Transcript china and korea to 1279

CHINA
AND KOREA
TO 1279
GARDNER 7-3
PP. 196-204
SONG DYNASTY

The Song Dynasty (Northern 9601126 and Southern 1129-1279)
began in 960 when Zhao Kuangyin
consolidated control and became
the first Song Emperor

The three centuries of Song rule
were a time of technological
innovation, centrally controlled
army and bureaucracy, and
problems with northern nomads
FAN KUAN

Detail of Travelers among Mountains and
Streams, Northern Song Period, early 11th
century, hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk

Song Dynasty is high point of Chinese
painting

Fan Kuan was a Daoist recluse and master of
landscape painting

One of the first masters of light, shade,
distance, and texture -> tributes to nature
not portraits of specific places

Vertical landscape with massive mountains
rising in background and tiny mule train in
lower right corner
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
Attributed to Huizong, Auspicious Cranes, Northern Song
Period, 1112, section of a handscroll, ink and colors on silk

CALLIGRAPHY = the art of writing, highly esteemed in China
throughout its history

This scroll is attributed to the Emperor Huizong and displays his
mastery as painter and calligrapher
HUIZONG
FOGUANG SI
PAGODA

View of Foguang Si Pagoda,
Yingxian, China, Liao dynasty, 1056

PAGODA = tower -> the building
type most associated with Buddhism
in China and East Asia

Pagodas housed Buddhist relics,
images, texts, and provided a focus
for devotion

This is the tallest wooden building in
the world -> nine story octagonal ->
beam-and-bracket construction
SOUTHERN SONG PERIOD
MA YUAN
Contrast this with
Fan Kuan’s Travelers
among Mountains
and Streams

LIANG KAI
Religious painting -> master of the expressive style of ink
painting -> found favor among Chan monks -> depicts the
“Chan moment” when the chopping sound of his blade
propelled the patriarch to enlightenment

ZHOU JICHANG
Painter of Buddhist themes -> hanging scroll called Lohans
Giving Alms to Beggars -> bright lohans above ragged
scrambling beggars

CHAN BUDDHISM

A new type of Buddhism
developed during the Song
Dynasty and second only to NeoConfucianism in importance

The means of enlightenment lies
within the individual -> meditation
is the key practice -> “Northern
School” said enlightenment came
slow after long
meditation/”Southern School” said
break through to enlightenment
can be sudden and spontaneous

Korea is a northeast Asian
peninsula that shares
borders w/China and Russia
and faces Japan

Korea is influenced by both
China and Japan

Korean art is based on
Chinese models but has a
distinct identity
KOREA
THREE KINGDOMS
PERIOD

Gold and jade crown, Three Kingdoms
Period, Silla Kingdom, Korea, 5th to 6th
century CE -> from a Silla tomb ->
evidence of the wealth of kingdom and
skill of artist -> uprights may be stylized
tree or antler forms symbolizing life and
supernatural power

The Three Kingdoms Period lasted from 57
BCE to 688 CE -> native kingdoms

During this period Korea was in contact
with both China and Japan

Buddhism was introduced to Korea from
China in the 4th century then the Koreans
spread it to Japan in the 6th century
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UNIFIED SILLA KINGDOM

Shakyamuni Buddha, in the rotunda
of the cave temple, Sokkuram,
Korea, Unified Silla 751-774 CE,
granite, 11” high

In 688 the Silla Kingdom conquered
the other two to create a Unified
Silla Kingdom which ruled from 688
to 935

Unlike the rock-cut Chinese shrines,
the Korean cave temple at
Sokkuram was constructed using
granite blocks -> dominating the
rotunda is huge statue of Buddha at
the moment of enlightenment
KORYO DYNASTY

Maebyong vase, Koryo dynasty, ca.
918-1000, Celadon with inlaid
decoration 16 ½ “ tall

KORYO DYNASTY 935-1261 CE ->
replaced the Great Silla w/out
conflict

In 1231, the Mongols, who had
invaded China, pushed into Korea
and in 1261 Korea submits to the
Mongols

CELADON = type of ceramic pottery
that features translucent ironpigmented glazes with
incised/engraved designs invented
by Koryo potters in the 12th century
CHAPTER 27 – CHINA AND KOREA
AFTER 1279

Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s
grandson, founded the Yuan
Dynasty and established a “Pax
Mongolica” that created an
environment for flourishing trade
after the chaos of the Mongolian
invasions -> 1279-1368

These vases, known as the David
Vases after a former owner who
reunited them in 1935, are among
the very earliest known blue and
white porcelain wares. They date
to the Yuan Dynasty, 1351arguably
the most important blue and white
porcelain to exist.
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CHINESE PORCELAIN

Porcelain ceramics, often simply referred
to as china, immediately conjure up
notions of a Chinese aesthetic and
artisanal tradition, and nothing seems
more quintessentially Chinese than the
blue and white patterns that decorate so
many porcelain wares’ surfaces.

What is undisputedly Chinese is the origin
of porcelain itself. It is created by firing
clay at extremely high temperatures,
between 1200—1400 degrees Celsius. This
process creates an exceptionally hard
and shiny ceramic ware that is able to
hold water, unlike other porous clay
wares.
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
painting depicts Sin Sukju (1417-75) as a
“meritorious subject,” or an official honored for
his distinguished service at court and loyalty to
the king

This painting shows Sin Sukju dressed in his official
robes with a black silk hat on his head

Although portraiture conventions, such as the
attire and posture of the sitter, were quite
formulaic, the facial features were painted with
the goal of transmitting a sense of unique,
physical likeness. This careful attention to the
sitter’s face, such as wrinkles and bone
structure, served the Korean belief that the face
could reveal important clues about the subject

Skilled in capturing the likeness of the sitter while
still adhering to pictorial conventions, artists in
the Royal Bureau of Painting (a government
agency staffed with artists) created portraits of
officials awarded this honorary title. These
paintings would be cherished by their families
and worshipped for generations to follow
MING DYNASTY (1368-1398)
FORBIDDEN CITY
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FORBIDDEN CITY – FRONT GATE
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206-2
FORBIDDEN CITY – HALL OF
SUPREME HARMONY
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206-3
FORBIDDEN CITY – THE PALACE OF
TRANQUILITY AND LONGEVITY
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FORBIDDEN CITY - PLAN
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#206-5
CHAIRMAN MAO EN ROUTE TO
ANYUAN
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#212