From the Mongols to the Modern: The Art of Later China and Korea
    
       
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  CHINA

Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)

Ancient Chinese culture laid the foundations for later East Asian civilization. Many elements of culture had attained a high level of development well before the end of the first millennium.

In 1279, the Song dynasty fell to the Mongol armies led by Kublai Khan (1215-1294), founder of the Yuan dynasty. The Mongols profoundly affected the country's culture, particularly the art of painting.

Guan Daosheng and Bamboo:

Gaun Daosheng was a renowned calligrapher, poet and painter of bamboo. Bamboo was a favorite subject of Chinese painters because the plant bends in adversity, but does not break. This is likened the perfect Chinese gentleman.

26-1: GUAN DAOSHENG, Bamboo Groves in Mist and Rain, Yuan dynasty, 1308. Section of a handscroll, ink on paper, 9 1/8" x 3' 8 7/8". National Palace Museum, Taibei.
  1. Another Handscroll
Wu Zhen and the Literati:

The celebrated Song poet, amateur painter, and statesman Su Dongpo (1036-1101) championed less polished efforts by scholar-amateurs over skillful representation. These new notions of value in painting continued to gain momentum during the Yuan dynasty. The scholar-amateurs painted primarily to express their moods, philosophical ideals, and religious beliefs.

In theory, the expressiveness of the brushwork makes literati paintings close to calligraphy. Training in calligraphy was fundamental to the education and self-cultivation of Chinese scholars and officials, and many literati paintings bear their inscriptions.

The paintings of WU ZHEN (1280-1354), including the bamboo for which he is famous, are softer and more relaxed than those of Huang Gongwang. The bamboo plant is a symbol of the ideal Chinese gentleman. The pattern of bamboo leaves, like calligraphic script, provided an opportunity to display brushwork proficiency.

26-2: WU ZHEN, Stalks of Bamboo by a Rock, Yuan dynasty, 1347. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 2' 11 1/2" x 1' 4 5/8". National Palace Museum, Taibei.
  1. Similar Wu Zhen Scroll
Textured mountains:

Literati painting reached maturity in the Yuan dynasty. Because many scholar-painters retreated to the provinces to avoid service under the Mongols, landscape became a more integral part of their environment. In Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, HUANG GONGWANG (1269-1354) replaced the misty atmosphere of the Southern Song landscapes with richly textured fibrous brush strokes that render the landscape's inner structure.

26-3: HUANG GONGWANG, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, Yuan dynasty, 1347-1350. Section of a handscroll, ink on paper, 1' 7/8" x 20' 9". National Palace Museum, Taibei.
  1. Another Example
  2. Another Example
  3. Another Example
Dragon and phoenix:

By the Yuan period, Chinese potters had extended their mastery to fully developed porcelains. A technically brilliant example is a temple vase with cobalt blue underglaze decoration from the Jingdezhen kilns. The elephant-head handles symbolize strength. Phoenixes and dragons may suggest the donor's high character or invoke prosperity blessings. The dragon and the phoenix can be imperial symbols, or may represent yang (active masculine energy) and ying (passive feminine energy), respectively.

26-4: Temple vase, Yuan dynasty, 1351. White porcelain with cobalt blue underglaze, 2' 1" x 8 1/8". Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London.
  1. Similar Example
  2. Similar Example
  3. Similar Example
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)

In 1368, a popular uprising drove out the Mongol rulers, and the native Ming dynasty ruled China. Court painting flourished and important regional schools emerged. The Ming court's patronage also gave new impetus to brilliant technical achievement in the decorative arts.

The Forbidden City:

The Taihe Dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), the Emperor's throne room and audience hall, is the centerpiece of the axial design of the "Forbidden City." A monumental example of the standard Chinese architectural style, it has a weighty, majestic formality appropriate for sacred imperial ceremonies. Repeating the design of Taihe Dian, symmetrically arranged auxiliary halls provided the imperial family's private quarters.		    
       
  26-5: Aerial view of the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Ming dynasty, fifteenth century and later.
  1. Forbidden City
  2. Forbidden City
  3. Forbidden City
  4. Forbidden City
  5. Forbidden City
The gardens of Suzhou:

Chinese gardens are scenic arrangements of natural and artificial elements that replicate uncultivated nature, producing a restorative effect on mind and spirit. The typical design, such as Wangshi Yuan (Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets), is a sequence of ever-changing vistas. Fantastic rockwork represents primitive nature, as at Liu Yuan (Lingering Garden). Chinese gardens are sanctuaries where people commune with nature as an ever-changing and boundless presence.

26-6: Wangshi Yuan (Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets), Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, Ming dynasty, sixteenth century and later.
  1. Wangshi Yuan
  2. Wangshi Yuan
  3. Wangshi Yuan
  4. Wangshi Yuan
  5. Wangshi Yuan
26-7: Liu Yuan (Lingering Garden), Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, Ming dynasty, sixteenth century and later.
  1. Liu Yuan
  2. Liu Yuan
  3. Liu Yuan
  4. Liu Yuan
  5. Liu Yuan
The Art of Lacquer:

After the Ming rulers came to power, the court established workshops to produce luxury goods. Lacquer art has flourished in China from ancient times. In a cinnabar-colored lacquer masterpiece from the Orchard factory, the artist carved floral motifs, along with the dragon and phoenix imperial emblems.

26-8: Table with drawers, Ming dynasty, ca. 1426-1435. Carved red lacquer on a wood core, 3' 11" long. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Lacquer Table
  1. Lacquer Table
  2. Lacquer Table
  3. Lacquer Table
Ming court painting:

At the Ming court, the official painters were housed in the Forbidden City itself, and portraiture of the imperial family was their major subject. The court artists also depicted historical figures as exemplars of virtue, wisdom, or heroism.

26-9: SHANG XI, Guan Yu Captures General Pang De, Ming dynasty, ca. 1430. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, 6' 5" x 7' 7". Palace Museum, Beijing.
  1. Guan Yu
Ming Literati:

One of the leading figures of the Ming Literati was Shen Zhou of the Wu School of painting.

26-10: SHEN ZHOU, Lofty Mount Lu, Ming dyansty, 1467. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, 6' 4 1/4" x 3' 2 5/8". National Palace Museum, Taibei.
  1. Lofty Mount Lu
  2. Lofty Mount Lu
  3. Lofty Mount Lu
  4. Lofty Mount Lu
  5. Lofty Mount Lu
Dong Qichang:

The influential critic, statesman, and artist DONG QICHANG (1555-1636) codified the distinction between scholar-amateur and academic-professional traditions. Dong's glorification of the Yuan period's literati school reflected his interest in old paintings, and his own works were true to his ideal of transforming old styles. He attempted to reveal the inner structure and momentum of nature, radically reorganizing forms without regard for natural scale and surface qualities.
  
       
 
 
       
       
  26-11: DONG QICHANG, Dwelling in the Qingbian Mountains, Ming dynasty, 1617. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 7' 3 1/2" x 2' 2 1/2". Cleveland Museum of Art.
  1. Similar Example
  2. Similar Example
  3. Similar Example
  4. Similar Example
Wen Shu and Fan Painting:

Wen Shu, daughter of an aristocratic Suzhou family and the wife of Zhao Jun,was probably the finest flower painter of the Ming erz.

26-12: WEN SHU, Carnations and Garden Rock, Ming dynasty, 1627. Fan, ink and colors on gold paper, 6 3/8" X 1' 9 1/4". Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911)

The Ming bureaucracy's internal decay permitted the Manchus to overrun China in the seventeenth century. Establishing the Qing dynasty, these northerners quickly adapted themselves to Chinese life. The early Qing emperors cultivated knowledge of China's arts, and the decorative arts especially flourished under their direction and patronage.

Primordial line:

Literati painting continued to flourish, but other painters experimented with individualized brushwork and bold compositions. SHITAO (Dao Ji, 1642-1707) called for a return to wellsprings of creativity through use of the "single brush stroke" or "primordial line." The figure in a hut is surrounded by the surging energy of dots and sinuous contour lines, which express the landscape's animating forces the prime focus of Chinese landscape art from the earliest times.

26-13: SHITAO, Man in a House beneath a Cliff, Qing dynasty, late seventeenth century. Album leaf, ink and colors on paper, 9 1/2" x 11". C.C. Wang Collection, New York.
  1. Similar Example
  2. Similar Example
  3. Similar Example
Jesuits at the Qing Court:

During the Qing dynasty, European Jesuit missionaries were familiar figures at the imperial court. Many were artists and were instrumental in introducing modern European (High Renaissance and Baroque) painting styles to China.

26-14: GIUSEPPE CASTIGLIONE (LANG SHINING), Auspicious Objects, Qing dynasty, 1724. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, 7' 11 3/8" x 5' 1 7/8". Palace Museum, Beijing.
  1. Giuseppe Castiglione
  2. Another Castiglione Scroll
Qing porcelain:

Qing potters, especially at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, expanded on the Yuan and Ming achievements in fine porcelain with underglaze and overglaze decoration. A dish with a lobed rim, decorated with positive symbols, exemplifies the latter technique in overglaze enamels. In the center are the three star gods of happiness, rank, and longevity, surrounded by symbols of long life.

26-15: Dish with lobed rim, Qing dynasty, ca. 1700. White porcelain with overglaze, 1' 1 5/8" diameter. The Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London.
  1. Another Example
  2. Another Example
Modern China (1912- Present)

Marxist art:

The Marxism that triumphed in 1949, when the Communists took control of China and founded the People's Republic, inspired a social realism that broke drastically with the past. The intended purpose of such art was to serve the people in the struggle to liberate and elevate the masses.

26-16: YE YUSHAN and others, Rent Collection Courtyard (detail of larger tableau), Dayi, Sichuan Province, China, 1965. Clay, approx. 100 yards long with life-size figures.
  1. Rent Collection Courtyard
  2. Rent Collection Courtyard
  3. Rent Collection Courtyard
  4. Rent Collection Courtyard
  5. Another Yushan Piece
A heavenly book:

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Chinese artists in touch with tradition emerged on the international scene. A large installation called A Book from Heaven by XU BING (b. 1955) presents wood-block-printed texts in invented characters that look Chinese. Producing them required an intimate knowledge of actual characters and extensive training in block carving.

26-17: XU BING, A Book from Heaven, 1988. Installation at Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1991. Movable-type prints and books.
  1. A Book from Heaven
  2. Similar Example
  3. Similar Example
  4. Similar Example
  5. Similar Example

  
 
 
       
       
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