East Asian Art

Art forms of China, Korea, and Japan share many cultural, philosophical, and religious associations. Over the course of centuries, artists of East Asian countries often depicted similar subject matter and employed similar media and stylistic approaches. Particularly important in the formation of these art forms were developments in China. Many artistic and technological advances first realized there, such as bronze and porcelain production, later spread to Korea and Japan, where artists altered the manufacturing processes to achieve new aesthetic effects. Buddhism was a leading force in shaping art during certain phases of East Asian history. As Chinese priests from different Buddhist movements spread their teachings to Korea and Japan, they also disseminated Chinese artistic and cultural traditions.

China

China witnessed many significant early developments in art. During the Neolithic phase (c 5000—1766 b.c.), much pottery was made in north-central China, well-known examples being the painted wares from Yangshao and the burnished black wares from Longshan. Bronze ritual vessels are the most impressive ancient Chinese art form. Tomb excavators have found thousands from the Shang dynasty (c. 1750—1045 b.c.), presumably used by nobles in ceremonies, filled with food or wine offered to the ancestral spirits. The vessels feature abstract and zoomorphic designs of totemic significance, including the amalgam guei dragon and taotie (ogre or animal mask). The decoration develops from thin, minimal relief in early works to dense, high-relief ornamentation, and vessels become larger and more varied in shape. A rare example of a human form integrated into an early bronze is a yu in the form of an animal engulfing or embracing a man.

Rulers of the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 b.c.) maintained many Shang traditions, including the production of bronze wares. Zhou bronzes, however, reveal a decreasing belief in animism. The ferocity of Shang bronzes gradually gives way to a gentler, more domestic form in Zhou ritual wares. In late Zhou, when central authority weakened and remarkable cultural achievements were realised, two great philosophical currents emerged, the ethical system of Confucianism and the mystical beliefs of Taoism (Daoism), which significantly affected later East Asian art. Much late Zhou art is imaginative and refined. Bronzes are usually simple in shape and inlaid with gold, silver, and semiprecious stones to form abstract curvilinear patterns or scenes of figures in landscape. Lacquer decoration, a Chinese invention, also was developed largely at this time, with late Zhou lacquers revealing dynamic black and red designs.

Chinese culture was consolidated under the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221—207 b.c.), who sponsored construction of the Great Wall, a tomb tor himself near Xian, and other vast projects. His tomb, discovered in 1974, is surrounded by a rectangular wall 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long. The tomb mound has yet to be excavated, but according to historical record, it comprises a subterranean network of chambers, along with mountains and rivers. Excavated near the tomb is an array of some 7,000 life-sized clay statues, apparently modeled on real soldiers from the emperors army, also called as the Terracotta Army. They stand in military formation, and most held weapons, since stolen. The figures are naturalistically modeled by hand, high-fired, and painted.

In the Han dynasty (206 b.c — 220 a.d.), China expanded its borders and became a thriving society with new diversity in art. Bronze decreased in value, but many fine bronze pieces were made: mirrors with cosmic symbols ana sculptures. Mass-produced ceramics, most naturalistic forms covered with green glaze, have been unearthed from Han tombs, as have some of China's earliest known paintings, including two T-shaped silk banners (c. 186 b.c.) from the tomb of the marquis of Dai at Mawangdui. One banner is painted in three registers: below is the underworld, at the middle are figures in this world, and above are the heavens. The development of pictorial art is further seen in the stone engravings of the Wu family shrines (145—168 a.d.), suggesting the long-lost mural paintings of Han palaces.

With the introduction of Buddhism, artists began to stress the human form. Emperors of the Northern Wei dynasty (386—535) initiated major temple-building campaigns at Yungang and Longmen. A treasury of early Buddhist painting is preserved at Dunnuang on the Silk Route; frescoes painted over the course of centuries show a mixture of Chinese, Indian, and Central Asian styles.

The culmination of Buddhist art occurred early in the Tang dynasty (618 — 906), when artists created many classical forms, notably figure painting. Tang artists worked in naturalistic modes, producing vital but elegant images. The leading figure painter was Wu Daozu, and the leading landscape painter was Wang Wei, who developed monochrome ink landscapes. Few authenticated Tang paintings survive.

In the Five Dynasties (907—960), landscape painting matured. Towering mountains rendered in monochrome ink with calligraphic brush work provided a basis for the monumental landscape tradition of the Song dynasty (960-1279). The sublime grandeur of Song landscapes is evident in a rare authenticated masterpiece by Fan Kuan, Travelers amid Mountains and Streams, c. 1000, a tall hanging scroll. After the capital was moved south, landscape painters began to focus on suggestive, lyrical scenes, such as the one-corner compositions of Ma Yuan. In ceramics, the simple elegance of much imperial porcelain contrasts with the robust vitality of stoneware popularly sold.

In the Yuan dynasty (1280—1368), under Mongol domination, the "Four Great Masters" were largely responsible for founding the wenrenhua (literati painting) tradition. Even though each of these four worked in a distinctive manner, their paintings share a decreasing concern with realistic detail. In painting of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the work of gentlemen-scholars is lauded as most creative. These amateur artists, notably the Wu school painters, developed highly personal, unpretentious approaches. In contrast, professional Zhe school painters often concentrated on charming or brilliant techniques. A systematic theory of literati painting was formulated in the 17th century by Dong Qichang, who considered amateur art high-minded, subjective, and free, while condemning professional and academic painting as superficial. Dong's theory profoundly affected later interpreters of art, and to this day scholarship on Chinese painting frequently reflects Dongs critical stance. In painting of the Qing dynasty (1644—1912), artists at court transformed the literati style into a conservative mode, while individualists created innovative new manners.

The earliest extant palace architecture of China dates to the Ming and is preserved in the Forbidden City, Beijing. The hip-and-gable tile roofs, with their sweeping curves, are supported by com-plex bracket sets. As in much late architecture, decorative embellishment is extensive. The plan of the Forbidden City is highly symbolic and carefully ordered to suggest the harmony of the universe as maintained by the emperor.

In ceramics, blue and white porcelain, apparently first produced in 14th-century China, became plentiful during the Ming period. Potters gradually learned to control cobalt underglaze and began adding other colors in overglaze enamel. Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty sponsored reconstruction of imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, where a huge ceramic industry blossomed.

Korea and Japan

Artists in Korea and Japan were strongly inspired by eminent cultural models of China: artists and architects focused much energy on Buddhist sculpture and temple construction; painters worked in brush and ink; and ceramic and lacquer artists excelled On the other hand, Korean and Japanese artists created distinctive native approaches.

Korean art of the Neolithic phase (c. 4000 — 1000 b.c.) consists mainly of "comb pattern" pottery. Bronze Age (c. 600—100 b.c.) objects include bells, mirrors, and other ceremonial objects found in tombs. Buddhism reached Korea during the Three Kingdoms period (c. 100 b.c.—650 a.d.), and artists of the three states (Koguryo, Paekche, and Silla) received inevitable influence from the new religion. Numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries were built during the Unified Silla period (668—918), including the famous Sókkuram cave temple near Kyongju, the capital. Seated under a dome in the main hall at Sókkuram is a massive stone Buddha (8th century), carved at the apogee of Korean Buddhist sculpture.

Sculptors and painters of the Koryo dynasty (918—1392) also concentrated on Buddhist themes, hut little survives except written accounts. It is in ceramic design that the skills of Koryó artists are evident today. Early celadon had little or no decoration other than a greenish glaze; however, by the 12th century, ornamentation had become elaborate, including inlay and underglazing in iron and copper. Techniques of goldsmiths and lacquer artists are detected in late Koryo celadon.

Rulers of the Yi dynasty (also known as Cho-son; 1392—1910) encouraged Confucianism, and secular arts flourished. Scholar amateurs, inspired by Chinese literati, painted plant and animal themes, as well as landscapes. Arguably the most important surviving early Yi painting is the hand-scroll of Dream Visit to the Peach Blossom Land (1447; Tenri Library, Tenri, Japan), a fantastic landscape brushed by An Kyon for a royal sponsor. The Li-Guo manner of early Song China was the dominant influence on 15th-century Korean painters, but by the 16th century it was replaced by the Ming Zhe school mode. The distinctiveness of Korean painters generally is seen in their bold brushwork dark ink tonalities and robust approach. In the 18th century, Cho Son and a cohort of imaginative painters injected a new vitality into landscapes, turning to native Korean settings and rendering chingyong sansu (real landscape). Genre painting blossomed at this time as well.

A renowned example of early Yi pottery is punch'ong (powder green), sturdy stoneware covered with white slip, a blue-green glaze, and sometimes freely ornamented in iron brown using the sgraffito method. In late Yi, potters across the country produced white porcelain, which was typically plain, although some pieces feature designs in underglaze blue, brown, and/or red.

Japanese prehistory is broken down into three periods: Jomon (c. 8000-300 b.c), Yayoi (c. 300 b.c.—300 a.d..), and Kofun (300—552). Jomon people made ritual ceramic pots, often with cord patterns and sculptural elaboration at the top. Yayoi bronzes, inspired by mainland traditions, replaced ceramic as ceremonial ware. Aspects of native spirituality are embodied in the Shinto shrine of the sun goddess at Ise, which according to legend was erected first in the Yayoi period and rebuilt every few decades. Noteworthy objects surviving from the Kofun period include haniwa, unglazed clay cylinders topped with figures, which were set around imperial tombs.

Buddhism reached Japan in the 6th century, and with it came recent cultural achievements of Korea and China. Imperial sponsorship of Buddhist temples evolved from individual projects during the Asuka period (538—710) to massive state-sponsored projects in the Nara period (710— 794). Horyu-ji (607; rebuilt 670), established by Empress Suiko and Crown Prince Shotoku, is the world's oldest standing wooden structure and a rare extant reflection of 6th-century Chinese architecture. The pagoda (stupa counterpart) and icon hall here are two traditional features of East Asian temples. The icon hall houses a number of early statues, including the bronze Buddha (623) exhibiting a variant of the Northern Wei style.

The central Nara temple was the mammoth Todai-ji. Its main icon is a colossal gilt-bronze image of the Cosmic Buddha (dedicated 752), origin of the universe. Nara artists followed Tang models; and many fine pieces of Tang and Tang-style art were preserved in a storehouse at To-dai-ji, the Shoso-in.

Under aristocratic sponsorship, artists of the Heian period (794—1185) created luxurious, elegant images The Phoenix Hall in Uji (1053), built as a private chapel for a regent of the Fujiwara family, is a prime example of Heian Buddhist architecture. The emaki (illustrated handscroll) of the courtly romance The Tale of Genji (early 12th century) is a masterpiece of secular painting.

Warrior families who ruled Japan in the Kamakura (1185-1333), Muromachi (1392-1573), Momoyama (1573-1615), and Edo (1615-1868) periods encouraged fresh artistic developments. An influx of Chan (Zen) priests in the 14th and 15th centuries sparked the adoption of Chinese ink painting styles. Kano school artists secularized and standardized Zen painting, establishing themselves as official state painters. Large-scale Edo painting is acclaimed for its bold abstraction and decorative appeal, one movement being Rimpa (the school of Korin). Two towering figures of this school were Tawaraya Sotatsu and Ogata Korin. Another internationally recognized Edo art form is ukiyo-e (illustrations of the floating world). Acclaimed ukiyo-e are the woodblock prints of women from the pleasure quarters by Kitagawa Utamaro, Ka-buki actors by Toshusai Sharaku, and landscapes by Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige.

See also:

- Western Art
- African Art
- Oceanic Art
- Native American Art
- ArtWorks as an Investments