Ancient Chinese Art, Essay Example

Through out the ancient Chinese history which is divided into periods by technology and the ruling dynasties, the Chinese have developed an extremely diverse collection of art work; art work from this region predating the era when history writing began has been found by archeologists. Chinas earliest art work used stones and rocks as the expression medium. After some time in the Bronze Age the Chinese learnt how to use of bronze. After the Bronze Age came the Stone Age then the Neolithic Stone Age.  China has been under the rule of many different dynasties throughout the years. The, the Qin Dynasty, T’ang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty and the Han Dynasty all made contributions to ancient Chinese art with  each dynasty having its own unique style which kept on evolving as time passed  (Watson W. 1995).

Different art forms were influenced by teachers, religious figures, political leaders and great philosophers.  Three major religions had a significant influence on Chinese art through out the years. The first religion was Confucianism after which came Taoism and then Buddhism followed with probably the biggest impact on the art of the region. The deep love for nature which the Chinese are known to have was also an inspiration. The three religions also fostered the development of this love because of their concepts around becoming one with nature. Particularly the Chinese artists liked painting landscapes thus the large collection of landscape drawings and paintings made through different techniques in China. Birds and flowers were the other major themes from nature in china (Ancient Chinese art).

The Different Art Forms Throughout History

There are a variety of art forms in the ancient Chinese artwork collection. The Chinese is credited for developing some of the forms of art while some of these had already existed in other countries. Amongst the forms practiced by the Chinese were calligraphy, Painting, pottery, sculpture, paper cuts, metal arts and folk arts.During the first century (the rule of tang dynasty) unique art forms like paper cuts developed in China. The Chinese were the first to develop an art form with the new material.  This form of art work would be used for decorating people’s homes and by some women in their hair.

Chinese Theatre

References to theatrical entertainments in China date as early as 1500 BC during the era of Shang Dynasty. These often involved clowning, acrobatic displays and music. Shadow puppetry was first recognized as form of theatre during the Han Dynasty. Two different forms of shadow puppetry, Pekingese northern and Cantonese southern emerged. The difference in the two styles was the method used to make the puppets.  Many popular plays which involved music and acrobatics existed in the Sung Dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty these developed into a more sophisticated art form which had a four or five art structure. Yuan drama did not only spread throughout China but also diversified into various regional forms like the Beijing Opera.

Folk Art

These were forms of art inherited from a ethnic scene in China with some variations existing between provinces they are art forms that do not fall under the class of fine arts. They include ; Puppetry In  which Puppeteers used different  types  of puppets, including glove puppets, marionettes, rod puppets, wire puppets and  cloth puppets in performances where folk songs and dances were incorporated  over some dialogues with the subject matter mainly originating from children’s fables and  stories .there was also  Shadow play,  a form of puppetry which was  performed by moving figures made using cardboard or animal skins  and  held behind a lamplight lit screen . The singing style and theme in the shadow plays was similar to Chinese opera except the fact that there were no live actors. Chinese knot was another form of folk art in which knot patterns were used in decoration (Ancient Chinese art).

Chinese Painting

The earliest paintings were ornamental consisting of designs or patterns rather than pictures.  Zigzags, spirals, animals or dots were used to paint Stone Age pottery. Artists in the period between the Han (202 BC) and the Tang (618–906) dynasties painted the human figure mainly.  Paintings from burial sites form much of what is known about early Chinese figure painting .such paintings were preserved on tomb walls, lacquered objects and silk banners. The tomb paintings were meant to help the souls of the dead reach heaven or protect them. Others showed daily life scenes or demonstrated the teachings of confucius the Chinese philosopher. critics consider  the highest form of painting  to be landscape .artists like  Fan Kuan,  Guo Xi and Jing Hao, used ink wash,  thick black lines ,brushstrokes which were sharp and dotted to illustrate rough stone when  painting  pictures of towering mountains (Siren O. 1937).

Calligraphy

The origin of Chinese Calligraphy is not uncertain however according to a tale in ancient Chinese history, Chinese calligraphy originated during the reign of the Yellow Emperor Cang Jie which dates 4000 years ago. Earlier periods of the Chinese history reveal that calligraphy was used in parallel with poetry as a means of cultivation and self expression and had more valued than sculpture and painting .During the reign of Qin Dynasty Calligraphy became an art .During the Jin Dynasty some great calligraphers emerged, including Wang Xianzhi and Wang Xizhi . In the era of Tang dynasty, calligraphy became a serious art form and this saw the rise of many great calligraphers including Yan Zhenqing .However following the fall of the Tang Dynasty calligraphy started to decline with the decline hitting more in the Ming Dynasty (Chinese calligraphy).

References

Watson W. (1995). The Arts of China to AD 1900. Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Web . Ancient Chinese art. Retrieved 10 November 2009.Avilable:  http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/China/Ancient-Chinese-Art/1736

Web. Chinese calligraphy. Retrieved 9 may 2009 .Available: http://www.asianartmall.com/calligraphyarticle.htm

Siren O. (1937). A History of Chinese Painting .London: Medici Society