VIS 21B Chinese Unit

• traditional Chinese styles • Confucian morality • hand scrolls read from top to bottom, right to left • sections are divided by text and inscriptions for each part of the narrative on the right and the illustration on the left • image shows understanding of space • reverse perspective: things are receding into space, the areas that are meant to be further back are wider than those that are closer to the front • iron-write line; firm, even, fine lines • Indian shade gaze, Gupta style • figures have headgear, voluminous garments, square-shaped heads, slightly pointed chins and noses, and sloping shoulders • use of shading in the curtains and garments show things are becoming more 3D • facial expressions and gazes shared between figures show sense of depth in interactions • famous scene of emperor talking to one of the court ladies • marvelous archaic (old fashion) • figures are fairly sop

Attributed to Gu Kaizhi - Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies - Hand scroll - ink and colors on silk - Six Dynasties Period

• visual reports based on the order of emperor and Confucian standards • Tang Dynasty style that has been further developed • parallel structure of the art pieces rather than reverse perspective to show how they interpret space • firm, fine lines but is more colorful • empty background • vivid posture, gestures and facial expressions

Attributed Gu Hongzhong (active ca. 10th century) - The Night Revels of Han Xizai - undated - Five Dynasties Period handscroll - ink and colors on silk

• traditional Chinese styles • Confucian morality • hand scrolls read from top to bottom, right to left • sections are divided by text and inscriptions for each part of the narrative on the right and the illustration on the left • image shows understanding of space • reverse perspective: things are receding into space, the areas that are meant to be further back are wider than those that are closer to the front • iron-wire line; firm, even, fine lines • Indian shade gaze, Gupta style • figures have headgear, voluminous garments, square-shaped heads, slightly pointed chins and noses, and sloping shoulders • use of shading in the curtains and garments show things are becoming more 3D • facial expressions and gazes shared between figures show sense of depth in interactions • court ladies who are presumably to follow her precepts, stand or kneel respectfully before her

Attributed to Gu Kaizhi - Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies - Hand scroll - ink and colors on silk - Six Dynasties Period

• monumental style landscape: art occupies most of the space/half of the composition • three grounds • depict picture from the mind so closest would be foreground, middle ground, then background (mountain) • shift perspective: lift standing point to look at all three grounds • vertical, hanging scroll • illusionist • mountains and trees are complex • texture strokes: hold brush vertically to only use tip of brush to paint • created more than 200 different kinds of text strokes for different depiction of surfaces, mountains, trees, etc. • realistic feeling of landscape element • water fall and mist became standard to divide background from middle ground • used rulers to make straight vertical or horizontal lines for architectures • crab-claw strokes: trees without leaves • rain drop strokes: short strokes to depict mountain and surfaces • create relation between human beings and natu

Attributed to Li Cheng - A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks - 10th c. - hanging scroll - ink and light color on silk

• iron-wire lines: outlines of fine, even lines • reverse perspective • models of drapery which shows volume • red shading which was influenced by Central Asia and Indian paintings • background is blank so the setting is abstract • Emperor Wen Di of the CHen dynasty • depiction of Chen Wen DI sitting at ease rather than standing in a dominating pose • hierarchical order • emperor has nicer garments and is larger than the other subjects in painting • subtle shading to create 3D features like wrinkles, beard, patterns and motifs on garments • "strong" figures are shown by taking up more of the space (whole height of the scroll)

Attributed to Yan Liben (d. 673) - the Scroll of The Thirteen Emperors - undated - Hand scroll - ink and colors on silk - Tang Dynasty

• painted with black-on-red designs of geometric figures, human masks, fish, and sometimes animals • depiction of mask is abstract with the dashed eyes and lined nose • bottom base of the bowl is more of a yellow color • naturalistic motifs are geometrically rendered, or combined with geometric motifs, or both • these were for funerary urns • art was influenced by the fishing and hunting life style that the people had • balanced motifs and are mirrored on all four sides

Bowl Painted with Human Face and Fish - Painted pottery - Early Yangshao Culture (painted pottery culture) - C. 4000 B.C. - Neolithic Period

• smaller horses stand stiffly (could potentially by Mongolian horses) • closer to the central tumulus, there are a few smaller than life bronze images of chariots, charioteers, and horses • charioteers have hand gestures suggesting they are holding horse-drawn chariot • some kneeling suggests they were archers

Cavalryman and Saddle Horse - Earthenware - Burial Army of the Tomb of the First Emperor of Qin - c. 210 B.C. - Qin Dynasty

• general nature of the first phase of the style • tradition of carving into a living rock imported from India • drapery derived from the Bamiyan string pattern • face showing traces of Gandhara style • impressions of a hybrid and stiff conformation

Colossal Buddha - Cave 20, Yungang Caves - Datong, Shanxi - Sandstone - ca. 460-465 A.D. - Northern Wei Dynasty

• named for the distinctive burnished black pottery • characterized by building platforms and rudimentary walls made of pounded earth • beaker vessel • coarse utilitarian gray wares • was shaped on slow turntables with wood or bamboo cutting tools to carve • let clay dry and then burnished and fired to it's shiny black • no paintings • has only ridges, openwork, and occasional bosses • high-footed, thin-bodied, elegant • luxurious, luxury type vessels

Gu Beaker - Black pottery - Longshan Culture (black pottery culture) - C. 2000 B.C. - Neolithic Period

• lost-wax process, molten bronze replaces a wax model inside a solid clay casting • first make an exact clay model, then when it hardens press soft clay against it, then fired to become the units of the mold, surface of model is shaved down to become the core of the cold, the walls of the bronze vessels would exactly equal in thickness layer • Style IV • motifs are cut in lines • motifs covers the whole vessel • three-legged ding - classic Shang form • design of a mask surmounted by a band with four of dragon-like monsters repeated three times • symmetrical pattern of four on each side of flange

Ding - Ritual Food Vessel - Bronze - Anyang Phase - Late Shang Period

• shifted perspective • atmospheric perspective • monumental style • gnarled and dry trees • organized on a grid with forms growing out from either side of vertical midline in rhythmical order • empty space is filled with mist and fog • there is separation of near and far • strong contrast between the brush strokes and ink • darkest ink used in foregrounds, closest to us • light ink for the background • developed distance in three grounds and writing • less text strokes more ink wash • crab-claw strokes

Guo Xi - Early Spring - Hanging scroll - Ink and color on silk - Northern Song Dynasty - 1072

• developed a system getting rid of the social hierarchy for common people to climb up • imperial painting academy • realistic court painting style • slender-gold style calligraphy • realistic bird's eyes • shape, colors, textures, and brush strokes are carefully examined and analyzed • satiny texture of blossoms, rough texture of bark • emperor's calligraphic style is distinctive shown on the right • partly visible and hard to imitate because thin strokes and unique

Emperor Huizong (1082-1135) - Five-colored parakeet on a blossoming apricot tree - Northern Song dynasty - Datable to 1110s - Ink and color on silk

• landscape painting • monumental style: takes up 2/3 of the space • three grounds: fore ground (travelers/water bank), middle ground (architecture on hills), background (waterfall) • mist and fog dividing middle ground and background • more concentrated background because it is more monumental • texture strokes • rain drops • beautiful surface, you see travelers, donkeys, etc • shift perspective • more textured, more unified • less realistic than the Northern Song period • authentic work, rational, separation of parts and realism

Fan Kuan - Traveling amid Mountains and Streams - early 11th century - Hanging scroll - ink and light color on silk - Northern Song Dynasty - Late 10th, early 11th c.

• found draping over the inner coffin • formal and balanced composition depicts the three world levels • heaven, earth, hell • heaven: red circle with bird represents sun and crow, toad with a crescent represents moon, and woman with celestial dragons represent Queen Mother of the West (deity, creator of the universe) • earth: marquise and her two attendants (hierarchical order) • Marquise is in the center and is larger in size with more detailed motifs on clothing and garment • hell: burial grouping of ritual vessels and deceased male figures • triangular shape is thought to represent jade that covers the hell realm • hell was believed to be under water, which is why there are large fish bodies • called flying banner because it was held and used during a funeral procession while going to the tomb

Flying Banner (Feiyi, or not cloth) - Ink and color on silk - Tomb of the Marquis of Dai - Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan - Chu Cultural Area - ca. 186-168 B.C. - Western Han Dynasty

• speed and flexibility of the brush are expressed in the lines • brush stroke has become a means of defining character • attitude and pose of each figure conveys the person portrayed • there is a patient listener, pompous taker, decorous and patient man waiting to talk • there are two other people with their backs turned • in the empty space, you can tell there are standing on the same ground line • 3/4 profile view

Gentlemen in Conversation - Painted on Earthenware Tomb Tile, - 1st Century AD - Eastern Han Dynasty

• two grounds: foregrounds and backgrounds • one corner ma (composition): where all of the art work is in one corner, leaving an empty space • angular line for trees • axe-cut stroke: light on the side of the brush to make a trace wood • nail-head, rat-tail stroke: used to create figures, top appears thinker, bottom tapers off into think stroke • empty space for people's imagination • romantic and exaggerated practitioner of asymmetrical composition • more ink wash

Ma Yuan (late 12th-early 13th century) - Viewing Plum Blossoms by Moonlight - undated - Southern Song Dynasty - Fan Mounted as an Album Leaf - Ink and slight color on silk

• the lamp has sliding door to control the amount and direction of light • the smoke is vented to the rear of the servant's hollow sleeve • convincing representation of a kneeling and offering figure • realism of pose and the drapery of the clothes are realistic • garments are true to what they wore back then • round head shape, thin brows

Lamp in the Shape of Serving Girl - Gilt Bronze, - Tomb of Dou Wan - Probably made in 173 B.C. - Western Han dynasty

• used piece-mold casting technique • Style II • Cut in lines • thin walls of sheet-copper types • thread-relief ornaments • large, tapering, hollow legs • abstract, but with clear hints of underlying mask or dragon design

Li he - Ritual Wine Vessel - Bronze - Zhengzhou Phase - Early Shang Period

• Chan (Zen) Buddhist concept • sudden enlightenment when chopping bamboo • spontaneity • one-corner composition • simplicity and purity to Chan Buddhist • not a lot of brushstrokes • roughness and spontaneity in brush strokes • rat-tail texture stroke • technique is matched to each part of the subject and ranges from precise to indicate joins and movement of fingers

Liang Kai - The 6th Chan Patriarch Chopping Bamboo - undated - Southern Song Dynasty - Hanging scroll - Ink on paper

• a man in aristocratic dress is portrayed in profile • riding a reined dragon's body in a shape of a boat • dragon's tail perches a crane for immortality • dragon-boat is a vehicle of heavenly travel for deities • for the souls of the dead or for perfected humans • there is a tasseled parasol (canopy) that shades the carriages over the man's head which shows status of the people • the fish below signifies that the dragon-boat is traveling on water • tassels of the parasol and ties of hat streams out behind with the swiftness of his passage • this is located over the coffin in the tomb suggests that it was to depict the soul of the dead man on his way to heaven • linear style • smaller sized paper, empty background • brush with ink goes directly on the silk

Man Riding a Dragon-boat - Ink and colors on silk - Eastern Zhou dynasty - 4th c. B.C.

• reflecting side was polished • gold, silver, white bronze, or glass were uses as inlays • abstract swirling motifs with animal images • often buried with the dead, sometimes over the body with the polished side down, simulating the sun and confirming the mirror as a cosmic symbol • as art develop, there is more depictions of humans and animals more than written inscriptions • scenes of human activities or rituals

Mirror - Bronze inlaid with gold and silver - Eastern Zhou Period

• bring Northern Song painting style back • two grounds: foreground, background • no human being activities • lonely feeling, only nature and landscape • used dry ink to outline • no ink wash

Ni Zan (1301-1374) - The Rongxi Studio - 1372 - Yuan Dynasty - Hanging scroll - Ink on paper - National Palace Museum, Taipei

• more archaic than the sculptures aka old-fashion • it is so old, the effect of oxidation and deterioration of pigments and does not represent the artist's intentions • frantic energy as the concept of modeling by light and shade • broad streak outlining the edges of the figures and the shapes within them • the figures have very slender bodies • bodhisattvas are usually stiff but here they have some movement (contrapposto) • Buddha's halo has a shield-like shape • flying angels on either side of Buddha (apsara) • on either side of the bodhisattvas are people praying • people praying might be those who commissioned the painting

Preaching Buddha - Wall painting - Cave 249, Mogao Caves - Dunhuang, Gansu - 5th Century - Western Wei Dynasty

• made from imported jode boulders • in a large rectangular prism with cylindrical inner surfaces • decorated with rectilinear patterns • engraved spirals, circles, defining eye, nose, and mouth "masks" • requires an advanced incising and grinding technique and infinite patience

Prismatic Tube (Cong) - Nephrite Jade - Liangzhu Culture - Neolithic Period

• tile divided horizontally which shows two scenes • above: a stream of duck, fish, lotuses and two hunters on the bank shooting at flying ducks • below: five men harvest grains while the sixth man brings lunch • lively and naturalistic depiction of human and animal figures • recessing space is to indicate the diminishing size of animals and plants • the land on the top seems to be extending diagonally behind the hunters

Scenes of Hunting (above) and Harvesting (below) - Rubbing of Earthenware Tile - Chengdu, Sichuan - Eastern Han Dynasty

• typical elongated style • fear-free and wish-granting mudra and ushnisha • facial features consists of long square face, long neck, and slender shoulder • garment is more like Chinese court official's costume, with multiple layers of drapery falling over the knees and hanging down below the legs • there are two new Buddhist monk images with a size that is smaller than the Bodhisattvas but were put immediately next to Buddha • believed to be the two monks who introduced Buddhism to China • this depiction recognizes their contribution in the process of introduction • hierarchical order because of the sizes of sculptures

Seated Buddha (with Attendants) - Limestone - Middle Cave of Binyang, Longmen Caves - ca. 523 A.D. - Northern Wei Dynasty

• belonged to royal family, we know by looking at inscription • lost-wax process, molten bronze replaces a wax model inside a solid clay casting • first make an exact clay model, then when it hardens press soft clay against it, then fired to become the units of the mold, surface of model is shaved down to become the core of the cold, the walls of the bronze vessels would exactly equal in thickness layer • bronze derives from lacquer-painted wooden prototypes • four-square vessel, as if made of boards of wood • painted decoration • peglike legs • loop handles on the sides • motifs are easy to read and unusual • main mask is a deer head framed with little dragon-like monsters • on long sides, makes are flanked by two hook-beaked birds (owls)

Square Ding - Ritual Food Vessel - Bronze - Inscribed "Fu Hao" - Consort of the 4th Anyang King, Wu Ding - Anyang phase - Late Shang Period

• one band of motifs with raised out lines

Style I - Max Loehr's Five Styles of Shang Bronzes

• one band of motifs with whole band sticks out

Style II - Max Loehr's Five Styles of Shang Bronzes

• motifs covers much of the surface instead of a band

Style III - Max Loehr's Five Styles of Shang Bronzes

• cut in lines of water patterns • covers the whole vase

Style IV - Max Loehr's Five Styles of Shang Bronzes

• raised out lines of more water and spiral patterns • covers the whole vase

Style V - Max Loehr's Five Styles of Shang Bronzes

• formal and static style, background is cut away to create all-important silhouette in extremely low relief • shows two separate scenes • below: a procession of chariots, mounted men, footmen moves to the left • above: a realistic scene of political homage inside the pavilion on the right • ancient legend is being enacted around the tree on the left • Fusang tree has a stylized, late Zhuo form, with natural leaf forms as a decorative pattern • some overlapping suggests space, however there is no indication of depth in this scene • everything is treated as if on one plane • no figures are shown in three-quarter view • whole effect is archaic

The Archer Yi, the Fushan Tree, and Reception in a Mansion, Rubbing of Stone Relief - the Wu Family Shrines (Wu Liang Ci), Jiaxiang, Shandong - Eastern Han Dynasty

• during his ruling, he made currency, writing system, and the measurement system • at least 7000 life sized clay figures of warriors, horses, wooden chariots in a military formation • there are court officials, civilian functionaries suggesting a replica of the imperial court • symbolically guarding the tomb • all of the figures are facing east • over 200 different types of body parts, so it was unique and individualized • material of fired gray clay • modeled with the same realism, naturalistic representation of human body • headdresses of the warriors are depicted in specific detail • excavated figures definitively embody the realistic tendencies of preceding sculptural style and established a standard hardly achieved by the succeeding tomb sculptures • eyes and head shape was similar to the local people of the region • a man-made hill/mountain on top of tomb • tomb remained unopened f

Tomb Pit with Earthenware Burial Army - Tomb of the First Emperor of Qin (Qinshi Huangdi) - Lishan, Lintong, Shaanxi - c. 210 B.C. - Qin Dynasty

• one-corner Ma • half-side Xia: only use bottom part of the composition • axe-cut strokes • more ink wash • empty space for background • less control and complexity in organization • textures of trees are undifferentiated • emphasis on silhouette and projection shapes into blank silk • combines sharp and crystalline brushwork in mountains and rocks with same silhouette of tree foliage

Xia Gui - Pure and Remote View Over Rivers and Mountains (detail) - undated - Southern Song Dynasty - Handscroll - Ink on paper

• heavy reliance on open paper and superb brushwork • produce a work with only barest pictorial existence with emphasis on writing of the brush • tries to trace back to earlier times • landscape element • horizontal composition • two mountains and rural area • hemp fiber texture strokes in trees and mountains • inscriptions written by Qing Emperor to show appreciation to the artist's work

Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) - Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains - Yuan Dynasty - 1296 - Hand scroll - Ink and color on paper - National Palace Museum, Taipei