Chinese Art
The journey of ten thousand years
“Calligraphy is the Chinese art par excellence, and all the other arts derive from it. Some in a formal sense, because the first written characters were models of the forms in ceramics and bronze. Others in the aesthetic sense, poetry and painting, which took from calligraphy the sense of abstraction, emptiness and the value of suggestion implicit in all of them“
Isabel Cervera, art historian.
Images: Houmuwu Ding, also known as Simuwu Ding (wine vessel). Shang Dynasty (c. 1300 – 1046 BC). Height 133 cm. Photo by Mlogic ·· Terracotta Army. Han Dynasty (210–209 BC). Photo by Jmhullot ·· Zhang Zeduan: “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” (detail) (1085–1145) ·· An enamel falangcai pouch-shaped glass vase, Qianglong (1693-1705). Image via www.sothebys.com
As in the case of India, China is a millenary culture that spread over a wide geographical area, creating an outstanding artistic production in terms of quantity and variety, while maintaining a remarkable continuity. Due to its geographical location, it had little or no influence from other great ancient civilisations.
The archaic Chinese civilization, “like the Babylonian or the Egyptian under the Pharaohs, was pre-eminently a land civilization, based on the tilling of the soil. All three possessed an alluvial soil, annually made fertile by the river flood” (Rene Grousset: “Chinese Art and Culture”, 1959). The Yellow River or Huang He was, like the Nile in Egypt, or the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the place where Chinese civilisation developed, the river being both revered and feared because of its frequent and destructive droughts. The broad geographical setting of Chinese culture, the variety of landscapes and climates, and the wealth of natural resources ensured that Chinese artists could use a wide range of materials.
While the oldest works of Chinese art are the ceramic from the Yangshao and Peiligang cultures, the bronzes created during the Bronze Age (Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties) are the true first masterpieces of Chinese art. Thus, “Chinese bronze metal casting preceded that of any other civilization and is noted for its artistic sophistication and technical virtuosity.” (British Museum, “Chinese Art”). Jade, which began to be used during the Liangzhu culture (3400-2200 B.C.), was also a coveted material, reaching a high point during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
Porcelain artists from the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods created some of the most coveted and well-known Chinese works of art. Chinese painting and calligraphy, for its importance and interest, is dealt with in a separate essay on this website.
After the end of the Qing Dynasty, modern art in China showed more influences from the Western world. After the disruption caused by the Cultural Revolution, contemporary Chinese art includes painting, sculpture, photography, film, video and performance, and its appreciation is growing both inside and outside China.
G. Fernández · www.theartwolf.com
Follow us on:
