UNIT II

EAST ASIAN
ARTS
CHINESE ARTS
Important Aspects in
East Asian Paintings
• Landscape Painting
–highest form of Chinese
painting
– (Yin-Yang): Heaven, Earth
and Humankind
YIN YANG
Dark/ Moon Light/ Bright/ Sun
Recessive/
Strong/ Assertive
Nurturing
Damp/ Cool/ Water Dry/ Hot/ Fire

Female Male

Negative Charge Positive Charge

Earth Heaven
Autumn and Winter Spring and
Summer
–Silk is used as the medium
but it is expensive
– Cai Lun invented paper
which is cheap and
economical
– Chinese art understanding
the between nature and
humans
– evident in the form of
painting with bamboo, birds,
and flowers, etc.
Chinese Calligraphy
• calligraphy
–art of beautiful handwriting
–brush dipped in black or
colored ink.
– Poets write their calligraphy
in paintings
• Chinese logographs
– ancient writing symbols are
written on animal bones and
turtle shells
– they are called jiaguwen
– Cangjie (legendary inventor of
Chinese writing)
Main Types of Roofs in
Chinese Architecture
Straight inclined:

• Roofs with a single incline.

These are the most
economical and most
common constructions.
Multi-inclined

• Roofs with two or more

sections of incline.
Residences of wealthy
Chinese family
Sweeping

• Roofs with a sweeping

curvature that rises at the
corners of the roof. Usually
reserved for temples and
palaces. The roof are usually
highly decorated with ceramic
figurines.
WOODBLOCK PRINTING
Woodblock Printing
• Technique for printing
text, images or patterns
• Originated in China for
paper printing
Ukiyo-e
• Most popular style of
Japanese printing art
• “pictures of the floating
world”