CHINESE ART

INTRODUCTION

 The original centre of Chinese culture was along the great

Yellow River which crosses the North China Plain, where
stable settlements have dated back to at least 4000 BCE.
 Chinese artists mastered numerous forms of visual art,
including: 
 Chinese Pottery, jade carving, and other types of
metalworking and jewellery art;
 bronzes (mainly ceremonial vessels);
 Buddhist sculpture and secular terracotta
sculpture(exemplified by the Chinese Terracotta Army); 
 Chinese painting and
 calligraphy; as well as crafts such as lacquerware.
 China is dated by its Dynasties, a word which has been
coined by western historians from the Greek root for
"power, force or domination." 
 The different types of art in China developed according to the interest and
patronage of each dynasty, as well as the whims of regional rulers. Trade
relations with its East Asian neighbours was also an important stimulus in the
development of Chinese visual arts, notably pottery and lacquerwork.
 - Xia Dynasty (2100-1700 BCE)
- Shang Dynasty (1700-1050)
- Zhou Dynasty (1050-221) [inc. Warring States Period 475-221]
- Qin Emperor and 3-year Dynasty (221-206)
- Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)
- Six Dynasties Period (220-589)
- Sui Dynasty (589-618)
- Tang Dynasty (618-906)
- Five Dynasties Period (907-60) [military rulers held power]
- Song Dynasty (960-1279)
- Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
- Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
- Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
 Metaphysical, Daoist Aspect
Chinese society has always placed great importance on
understanding the pattern of nature and co-existing
with it.
 Nature was perceived as the visible manifestation of
God's creativity, using the interaction of
the yin (female) and yang (male) life forces.
 The main aim of Chinese art turned to the expression of
human understanding of these life forces, in a variety of
art forms, including painting (notably that of
landscapes, bamboo, birds, and flowers), pottery, relief
sculpture and the like.
 Moral, Confucian Aspect
Chinese art also had social and moralistic functions. The
earliest mural paintings, for instance, portrayed
benevolent emperors, wise ministers, loyal generals, as
well as their evil opposites, as an example and a
warning to observers.
 Inspirational But Not Essentially Religious
Court painters were frequently commissioned to depict
auspicious and memorable events, but high religious
painting is unknown in Chinese art.
 Thus overly realistic subjects such as war, death,
violence, martyrdom or even the nude, were avoided.
Symbolism in Chinese Visual
Art
 Chinese art is packed with specific symbols: 
 bamboo represents a spirit which can be bent by
circumstance but not broken; 
 jade represents purity;
 a dragon often symbolizes the emperor;
 the crane, long life; a pair of ducks, fidelity in
marriage.
 Plant symbols include: the orchid, another symbol of
purity and loyalty; and the pine tree, which symbolizes
endurance. 
 Chinese Painting

 Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form

of Chinese painting.
 They also consider the three concepts of their
arts: Nature, Heaven and Humankind (Yin-
Yang).
 The Han court eunuch, Cai Lun, invented the paper in
the 1st Century AD it provided not only a cheap and
widespread medium for writing but painting became
more economical.
 Chinese art expresses the human understanding of the
relationship between nature and human.
 This might be called the metaphysical, Daoist aspect
of Chinese painting.
 Painting subjects and Theme
1. Flowers and birds
2. Landscapes
3. Palaces and Temples
4. Human Figures
5. Animals
6. Bamboos and Stones
Subjects
Traditional Chinese paintings can be classified
according to subject matter into
 figure paintings,
 landscapes and
 flower-and-bird paintings.
Landscapes represent a major category in
traditional Chinese painting, mainly depicting
the natural scenery of mountains and rivers.
 6 Principles
 To make your painting interesting and realistic apply
these Six Principles of Chinese Painting established
by Xie He, a writer, art historian and critic in 5th
century China.
 1. Observe rhythm and movements
 2. Leave spaces for the eyes to rest
 3. Use brush in calligraphy
 4. Use colors correctly
 5. Live up to tradition by copying the master’s
artwork.
 6. Copy the correct proportion of the objects and
nature.
Forms & Subjects

The principal forms of traditional Chinese painting are

 hanging scroll 挂轴 ,
 album of paintings 画册 ,
 fan surface 扇面 and
 long horizontal scroll.
HANGING SCROLLS
 Hanging scrolls are both
horizontal and vertical
（横披 / 立轴） . They are
mounted and hung on the
wall.
 For an album of paintings
the artist paints on a
certain size of xuan paper,
then binds a number of
paintings into an album,
convenient for storage.
FOLDING FANS

 The surface of both folding fans and

round fans is painted.
 they used fans made of bamboo strips
pasted with paper or silk.
 In time this developed into a form of
painting that has been handed down to
the present. Folding fans, usually
made of paper, are used by men,
while round fans, generally of silk, are
used by women.
HAND SCROLL
 The long horizontal scroll is also called a hand
scroll （手卷） . It is less than fifty centimetres
high, but several to a hundred metres long.
 A hundred or a thousand human figures can be
portrayed in one painting. After being mounted,
it can be appreciated section by section.
 Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival (Qingming
Festival, when Chinese people visit ancestral
tombs, falls on April 5 or 6 each year) is a
famous horizontal scroll from the Song Dynasty
(960 -1279). The painting is 52.5 centimetres
long.
 Brush techniques
 The use of ink
 The use of color
Tools & Materials

 Brushes
 Ink and Pigments
 Paper and silk
 Ink Slab
 Color-mixing tray
 Brush wash utensil
Celebrities

 Gu Kaizhi -- Originator of Painting （ East Jin Dynasty ）

•Wu Daozi, Sage in Chinese Painting

 Gu Kaizhi （顾恺之）
 Gu Kai zhi(346-407), was a painter of the Eastern Jin
Dynasty. He was so talented that he was not only good
at poems but also at painting, especially the paintings
of portraits, historical figures, birds, animals and
landscapes as well.
 He is considered by many the greatest and the father of
landscape painting ( 山水画 ).

Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies

( 女史箴图 )

Ode to the Luo Goddess （洛神赋图）

His famous works
Ladies of Virtues （列女仁智图）
Ode to the Luo Goddess （洛
神赋图）
 The painting depicts the meeting between
Cao Zhi and the Goddess Luoshen at
Luoshui River, vividly capturing the mood
of their first meeting and eventual
separation.
 Gu emphasized his subjects' expressions,
with the stones, mountains and trees
having an ornamental purpose. Gu's
paintings, which greatly influenced later
traditional Chinese paintings, are similar
in style to the Dunhuang murals.
Riverside Scenes at Qingming Festival
《清明上河图》
 Riverside Scenes at Qingming Festiva is a marvelous hand-
scroll of 5.25 meters in length and 0.24 meter in height by
Zhang Zeduan （张择端） , a master painter.
 It is a minute depiction of the scenery and life along a river in
Bianliang （卞粱） , the capital of Northern Song, on the day
of Tomb Sweeping Festival.
 This masterpiece is painted in ink with light colors and is full
of surprising details.
 This painting also vividly depicts water, bridge, boats, streets,
markets, carts, crowds and human figures.
 It is not only a wonderful work or art but also an invaluable
record of history.
Riverside Scenes at Qingming Festival
《清明上河图》
Riverside Scenes at Qingming
Festival
《清明上河图》
Riverside Scenes at Qingming
Festival
《清明上河图》
Tang Yan’s Work
唐寅作品（明）

函光雪霁图
Tang Yan’s Work
　
唐
寅
作
品
CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

 Calligraphy, or the art of writing, was the visual art

form prized above all others in traditional China.
 The genres of painting and calligraphy emerged
simultaneously, sharing identical tools—namely, brush
and ink.
 Yet calligraphy was revered as a fine art long
before painting; indeed, it was not until the Song
dynasty, when painting became closely allied with
calligraphy in aim, form, and technique, that painting
shed its status as mere craft and joined the higher ranks
of the fine arts
 Three main types of roofs in
traditional Chinese architecture
 inclined -more economical for common
Straight
Chinese architecture .
 Multi-inclined -Roofs with two or more sections
of incline. These roofs are used for residences
of wealthy Chinese.
 Sweeping -has curves that rise at the corners of
the roof. These are
usually reserved for temples and palaces.
 Peking Opera

 Peking opera face-painting or Jingju Lianpu is done with

different colors in accordance with the performing characters’
personality and historical assessment.
 Lianpu is called the false mask.
 MEANING OF COLORS FOR FACE
PAINTING

 Guan Ju - Red indicates devotion, courage, bravery,

uprightness and loyalty.
  Huang Pang - Yellow signifies fierceness, ambition and cool-
headedness.
 Zhu Wen - A green face tells the audience that the character
is not only impulsive and violent, he also lacks self-restraint.
 Zhang Fei - Black symbolizes roughness and fierceness. The
black face indicates either a rough and bold character or an
impartial and selfless personality. 
 Lian Po - Purple stands for uprightness and cool-
headedness.
While a reddish purple face indicates a just and noble
character.
  Cao Cao - white suggests treachery, suspiciousness and
craftiness. It is common to see the white face of the
powerful villain on stage.
 Jiang Gan - The clown or chou in Chinese Opera has special
makeup patterns called xiaohualian (the petty painted
face). Sometimes a small patch of chalk is painted around
the nose to show a mean and secretive character.
 Gold and silver colors are usually used for gods and spirits.
 Paper Cutting
 Chinese paper cuttings are usually symmetrical in design when
unfolded and adapt the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac as
themes and motifs and mostly choose the red color.
 The earliest use of paper was made as a pattern for lacquers,
decoration on windows, doors, and walls.
 Jianzhi is the first type of paper cutting design, since
paper was invented by the Chinese.
 They are sometimes referred to "chuāng huā", meaning
Window Flower.
Chinese Kite
 Chinese Kites originated in WeiFang, Sandong, China (City of
Kites)
 Chinese kites may be differentiated into four main categories:
1. Centipede
2. Hard-Winged Kites
3. Soft-Winged Kites
4. Flat Kites
 Knot Tying
 Zhongguo is the Chinese decorative
handicraft art that began as a form of
Chinese folk art in the Tang and Song
Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in China.