Chinese art in South Asia.pptx. china.

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1. Chinese Art in South A sia

2. INTRO The original centre of Chinese culture was along the great Yellow River which crosses the North China Plain, where stable settlements have dated back to at least 4000 BCE.  Archeological discoveries - notably from the burial mounds of prosperous individuals - indicate that from about 2500 BCE the Chinese cultivated silk worms, had beautifully finished tools and produced a wide range of cultural artifacts.  during the period 2500-100 BCE, Chinese artists mastered numerous forms of visual art, including: Chinese Pottery (which began in China around 10,000 BCE, and includes Chinese porcelain); jade carving and other types of metalworking and  jewellery art; bronzes (mainly ceremonial vessels); Buddhist sculpture and secular terracotta sculpture, Chinese painting and calligraphy; as well as  crafts such as lacquerware.

3. The Chinese Dynasties China is dated by its Dynasties, a word which has been coined by western historians from the Greek root for "power, force or domination .“ Successive waves of invaders came out of the Central Asian land mass, from the Steppes and the Turcu River, conquered, ruled and were in turn assimilated by the Chinese. The different types of art in China developed according to the interest and patronage of each dynasty, as well as the whims of regional rulers. Trade relations with its East Asian neighbours was also an important stimulus in the development of Chinese visual arts, notably pottery and lacquerwork .

4. CHINESE LACQUERWORK

5. DANCER FROM SONG DYNESTY

6. A Simple Chronology  Xia Dynasty (2100-1700 BCE) - Shang Dynasty (1700-1050 ) Bronze Age Art - Zhou Dynasty (1050-221 ) Iron age Art - Qin Emperor and 3-year Dynasty (221-206) - Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) - Six Dynasties Period (220-589) - Sui Dynasty (589-618) - Tang Dynasty (618-906) - Five Dynasties Period (907-60 ) - Song Dynasty (960-1279) - Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) - Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) - Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

7. Characteristics of Chinese Art Metaphysical, Daoist Aspect Moral, Confucian Aspect Inspirational But Not Essentially Religious Inner Essence Not Outer Appearance Symbolism in Chinese Visual Art

8. Metaphysical, Daoist Aspect Ever since the era of Prehistoric art, Chinese society - itself almost wholly agricultural or rural until the 20th century - has always placed great importance on understanding the pattern of nature and co-existing with it.  Nature was perceived as the visible manifestation of God's creativity, using the interaction of the  yin  (female) and  yang  (male) life forces . The main aim of Chinese art - initially centered on propitiation and sacrifice - soon turned to the expression of human understanding of these life forces, in a variety of artforms , including painting (notably that of landscapes, bamboo, birds, and flowers), pottery, relief sculpture and the like. T he Chinese also believed that the energy and rhythm generated by an artist resonated closely with the ultimate source of that energy. 

9. Daoist Immortal, probably Laozi The sculpture’s tendency toward abstraction and stylization—the contours of the head, body, and robes are conveyed through the buildup of simple, curved forms—recall thirteenth-century images. Title:  Daoist Immortal, probably Laozi Period:  Five Dynasties period (907–60) Date:  10th century Culture:  China Medium:  High-leaded bronze

10. Moral, Confucian Aspect Chinese art also had social and moralistic functions. The earliest mural paintings, for instance, portrayed benevolent emperors, wise ministers, loyal generals, as well as their evil opposites, as an example and a warning to observers .  Portrait art had a similar moral function, which aimed to highlight not the facial or figurative features of the subject so much as his or her character and status in society.

11. Inspirational But Not Essentially Religious Court painters were frequently commissioned to depict auspicious and memorable events, but high religious painting is unknown in Chinese art . The main thing is that themes used in traditional Chinese art were almost always noble, or inspirational . Thus overly realistic subjects such as war, death, violence, martyrdom or even the nude, were avoided. Chinese artistic tradition does not separate form from content: it is not enough, for instance, for the form to be exquisite if the subject is unedifying.

12. Inner Essence Not Outer Appearance Unlike Western artists, Chinese painters were not interested in replicating nature, or creating a true-life depiction of (say) a landscape . Instead they focused on expressing the inner essence of the subject. Remember , rocks and streams were seen as "live" things, visible manifestations of the invisible forces of the cosmos. Therefore, it was the role of the artist to capture the spiritual rather than the material characteristics of the object concerned.

13. Symbolism in Chinese Visual Art Chinese art is full of symbolism, in that artists typically seek to depict some aspect of a totality of which they are intuitively aware . In addition, Chinese art is packed with specific symbols:  bamboo  represents a spirit which can be bent by circumstance but not broken;  jade  represents purity; a  dragon  often symbolizes the emperor; the crane, long life; a  pair of ducks , fidelity in marriage. Plant symbols include: the  orchid , another symbol of purity and loyalty; and the  pine tree , which symbolizes endurance. Some art critics, however, prefer to describe Chinese art as essentially expressionist, rather than symbolic.

14. An incense burner in the form of an Elephant symbolizes strength and sound judgment .

15. Detail of a scroll painting depicting a Swan symbolizing elegance and grace

16. A porcelain brush pot depicts an Ox symbolizing spring and renewal

17. Detail of a scroll painting depicting a Dragon symbolizes stealth, vigilance, strength and the nourishment of moisture

18. The Impact of the Amateur Artist During the Warring States period and the Han Dynasty, the growth of a merchant and landowning class led to increased numbers of art lovers and patrons with time on their hands . This led to the emergence in the third century CE of an elite class of scholarly amateur artists, involved in the arts of poetry, calligraphy, painting and a range of crafts. These amateurs tended to look down their nose at the lower-class professional artist, employed by the Imperial court, and other regional or civic authorities. Moreover , this division of artists later had a significant influence on the character of Chinese art. From the Song dynasty (960–1279) on, the gentlemen-artists became closely associated with increasingly refined forms of ink and wash painting and calligraphy, and their works became an important media of exchange in a social economy where the giving of presents was a vital step in building up a personal network.

19. Daoism (Taoism) Among the 'Hundred Schools of Philosophy which addressed themselves to the Chinese ruling classes during the period of the Warring States, the most remarkable perhaps was that of the Daoists (Taoists). Dao (Tao) means The Way or the Universal Principle . Daoism is an attitude to life not a system. It implies being in harmony with nature and shuns all dogmas and restrictive moral codes . Its most famous theoreticians were Laozi (Lao-tzu), an enigmatic author expressing himself in paradoxical sayings. Zhuangzi (Chuang- tzu ) (about 350-275 BCE) who wrote in fables permeated with a subtle irony and showing a deep insight into man's motivations. To some people they seem to combine the best in Christianity, Zen Buddhism and Yoga. Daoism was destined to have a profound influence on Chinese painting.

20. Qin Emperor and 3-year Dynasty (221-206 BCE) Political confusion was ended by the dictatorship (221-206 BCE) of Emperor Qin Shihuang , who came from the state of Qin (formerly Ch'in, hence the name China). He smashed feudalism and replaced the warlords by civil servants or commissars. His advisers belonged to the legalist schools who asserted the authority of the State . Traditions were to be forgotten and all books destroyed, particularly the writings of  Confucius .  Qin Dynasty art was unimportant compared to its political and administrative activities. Qin Shihuang gave China a unified administration and a road system; he built canals and extended the frontiers of China. He also commissioned the huge series of terracotta figures, known as The Terracotta Army (c.246-208 BCE). The 8,000 statues took about 38 years to make, and involved roughly 700,000 master craftsmen and other workers.

21. Han Dynasty Art (206 BCE - 220 CE) During the era of Han Dynasty art a new, naturalistic outlook prevailed in figurative art. This is particularly evident in bronzes and in the pottery figures called  ming -chi  which people had buried with them in their graves. The Chinese believed in an afterlife and they liked to surround themselves with representations of familiar sights, particularly of those things which had given them pleasure on earth, such as dogs and horses, dancers and concubines. These figures enable us to know precisely how the subjects of the Han dynasty were dressed, what they ate, what tools they used, what games they played, the domestic animals they reared and the appearance of the houses in which they lived . Many of the figures were coated in a lead glaze; others were painted. All are interesting and their stylised elegance is often of arresting beauty . Bronze vases were made in quantity; so were bronze sculptures of men and horses, and these show the same stylised naturalism as the pottery figures. This was also a great age for Chinese lacquerware, jade carving and silk fabrics.

22. A  gilded  bronze oil lamp  in the shape of a female servant, dated 2nd century BCE, found in the tomb of Dou Wan, wife to the Han prince Liu Sheng (d. 113 BCE); its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness of light while it also traps smoke within the body, an anti-pollutant design.