Comparative Arts Chinese Civilization Chapters 8 and 19 October
2010
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Early cultures in what is now China Between 800 BCE and 480 BCE
culture in the northern plain developed in ways that parallel
developments in the Middle East and Greece in the same period Large
cities were constructed over 3,000 years ago little evidence
remains as they had earthen walls and were made of wood, which was
plentiful Elaborate tombs of rulers have been found similar to
tombs in ancient Egypt as they are filled with items useful in the
next world Chinese developed a writing system in the early Bronze
Age, the same time that Mesopotamians developed their writing
system. The writing system was written with a brush and ink Early
writing survives on animal bones Oracle Bones
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Evolution of Chinese characters from pictograms to characters
used up to the present Remarkably consistent over time allows
scholars to easily translate ancient Chinese writing
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Pit filled with Oracle Bones questions were posed and then the
bones were heated the cracks would be interpreted by oracles, who
would then write down the question, the name of the oracle and the
date Is my deceased ancestor causing my toothache? How good will
the crops be next season? What preparations are necessary for the
tomb of my relative?
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Oracle bones, about 1500 BCE
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Political stability, cultural development China transformed
from a purely agricultural society into a more urban-centered state
By the 3 rd century BCE, China was unified and the government grew
extremely powerful New roads and canal systems were built linking
the entire nation Large trade networks were developing the Silk
Road connected China with the Mediterranean
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The Silk road connected China with Central Asia and the
Mediterranean (around 5,000 miles!) the opening up of markets
across the continent led to a massive increase in silk production
to meet the demand the Chinese kept the method to create silk a
secret to maintain a monopoly
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How was political stability manifested in the arts?
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The Great Wall the government was organized enough to create
massive projects using thousands of people. For example, the
government built a giant wall to protect themselves from the Huns
4,100 miles long! How was political stability manifested in the
arts?
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The Great Wall the government was organized enough to create
massive projects using thousands of people. For example, the
government built a giant wall to protect themselves from the Huns
4,100 miles long! Ritual discs Jade ritual discs symbolized the
unification of China and featured both the dragon and the phoenix,
which are still found today at Chinese wedding festivities. Those
in the western and central plain worshipped the dragon and those on
the east coast worshipped the phoenix. How was political stability
manifested in the arts?
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Shang and Zhou dynasties Civilizations emerged in what is now
China about 7,000 years ago The Shang dynasty (1600 BCE) and the
Zhou dynasty (11 century 221 BCE) Transition from hunting to
agriculture and feudal society Zhou king ruled as the Son of Heaven
The Shang period used bronze casting with animals motifs for
funerary and burial items The Zhou dynasty also focused on bronzes
but not only for the dead Inscriptions have been found on bronze
vessels that honor the living One indication of the great wealth of
Zhou rulers is the set of 65 bronze bells discovered in a rulers
tomb
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Bronze tomb vessels, Shang dynasty -animal motifs suggest an
emphasis on hunting rather than agriculture -owning one of these
would have been a marker of status -square vessels are
characteristic of the Shang dynasty
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Ancient bronze musical instruments Ancient bronze bells, Zhou
dynasty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEbcgfuKaUY&feature=related
Ancient bells in performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgGOcZ-FuZk
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Confucianism In the middle of the Zhou dynasty, two important
religious traditions emerged in China: Confucianism Taoism
Confucianism is based on the teachings of one man: Confucius
(551-479 BCE) Confucius was the son of aristocratic parents who had
lost their wealth during the decline of feudalism Raised in poverty
by a single mother He received an education from a village tutor in
the subjects of the day: poetry, history, music, hunting, fishing,
archery Confucius became a renowned teacher and philosopher his
sayings were collected and compiled after his death
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/03/must-watch-beautiful-trailer-for-chow-
yun-fats-confucius/
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/03/must-watch-beautiful-trailer-for-chow-
yun-fats-confucius/
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The teachings of Confucius Drew on cultural values anchored in
ancient Chinese tradition Practical sayings focus on this world
rather than the next He lived in a turbulent period of chaos and
moral confusion so he emphasized the following to maintain a
productive and good society: The importance of traditional values
and self-control Propriety Filial piety Confucius believed that
these virtues would end anarchy and restore social cohesion Focus
was on the individual rather than society To Confucius, morality
depended on context no thou shalt not instead, moral decisions were
guided by the circumstance of a particular problem
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Taoism Like Confucianism, Taoism is concerned with morality and
ethical behavior and how they benefit people in the present world,
not the afterlife Often considered a philosophy rather than a
religion The founder was Laozi [LOW-ZEE] (604 BCE) The Tao is the
ultimate reality behind existence, a transcendent and eternal
spiritual essence the mysterious essence of all things, an ordering
principle and governing force of life represented in the rhythm and
force of nature (cycling of seasons, flowing of rivers, etc) Taoism
can be understood as a way of ordering ones life to achieve peace
and harmony with the rest of creation
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Taoists encourage wu-wei (non-action), a kind of creative calm
without excessive purposefulness relaxing the conscious mind Like
Buddhism and Hinduism, wu-wei seeks the denial of the personal and
the dissolution of the conscious individual self Taoism illustrates
the concept of wu-wei with examples from nature Taoists ideal
simplicity, represented by unpainted wood Taoist architecture
prefers unvarnished wood in its natural state (unlike Confucians
who favor gilt and lacquer)
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Qin Dynasty Confucianism and Taoism emerged as a response to
the instability of the Zhou dynasty political fragmentation
continued into the Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE) Brief rule, but
established some changes to maintain efficiency and unity:
Centralized bureaucracy Divided country into administrative units
Standardized writing system, currency, weights, measurements,
taxes, laws Qin dynasty initiated major building projects: networks
of roads and canals, Great Wall Downside to productivity:
suppressed free speech, persecuted scholars, destroyed classical
texts Tomb of the first Qin emperor found, providing an ideas of
the grandeur of the Qin dynasty
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Tomb of Shihuangdi, First Emperor of China -discovered in 1974
by peasants digging a well 1,300 yards from the Emperors burial
mound -a massive subterranean pit was unearthed that contained
6,000 infantrymen -two more smaller sites were found in 1976 and
1977 containing 1,400 individual warriors and horses, complete with
metal weaponry -the emperors tomb has not been excavated according
to ancient records, a subterranean palace lies beneath the burial
mound -scientific tests conducted recently indicate the presence of
a large quantity of metals the emperors treasure is likely still in
the tomb!
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Eleven trenches filled with rows of terra cotta (clay) soldiers
standing 4 abreast
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The bodies were mass-produced using molds while the hands and
face were added later. There are no two faces that are the same.
Different hairstyles suggest different ethnic or tribal
affiliations. It is estimated that over 700,000 people were
employed to prepare the tomb more than those who built the Great
Wall. It is possible that the terra cotta warriors replaced an
earlier practice of human sacrifice. First Emperors grandmothers
tomb found: http://archaeologynews.multiply.co
m/journal/item/440
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Chinas ancient global relations Marco Polo Christian merchant
from Venice who wrote Il Milione, which introduced Europeans to
Central Asia and China He first traveled with his father and uncle
as a teen Met Kublai Khan, Mongolian leader and grandson of Genghis
Khan first non-Chinese emperor to conquer all of China
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Chinas ancient global relations Kublai Khan, the great
Mongolian emperor
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Kublai Khans ambassador travelled to Rome, Paris and other
cities to meet with major rulers in 1287-1288
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The Mughal Empire (started in 1526 with their invasion of the
Indian subcontinent), started by Kublai Khan as part of his vast
land empire
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Kublai Khans gift to the world: Indian Bollywood actors,
Sharukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amir Khan -all descendents of the great
Mongolian who once ruled China, Kublai Khan
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Admiral Zheng He Admiral Zheng He was a Muslim Chinese man born
in 1371 He was the great great great grandson of a Persian Muslim
who was appointed as governor of part of China by the Mongolian
empire Zheng He was admiral of a huge fleet of ships sent on
international expeditions The fleet consisted of 317 ships, holding
28,000 crewmen The fleets visited Arabia, Brunei, East Africa,
India, what is now Indonesia and Thailand They traded gold, silver,
porcelain and silk in return for ostriches, zebras, camels, ivory,
giraffes, etc
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Admiral Zheng Hes voyages
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Admiral Zheng Hes ships compared with Christopher
Columbuss
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BBC story on Chinese coin found in Africa:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11562927 What is significant
about the coin found in Kenya? Why are pieces of pottery found in
archaeological digs? How are ancient Chinese artifacts found in
Africa used for political purposes?
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Yuan Dynasty and Kublai Khan Kublai Khan, the great Mongolian
leader and grandson of Genghis Khan, adopted the Chinese name of
Yuan (1271 CE) The failure of the Great Wall of China:
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Yuan Dynasty and Kublai Khan Kublai Khan, the great Mongolian
leader and grandson of Genghis Khan, adopted the Chinese name of
Yuan (1271 CE) The failure of the Great Wall of China: it did not
keep the Mongolians out! In 1279 CE Kublai Khan became Emperor of
China Kublai Khan transformed Beijing into a walled city Kublai
Khan imposed Mongolian culture onto his Chinese subjects, although
they maintained ethnic separation appointed Chinese to the lowest
government posts (to maintain order, collect taxes, settle
disputes) Chinese expressed a quiet resistance to the foreign
occupation, particularly through the arts.
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Mongol conquests from the Pacific to the Caspian Sea
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The country of Mongolia today
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Wu Zhen, Bamboo, Yuan Dynasty, 1350 (ink on paper) Bamboo is a
typical motif produced by Chinese under the Yuan Dynasty. Bamboo is
one of the strongest materials and symbol of survival, like the
Chinese under foreign rule: they may bend, but they will never
break.
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Wu Zhen, Bamboo, Yuan Dynasty, 1350 (ink on paper) Bamboo is a
typical motif produced by Chinese under the Yuan Dynasty. Bamboo is
one of the strongest materials and symbol of survival, like the
Chinese under foreign rule: they may bend, but they will never
break.
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Wu Zhen, Bamboo, Yuan Dynasty, 1350 (ink on paper) Bamboo is a
typical motif produced by Chinese under the Yuan Dynasty. Bamboo is
one of the strongest materials and symbol of survival, like the
Chinese under foreign rule: they may bend, but they will never
break. Orchids were another symbol of Chinese resistance to Mongol
rule. Orchids nurture themselves without soil around their roots
like the nation, the orchid can survive even though the native
Chinese soil had been stolen by Mongol invaders.
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Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) The Yuan dynasty collapsed and the
Mongols were driven back north into the deserts China once again
ruled by the Chinese Extended and strengthened the Great Wall in
the hopes of keeping out the Manchurians (second failing of the
Great Wall!) Maintained the centralized bureaucracy of the earlier
Tang and Song dynasties Strong Confucian society evident at every
level: The family, headed by the father, was the model unit The
emperor, as Son of Heaven, was the father of the country in order
to become a government bureaucrat, one had to pass national civil
service exams only the brightest were rewarded with jobs in the
government (extremely meritocratic system) The government
officials, known as mandarins, were forced to move to a different
part of the country every 5 years to prevent corruption. This
constant packing and moving resulted in unique art forms.
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Ming furniture is simple and paired down and has austere
beauty. Precious tropical hardwoods from Southeast Asia were
unpainted and unlacquered, unlike later furniture in the Qing
dynasty. Ming furniture uses no nails or glue! The pieces are held
together with elaborate joints which allow them to be taken apart
easily, a feature necessary for mandarin owners who had to move
frequently. What do the materials in Ming furniture tell us about
Chinas international trade network?
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The Great Wall of China, satellite image upgraded during the
Ming Dynasty, this time to ward off the threat of the
Manchurians.
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Ancient Chinese export items: mainly silk and porcelain
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Chinese porcelain (left) and Persian copy (right)
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Painted banner from the tomb of the wife of the Marquis of Dai,
Hunan, China, 160 BCE Images represent beliefs about the
underworld, the earthly realm, and the cosmos: sun with crow, moon
with toad, deity intertwined with a long red serpent tail The
deceased noblewoman stands on the white platform Vessels containing
food and wine for the deceased sit on the lower white platform.
This silk reveals much about the level of craftsmanship the ancient
Chinese had reached. It also provides insight about the ancient
Chinese beliefs about the afterlife.
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Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) The Ming Dynasty ended with the
invasion of the Manchurians from the north, who created the Qing
(pure) Dynasty They continued the centralized bureaucracy of the
Ming Dynasty, continued the competitive civil service examinations
scholar-bureaucrats ruled the country and supported the arts
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Architecture and city planning Architecture in traditional
China signified the connection between the rule of the emperor and
the order of the universe. Cities were constructed on a grid
system, surrounded by walls The rulers palace was situated at the
north end looking south, so the emperors back was turned against
the north from which evil (including Mongol Invaders) was believed
to come
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Yellow was a color reserved for the emperor the rooftops in the
Forbidden City use only yellow roof tiles.
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This is a carving within the Forbidden City. What makes this an
imperial carving?