Ting

The Chinese made many things including paintings, these paintings included such ideas as everyday work, powerful scenes, etc. I have chosen a painting from Chinese times that is called, “Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk”. During this essay I am going to “dissect” the history and the many ideas circulating around this painting.

The Sichuan Qin Player (fig. 1) stands twenty-five inches tall by sixteen inches wide by eleven and a half inches deep; she is also under life-size. This seated female statue is made of red clay that has faded into a dark grayish-yellow color. On top of the female, lies a flower headdress. The headdress

For this first paper assignment I have chosen to write my essay on The Funerary Model of a Pig Sty. This artwork takes place in Ancient China around c. 2nd century BCE. It was designed and used within the Han Dynasty early in China’s history. These clay models like the pig sty and other burial goods had a hand in furthering the development of Chinas cultural heritage and beliefs. Within this paper I will be discussing my chosen MIA artwork, works that are similar but different to this artwork, and also how all three works, although all different, have the same purpose for what they have been made for. Then finally touching on how the context of the piece can change based on its surroundings.

The Tang and Song dynasties have been regarded as the “golden age” of arts and literature, setting the bar high for poetry, landscape painting, and ceramics. When international merchants brought their poetry, the Chinese invention of paper and block printing made poetry widely available in the Tang dynasty. They also invented new styles of ceramics and metalwork, influenced by

Martin Robertson and Mary Beard’s manuscript, Adopting an Approach, focuses on the study of Athenian pottery. The manuscript begins, by describing Sir John Beazley and his revolutionary method of studying Greek vases. The Beazley Method focuses on the technical conventions of Greek Vases such as naming the artist, dating the pieces and then grouping them based off of similar characteristics. Beazley “provided for the first time a comprehensive framework of analysis for Athenian painting, and a way of dating and classifying.” (Pg. 16) However, what Beard’s main argument suggests is that it is not the artists that help us understand the importance of the vases because even if a vase is assigned to a specific time period or artist, there is

Famous Chinese Poet, Tu Fu advocates appreciating the loveliness one could be surrounded by while it exists because he believes beauty may not earn its deserved value. The poet was born into a life of wealth and familial connections until his life was changed by a rebellion in 755. When the T’ang dynasty’s days of glory came to an end, the artist spent his days on the road. Towards the end of his life, Tu Fu was in poor health and suffering from many hardships. Tu Fu’s poems reflected his life; he did not appreciate the luscious life he had until it was gone, and Tu Fu’s work was not appreciated until he passed away (Elements of Literature 873). Tu Fu’s “Jade Flower Palace” utilizes figurative language and sound devices to portray his negative feelings of uncertainty about the future.

Yue’s text challenges traditional studies that tend to focus on colonial aspects and focus on more of a “socially, culturally, and politically based discussion.” Through this direction she explores how theatres, gardens, print shops, and refugee intellectuals influenced Shanghai to become the “Paris of the East.” One of her most important discussions is how influential the printing industry was on the society through producing the guidelines for primary education. This discussion exposes how various external factors could play roles in industries that may not be normally connected. This idea can also be tied

Here in California we are constantly exposed to the richness and grandiose of Chinese culture from buildings inspired by Han Dynasty architecture to simply the material of silk first utilized in China during the second millennium BCE. Growing up in a place with so much Chinese influence has broadened my understanding on such a unique style and heritage.

The Qingming handscroll depicts a bustling Chinese city prior to the late twelfth century. The scroll’s starting scenes are of a beautiful landscape, and the city’s level of activity is first conveyed in the bridge scene of sections 13 and 14. Through close analysis of this scene, it seems that the artist’s perspective in this scroll is an idealistic rather than realistic one, portraying things as they should be rather than as they are. This can be seen in his choices to depict an all-male crowd, to portray an unrealistically spotless road, and to highlight the coordinated actions of those on an off-course boat.

The collaboration of the Chinese and the Jesuits can be found in art since the Kangxi period (康熙帝, r.1654-1722) in Qing China, and continued throughout the Yongzheng period (雍正帝, r.1722 - 1735) as well. Although the purpose of the missionaries was the spread their religion in China, the Kangxi emperor was quick to realise that some of them were good artists. He being a progressive thinker, thought it would be a good way to introduce his court artists, the Han Chinese court painters (artisans), to new styles and techniques of painting from the west. This might have been his way of glorifying his rule, and at the same time, embellish the palace with new forms of art. The Jesuits had perfect knowledge of various techniques previously unknown to the Chinese artists; the depiction of light and shade to suggest volume, theories of colour, the anatomy of the human body, and a scientific perspective of the art of drawing and painting.

Zhang Zeduan’s masterpiece depicts the landscape of his hometown, Kaifeng and the life of its people during the Song dynasty. Nearly 500 years later, Qiu Ying portrayed his hometown Suzhou in a similar way, but in his version, the scenes are different to the original version. Compared to Zhang, Qiu Ying added more blue-and-green landscape patterns, and the feeling of the artisan is not strong in this work. The most important thing is that both artists show different visual perspectives of the culture and customs of the city.

A landscape painter “tended to be a recluse, an individualist, and a Daoist (Morton and Lewis 2005).” These artists thought of landscape painting as the “grandest and most satisfying way to represent nature as a whole, to feel a sense of communion with nature, and to know oneself to be part of an orderly cosmos (Morton and Lewis 2005).” Thus, one can see the implications of landscape painting lay not just in its beauty and simplicity, but also in its spiritual connection with Nature, and thus had wide appeal. The point of view in landscape painting was also of paramount importance. The Chinese artists understood that Western artists took in scenes from five or six feet from the ground. Chinese artists worked from a raised viewpoint, so that they are not bogged done by small details in the front and get a better sense of the whole scene (Morton and Lewis 2005). Every part of the image that is created has its own innate interest, and yet it all comes together and works well as a whole (Morton and Lewis 2005). It is clear that landscape painting was a cherished and important art form in Song Dynasty culture.

Especially after visiting the NARC, designed by I.M. Pei, I received a strong feeling of the Chinese garden principles and philosophy. As you mentioned, the Closeness

Chinese culture and art flourished in many ways during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Scholar-painters (Southern School), also known as the literati, thrived in many artistic aspects during this period, largely changing the creative world of imperial China. The medium of choice for these artists was a brush, monochromatic ink, and various scrolls. The intentions of the literati painters weren’t to illustrate environments realistically; instead they were more focused on producing art in ways to express their opinions and views. Some artwork was formed near nonrepresentational.

Coming to the United States for college from China was already quite eye-opening to me. The study abroad program to Italy opened up my horizon even more – I designed a memorial hall dedicated to the Nanking Massacre during WWII, and the moment that a dozen architects coming from Chinese, American, Italian, and other European backgrounds got together and shared their intelligent thoughts on the project really struck me. There were so many cultural and intellectual sparks colliding, and I felt substantial potential there. This is why I decided to take a summer off and travel around China to see different architectures and educate myself. Being a resident of three diverse environments has enabled me to integrate into other cultures, discover how they understand buildings, and imagine the greater potential for our built environment.