AFmag.net

Chinese Art

shaowei'sfan 24 May 2007 Chinese Culture 24 views No Comment  Print This Post

Have you ever noticed ancient art and the intricacy of each piece? If you look closely at a piece, it is as if the soul of the artist is poured onto the canvas itself. How much time was spent on one piece? Was it hours or days on end? That is the beauty of ancient Chinese art. Chinese art varied throughout ancient history; it has been characterized by the different periods of dynastic rule and been greatly influenced by different religions and great philosophers and teachers.

The Standing Woman, by Tang Yin of Ming Dynasty

During the Shang Dynasty, men would make fascinating art while under the influence of drugs. The Shang Dynasty is mostly remembered for its casted bronze, especially for its clarity and detail. The Book of Songs, written by Chinese philosopher, Confucius, and Chinese poet and statesmen, Qu Yuan, greatly influenced music and poetry during this dynasty. Music was based on percussion instruments, which paved the way for string and reed instruments.

In the early imperialistic age, porcelain was introduced and later refined (in English, the word “china” has become synonymous with high-quality porcelain). Around 1st century AD, Buddhism made itself known within China (it was not popularized until the 8th century). Around this time, well-known Chinese poets (Cao Cao, Tao Qian, etc.) influenced Chinese poetry. It was also during this period that calligraphy and painting became highly appreciated within the higher courts, work was usually done on silk, before the invention of paper.

Chinese Calligraphy, Written poet Ming Fu of Song Dynasty

During the Tang Dynasty, China was particularly open to foreign influence, Buddhist architecture and sculpture thrived, and Chinese opera was introduced. However, towards the end of the Tang dynasty, all foreign religions were outlawed to make way for Taoism. This period was considered the ‘Golden Age’ for Chinese poetry. During this time, Li Po and Du Fu, the two greatest Chinese poets, composed their work. Paintings from the Tang Dynasty mainly consisted of landscape, which was to grasp emotion or atmosphere in order to catch the ‘rhythm of nature’.

Later on in the Song dynasty, poetry was marked by lyric poetry, known as Ci, in which it expressed feelings of desire. Paintings during this dynasty contained more subtle expression of landscapes through the usage of blurred outlines and mountain contours (this actually conveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment). Unlike the previous period, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather then emotional elements. Kunqu, the oldest extent of Chinese Opera, was developed during this time in Kunshan, present-day Shanghai.

Late imperial China is marked by the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Ming dynasty, Gao Qi was acknowledged as the greatest poet of the era. Artwork was perfected by color pairing and printing; compared to art in the Song dynasty, this dynasty had busier compositions and a wider range of color selection. During the Qing Dynasty, Beijing opera was brought in, and is still considered to be one of the best forms of opera. Yuan Mei marked the Qing poetry with its poetry described as having technical perfection, “unusually clear and elegant language”, and stressing the importance of personal feeling.

During the late Qing dynasty, under the efforts of masters from the Shanghai School, traditional Chinese art reached its peak, and continued into the present forms of Chinese painting, also known as Guo Hua. Twentieth-century Chinese art was heavily influenced by the New Culture Movement, which adopted Western techniques and introduced oil painting. During this time, poetry was influenced by the Cultural Revolution, although several poets attempted to resist the Cultural Revolution by incorporating pro-democratic themes.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...