El arte chino es el arte visual que se originó o se practica en China, la Gran China o por artistas chinos. El arte creado por chinos que residen fuera de China también puede considerarse parte del arte chino cuando se basa en la cultura , el patrimonio y la historia de China o se nutre de ellos. El " arte de la Edad de Piedra " temprano se remonta al año 10.000 a. C. y consiste principalmente en cerámica y esculturas sencillas. Después de ese período, el arte chino, al igual que la historia china, se clasificó típicamente por la sucesión de dinastías gobernantes de emperadores chinos , la mayoría de las cuales duraron varios cientos de años. El Museo del Palacio en Pekín y el Museo Nacional del Palacio en Taipei contienen extensas colecciones de arte chino. [1] [2]
El arte chino se caracteriza por un grado inusual de continuidad y de conciencia de la tradición, que no tiene equivalente al colapso occidental y la recuperación gradual de los estilos clásicos occidentales de arte . Las artes decorativas son extremadamente importantes en el arte chino, y gran parte de las mejores obras fueron producidas en grandes talleres o fábricas por artistas esencialmente desconocidos, especialmente en cerámica china .
Gran parte de las mejores obras de cerámica, textiles y laca tallada se produjeron durante un largo período en las diversas fábricas o talleres imperiales, que además de ser utilizadas por la corte, se distribuyeron internamente y en el extranjero a gran escala para demostrar la riqueza y el poder de los emperadores. En contraste, la tradición de la pintura con tinta china , practicada principalmente por funcionarios académicos y pintores de la corte, especialmente de paisajes , flores y pájaros, desarrolló valores estéticos que dependen de la imaginación individual y la observación objetiva del artista, similares a los de Occidente, pero muy anteriores a su desarrollo allí. Después de que los contactos con el arte occidental se volvieran cada vez más importantes a partir del siglo XIX, en las últimas décadas China ha participado con un éxito creciente en el arte contemporáneo mundial . [ cita requerida ]
Las primeras formas de arte en China se encuentran en la cultura neolítica Yangshao , que data del sexto milenio a. C. Los hallazgos arqueológicos, como los de Banpo, han revelado que los Yangshao hacían cerámica; las primeras cerámicas no estaban pintadas y, en la mayoría de los casos, estaban marcadas con cuerdas. Las primeras decoraciones eran peces y rostros humanos, pero con el tiempo evolucionaron hacia diseños abstractos geométricos simétricos, algunos pintados. [ cita requerida ]
La característica más distintiva de la cultura Yangshao fue el uso extensivo de cerámica pintada, especialmente diseños faciales humanos, animales y geométricos. A diferencia de la posterior cultura Longshan , la cultura Yangshao no utilizó tornos de alfarería para la fabricación de cerámica. Las excavaciones han descubierto que los niños eran enterrados en vasijas de cerámica pintadas. [ cita requerida ]
La cultura Liangzhu fue la última cultura neolítica del jade en el delta del río Yangtze y se extendió a lo largo de un período de aproximadamente 1.300 años. El jade de esta cultura se caracteriza por grandes jades rituales finamente trabajados, como cilindros Cong , discos Bi , hachas Yue y también colgantes y decoraciones en forma de placas caladas cinceladas, platos y representaciones de pequeños pájaros, tortugas y peces. El jade de Liangzhu tiene un aspecto blanco lechoso similar al hueso debido a su origen en roca de tremolita y a la influencia de fluidos a base de agua en los lugares de enterramiento. [ cita requerida ]
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La Edad del Bronce en China comenzó con la dinastía Xia . Se han recuperado ejemplos de este período en las ruinas de la cultura Erlitou , en Shanxi, que incluyen objetos utilitarios complejos pero sin adornos. En la siguiente dinastía Shang se elaboraron objetos más elaborados, incluidos muchos vasos rituales. Los Shang son recordados por su fundición de bronce, conocida por su claridad de detalle. Los broncistas Shang solían trabajar en fundiciones fuera de las ciudades para hacer vasos rituales, y a veces también armas y accesorios para carros. Los vasos de bronce eran receptáculos para almacenar o servir diversos sólidos y líquidos utilizados en la realización de ceremonias sagradas. Algunas formas como el ku y el jue pueden ser muy elegantes, pero las piezas más poderosas son el ding , a veces descrito como de "aire de feroz majestad". [ cita requerida ]
El estilo Shang desarrollado se caracteriza por la decoración de todo el espacio disponible, generalmente con formas estilizadas de animales reales e imaginarios. El motivo más común es el taotie , que muestra un ser mitológico presentado de frente, como aplastado sobre un plano horizontal para formar un diseño simétrico. El significado inicial del taotie no está claro, pero existían mitos sobre él alrededor de finales de la dinastía Zhou . Se lo consideraba un hombre codicioso desterrado para proteger un rincón del cielo contra monstruos malvados; o un monstruo equipado solo con una cabeza que intenta devorar hombres pero solo se lastima a sí mismo.
La función y el aspecto de los bronces cambiaron gradualmente desde la época Shang hasta la época Zhou. Pasaron de utilizarse en ritos religiosos a fines más prácticos. En el período de los Reinos Combatientes , los vasos de bronce se habían convertido en objetos de disfrute estético. Algunos estaban decorados con escenas sociales, como un banquete o una cacería, mientras que otros mostraban patrones abstractos con incrustaciones de oro, plata o piedras preciosas y semipreciosas.
Los artefactos de bronce también tienen un significado y un papel importantes en la dinastía Han. La gente los usaba con fines funerarios que reflejan las cualidades estéticas y artísticas de la dinastía Han. [5] Muchos recipientes de bronce excavados en tumbas en la provincia de Jiangsu, China, tienen varias formas como Ding, Hu y Xun que representan a la esteta tradicional china. [5] Estos recipientes son representaciones clásicas de las formas de arte celestial chinas que juegan un gran papel en la comunicación de los antiguos chinos con los espíritus de sus antepasados. [5] Además de los recipientes, también se encuentran armas de bronce, artículos de uso diario e instrumentos musicales en la tumba de las familias reales Han en Jiangsu. Poder poner un juego completo de Bianzhong en la tumba de uno significa su estatus y clase en la dinastía Han, ya que este tipo particular de instrumento solo lo adquieren y poseen las familias reales y adineradas. [5] Aparentemente, el Bianzhong y la música también se utilizan como un camino para que los gobernantes Han se comuniquen con sus dioses. [5] La excavación de Bianzhong, un instrumento típico y real encontrado en la antigua China, enfatiza el desarrollo de sistemas musicales complejos en la dinastía Han. [5] El conjunto de Bianzhong puede variar en muchos casos; por ejemplo, una excavación específica de Bianzhong de la provincia de Jiangsu incluye diferentes conjuntos de campanas, como las campanas Niuzhong y Yongzhong, y muchas de ellas aparecen en formas animales como el dragón, un animal espiritual chino tradicional. [5]
Los bronces Shang se convirtieron en obras de arte apreciadas a partir de la dinastía Song , cuando se coleccionaban y apreciaban no solo por su forma y diseño, sino también por las diversas pátinas verdes, azules, verdes e incluso rojizas que se creaban por la acción química cuando se enterraban en el suelo. El estudio de la fundición de bronce china temprana es un campo especializado de la historia del arte.
Durante el período Zhou, pocas esculturas, especialmente esculturas de forma humana o animal, están registradas en la arqueología existente, y no parece haber habido mucha tradición escultórica. [8] [9] Entre las pocas representaciones de este tipo conocidas en China antes de esa fecha: cuatro figurillas de madera [10] de Liangdaicun (梁帶村) en Hancheng (韓城), Shaanxi , posiblemente datadas del siglo IX a. C.; dos figurillas humanas de madera de extranjeros que posiblemente representan a portadores de sillas de manos de una tumba del estado de Qin en Longxian (隴縣), Shaanxi, de aproximadamente 700 a. C.; y estatuillas más numerosas de músicos de bronce de alrededor del siglo V en una casa en miniatura de Shaoxing (紹興) en Zhejiang ; un soporte de lámpara con forma humana del siglo IV de la tumba real del condado de Pingshan (平山), Hebei . El jinete de Taerpo es una figura de terracota del Estado guerrero Qin de la era Zhou de una tumba en el cementerio de Taerpo (塔兒坡墓) cerca de Xianyang en Shaanxi , que data del siglo IV-III a. C. Se conoce otra estatuilla casi idéntica, de la misma tumba. Pequeños agujeros en sus manos sugieren que originalmente sostenía riendas en una mano y un arma en la otra. [11] Esta es la representación más antigua conocida de un soldado de caballería en China. [11]
Una rica fuente de arte en la China primitiva fue el estado de Chu , que se desarrolló en el valle del río Yangtze. Las excavaciones de las tumbas de Chu han encontrado esculturas de madera pintadas, discos de jade, cuentas de vidrio, instrumentos musicales y una variedad de objetos lacados . Muchos de los objetos lacados están finamente pintados, rojo sobre negro o negro sobre rojo. Un yacimiento en Changsha , provincia de Hunan, ha revelado algunas de las pinturas sobre seda más antiguas descubiertas hasta la fecha.
El Ejército de Terracota , dentro del Mausoleo del Primer Emperador Qin, consta de más de 7.000 figuras de terracota de tamaño natural de guerreros y caballos enterrados con el autoproclamado primer Emperador de China Qin Shi Huang en 210-209 a. C. Las figuras fueron pintadas antes de ser colocadas en la bóveda. Los colores originales eran visibles cuando se desenterraron las piezas por primera vez. Sin embargo, la exposición al aire hizo que los pigmentos se desvanecieran, por lo que hoy las figuras desenterradas parecen de color terracota. Las figuras están en varias poses, incluyendo infantería de pie y arqueros arrodillados, así como aurigas con caballos. La cabeza de cada figura parece ser única, mostrando una variedad de rasgos faciales y expresiones, así como peinados. El espectacular realismo mostrado por las esculturas es una evidencia del avance del arte durante la dinastía Qin. [12] No tiene precedentes en el registro histórico del arte en el este de Asia. [13] [9]
Durante la dinastía Qin se desarrolló un instrumento musical llamado cítara Qin. Los componentes estéticos siempre han sido tan importantes como las partes funcionales de un instrumento musical en la historia china. La cítara Qin tiene siete cuerdas. Aunque a veces la cítara Qin puede recordar a la gente épocas de corrupción, a menudo se la considera un símbolo de paz y armonía. [14]
Durante la dinastía Qin, se estandarizaron los tipos de letra, los sistemas de medición y la moneda china con el fin de lograr una mayor unificación. [16] La Gran Muralla China se amplió como una construcción defensiva contra los intrusos del norte. [16]
La dinastía Han era conocida por sus trajes funerarios de jade . Una de las primeras representaciones conocidas de un paisaje en el arte chino proviene de un par de paneles de puerta de tejas huecas de una tumba de la dinastía Han occidental cerca de Zhengzhou , que data del 60 a. C. [17] Una escena de recesión de profundidad continua se transmite por el zigzag de líneas que representan caminos y muros de jardines, dando la impresión de que uno está mirando hacia abajo desde la cima de una colina. [17] Esta escena de paisaje artístico se hizo mediante la impresión repetida de sellos estándar en la arcilla mientras aún estaba blanda y aún no cocida. [17] Sin embargo, la tradición de escena de arte paisajístico más antigua conocida en el sentido clásico de la pintura es una obra de Zhan Ziqian de la dinastía Sui (581-618).
Aparte de los artefactos de jade, el bronce es otro medio favorito para los artistas, ya que es duro y duradero. Los espejos de bronce se han producido en masa en la dinastía Han (206 a. C. - 220 d. C.), y casi todas las tumbas excavadas que han sido datadas como de la dinastía Han tienen espejo en el entierro. [18] El lado reflectante generalmente está hecho con una composición de bronce, cobre, estaño y plomo. [18] La palabra "espejo" significa "reflejar" o "mirar" en chino, por lo que los espejos de bronce se han utilizado como un tropo para reflejar la realidad. [18] Los antiguos chinos creen que el espejo puede actuar como una representación de la realidad, lo que podría hacerlos más conscientes de la situación actual; también, los espejos se utilizan como un medio para transmitir o presentar un reflejo de los eventos pasados. [18] Los espejos de bronce hechos en la dinastía Han siempre tienen decoraciones complejas en su lado no reflectante; algunos de ellos consisten en narrativas que cuentan historias. [18] Las narraciones mismas siempre reflejan las teorías comunes pero esenciales de la vida del pueblo Han. [19]
Las estatuillas de terracota se conocían desde hacía mucho tiempo en China, pero no se conocen ejemplos de estatuas monumentales de piedra anteriores a las esculturas de piedra del Mausoleo de Huo Qubing (140-117 a. C.), un general del emperador Han Wudi que fue a las regiones occidentales para luchar contra los xiongnu . [20] En las fuentes literarias, solo hay un único registro del siglo III-IV d. C. de un posible ejemplo anterior: dos supuestas estatuas monumentales de piedra de qilin (unicornios chinos) que se dice que se colocaron sobre la tumba del primer emperador Qin Shihuang . [21] La más famosa de las estatuas de Huo Qubing es la de un caballo pisoteando a un guerrero xiongnu . [20]
El Mausoleo de Huo Qubing (situado en Maoling , el Mausoleo de Han Wudi) tiene 15 esculturas de piedra más. Estas son menos naturalistas que la del "Caballo pisoteando a un Xiongnu", y tienden a seguir la forma natural de la piedra, con detalles de las figuras que solo aparecen en alto relieve. [22] Después de estos primeros intentos, el uso de estatuas monumentales de piedra solo se desarrollaría desde finales de la dinastía Han occidental hasta la dinastía Han oriental. [23]
Las estatuas monumentales de piedra se convertirían en una forma de arte importante entre los siglos IV y VI d. C. con el inicio de la escultura budista monumental en China. [24]
El budismo llegó a China alrededor del siglo I d. C. (aunque existen algunas tradiciones sobre la visita de un monje a China durante el reinado de Asoka ) y hasta el siglo VIII se volvió muy activo y creativo en el desarrollo del arte budista, en particular en el área de la estatuaria. Al recibir esta religión lejana, China pronto incorporó fuertes rasgos chinos a su expresión artística.
En los siglos V y VI, las dinastías del norte , bastante alejadas de las fuentes originales de inspiración, tendieron a desarrollar modos de representación más bien simbólicos y abstractos, con líneas esquemáticas. Su estilo también se dice que es solemne y majestuoso. La falta de corporeidad de este arte, y su distanciamiento del objetivo budista original de expresar el ideal puro de la iluminación de una manera accesible y realista, condujo progresivamente a una investigación hacia un mayor naturalismo y realismo, que dio lugar a la expresión del arte budista Tang.
En la antigua China, la pintura y la caligrafía eran las artes más apreciadas en los círculos de la corte y eran producidas casi exclusivamente por aficionados, aristócratas y funcionarios académicos que eran los únicos que tenían tiempo libre para perfeccionar la técnica y la sensibilidad necesarias para una gran pincelada. Se pensaba que la caligrafía era la forma más elevada y pura de pintura. Los instrumentos eran el pincel, hecho de pelo de animal, y la tinta negra hecha de hollín de pino y cola animal. La escritura, al igual que la pintura, se hacía sobre seda. Pero después de la invención del papel en el siglo I, la seda fue reemplazada gradualmente por el material nuevo y más barato. Los escritos originales de calígrafos famosos han sido muy valorados a lo largo de la historia de China y se montan en pergaminos y se cuelgan en las paredes de la misma manera que se hace con las pinturas.
Wang Xizhi fue un famoso calígrafo chino que vivió en el siglo IV d. C. Su obra más famosa es Lanting Xu , el prefacio de una colección de poemas. La escritura se ha celebrado a menudo como el punto culminante del "estilo continuo" semicursivo en la historia de la caligrafía china.
Wei Shuo fue una calígrafa muy conocida de la dinastía Jin del Este que estableció importantes reglas sobre la escritura regular . Entre sus obras más conocidas se encuentran La famosa inscripción de la concubina (名姬帖 Ming Ji Tie) y La inscripción de Wei-shi He'nan (衛氏和南帖 Wei-shi He'nan Tie).
Gu Kaizhi es un célebre pintor de la antigua China nacido en Wuxi . Escribió tres libros sobre teoría de la pintura: Sobre la pintura (畫論), Introducción a las pinturas famosas de las dinastías Wei y Jin (魏晉名畫記) y Pintura de la montaña Yuntai (畫雲臺山記). Escribió: "En las pinturas de figuras, la ropa y las apariencias no eran muy importantes. Los ojos eran el espíritu y el factor decisivo". Tres de las pinturas de Gu todavía sobreviven hoy: Admoniciones de la instructora a las damas de la corte , Ninfa del río Luo (洛神賦) y Mujeres sabias y benévolas .
Existen otros ejemplos de pinturas de la dinastía Jin en tumbas, como los Siete sabios del bosque de bambú, pintados en una pared de ladrillos de una tumba situada cerca de la actual Nanjing y que ahora se encuentran en el Museo Provincial de Shaanxi. Cada una de las figuras está etiquetada y se las muestra bebiendo, escribiendo o tocando un instrumento musical. Otras pinturas de tumbas también representan escenas de la vida cotidiana, como hombres arando los campos con yuntas de bueyes.
Tras una transición durante la dinastía Sui , la escultura budista de la dinastía Tang evolucionó hacia una expresión marcadamente realista. Como consecuencia de la apertura de la dinastía al comercio exterior y a las influencias a través de la Ruta de la Seda , la escultura budista de la dinastía Tang adoptó una forma más bien clásica, inspirada en el arte greco-budista de Asia Central.
Sin embargo, hacia el final de la dinastía Tang, las influencias extranjeras empezaron a ser percibidas de forma negativa. En el año 845, el emperador Tang Wuzong prohibió todas las religiones "extranjeras" (incluidos el cristianismo nestoriano , el zoroastrismo y el budismo) para apoyar el taoísmo autóctono . Confiscó las posesiones budistas y obligó a la fe a pasar a la clandestinidad, lo que afectó al desarrollo posterior de la religión y sus artes en China.
Las figuras de las tumbas de la dinastía Tang, de barro pintado o esmaltado , son famosas y están bien representadas en museos de todo el mundo. La mayoría de las esculturas de madera de la dinastía Tang no han sobrevivido, aunque todavía se pueden ver representaciones del estilo internacional de la dinastía Tang en Nara , Japón. La longevidad de la escultura de piedra ha demostrado ser mucho mayor. Algunos de los mejores ejemplos se pueden ver en Longmen , cerca de Luoyang , Yungang cerca de Datong y el templo Bingling en Gansu . Una de las pagodas budistas chinas más famosas es la Gran Pagoda del Ganso Salvaje , construida en el año 652 d. C.
A partir de la dinastía Tang (618-907), el tema principal de la pintura era el paisaje, conocido como pintura shanshui (agua de montaña). En estos paisajes, generalmente monocromáticos y despojados, el propósito no era reproducir exactamente la apariencia de la naturaleza, sino más bien captar una emoción o una atmósfera para captar el "ritmo" de la naturaleza.
La pintura tradicional implicaba básicamente las mismas técnicas que la caligrafía y se hacía con un pincel mojado en tinta negra o de color; no se utilizaban óleos. Al igual que en el caso de la caligrafía, los materiales más populares sobre los que se hacían las pinturas eran el papel y la seda. Las obras terminadas se montaban después en pergaminos, que se podían colgar o enrollar. La pintura tradicional también se hacía en álbumes, en las paredes, con laca y en otros medios.
Dong Yuan fue un pintor activo en el Reino Tang del Sur. Era conocido por sus pinturas de figuras y paisajes, y ejemplificó el estilo elegante que se convertiría en el estándar de la pintura con pincel en China durante los siguientes 900 años. Como muchos artistas en China, su profesión era la de funcionario, donde estudió los estilos existentes de Li Sixun y Wang Wei. Sin embargo, agregó más técnicas, incluida una perspectiva más sofisticada, el uso del puntillismo y el rayado cruzado para crear efectos vívidos.
Zhan Ziqian fue un pintor de la dinastía Sui. Su único cuadro que se conserva es Paseo en primavera , en el que se muestran montañas en perspectiva. Dado que las pinturas de paisajes puros apenas se ven en Europa hasta el siglo XVII, Paseo en primavera puede ser la primera pintura de paisaje del mundo.
Durante la dinastía Song (960-1279) aparecieron paisajes de expresión más sutil; se transmitían distancias inconmensurables mediante el uso de contornos borrosos, contornos de montañas que desaparecían en la niebla y un tratamiento impresionista de los fenómenos naturales. Se hizo hincapié en las cualidades espirituales de la pintura y en la capacidad del artista para revelar la armonía interior del hombre y la naturaleza, tal como se percibe según los conceptos taoístas y budistas .
Liang Kai fue un pintor chino que vivió en el siglo XIII (dinastía Song). Se hacía llamar "el loco Liang" y pasó su vida bebiendo y pintando. Finalmente, se retiró y se convirtió en monje zen . A Liang se le atribuye la invención de la escuela zen de arte chino. Wen Tong fue un pintor que vivió en el siglo XI. Era famoso por sus pinturas con tinta de bambú . Podía sostener dos pinceles en una mano y pintar dos bambúes a diferentes distancias simultáneamente. No necesitaba ver el bambú mientras los pintaba porque había visto muchos de ellos.
Zhang Zeduan fue un pintor notable por su pintura horizontal de paisaje urbano y paisaje junto al río durante el Festival Qingming . Se considera una de las pinturas más famosas de China y ha tenido muchas versiones nuevas conocidas a lo largo de la historia china. [25] Otras pinturas famosas incluyen Los festejos nocturnos de Han Xizai , originalmente pintada por el artista Tang del sur Gu Hongzhong en el siglo X, mientras que la versión conocida de su pintura es una nueva versión del siglo XII de la dinastía Song. Se trata de un gran rollo horizontal de una escena doméstica que muestra a hombres de la clase noble entretenidos por músicos y bailarines mientras disfrutan de comida, bebida y lavabos proporcionados por sirvientas. En 2000, el artista moderno Wang Qingsong creó una parodia de esta pintura con una fotografía larga y horizontal de personas con ropa moderna haciendo expresiones faciales, poses y gestos con las manos similares a la pintura original.
Con la caída de la dinastía Song en 1279 y la subsiguiente dislocación causada por el establecimiento de la dinastía Yuan por los conquistadores mongoles , muchos artistas de la corte y literarios se retiraron de la vida social y regresaron a la naturaleza, a través de pinturas de paisajes y renovando el estilo "azul y verde" de la era Tang. [26]
Wang Meng fue uno de esos pintores, y una de sus obras más famosas es la Gruta del Bosque . Zhao Mengfu fue un erudito, pintor y calígrafo chino durante la dinastía Yuan . Se considera que su rechazo de la pincelada refinada y suave de su época en favor del estilo más crudo del siglo VIII provocó una revolución que creó la pintura de paisajes china moderna. También estuvieron las obras de arte vívidas y detalladas de Qian Xuan (1235-1305), que había servido a la corte Song y, por patriotismo, se negó a servir a los mongoles, y en su lugar se dedicó a la pintura. También fue famoso por revivir y reproducir un estilo de pintura más propio de la dinastía Tang.
La dinastía Yuan posterior se caracteriza por la obra de los llamados "Cuatro Grandes Maestros". El más notable de ellos fue Huang Gongwang (1269-1354), cuyos paisajes frescos y sobrios fueron admirados por sus contemporáneos y por los pintores literatos chinos de siglos posteriores. Otro de gran influencia fue Ni Zan (1301-1374), que frecuentemente organizaba sus composiciones con un primer plano y un fondo fuertes y definidos, pero dejaba el plano medio como una extensión vacía. Este esquema fue adoptado con frecuencia por los pintores posteriores de las dinastías Ming y Qing . [26]
La porcelana china está hecha de una pasta dura hecha de caolín y un feldespato llamado petuntse , que cementa el recipiente y sella los poros. China se ha convertido en sinónimo de porcelana de alta calidad. La mayoría de las vasijas de porcelana provienen de la ciudad de Jingdezhen en la provincia de Jiangxi . La porcelana de Jingdezhen , bajo una variedad de nombres, ha sido fundamental para la producción de porcelana en China desde al menos la dinastía Yuan.
Durante la dinastía Ming , la cultura china floreció. La pintura narrativa, con una gama cromática más amplia y una composición mucho más recargada que las pinturas Song, fue inmensamente popular en esa época.
Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) desarrolló el estilo de la escuela Wu en Suzhou , que dominó la pintura china durante el siglo XVI. [27]
La cultura europea empezó a tener un impacto en el arte chino durante este período. El sacerdote jesuita Matteo Ricci visitó Nanjing con muchas obras de arte occidentales, que influyeron en la exposición de diferentes técnicas de perspectiva y sombreado. [28]
La dinastía Qing temprana se desarrolló en dos vertientes principales: la escuela ortodoxa y los pintores individualistas, ambas siguiendo las teorías de Dong Qichang, pero enfatizando aspectos muy diferentes. [29]
Los " Cuatro Wang ", entre los que se encontraban Wang Jian (1598-1677) y Wang Shimin (1592-1680), fueron especialmente famosos en la escuela ortodoxa y buscaron inspiración en la recreación de los estilos pasados, especialmente las habilidades técnicas en pinceladas y caligrafía de los maestros antiguos. El joven Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715) ritualizó el enfoque de interactuar con la obra de un maestro antiguo y obtener inspiración de ella. Sus propias obras a menudo estaban anotadas con sus teorías sobre cómo su pintura se relaciona con el modelo del maestro. [30]
Entre los pintores individualistas se encontraban Bada Shanren (1626-1705) y Shitao (1641-1707). Se inspiraron más en las ideas revolucionarias de trascender la tradición para lograr un estilo individualista original; de esta manera, seguían más fielmente el camino de Dong Qichang que la escuela ortodoxa (que eran sus seguidores directos oficiales). [31]
Painters outside of the literati-scholar and aristocratic traditions also gained renown, with some artists creating paintings to sell for money. These included Ma Quan (late 17th–18th century), who depicted common flowers, birds, and insects that were not typical subject matter among scholars. Such painters were, however, not separated from formal schools of painting, but were usually well-versed in artistic styles and techniques. Ma Quan, for example, modelled her brushwork on Song dynasty examples.[32] Simultaneously, the boneless technique (Chinese: 沒骨畫), thought to have originated as a preparatory step when painting gold-line images during the Tang, was continued by painters like Yun Shouping (1633–1690) and his descendant Yun Bing.[33]
As the techniques of color printing were perfected, illustrated manuals on the art of painting began to be published. Jieziyuan Huazhuan (Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden), a five-volume work first published in 1679, has been in use as a technical textbook for artists and students ever since.
Nianhua were a form of colored woodblock prints in China, depicting images for decoration during the Chinese New Year. In the 19th century Nianhua were used as news mediums.
The Shanghai School is a very important Chinese school of traditional arts during the Qing dynasty and the 20th century. Under efforts of masters from this school, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of Chinese painting (中國畫), or guohua (國畫) for short. The Shanghai School challenged and broke the literati tradition of Chinese art, while also paying technical homage to the ancient masters and improving on existing traditional techniques. Members of this school were themselves educated literati who had come to question their very status and the purpose of art, and had anticipated the impending modernization of Chinese society. In an era of rapid social change, works from the Shanghai School were widely innovative and diverse, and often contained thoughtful yet subtle social commentary. The best known figures from this school are Ren Xiong, Ren Bonian, Zhao Zhiqian, Wu Changshuo, Sha Menghai, Pan Tianshou, Fu Baoshi, He Tianjian, and Xie Zhiliu. Other well-known painters include Wang Zhen, Xugu, Zhang Xiong, Hu Yuan, and Yang Borun.
Traditional Chinese painting, like Chinese calligraphy, is done with abrush dipped in black or colored ink; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made of are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media.
The two main techniques in Chinese painting are:
Artists from the Han to the Tang dynasties mainly painted the human figure. Much of what is known of early Chinese figure painting comes from burial sites, where paintings were preserved on silk banners, lacquered objects, and tomb walls. Many early tomb paintings were meant to protect the dead or help their souls get to paradise. Others illustrated the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, or showed scenes of daily life. Most Chinese portraits showed a formal full-length frontal view, and were used in the family in ancestor veneration. Imperial portraits were more flexible, but were generally not seen outside the court, and portraiture formed no part of Imperial propaganda, as in other cultures.
Many critics consider landscape to be the highest form of Chinese painting. The time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape". In the north, artists such as Jing Hao, Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi painted pictures of towering mountains, using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough rocks. In the south, Dong Yuan, Juran, and other artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside in peaceful scenes done with softer, rubbed brushwork. These two kinds of scenes and techniques became the classical styles of Chinese landscape painting.
Chinese ritual bronzes from the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties come from a period of over a thousand years from c. 1500 BC, and have exerted a continuing influence over Chinese art. They are cast with complex patterned and zoomorphic decoration, but avoid the human figure, unlike the huge figures only recently discovered at Sanxingdui.[38] The spectacular Terracotta Army was assembled for the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China from 221 to 210 BC, as a grand imperial version of the figures long placed in tombs to enable the deceased to enjoy the same lifestyle in the afterlife as when alive, replacing actual sacrifices of very early periods. Smaller figures in pottery or wood were placed in tombs for many centuries afterwards, reaching a peak of quality in the Tang dynasty tomb figures.[39]
Native Chinese religions do not usually use cult images of deities, or even represent them, and large religious sculpture is nearly all Buddhist, dating mostly from the 4th to the 14th century, and initially using Greco-Buddhist models arriving via the Silk Road. Buddhism is also the context of all large portrait sculpture; in total contrast to some other areas in medieval China even painted images of the emperor were regarded as private. Imperial tombs have spectacular avenues of approach lined with real and mythological animals on a scale matching Egypt, and smaller versions decorate temples and palaces.[40] Small Buddhist figures and groups were produced to a very high quality in a range of media,[41] as was relief decoration of all sorts of objects, especially in metalwork and jade.[42] Sculptors of all sorts were regarded as artisans and very few names are recorded.[43]
Chinese ceramic ware shows a continuous development since the pre-dynastic periods, and is one of the most significant forms of Chinese art. China is richly endowed with the raw materials needed for making ceramics. The first types of ceramics were made during the Palaeolithic era, and in later periods range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese porcelain wares made for the imperial court. Most later Chinese ceramics, even of the finest quality, were made on an industrial scale, thus very few individual potters or painters are known. Many of the most renowned workshops were owned by or reserved for the Emperor, and large quantities of ceramics were exported as diplomatic gifts or for trade from an early date.
As well as porcelain, a wide range of materials that were more valuable were worked and decorated with great skill for a range of uses or just for display.[42] Chinese jade was attributed with magical powers, and was used in the Stone and Bronze Ages for large and impractical versions of everyday weapons and tools, as well as the bi disks and cong vessels.[44] Later a range of objects and small sculptures were carved in jade, a difficult and time-consuming technique. Bronze, gold and silver, rhinoceros horn, Chinese silk, ivory, lacquer and carved lacquer, cloisonne enamel and many other materials had specialist artists working in them. Cloisonne underwent an interesting process of artistic hybridization in China, particularly in the pieces promoted by missionaries and Chinese Christian communities.[45]
Folding screens (Chinese: 屏風; pinyin: píngfēng) are often decorated with beautiful art; major themes include mythology, scenes of palace life, and nature. Materials such as wood panel, paper and silk are used in making folding screens. They were considered ideal ornaments for many painters to display their paintings and calligraphy.[46][47] Many artists painted on paper or silk and applied it onto the folding screen.[46] There were two distinct artistic folding screens mentioned in historical literature of the era.
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. Especially Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Ryukyu. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details. Since the Tang dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.
From the Neolithic era Longshan culture and Bronze Age era Erlitou culture, the earliest rammed earth fortifications exist, with evidence of timber architecture. The subterranean ruins of the palace at Yinxu dates back to the Shang. In historic China, architectural emphasis was laid upon the horizontal axis, in particular the construction of a heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls not as well emphasized. This contrasts Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and depth. Chinese architecture stresses the visual impact of the width of the buildings. The deviation from this standard is the tower architecture of the Chinese tradition, which began as a native tradition[citation needed] and was eventually influenced by the Buddhist building for housing religious sutras—the stupa—which came from Nepal. Ancient Chinese tomb model representations of multiple story residential towers and watchtowers date to the Han. However, the earliest extant Buddhist Chinese pagoda is the Songyue Pagoda, a 40 m (131 ft) tall circular-based brick tower built in Henan in the year 523 CE From the 6th century onwards, stone-based structures become more common, while the earliest are from stone and brick arches found in Han dynasty tombs. The Zhaozhou Bridge built from 595 to 605 CEis China's oldest extant stone bridge, as well as the world's oldest fully stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge.
The vocational trade of architect, craftsman, and engineer was not as highly respected in premodern Chinese society as the scholar-bureaucrats who were drafted into the government by the civil service examination system. Much of the knowledge about early Chinese architecture was passed on from one tradesman to his son or associative apprentice. However, there were several early treatises on architecture in China, with encyclopedic information on architecture dating back to the Han dynasty. The height of the classical Chinese architectural tradition in writing and illustration can be found in the Yingzao Fashi, a building manual written by 1100 and published by Li Jie (1065–1110) in 1103. In it there are numerous and meticulous illustrations and diagrams showing the assembly of halls and building components, as well as classifying structure types and building components.
There were certain architectural features that were reserved solely for buildings built for the Emperor of China. One example is the use of yellow roof tiles; yellow having been the Imperial color, yellow roof tiles still adorn most of the buildings within the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven, however, uses blue roof tiles to symbolize the sky. The roofs are almost invariably supported by brackets, a feature shared only with the largest of religious buildings. The wooden columns of the buildings, as well as the surface of the walls, tend to be red in colour.
Many current Chinese architectural designs follow post-modern and western styles.
Chinoiserie is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music.[48] The aesthetic of Chinoiserie has been expressed in different ways depending on the region. It is related to the broader current of Orientalism, which studied Far East cultures from a historical, philological, anthropological, philosophical, and religious point of view. First appearing in the 17th century, this trend was popularized in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China and East Asia.[49]
As a style, chinoiserie is related to the rococo style.[50] Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure. Chinoiserie focuses on subjects that were thought by colonial-era Europeans to be typical of Chinese culture.
The movement to modernize Chinese art started toward the end of the Qing dynasty. The traditional art form started to lose its appeal as the feudalistic structure of the society was dissolving. The modern view of the world had to be expressed in a different form. The explorations went on two main paths: one was to draw from the past to enrich the present (汲古潤今)*, the other was to "learn the new methods" (學習新法).*[51]
The literati art for the social elite was not appealing to the bourgeois patrons. Wu Changshuo (1844–1927) was among the Shanghai-based artists responsible for flowers and plants as the subject matter. His paintings used bold colors and energetic brush strokes, making them more accessible to the general public. Qi Baishi (1864–1957) painted images like crabs and shrimps that were even more approachable to the common people. Huang Binhong (1865–1955) denounced the literati paintings of the Qing dynasty and created his own style of landscape paintings by extensive investigations in Chinese art history. Zhang Daqian (1899–1983) used wall paintings in the Dunhuang (敦煌) caves to help him move beyond the literati tradition.
The Lingnan School (岭南画派) made some borrowings from the language of Western art in their ink paintings. Gao Jianfu (1879–1951), one of the founders of Lingnan School, was an active participant in the revolutionary movement of Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925). He was innovative in that he intended to use his paintings to highlight national issues, a medium for positive change in society.
A more radical style change started with Kang Youwei (1858–1927), a reformer who admired the more reality-based art of the Song dynasty. He believed that Chinese art could be rejuvenated by employing the reality-oriented art techniques of Europe. Xu Beihong (1895–1953) took this idea to heart and went to Paris to acquire the necessary skills. Liu Haisu (1896–1994), on the other hand, went to Japan to learn western techniques. Both Xu, and Liu became presidents of prestigious art schools, instilling new concepts and skills in the next generation of artists. Cai Yuanpei (1868–1940) was one of the leaders in the "New Culture Movement" (新文化运动). Those involved believed that intellectual activities should benefit all, not just the elites. Cai's belief that art could play a public, socially reformist role was adopted by Lin Fengmian (1900–1991).
Together with Yan Wenliang (1893–1988), Xu, Liu, and Lin were considered the "Four Great Academy Presidents" (四大校長), who spearheaded the national modern art movement. However, the subsequent upheaval caused by the Sino–Japanese war and the civil war did not allow this movement to grow. The Chinese modern art movement after the war developed differently in the four the regions: the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas.
The postwar era is roughly from 1949, the end of Chinese civil war, to 1976, the opening of mainland China to the outside world.
The postwar era in mainland China could be divided into two periods: 1949 to 1966 is generally called "The 17 Years"; 1966 to 1976 is the period of the "Cultural Revolution".
Chinese artists adopted social realism as a form of expression; it was a combination of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism. Artwork was not valued on its own terms but was subservient to a political purpose. According to Mao Zedong, art should be a "powerful weapon for uniting and educating the people, fighting and destroying the enemy". Praising political leaders and celebrating the achievements of socialism became the theme of all artwork. Western art forms, including Cubism, Fauvism, Abstraction, and Expressionism were deemed superficial and were categorized as formalism.
The biggest blow to art was the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957. Artists who were labeled as rightists were stripped of their right to create and even their jobs, and worse, the social standing of the artists and their families was placed at the lowest level, causing great mental suffering.
Some influential paintings from this period are:
These ten years could also be called the "Ten Years of Calamity" (十年浩劫). In order to destroy everything that supported the old social order, countless temples, historic sites, artworks, and books were ravaged and burnt. During this period the portrait of Mao and propaganda posters of revolution were everywhere. Anything that was remotely suspected of being out of line was destroyed, and the person behind it was prosecuted. For example, Owl by Huang Yongyu had one eye open and one eye closed; it was deemed an expression of dissatisfaction with current events. Zong Qixiang's painting, which shows three tigers, was deemed critical of the leader Lin Biao, whose name contained a character that had three tigers in it. Residual Lotus by Li Kuchan had eight lotus flowers; it was deemed to be critical of the eight communist approved movies (样板戏). Many prominent artists were persecuted during this time. For example, Yan, Xu, Liu, and Lin, the "Four Great Academy Presidents" 四大校長 (except for Xu who died before the Cultural Revolution), were all prosecuted and jailed, and all their work was destroyed during this time. However, despite the difficult environment, some noteworthy paintings were created. The following are some examples:
Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842 to 1997. The local art organizations were mostly run by Westerners who outnumbered Chinese painters until a large migration of Chinese from Southern China during Sino–Japanese War. Innovative art colleges were established after the war. The shows organized by local artists started in the early 1960s. After a reaction against the traditional Western artistic practices of the 1940s and the 1950s, some experimental works that combined both western and eastern techniques were made. Then came the call for a return to Chinese traditional art and the creation of forms of art that Hong Kong could call its own. The trend was led by Lui Shou Kwan. Some western concepts were incorporated into his Chinese ink paintings.[52]
Many Chinese artists went to study western art in Paris in the early 1900s, for example: Fang Ganmin (方幹民), Wu Dayu (吳大羽), Ong Schan Tchow (翁占秋), Lin Fengmian (林風眠), Yan Wenliang (顏文樑), Wu Guanzhong (吳冠中), Zao Wou-Ki (趟無極). All except Zao completed their education before 1949 and returned to become leaders in the modern art movement. (Zao happened to be in Paris in 1949 and did not return.) Some Chinese artists went to stay there because of the rich international art environment, for example: Sanyu, Pan Yuliang (潘玉良), Chu Teh-Chun (朱德群). Zao, Sanyu, Pang, and Chu all had shows in Paris and the Republic. All their paintings had varying degrees of Chinese elements in them. These artists not only had a profound influence in Chinese modern art, but they also continued to engage Parisians with modern art from the East.[53]
Li Tiefu (1869–1952) was an accomplished oil painter educated in Canada and the United States. He was an active participant in the revolutionary movement of Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925).
Zeng Youhe 曾佑和 (1925–2017)[54] was born in Beijing. She started receiving international recognition in 1946, when Michael Sullivan began praising and writing about her work. Zeng moved to Honolulu in 1949 and visited Hong Kong and Taiwan in 1960. Like those of the Fifth Moon Group (五月畫會), her paintings were abstract; but the flavor of traditional Chinese ink paintings were not as pronounced.
Because of its history, traditional Chinese art does not have strong roots in Taiwan. The art forms in Taiwan were generally decorative, until youths growing up under the Japanese occupation received formal art education in Japan. Not burdened with traditional art form, their exploration generally followed the path of "learning the new methods" (學習新法). When the Nationalists arrived in Taiwan, a group of ambitious youths who came with the Nationalists continued the modern art movement. The most notable were the Fifth Moon Group (五月畫會) and the Ton-Fan Art Group (東方畫會).[citation needed]
The original members of the group were alumni with art majors from the Academic Teachers College (師範大學), the only university with an art major at the time. Their first intention was to show that the effort to create new art was worthwhile in itself, even if it did not directly enhance art pedagogy. Later, it became a movement to modernize Chinese art.
The members of the Fifth Moon Group studied western art movements, and concluded that the abstract art form was the best medium for modern Chinese art. They felt the best the Chinese paintings were ones that de-emphasized realistic representation, and emphasized atmosphere and "vividness", which comes from the brush strokes and the natural interaction between ink and paper. To further that idea, one does not need representation of objects in painting, or strictly use ink and paper. The beauty of a painting can be appreciated directly from the forms, textures, and colors on the canvas without their relation to real objects. The group was active from 1957 to 1972. The main members are Liu Guosong, Chuang Che (莊喆), Hu Chi-Chung (胡奇中), Fong Chung-ray (馮鍾睿), and Han Hsiang-ning.
The members of this group were students who attended private art classes offered by Li Zhongsheng (李仲生), a mainland-born artist who had been one of the active participants in the modern art movement. He and a number of mainland artists who painted in a western style continued the modern art movement by publishing magazines and writing articles to introduce modern art to Taiwan. His teaching style was unconventional and socratic in nature.
The original intention of the group was to introduce modern art to the public. They believed there should be no restriction on the form or style of a modern Chinese painting, as long as the painting expressed meaning that was Chinese in nature. The group was active from 1957 to 1971. The main members were: Ho Kan (霍剛), Li Yuan-chia, Wu Hao (吳昊),[55] Oyan Wen-Yuen (歐陽文苑), Hsia Yan (夏陽), Hsiao Chin (蕭勤), Tommy Chen (陳道明),[56] and Hsiao Ming-Hsien (蕭明賢). The following are a sample of their paintings from that period:
Contemporary Chinese art (中國當代藝術) often referred to as Chinese avant-garde art, continued to develop since the 1980s as an outgrowth of modern art developments post-Cultural Revolution.
Contemporary Chinese art fully incorporates painting, film, video, photography, and performance. Until recently, art exhibitions deemed controversial have been routinely shut down by police, and performance artists in particular faced the threat of arrest in the early 1990s. More recently there has been greater tolerance by the Chinese government, though many internationally acclaimed artists are still restricted from media exposure at home or have exhibitions ordered closed. Leading contemporary visual artists include Ai Weiwei, Cai Guoqiang, Cai Jin, Chan Shengyao, Concept 21, Ding Yi, Fang Lijun, Fu Wenjun, He Xiangyu, Huang Yan, Huang Yong Ping, Han Yajuan, Kong Bai Ji, Li Hongbo, Li Hui, Liu Bolin, Lu Shengzhong, Ma Liuming, Qiu Deshu, Qiu Shihua, Shen Fan, Shen Shaomin, Shi Jinsong, Song Dong, Li Wei, Wang Guangyi, Wenda Gu, Xu Bing, Yang Zhichao, Zhan Wang, Zheng Lianjie, Zhang Dali, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Huan, Zhu Yu, Wu Shaoxiang, Ma Kelu, Ding Fang, Shang Yang, Gao Minglu and Guo Jian.
Beginning in the late 1980s, there was unprecedented exposure for younger Chinese visual artists in the west to some degree through the agency of curators based outside the country such as Hou Hanru. Local curators within the country such as Gao Minglu and critics such as Li Xianting reinforced this promotion of particular brands of painting that had recently emerged, while also spreading the idea of art as a strong social force within Chinese culture. There was some controversy as critics identified these imprecise representations of contemporary Chinese art as having been constructed out of personal preferences, a kind of programmatized[clarification needed] artist-curator relationship that only further alienated the majority of the avant-garde from Chinese officialdom and western art market patronage.
Today, the market for Chinese art, both antique and contemporary, is widely reported to be among the hottest and fastest-growing in the world, attracting buyers all over the world.[57][58][59] The Voice of America reported in 2006 that modern Chinese art is raking in record prices both internationally and in domestic markets, some experts even fearing the market might be overheating.[60] The Economist reported that Chinese art has become the latest darling in the world market according to the record sales from Sotheby's and Christie's, the biggest fine-art auction houses.[61]
Contemporary Chinese art saw record sales throughout the 2000s. In 2007, it was estimated that 5 of the world's 10 best selling living artists at art auction were from China, with artists such as Zhang Xiaogang whose works were sold for a total of $56.8 million at auction in 2007.[62] In terms of buying-market, China overtook France in the late 2000s as the world's third-largest art market, after the United States and the United Kingdom, due to the growing middle-class in the country.[63][64] Sotheby's noted that contemporary Chinese art has rapidly changed the contemporary Asian art world into one of the most dynamic sectors on the international art market.[65] During the global economic crisis, the contemporary Asian art market and the contemporary Chinese art market experienced a slow down in late 2008.[66][67] The market for Contemporary Chinese and Asian art saw a major revival in late 2009 with record level sales at Christie's.[68]
For centuries largely made-up of European and American buyers, the international buying market for Chinese art has also begun to be dominated by Chinese dealers and collectors in recent years.[69] It was reported in 2011, China has become the world's second biggest market for art and antiques, accounting for 23 percent of the world's total art market, behind the United States (which accounts for 34 percent of the world's art market).[70] Another transformation driving the growth of the Chinese art market is the rise of a clientele no longer mostly European or American. New fortunes from countries once thought of as poor often prefer non-Western art; a large gallerist in the field has offices in both New York and Beijing, but clients mainly hailing from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.[71]
One of the areas that has revived art concentration and also commercialized the industry is the 798 Art District in Dashanzi of Beijing. The artist Zhang Xiaogang sold a 1993 painting for US$2.3 million in 2006, which included blank faced Chinese families from the Cultural Revolution era,[72] while Yue Minjun's work Execution in 2007 was sold for a then record of nearly $6 million at Sotheby's.[73] Collectors including Stanley Ho,[74] the owner of the Macau Casinos, investment manager Christopher Tsai,[75] and casino developer Steve Wynn,[76] would capitalize on the art trends. Items such as Ming dynasty vases and assorted Imperial pieces were auctioned off.
Other art works were sold in places such as Christie's including a Chinese porcelain piece with the mark of the Qianlong Emperor sold for HKD $ $151.3 million. Sotheby's and Christie's act as major market platforms for classical Chinese porcelain art pieces to be sold, including Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426–35) Blue and White jar (Five-Clawed Dragon Print), which was auctioned for Approx. USD 19,224,491.2, through Christie's in Spring 2016[77] The International Herald Tribune reported that Chinese porcelains were fought over in the art market as "if there was no tomorrow".[78]
A 1964 painting by Li Keran "All the Mountains Blanketed in Red" was sold for HKD $35 million. Auctions were also held at Sotheby's where Xu Beihong's 1939 masterpiece "Put Down Your Whip" sold for HKD $72 million.[79] The industry is not limited to fine arts, as many other types of contemporary pieces were also sold. In 2000, a number of Chinese artists were included in Documenta and the Venice Biennale of 2003. China now has its own major contemporary art showcase with the Venice Biennale. Fuck Off was a notorious art exhibition which ran alongside the Shanghai Biennial Festival in 2000 and was curated by independent curator Feng Boyi and contemporary artist Ai Weiwei.
Sculpture as an artistic medium was widely employed in the arts of Greece and the Hellenistic East, but played only a minor role in ancient East Asia. This changed dramatically with the First Emperor of China (...) Naturalistic sculpture was entirely unknown. No long-standing sculptural tradition preceded the making of the First Emperor's famous terracotta warriors. No earlier or contemporary member of the Chinese elite had demonstrated any significant interest in sculpture at all.
From the centuries immediately preceding the Qin Dynasty again we know of only a few depictions of the human figure (...) figures of people and animals were very rare exceptions to the conventional imagery of the Zhou period (...) Depictions of the human figure were not a common part of the representational canon in China before the Qin Dynasty (...) In von Falkenhausen's words, "nothing in the archaeological record prepares one for the size, scale, and technically accomplished execution of the First Emperor's terracotta soldiers". For his contemporaries, the First Emperor's sculptures must have been something dramatically new.
Other noteworthy terracotta figurines were found in 1995 in a 4th–3rd century BCE tomb in the Taerpo cemetery near Xianyang in Shaanxi Province, where the last Qin capital of the same name was located from 350 to 207 BCE. These are the earliest representations of cavalrymen in China discovered up to this day. One of this pair can now be seen at the exhibition in Bern (Fig. 4). A small, ca. 23 cm tall, figurine represents a man sitting on a settled horse. He stretches out his left hand, whereas his right hand points downwards. Holes pierced through both his fists suggest that he originally held the reins of his horse in one hand and a weapon in the other. The rider wears a short jacket, trousers and boots – elements of the typical outfit of the inhabitants of the Central Asian steppes. Trousers were first introduced in the early Chinese state of Zhao during the late 4th century BCE, as the Chinese started to learn horse riding from their nomadic neighbours. The state of Qin should have adopted the nomadic clothes about the same time. But the figurine from Taerpo also has some other features that may point to its foreign identity: a hood-like headgear with a flat wide crown framing his face and a high, pointed nose.Also in Khayutina, Maria (2013). Qin: the eternal emperor and his terracotta warriors (1. Aufl ed.). Zürich: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. p. cat. no. 314. ISBN 978-3-03823-838-6.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Sculpture as an artistic medium was widely employed in the arts of Greece and the Hellenistic East, but played only a minor role in ancient East Asia. This changed dramatically with the First Emperor of China (...) Naturalistic sculpture was entirely unknown. No long-standing sculptural tradition preceded the making of the First Emperor's famous terracotta warriors. No earlier or contemporary member of the Chinese elite had demonstrated any significant interest in sculpture at all.
Before the appearance of the large-scale stone sculptures in front of the tomb of Huo Qubing 霍去病 (d. 117 BCE) of the middle Western Han period (see Figure 9), no monumental works of sculptural stone art like this had ever been seen in Qin culture or in those of the other Warring States polities.
The sixteen large stone sculptures in front of the tomb of the Han general Huo Qubing 霍去病 (ca. 117 BCE), are mostly sculpted following the form of the original stone (see Figure 9). They employ techniques such as sculpting in the round, raised relief, and engraved intaglio lines to carve stone sculptures of oxen, horses, pigs, tigers, sheep, a fantastic beast eating a sheep, a man fighting a bear, a horse trampling a Xiongnu warrior, and other images. It is hard to find any evidence in China for this type of crude but concise lifelike rendering before these monuments.
近年来，考古发现的一些西汉墓葬，如陕西咸阳西汉阳陵、河南商丘梁孝王陵园、[32] 江苏盱眙江都王刘非陵园、江西南昌海昏侯刘贺墓园等，都发现墓葬周围有冢茔、庙寝、门阙、司马道等，此时墓上石刻还没有发展起来，除汉武帝时期的霍去病墓、张骞墓外，其他墓葬均未发现墓上石刻。西汉晚期至东汉时期，墓上石刻逐渐发展起来
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