading characteristic in imperial pomp. They lent infinite gracefulness and charm to court dancers, who achieved the appearance of heavenly phoenixes.
Along with the progress made in agriculture in the Han and Tang Dynasties, an ample supply of clothing material resulted. Silk and satin fans appeared and it became a fashion among scholars and artists to show their genius by writing and painting on fan surfaces. Fans soon acquired considerable social significance and became a part of the standard summer costume among the elite and the learned.
Tradition has it, folded fans were introduced to China from Japan and Korea about 1,000 years ago. They were usually made with fine paper mounted on bamboo. The scholars found it interesting to paint their poetic and artistic expressions on the surface.
A great variety of fans have been produced in China; sandalwood, ivory, even gold, silver and jade have been used as material.
Of particular interest is the sandalwood fan. Its most outstanding characteristic is the pleasant, fragrant scent that comes from the wood. Even in modern air-conditioned environment, it will certainly enhance the elegance and femininity of the lady holding it gracefully in her hand. It emits subtle fragrance which is as enchanting and refreshing as any expensive perfume.
Palm fans were made in the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD) and have been widely used by the Chinese people. They are very useful and welcomed by people of less expensive taste.
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www.tracelife.com)
Before long, fans acquired ceremonial significance. More than 3,000 years ago, fans were made with bird's feathers and were an outstnading characteristic in imperial pomp. They lent infinite gracefulness and charm to court dancers, who achieved the appearance of heavenly phoenixes.
Along with the progress made in agriculture in the Han and Tang Dynasties, an ample supply of clothing material resulted. Silk and satin fans appeared and it became a fashion among scholars and artists to show their genius by writing and painting on fan surfaces. Fans soon acquired considerable social significance and became a part of the standard summer costume among the elite and the learned.
Tradition has it, folded fans were introduced to China from Japan and Korea about 1,000 years ago. They were usually made with fine paper mounted on bamboo. The scholars found it interesting to paint their poetic and artistic expressions on the surface.
A great variety of fans have been produced in China; sandalwood, ivory, even gold, silver and jade have been used as material.
Of particular interest is the sandalwood fan. Its most outstanding characteristic is the pleasant, fragrant scent that comes from the wood. Even in modern air-conditioned environment, it will certainly enhance the elegance and femininity of the lady holding it gracefully in her hand. It emits subtle fragrance which is as enchanting and refreshing as any expensive perfume.
Palm fans were made in the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD) and have been widely used by the Chinese people. They are very useful and welcomed by people of less expensive taste.
(want to more about chinese fans click
www.tracelife.com)
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