Name: Minh Nguyen

Class: ARHI-372
Instructor: Goebel. C

EXAM #2: CHINA

I. TERMS:
1. Chan Buddhism: a major Chinese Buddhist sect attributed to Bodhidharma that
emphasizes attaining Buddhahood, the supreme Buddhist religious goal, through
enlightenment of one's own mind.
2. Sinicized: to make Chinese in character or bring under Chinese influence.
3. Daoism: an ancient Chinese belief system which emphasizes harmony with the natural,
balanced order of the universe.
4. Pan Gu: a horned and hairy beast considered to be the first living being in the universe.
5. Repousse: a relief process, sometimes called modeling, makes full use of the malleability
of metal to push and pull it into relief.
6. Bi: a type of circular ancient Chinese jade artifact. It may have been a symbol of heaven
or of the sun. It was commonly used by nobles as a ceremonial utensil during sacrifices to
the gods and to ancestors; during funerary rites, it was often placed in the mouth of a
dead person.
7. Bracketing: Chinese traditional wooden architecture, so that the natural color on its
surface had long been faded, however, the marvelous sculptures on it have always been
suggesting that the lives of the ancients and it is the fantastic designs, exquisite carving
skills.
8. Oracle Bones: Oracle bones are parts of animal bone, used in divination ceremonies in
ancient China. They are often made from either the shoulder bone of an ox, or the lower
side of a tortoise’s shell (known as the plastron).
9. Qi yun: painter should invest his work with life and movement through harmony with the
soul of nature.
10. Tao-tie: a motif commonly found on Chinese ritual bronze vessels from the Shang and
Zhou dynasty. The design typically consists of a zoomorphic mask, described as being
frontal, bilaterally symmetrical, with a pair of raised eyes and typically no lower jaw
area.

II. SLIDES COMPARISON:

1. On the left side of the slide is the fairy mountain incense burner (Boshan Xianglu), which
was created since the Western Han (2nd century B.C.E). It is considered a typical
innovation of this period. This was incense burners in the form of mountain peaks rising
over waves, symbolizing the abode of the Immortals. Molded with a conical lid, the
censors were designed to look like miniature mountains. The more elaborately created forms
consolidate imagery of trees, wild creatures, and people among the scene. The scented smoke
is vented through gaps within the lid, making a scene reminiscent of clouds swirling around a
mountain. On the other side is the painting of Li Zhaodao (China, ca.675-c.750) which uses
ink and colors to paint on silk called Ming Huang’s Journey to Shu. This is truly a blue and
 green landscape, created using mostly azurite and green malachite. The lower part of the
silk shows a “friendly” landscape dotted with the figures of the riders and the trees. Over
them, the impressive Sichuan Mountains dominate the scene, some of them emerging
from the fog, a typical feature of Chinese painting. During this period of art, landscape
was a key element. These two are different since one is an artifact and the other is a
painting but both of them are important to the history as well as culture of China.
2. On the left side of the slide is a painted pottery from Yangshao culture dated around
5000-3000 B.C. Yangshao people lived in settled villages, had set graveyards for their
dead, and developed exquisite handicrafts and pottery. Yangshao pottery is so distinct
among the regional cultures of Neolithic China that the culture itself is often referred to
as the “Painted-pottery Culture.” This jar is a beautiful example of highly decorated
pottery that was most likely used for funerary or ritual purposes. This vessel is a
round-bottomed yellow earthenware jar with red and black painted geometric designs.
The vessel has a repeating pattern of prominent X marks surrounded by red and black
circles. People in this culture believe that one will have an after life so they want to send
these pottery into graves so that the dead can reuse it in their after life. On the other side
is the painting from the Han Dynasty (25-220 CE) called “Men in conversation”. This is a
Chinese painting on a ceramic tile from a tomb near Luoyang, Henan province. In the
painting, I can notice the great distinction between rich and poor. Han gentlemen sport
luxurious silk gowns as they engage in sophisticated conversation. Wealthy individuals
and ruling elites commonly dressed in silk, but peasants and others of the lower classes
rarely if ever donned silk garments. Both of these reflect the truth of how the culture of
China has actually worked in the past.
3. On the left side of the slide is a bronze sculpture of Shakyamuni and Prabhutaratna (518
CE). In this sculpture I can see the uses of bronze in supporting buddhism since few
bronze was survived in this period of time. The two seated figures, Shakyamuni and the
Buddha of the past, both have a mandorla, or a flame. Sculptor transformed the
Gandhara-derived style of earlier Chinese Buddhist art. The bodies have elongated
proportions, pose with one leg folded and other hanging down, relaxed pose, and easy
communication. On the other side is the lidded ritual wine ewer which is also called
“guang” in the form of a tiger, owl, and water bird (ca. 1300-1200 BCE). If we look at it
from the right toward the left, we can see the shape of the handle on the right side seems
to take the shape of the head of a bird and we can follow the neck down. Moving our eyes
toward the left, we can see a curled up wing with feathers extending toward the left. In
contrast, if we look from left to right, we can see some sort of a smiling tiger which also
looks like a taotie. Finally, looking from the top of the guang, there is a face of an owl.
4. On the left side of the slide is the sculpture of a kneeling archer (221-206 B.C, Qin
Dynasty). Based on this figure’s gestures, we can assume that he was an archer, whose
original weapon—a crossbow— is now lost. He is the only figure on view here that still
bears traces of color, indicating that he was once vividly painted (see the red of his armor
 laces and the black of his collar). Chemical analysis suggests the use of mineral pigments
such as cinnabar, azurite, malachite, bone or lead white, and an artificially produced
mineral pigment. On the other side is a figure of musicians on camelback (618-906, Tang
Dynasty). This figure depicts five musicians sitting on a tall camel, fitted with a saddle
and large pieces of cloth hanging from either side. These included musicians, actors,
court jesters, attendants. These pottery figures are vibrant illustrations of the
entertainments and fashions of the time.

III. ATTRIBUTION:
1. Travelers among Mountains and Streams by Fan Kuan - Song Dynasty(960-1279)
I think this work is from the same time period with the work from the slide for multiple
reasons:
- Ink and light colors were used to paint on silk on both of these works
- The signature idea of this time period are shown in both of these works
- It seems like both of these works were using the same technique such as using a
brush.
2. Crouching tiger jade - Shang Dynasty (c.1600 - 1046 BCE)
I think this work is from the same time period with the work from the slide for multiple
reasons:
- Both of these two have the same concept
- They are both jade pendants

IV. ESSAY:
A common tool used for thousands of years in China, the Chinese ink brush is a classic
representative of the nation's traditional culture. Characters drawn using these brushes have been
discovered on oracle bones and jade vessels dating back to as early as the Shang Dynasty
(C.1600-1046 BC). Chinese art has a strong tradition of painting and the associated art of
calligraphy. One of the earliest forms was the painting of Chinese pottery, as exemplified by the
so-called Painted Pottery cultures during the era of Neolithic art, the last phase of the Stone Age.
For details, see, for instance, Neolithic Art in China (c.7500-2000 BCE), as well as the Bronze
Age period exemplified by Shang Dynasty Art (c.1600-1000 BCE) and Zhou Dynasty Art
(1050-221 BCE), whose traditions and practices were handed on to Qin Dynasty Art (221-206
BCE) and Han Dynasty Art (206 BCE - 220 CE), which witnessed the first examples of Chinese
porcelain, around 100 CE. Compared to Western art, Chinese painting is more concerned with
water based techniques, rather than oils or acrylics. In addition, Chinese painting is traditionally
more stylized, more abstract and less realistic than Western types. It also emphasizes the
importance of white space and may be said to favour landscape painting over portrait art, or
figure painting. Traditional Chinese painting is similar to calligraphy - which itself is considered
to be the highest form of painting - and is executed with a brush (made of animal hair) dipped in
black ink (made from pine soot and animal glue) or coloured ink. Oils are not generally used.
The most popular type of media is paper or silk, but some paintings are done on walls or lacquer
work. The completed artwork may then be mounted on scrolls, which are hung or rolled up just
like those paintings from the Han Dynasty for example “Travelers among Mountains and
Streams by Fan Kuan”. Alternatively, traditional painters may paint directly onto album sheets,
walls, Chinese lacquerware, folding screens, and other media. A great deal of what we know of
the ancient art of Chinese painting derives from burial sites from the late Iron Age onwards
(c.450 BCE). These tomb paintings were done on silk banners, various lacquered objects, and
walls. Their primary function was to protect the dead or assist their souls on their journey to
paradise.

EXTRA CREDIT:
After watching the childhood life of Weiwei, I can clearly see that he was born in a time when
China suffered from heavy change in the system which is also a reason why he moved to the US
for more opportunities. Weiwei’s practice of painting over and dropping Han Dynasty pottery
vessels made him get beaten up and locked down by the government. In a certain perspective, he
can be considered to be disrespectful to the history of his own home country when destroy such
things. However, when we know more about his personality and all the works he did in his entire
life, he always stands for the rights of humans which made him hate the old dynasty of China so
much. He just wants to erase everything from the past and create a new world with equality.