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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.
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 Fan K'uan (d. after 1023) Travelers Amid Streams and Mountains Hanging scroll Ink and color on silk 81 1/4 x 40 3/4 in (206.3 x 103.3 cm)
DYNASTY TABLE |
 Kuo Hsi (1000 - ca.1090) 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. SHANG DYNASTY-  Inscribed oracle bones are the earliest form of writing in China and date from the Shang Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC) Before the Shang, Chinese tradition mentions a Hsia Dynasty, but for lack of evidence, the Hsia is still considered a legendary period. Until the late 1920s the Shang Dynasty too was thought to be legendary but discoveries made near the modern city of Anyang (the site of the Shang capital) in Henan Province proved that the dynasty existed. The most important of these discoveries was the finding of over 100,000 bones and shells with still-recognizable characters inscribed on them. These oracle bones and shells, originally used as religious objects, represent the earliest form of the Chinese writing system. In addition to the oracle bones and shells, the superb Shang bronzes and the tombs of the Shang rulers reveal a highly developed society. The Shang are distinguished from the New Stone Age people by their settled life-style and their highly developed bronze-making technique. The Shang used bronze to make weapons, daily tools, and elaborately decorated sacrificial vessels.  A bronze zun from the Shang dynasty, originally used as a wine vessel, is decorated with animal designs.  An intricately decorated yu or bucket is an example of the superb Shang bronzes created during China's Shang dynasty. The last Shang ruler was reportedly evil and tyrannical. He was overthrown by a revolt of the people, who were aided by the neighboring Chou people. The leader of the Chou was named Wu. With his brother's help, he defeated the Shang and founded the Chou Dynasty. CHOU DYNASTY- The Chou Dynasty (1122-221 BC) Chou rule in China continued for nearly nine centuries. During that time great advances were made. The long period of the Chou Dynasty is divided into two subperiods: Western (Early) and Eastern (Later) Chou, named for the locations of the capitals. EARLY WESTERN CHOU DYNASTY- Western (Early) Chou (1122-771 BC). Western Chou territory covered most of the North China Plain. It was divided into about 200 princely domains. The Chou political system was similar to the feudal system of medieval Europe. LATER CHOU DYNASTY- Eastern (Later) Chou (771-221 BC). The Eastern Chou is also two periods. The first is Ch'un Ch'iu, the Spring and Autumn period (771-481 BC), named for a book credited to Confucius. The second is Chan-kuo, the Warring States period (481-221 BC). By the 4th century BC the number of states had shrunk to seven. In 256 BC the princes of those states assumed the title of king, stopped paying homage to the Chou king, and continued to fight for supremacy. The strongest of the seven states was Ch'in. Soon the rise of a new social group, the scholars (shi), the forerunners of the scholar-officials of the Chinese Empire, became the most influential group in China. In the Later Chou period, however, they were a relatively small group of learned people. Often wandering from state to state in search of permanent employment, the shi worked as tutors to the children of feudal princes and as advisers to various state governments. The most famous of these scholarly shi was Confucius. CONFUCIUS- Age of philosophies. Confucius is a latinized form of the honorific title K'ung-fu-tzu (Master K'ung), given to a wandering scholar from the state of Lu in Shandong Province in northeastern China. Although little known in his lifetime, Confucius was revered as the greatest of sages throughout most of China's history. His teaching, Confucianism, was the state teaching from the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC to the end of the imperial period in 1911. HAN EMPIRE- The Han Empire (202 BC-AD 220) The four-century-long Han rule is divided into two periods: the Earlier or Western Han and the Later or Eastern Han. In between these two was the short-lived Hsin Dynasty (AD 9-23). The Han Chinese were especially distinguished in the field of art. The famous sculpture of the "Han flying horse" and the carving of the jade burial suit found in Han period tombs are only two superb examples. The technique of making lacquer ware was also highly developed.  Much of China's tradition of distinguished art and writing stems from the Han Dynasty, which flourished from 202 BC to AD 220. The Sui Dynasty (581-618)- The prolonged period of disunity finally ended when a general from the northwest united China by establishing the new dynasty of Sui. A second great period of imperial unity was begun. The relationship of the Sui to the succeeding T'ang Dynasty was much like that of the Ch'in to the Han. It served as the unifying foundation on which its successor could build. The first Sui emperor, Wen Ti, introduced a series of economic reforms, such as reduction of the peasants' taxes, a careful census for equitable tax collection, and restoration of the equal allocation system used in the Northern Wei. Every taxable male received a grant of land, part of which was returnable when he ceased to be a taxpayer at age 60 and part of which he could pass on to his heirs. He also revived the Han system of examinations based on Confucian classics. The T'ang Dynasty (618-907)- The T'ang emperors set up a political system in which the emperor was supreme and government officials were selected on the bases of merit and education.  A kneeling Bodhisattva statue dating from the T'ang dynasty is an example of Buddhist themes being used in Chinese sculpture. The An Lu-shan rebellion. Most of the T'ang accomplishments were attained during the first century of the dynasty's rule, through the early part of Emperor Hsüan Tsung's long reign from 712 to 756. However, late in his reign he neglected government affairs to indulge in his love of art and study. T'ang culture. Buddhist influence in art, especially in sculpture, was strong during the T'ang period. Fine examples of Buddhist sculpture are preserved in rock temples, such as those at Yongang and Longmen in northwest China. The T'ang period marked the beginnings of China's early technological advancement over other civilizations in the fields of shipbuilding and firearms development. Both reached new heights in the succeeding dynasty of Sung. The Sung Dynasty (960-1279)- Over 300 years of Sung history is divided into the two periods of Northern and Southern Sung. Because of the barbarian occupation of northern China the second half of the Sung rule was confined to the area south of the Huai River.  
LEFT-Mallet-shaped vase with phoenix ears Culture in the Sung period. The Sung period was noted for landscape painting, which in time came to be considered the highest form of classical art. The city-dwelling people of the Sung period romanticized nature. This romanticism, combined with a mystical, Taoist approach to nature and a Buddhist-inspired contemplative mood, was reflected in landscape paintings showing people dwarfed by nature. The Sung period is famous for porcelain with a celadon glaze, which was one of the most desired items in foreign trade. The Yüan (Mongol) Dynasty (1279-1368)- The Mongols were the first of the northern barbarians to rule all of China. After creating an empire that stretched across the Eurasian continent and occupying northern China and Korea in the first half of the 13th century, the Mongols continued their assault on the Southern Sung. By 1276 the Southern Sung capital of Hangzhou had fallen, and in 1279 the last of the Sung loyalists perished.  Kublai Khan, seated, meets the Venetian adventurer Marco Polo. MING DYNASTY- The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Having restored Chinese rule to China, the first Ming emperor tried to model his rule after that of the Han, but the Ming fell far short of the Han's accomplishments. The land under Ming domination was less than under either the Han or the T'ang. The Ming dominion changed little after the first two decades. It was confined mostly to what is known as China proper, south of the Great Wall and east of Xinjiang and Tibet.  Winepot with chih-dragon handle and spout In culture, as well, the Ming lacked the Han's creativity and brilliance. Coming after almost a century of foreign domination, the Ming was a period of restoration and reorganization rather than a time of new discovery. In a sense, the Ming followed a typical dynastic cycle: initial rehabilitation of the economy and restoration of efficient government, followed by a time of stability and then a gradual decline and fall. The Ch'ing Empire (1644-1911)- Like the Mongols in the 13th century, the Manchus (formerly the Juchen) were barbarians who succeeded in ruling the whole of China, but, unlike the 13th-century conquerers, the sinicized Manchus made their rule more acceptable to the Chinese. As a result, Ch'ing rule lasted 267 years, compared with 89 years for the Yüan.  Huang Chen-hsiao (early 18th century) Pax Sinica (1683-1795)- The Manchus took Peking with relative ease in 1644, but they did not gain control of the whole of China until 1683. Thereafter, the Manchus enjoyed more than a century of peace and prosperity, a period that came to be called Pax Sinica (Peace in China). By the end of that period the dynasty had reached the height of its power.  RIGHT- Ch'ien-lung  LEFT- A 1909 lithograph shows a modernized Chinese army on maneuvers. After 1901 even the empress dowager was converted to reform. Much of the program proposed in the Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was enacted in the years 1901 to 1910, including reform of education and abolition of the civil service examinations, the creation of provincial assemblies, and a promise to establish a constitutional assembly. But the dynasty--and with it the 2,000-year-old dynastic system--was fast coming to an end. The Manchu rule in China ended after 267 years, and with it the 2,000-year-old imperial system. The Republic of China (1912-1949)- Early in March 1912, Sun Yat-sen resigned from the presidency and, as promised, Yüan Shih-kai was elected his successor at Nanjing. Inaugurated in March 1912 in Beijing, the base of his power, Yüan established a republican system of government with a premier, a cabinet, a draft constitution, and a plan for parliamentary elections early in 1913. The Kuomintang (KMT, National People's party), the successor to Sun Yat-sen's organization, was formed in order to prepare for the election. The Nationalist era (1928-1937)- On Oct. 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. For Chinese Christians, The Three Selfs movement stressed self-government, self-support, and self-propagation, the object being to separate the churches in China from their parent denominations abroad. Leading churchmen were forced into denouncing religion as cultural imperialism. The idea of cultural imperialism was extended to art and literature, which henceforth were to serve the people, the class struggle, and the revolution. |
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