China & Art Essay

China is probably the most influential and powerful civilization in Asia and is a good source of a very rich cultural and artistic heritage. In its early centuries, Buddhism, as the major religion of China has had a great influence in the country’s artistic imagery. Other art forms that thrived during this period were painting and calligraphy. It is also during this early time periods that China invented one of its greatest contributions to art and to the world – paper. Very early in during this period, the Chinese made what they called the mingqi. These are sculpted figures of soldiers, attendants, entertainers, and also of usual objects that people need and use such as houses, wells, stoves, and more. This is in part of their belief that even after death they would still need those things and continue living their usual routines as when they were still alive. Some of the early proofs of Buddhism in China were the carvings of Buddhist Images on the cliffs at Kungwangshan in Jiangsu Province. These images were dated back to around the 2nd century. At around 100 A. D. the Chinese had started working on developing paper. Rag paper (probably the first forms of paper) that was found was dated to as early as the 2nd century B. C. The first hemp paper however that had writings on it were dated to around 109 A. D. Cai Lun was one of those people who helped developed the method for mass-producing paper made from tree bark, hemp and linen. It was by the 3rd century that paper had been widely used in China. China also has their share of Ceramics. Ceramic products that hailed from the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu are most admired. These provinces also had reputation in the creation of burial urns shaped like animals. The period from 220 to 265 A. D. was the period of the Three Kingdoms. Known for its Chivalric and Romantic nature, it became the setting and inspiration of one of China’s favorite historical novel. Written by Luo Guanzhong entitled Sanguo zhi yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) was published during the 14th century. Towards the end of these first 5 centuries at 317 to 420 A. D. , the arts flourished even more in China particularly at Nanjing in Jiangsu Province. It was also the period of development of Chinese literature. Some important Chinese personalities that arose from that time were Wang Xizhi for calligraphy, Gu Kaizhi for figure painting, and Tao Qian (aka Tao Yuanming) for poetry. And at the 5th century Xie He wrote the Guhua pinlu (Classification of Ancient Painters). Being one of the most famous Chinese critics, he wrote this book stating six laws which he thinks are the good characteristics of a work of art and the person who created it. His ideas have been recognized and considered in Chinese painting ever since. Conclusion It is quite apparent that in the three East Asian Cultures that were discussed, it seems that the Chinese really had a lot to contribute in terms of creating art and understanding art during the ancient times. And these contributions and ideas are still apparent even to the present day. Let us not fail to consider that other Asian cultures also had their own influences and contributions to , Asia and the World but China probably just had the most influential ones because they were probably the first in doing and developing many things also considering how big and powerful the Chinese civilization is. In looking for a commonality, it seemed that all three had their share of ceramic and pottery craft. Naturally, they did not yet have plastic back then and they were still quite new to metals which was why clay would be the main material they would likely use in creating things. They also had a different use for some pottery; they used some urns as sort of coffins in which they placed their dead. In understanding today’s culture, it would be good to look back and understand the ancient forms of art that had a great role in the development of a culture and how it influences other surrounding cultures up to the present days. Works Cited â€Å"China, 1–500 A. D. â€Å". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/ht/05/eac/ht05eac. htm (October 2000)†Haniwa Boar [Japan] (1975. 268. 418)†. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/ho/05/eaj/ho_1975. 268. 418. htm (October 2006) â€Å"Japan, 1–500 A. D. â€Å". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/ht/05/eaj/ht05eaj. htm (October 2000) â€Å"Korea, 1–500 A. D. â€Å". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/ht/05/eak/ht05eak. htm (October 2000)