By BEATA VON ERDBERG

ART IN MONGOLIA

and artistic refinement. They did havecrafts of their own: the Scythians of thefirst few centurics A.D. were skilled ill metalwork and decorntcd their felt;s, using a styleof animal decomtion not derived fromChinese art. But the hardy herdsmen andwarriors had Litt.le leisure to spend on theelaboration of such techniques. Nor didthey have to, for they could a,vail themselvesof the products of skillful and pat,ient Chi­nese worker, either by swift raids intotheir territory or by exchange of goods. Attimes t,he desired wares would cOllie to themby a still ea8ier way as tribute from thcChinp;;{J t.o Rta ve otT further raids. Thus theHunni.·h chieftains could cut their barbarianclothes from finely embroidered Chinesesilks nnd drink from wine cups delicately...ai..Ilt~1 in I'lltl lUlU !JII\ck lacquer by theartists of t,he imperial Han workshops. Allthe.sc rich spoils, tokens uf their might andISplemlor, followed them to their graves.

When Genghis Khan rose to power, heraised wit,h him a people who had hithertobeen of no significance, pulitically us well asculturally. He wanted his people to bewarriors only. Captured swordsmiths oflI1ft-ny 'IIlLions forged thou weapons, womenand slaves tended their herlh", Their finerywas obtllined the easy WilY, from slainenemies Rnd plllllllered cities.

But t.he Mongols whQ followed theirleaders to the we t saw a greater variety ofartistic forms tban t,heir precuTISOrs, who onlyknew t.lwir immediate neighbors. They de­stroyed the flowering Mohammedan culturein Persia and the Caliphute, but not socompletely tbat it did not influence them.It inspired the shnpt' of t.he Moscow Kr mlinllnd of Sarai on t.he Volga, "the most beaut,i­ful city in the world." A ~oldsmith fromParis \\'orked for the Great Khan in Kara­korum. and the Mongols cspc<:ially /1.dmiredhis mechuuical wonders. It seem doubtful

•

ThN'C is hardly a Ilisitor to Ckilla who ill not attracted by what the curio dealer"rail "lUemgoliml art." Belli'"d thill lerlll there is (I long story. This 'i" r"ie·r·luillill{/Iy laid by <>tu author. who h'l8 lIIade a ~cial "tuely oj Ihe "ubject. iI.to..eoj the arl objec:l8 "hOICIl are Jrom t!le cull«lioll oj Mme. Clema'lIl ill Peking.-K.M.

£ TH E Mongols, living on thonortbern borders of the MiddleKingdom, wore always classedby t be Chinese as "ljarbnrians, 'a term applied by them topmctically aU non-ChineseIl<'0ple. The Mongols nrenomads, and the cultural pos.sibiLities of tribes constantlyon the move must needs be

amaller than. that of ugricultuml settler,who can storo belongings in permanentdwellings. Though the M.ongols did achievea certain ("~gr(,A of ('lIlture by /1.vaiungthemseh'es of Chinese objects and ideail,their clumsy and sparing use of theniceties of civilization hilS alwaYlI seemedbarua,ric to the Sons of Han. 'This termalso OOfite much of the philosophy amI mo~t

of the outward manifestlltiolls of their reli·gion. Lawiism came to them from Tibet,a country hardly more civilized.

Tibetan trait1; fought and mixed withChinese ones in building up an art for theMongols. Artistically the Chine.ac were, ofcourse, superior, but the frightening direct·ness of the Tibetan imagination wns oftenprofomblu Cvr JJlllLwg uvt:r a. ruUglulJ/S ilJeu.to a simple people, who belie\-ed what theysaw. Chineso styles had to sell themselves;Tibetan forms were accepted without ques·tioning as comiug from the holy land. Butthis prestigp. Will' not sufficient. to competewith the wide rnnge and fertility of Chinel:leart. In the face of such overwhelming offers,the taste of the Mongols struggled to pickout what would please them most and servethem best.

'1'0 Ron IS EASIER THAN TO MAKE

From early times the nomad people of thesteppe!! to the nort h and the west of Chinahave looked upon her as the cradle of rna·terial riches, the source of articles of luxury

THE XXt,h CENTURY126

whether many artists of pure Mongol bloodwere' responsible for the splendor of theircapitals and the tents of the mighty. Thespoils from so many rich, now devastated,countries must have been enormous. It stillremains a puzzle where all these treasureshave gone. Karakorum must .nave beenthe richest city in t,he world.

Mter the downfall of the Yiian dynastyin 1368, the Mongols were reduced to theiroriginal territory and reverted to nomadiclife. During their sovereignty over Chinathey had lost-culturally overwhelmed bythe Chinese-what chance they might havehad to tJxpre,,2 an artistic individuality oftheir own. China was again their onlysource of inspiration. Influences from othercountries had to submit to China's culturalmonopoly.

ART FOLLOWS RELIGION

The primitive rites of shamanistic natureworship did not inspire artistic production.In the sixteenth century the Mongols wereconverted to the Yellow Church of Lamaism.They suddenly found themselves adherentsof a cult that needed temples, statues, pic­tures, and many ritual objects, which onlythe artist could fashion. All these werestrange to them, and in order to fill theirtemples they had to follow foreign stylesand employ foreign craftsmen. Chineseartisans skillfully blended their native stylewith the cruder art of Tibet, the cradle ofthe Yellow Church. Their Mongol employerswere probably little interested in one styleor the other from an artistic point of view.But they demanded skill, which China couldsup!?ly, and-more important-strict ad­herence to the rules of their religion. Theirmodels came from Tibet; hence, for religiousreasons, they demanded a recognizable simi·larity to the venerated Tibetan objects.

FREE MOVEMENT VS. SOLID MASS

As a nomad people -the Mongols had noarchitecture of their own. They felt op­pressed in cities and stone houses. The lightfelt tent, easily moved, quickly erected inany location, guaranteed them their freedomand independence. Yet they were impressedby stately and massive structures whichcould defy 'enemies and time. Chinesearchitecture captivated them by its splendorand majestic expansion; Tibetan buildingsimpressed them with their solidity andheight. The best-known exponent of theTibetan style is probably the Potala of

•

Lhasa with its many stories and rows ofsmall, often walled-up windows. Tibetanbuildings are made up of cubic blocks; theyseem like fortresses compared with Chinesehalls with their open fronts and curved roofs.

After the experiences of their w~rs, th&Mongols, who a.lways lived and moved atground level, appreciated an immovabl&stronghold, raised above the ground, not &8

a graceful pavilion, but as a compact, en­during mass. The higher lamas and digni­taries of the Yellow Church, though theyshared their people's aversion to living insolid houses, nevertheless preferred temple­like, enduring buildings of imposing size fortheir domains, because they were thus liftedabove ordinary mortals and made to seemmore like the gods.

Today, architecture in Mongolia shows th&rather superficial blending of the Chines&and the Tibetan. Originally, the Mongolshad "Tibetan" temples and "Cl1inese" tern·pIes, and there was a marked diHerence­between them. The Tibetan form wasprobably introduced first; but by the end of:the last century it was already almostextinct in its pure form.

These buildings were more vertical inproportion and very different from thehorizontal halls of the Chine!:le, with theirgraceful red columns, curvcd roofs anddecorated eaves and ridges. The "imperial"temples, subsidized from Peking, were, ofcourse, purely Chinese. They were alsomore colorful and graceful than-the Tibetanstructures, which soon had to yield to Chi-

, nese influences. Today, those temples whichstill adhere to the Tibetan proportions andconstruction have at least a Chinese roofover the second "story" to boast of (FIG. 1).The interior consists of one h.igh hall; pillarsand columns are deporated in the Chinesemanner with gold and colors (FIG. 4).

Most Mongol temples are built of wood,more rarely-the imperial temples amongthem---of brick. Both materials are rareand precious in Mongolia. The use of woodfor wall and roof must needs change the­a-spect of Chinese architecture. The effectis less solid, sometimes .it looks almost flimsy,and many of the roof decorations, originallyexecuted in glazed tile, must be omitted.

Though the Mongols favor the verticalproportion in their buildings, they havenever adopted the rising spire of the Chinesepagoda. The Tibetan form of the stupareliquiary, the "bottle pagoda," is found

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n(INJURYRE

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ARCHITECT

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PAINTING

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'"IXX~

CENJURY

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ART IN MONGOLLO\

J'ADOTI~n TRA \TELS UGBT

129

THE MAGlO TOUCH

But these pictures by Chinese craft menwere mere decorations, unfit for the magicpurposes of esoteric Lamaism. Only thosepaint.ed under strict observance of sacredrules by Mongol or Tibetan monks wholived a holy lifo and conceived the correctform of the god through meditation, couldbe sacred pictures with miraculous powers(FlO. 7). Another monk sat by the artistand meditated, thereby banning the god tobe portrayed, 50 that he would take shapein the picture. The rules which fixed out­line and color for each superhuman beinghad already been laid down in India. Thepainter could uso his imagination only onthe background and the small attendantfigures.

These painters also observed certain tech­nical rules. Lillou was the mat.erial om·monly used, prepared with chalk and a gluemade from fish bladder. This gluo is I~lso

used in the colOrA. The surface is polishedwith the tooth of a wolf or boar. Cow gallgives brilliance to the colors.

Compositions which try t'O gi"e concreteevidence of an abstract conception consistof a profusion of detl~ils, logically andschematically arranged to teach the faithfula lesson. The "Wheel of Lifo" (FIG. 5),uniting many scenes in a geometrical com­position, gives the paintt'r a chance to venthis imagination on palaces of bliss (almostaU of these ar.e in the Chinese style of a.rchi­tecture), the fires and tortures of hell (thistheme is 80 tempting that it often takes upmore than the aUoted one sixth of the

to an extensive division of labor. Themaster drafts the composition with ink.He is familiar with tho Tibetan aspects ofBuddhist deities; he has drawn the samefaces, hands, draperies, and attributes overand over again. Stencils arc also used.Apprentices specialize in attributes, jewelry,animaL'. landscape, or other backgrounddetails. Others fill in the flat, bright colors,and the last touch is given by the pccialistin gold painting (nowadays a cheap ub·stitute) which emphasizes all the importantcontours.

Beauty was not judged by very sophisti.cated standards; if the picture was brightand new, if every detail was iconographicallycorrect, the painter was sure to plea e hiscustomer. For a richer effect, silk orem broidery were sometimes used instead ofpainting (FlO. 6).

everywhere. Topped by sun and moon, itsymbolizes tho five elements--earth, water,fire, air, ether. It.s measurements follow.strict rules, which gUlLruntee harmoniousproportions to this queer combination ofbeterog neou shapes. We find it in temples,over tomb or as monuments erected by adevotee or for some special reason.

Siberian blockhouse archit.ecture and thepointed top of Kirghiz tents may be rec­ognized in a, few smaller t.emple buildings,which often have gabled entrance porches.They look out of place and utilitarian amongthe Chinese and Tibetan forms (FlO. 2).

The Mongol nomads cl\nnot be expectedto add nny features of their own t.o this.architectur~lmixture. Yet the semiglobular,shape of t,heir t,cnts with the flattened topis copi('(l in son1(' of the small local t.emples.They still prescrve the shape of the movabletemple yurt,s of old timcs. Now they havesettled dO\nl allli are built of wood, buttheir size and shape are those of an ordinary~wcJling.Lent,with t,he addition of a window'Or two (FIG. 3).

OODS WHOLESALE ASD RETAIL

In Peking workshops, where quantities ofreligious pictures in all sizes are painted forLamaism at home and abroad, the work iscarried Ollt with speed and precision, owing

Architectural forms cnn only travel insmall reproduct ions, and much is changedor lost on the way. Paintings, on the otherhand, nrc easily transported, especially inthe scrolls of the East. A great number ofthem must have found their way to )Iongoliathrough pilgrims and missionaries or aspresents from India and Tibet. They fixedin the minds of the Mongol fnitbfuls thepictures of tho gods in Indian form and.attire. Iconographic rules, precepts of ml~­

terials, shape and color-important in theseeret teachings of the lamas--could be mostfaithfully obeyed in painting. Its illustra.tivevalue to a mostly illiterate congregationmade painting indispensable.

Itinerant Chinese craftsmen tranled fromtemple to temple, mended the old gods andpainted new ones. Thcy can hardly b<rcalled artist : but thev knew how to drawthe outlil\l's in gold and mix colors, whichwould makc the picture a luminous spot inthe dark temple-bright greens and garishpinks, ticry red and deep, black blue.

130 THE XXth CENTURY

wheel space), and lively and amusing genrescenes with tents, cattle, thieves, and sweet·hearts. PaiJltings of the "Wheel of Life"{Lre quito common, since they are c<Jm­prehen:;iblo to the layma,n and embracemost of the basic teachings of LamllistBuddhism concerning the migrut,ion of souls.

\0\ itbin this limited scope of freedom therenre good and bad paintings, crude anddelicato, colorful and gll.l'i"h, with individualor convent ionnl dct.ails. Their' religious pu.r­pose overshadows the artistic one to a. muchgrcatt·r f'xtcnt t,han in IIny other religiousurt of the EIl..,t or \Vest. For any otherki.nd of painting there was no reason orinspiration-not e\'ell a. placo to put it.

A nOOD MA1U\.ET Fon SCULPTUHJo;

What ha.s beon said about religious paint­ing also a I'plies to Lamail't culpture. Thoiconographic, esoteric rules appear perhapsto Ut' mow strict for the lutter, as thistechnique hUH less room for backgrounddetails. But it was not necessary for theartist to livo IL saintly life or observe certainreligious pmet,ices while shaping a god 01'

demon. Life and di\Cine powers entered thest.atue with the "intestinc.'l," i.e., relic.;,jewels, und holy scriptures, which weroceremoniou.ly scaled into its hol1ow body.Most of thc LalUaist figures on the curiomarket today have been robbed of theirprecious contents.

The materials for Mongol sculpture areunbaked clay. bronze, and wood. Figuresof the latter material were most.lv made inChina, since wood is rare in Mongolia. Thebronze figure>:', too, arc for the greater partmade in (,hina. Work~hop~ in Pekingspecialize in Lamaist bronzes, most.ly i11

small sizes, which they sel1 to visitingMongols. At the beginning of this ccnlmy,Russian foundries also realized that goodprofits were to be made in this line. Thewhole l;et of bronze statuary covering thewal1s of t.he new Maidari Tem pIe in L I'ga,built in Hlll, WILS, so t,he l-tussia,ns said, ea:;t

in St. Petersburg. Since aU Lamaist figuresare mecha.nical reproductions of a conven·tional model, Chinese or Russian originwould in no way make any difference in thostyle. C1ay figures were ereoted in situ­especially in the imperial temples-byitinera.nt Chinese modelers in t,he same crudowa.y as ill North China..

A FLAm FOR THE IHtAMATIC

Bronze is the costliest material, but it isbest suited for Lamaist statuary. Theexaggerations of posture und movement,wh.ich especially characterize t,he terribleuslx"Cts of the go<l,.s, demand lL firm materialwhich will support extended and contortedlimbs, tlames, and many attributes, witboutthe danger of dropping or breaking off.Beauty could not very weU be expected togra.ce these horrifying deformations of thhuman form. Since that \Vas not theintention either, only elaborate decorativedetails, coloring, gilding, or a seUing ofprecious stones could atone to a certaindegree for t,heir revolting appearance. Itwas almo. t impossible fOl' the artist to showany ori~inality, the same rules whichrestricted the painter aL.,o cramping thesculptor':; styl('.

The sculptor with 11 fluir for tbe dramaticwas the most :mccessfuJ. If be could mako.his terrible figures convincingly tcrrifyiJJg',if they could make the beholder shudder,they wel'o well done WItL 8). The benignuspects offered [\. greater chance to thoir"portraitist.," but again the Tibetan stylewith t.he conventional sharp features, longeyes and rigid or much-curved postureleaves littlo l:lcope fol' t.l1C ima.ginat.ion.Moreover, mnJlY of the Lllrnnist figures havea multitude of heads and arms; t.hat isanother oustncle in the arti t's path, whichonly the greatest nre able to O\-ercome. Itis ono thing to represent a bt1<\.uti.ful humanshape in n lovely statue, uut it requires I'enl

.>;kiLl to convince the beholder that a deitywith ele\'cll heads and a thousand arms

Tile Eight Offerings

10NGOLIAN SCLTLPTURE

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ART IN MONGOLIA 1-33

lIlay still possess a harmonious form (FlO. 9).A,nd great artists rarely found their way toMongolia.

GODMOTHERS WITHOUT GIFTS

It is unfortunate that the Lamaist styleof sculpture originated and flourished at a-time when neither India nor China-thetwo cultures who were godmother to thisnew child-had a plastic art of any im­portance. What was left of the sensualgrace of Indian sculpture is still found inNepalese bronzes; but from there to Mongoliais a long way, and the once delicate modelswere taken over by clumsy bands. China,too, had not had ll, plastic revival since theart of the T'ang sculptot·s waned.

Where, then, could the Lamaist image.makers turn? It would take a strong andliving inspiration to gi,-e the spark to thisnew style, cramped at the outset by alliconograpby tbat delied the tender yearn·ings for beauty. Neither India nor Chinacould give this spark, amI it is small wonderthat the bulk of Lamaist sculpture is the-sad product of uninspired artisans. Only.now and then does one find in Mongolia awork, dating perhu.ps from the Ch'ien-lungperiod, which betrays a more skillful andloving hand (FlO. 10). Some of the slickmodern products are not too revolting, andat times even bell,lltiful in a smooth, if empty·way. Occasionally we come across a bit ofportraiture done by Mongol artists which ismost strikingly lifelike (FIG. 11).

The sanctity of the earth, which forbadedisturbing the grOlmd by digging, mayaccount for the absence of stone figures; forthere is wOl'ka,ble stone in Mongolia. TheTurkic people who lived on the great plainsin the time of the T'ang dynasty have leftus t,races of stone statuary, crude and solidfigures standing on guard at tho tombs ofimportant pt'oplc. Time, weather, and wan­ton dest.ruction haye been hard on them,so that it is difficult to say whether similarfigures on thc site of the old Mongol cityShang-tu in Inner Mongolia were diUel'entfrom them or not. Even in their prime, inthe thirteenth century, they must havobeen quite primitive. To tho Mongols oftoday they are as alien as they seem to us.

moJo; IS l\OBLER THAN COLD

Outer Mongolia produced no metal forthe same BU perst,itious reason that barred

their use of stone. By now the Russianswill have ohanged that; but then, the reosuiting met,als will not be used for religiousfigures.

Bronze and silver were imported. Thoughthe Mongol currency, such as it was, was Oil

the silver standard, and the~' knew the valueof gold, iron has always seemed to themthe noblest of metals. Doubtless this pref­erence is a remnant of warrior days, whenthe metal that made the blade and deadlypoint was the most important and the mostvaluable. Native craft still uses iron; e.g.,for bridles and stirrups, and the knife every­body carries for use at meal,;. It is oftenbeautifully decorated with inlay of gold andsi.lver. 1"or the more extensive needs of theimage-maker, bronze was tho finest mctal,unless silver was chosen for statues of smallsize.

PUNISHMENT OF THE GODS

Not many Mongols know tho art of metalwork, and these work tn iron or in silver.Tibetan and Mongol lamas jealously guardtho secret of an alloy of pewter, copper, anda bit of silver and gold, used for ritualvessels, which are said to have an cspeciallymelodious amI 'lasting tone wben struck.On the whole, the work of native artisansdoes not compare fa,vorably with that oftheir Chinese colleagues.

Among both parties there was many ascoundrel who feathered his own nest atthe expense of the pious donor or jewelry.minded beauty. A Mongol silversmith onceshowed Ilis friends a statuette of Avaloki·tesvara, fashioned from solid silver. Heintended to offer it to a temple, so that hemight be cured of his heart trouble. "WhenI wa.s young," he explained, "I wanderedarol.tnd tbe country plying my trade. Thewomen came to me with their silver andasked me to turn it into ornaments for theirhair and dress. I always mixed a bit oflead into the silver and made quite a nice,steady pmfit that way. Now the god haspunished me with this illness, and I shallgive the silver to him, that he may takehis curse from me."

VALUABLE WOMEN

Aside from hcrds and horses, the familyfortune consists of silver, and this the womancarries on her body in the form of an elab· 'orate headdress with plaques, chains andpendants (FlO. 12); she also has belt buckles,

OFFERINGS AND DRAGONS

•••A Mongol's hands are clumsy from hard

riding and hard weather. Everything heowns must be sturdy and packeasily. Everything made for or byhim is compact and durable; thestyle follows the same trend. Weare today often satiated withthe overrefined products of skilledartists. We may then turn withrelief to the robust and ob,'iousgaiety of objects appreciated andused by the nomad herdsmen.

Though the :Mongols did not invent thepatterns which beautify their objects ofda.ily use, ritual or pra<:tical, they haveshown preference for certain ornaments inthe vast store of Chinese decoration at theirdisposal. Since their religion covers everyaspect of daily life, it is only natural thatthe symbols of their cult should occur againand again, not only on ritual objects, butalso on practical things, as on boxes andteabowls. Among such symbols the "EightOfferings" are the most popular; they lendthemselves easily to many shapes and spaces,and we find them most frequently arrangedin a circle on a round object.

The dragon, though not originally Bud.dhist, is almost as popular in Mongolia asin China. Big dragons decorate temples;small ones adorn lids or serve as handles.As the emblem of the Chinese emperor itcame to Mongolia on politica.I rather thanreligious grounds; but just as in China, itblends easily with almost any kind of dec·oration.

Chinese decoration of the Ming andCh'ing dynasties takes its motifs either fromearlier styles or direct from nature. Birds,insects, and especially flowers and other'plant forms, occur in ever new shapes.The Mongols do not have much taste forflowers and butterflies in irregular, natural·istic patterns. The beauty of natural formadoes not mean much to them, unless it isthe holy padma (lotus). Their taste, thoughmodeled for centuries on Chinese lines, isstill that of a primitive people, who preferthe geometric or stylized to the naturalisticand asymetric. Of the simpler forms ofline decoration, spirals and cusps are mostoften found. These go well with the stonesset into the silver, which are in most caSellround (FlO. 14).

THE XXth OENTURY•

134

WOOD AND Sll.VER

Aside from ornaments for the a.dornmentof the body, there were other articles whichcould' be graced by the silversmith's art.For the cult there were pitchers for holywater, boxes, and bowls for offerings (FlO.13). For the not-too-poor Mongol a woodenteabowl, set in silver-bottom, rim, andinside were usually covered with the metal-finely chased and engraved and often setwith semiprecious stones, was indispensable.He always carried it with him. There wereknives for eating, covered bowls for fat, andboxes for valuable personal belongings.Snuff bottles were in general use; they arealmost twice the size of the Chinesevariety.

Most of these articles add the darker andsofter note of the wood to the shining colorcombination of silver and stones. Goodwood is rare in Mongolia; preference is givento pieces from the root for their hardnessand interesting grain. The valueof a beautiful piece of wood fromthe heart or the root of a tree,with a star or flowerlike pattern inthe grain, ranked with the silverin which it was set. A kind ofpoplar wood is mostly used, whichoriginally came from Tibet but isnow also imported from NorthChina.

bracelets, and rings. These are mostlymade by Chinese silversmiths, who have aset ,of patterns which please the :Mongols,and supply the turquoises and corals, ofwhich they are especially fond. Chinesedealers in semiprecious stones made quite afortune; they exchanged their wares forcostly furs. The profits were considerable,because only stones of inferio.r quality foundtheir way to the Mongols, who gladly paida good price for these colorful additions totheir silver fortune. They share their pref­erenco for coral and turquoise with theTibetans. The soft red and the sky blueof these stones is perfect in combinationwith silver. Malachite and lapis lazuli areother stones used, also rubies of inferiorquality and tourmaline shading from pinkto yellow. The latter appear mostly asbeads or pendants. A good deal of the"Mongolian articles" are the products ofPeking workshops; they came to Mongoliaready-made-another proof of the adapt­ability of the Chinese artisan.