ILLUSTRATION F
survey of Chinese painting.
The time frame Spengler is referring (a thousand years) covers the Han dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD) to midway through the Tang dynasty (618–906 AD). During this period artists mainly painted the human figure. Landscape painting first appeared as part of figure painting, providing the natural setting for story narration. One of the earliest examples of this type is Gu Kaizhi (344–406 AD) Nymph of the Luo River (Song dynasty 960–1279 versions). SEE BELOW
Nonetheless landscape painting failed to develop until mid-way thru the Tang dynasty (circa 750 AD). This slow development was partly due to the ever-increasing demand for Buddhist icons & partly because artists were still struggling with the most elementary problems of space & depth. Only with Li Sixun (653-718) & his son, and Wang Wei (701-61) does landscape start to emerge as the pinnacle of Chinese art. For the purpose of this survey landscapes is not included as it seems probable that Spengler was not referencing to this genre.
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HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-202 AD)
Besides domestic decoration, Han artwork also had an important funerary function. Han artists and craftsmen decorated the wall bricks lining underground tombs of the deceased with mural paintings and carved reliefs; the purpose of this artwork was to aid the deceased in traveling through their afterlife journey. SEE BELOW
A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a lacquered basketwork box, excavated from an Eastern-Han tomb of what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery in modern North Korea; date between 108 BC and 133 AD
lBELOW LEFT A dancer and musician, The Dahuting Tomb, late 2nd, early 3rd century AD late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.
BELOW RIGHT detail
BELOW LEFT- Women (perhaps court attendants) dressed in Hanfu and displaying their domestic wares; Eastern Han Dynasty, The Dahuting Tomb late Eastern Han Dynasty
BELOW RIGHT- detail
BELOW-women dressed in Hanfu silk robes, The Dahuting Tomb, contains vault-arched burial chambers decorated with murals showing scenes of daily life. Dated to late 2nd, early 3rd century AD
Six Kingdoms & Jin Dynasty) 222-589 AD
During the Six Dynasties period (220–589 AD) painting was appreciated for its own beauty rather than as funerary art. Critics begin to write about art. Individual artists, such as Gu Kaizhi (344-406) emerge. SEE BELOW Even when these artists illustrated Confucian moral themes – such as the proper behaviour of a wife to her husband or of children to their parents – they tried to make the figures graceful. Starting in the Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589 AD) painting became an art of high sophistication along with calligraphy & poetry. It was a fashionable hobby for middle class courtiers & gentleman.
LEFT-Cao Zhi, a full-length portrait, a part of "Godess of Luo Liver" by Gu Kaizhi, Jin dynasty (266–420 AD)
SUI DYNASTY (581-618)
Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD) was a brief but significant period. Buddhism provided a unifying cultural force. It was responsible for the rebirth of culture in China at this time following a period of war & dislocation.
LEFT-The Admonitions Scroll, narrative painting on silk traditionally ascribed to Gu Kaizhi. Dated 5th to 8th century, which may or may not be a copy of an original Jin Dynasty court painting by Gu.
THE TANG DYNASTY (618–906 AD)
At the start of the Tang period, landscape paint had yet to emerge as the preeminent art of China. This dynasty was a golden age in Chinese civilization & Chinese painting developed dramatically, both in subject matter and technique. We have literary & documentary information about Tang painting, but few works, especially of the highest quality, survived. Buddhist painting and "court painting" played a major role, including paintings of the Buddha, monks, nobles etc.
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The early Tang painting style was inherited from the Sui dynasty. The "painting of people" developed greatly. The master in this field is Wu Daozi (680 –760 AD) called the "Sage of Painting". A native of Yangdi, Henan province he was praised by later critics as “divine”. He painted a wide variety of subjects, notably large wall compositions of essentially Buddhist characters. He is noted for his imagination & the expressive vigour of his brush. He painted vividly expressive lines of alternately thick & thin tensions, in distinct contrast to the more preciously coloured, evenly controlled delineations of the contemporary courtly style.
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BELOW The Eighty-seven Immortals (Hand scroll, ink on silk, 30 x 292 cm), Wu Daozi
Wu Daozi created a new technique of drawing named "Drawing of Water Shield". Most Tang artists outlined figures with fine black lines, using brilliant colour & elaborate detail filling in the outlines. However, Wu Daozi used only black ink and freely painted brushstrokes to create ink paintings that were so exciting that crowds gathered to watch him work. From his time on, ink paintings were no longer thought to be preliminary sketches or outlines to be filled in with colour but were valued as finished works of art.
BELOW- Night-Shining White" monochrome ink-on-paper painting, an example of bai hua or "white painting", a monochrome work created using a brush and black ink, with economy of line and some simple shading but no colours. It was painted by the Chinese artist Han Gan; an example of Tang dynasty painting, created circa 750. The work depicts a cavalry horse owned by the Emperor Xuanzong (reign 712–56) of the Tang Dynasty, tethered to a post. It is considered one of the greatest equine portraits in Chinese painting. Han Gan was considered one of the leading artists of China. Originally from a poor family, he was working in a wine shop in the capital Chang'an when his artistic talent was spotted by the painter and poet Wang Wei, and he became an artist at the imperial court. He was famous for being able capture the character of a horse as well as its physical appearance.
The great poet Wang Wei (699–759 AD ) first created the brush and ink painting of Mountains and Streams (Shanshui) landscapes & is regarded as the founder of the Southern School of Chinese landscape art, characterised by strong brushstrokes contrasted with light ink washes. He combined literature, especially poetry, with painting & is famous for both, about which Su Shi coined a phrase: "The quality of Wang Wei’s poems can be summed as, the poems hold a painting within them. In observing his paintings you can see that, within the painting there is poetry." Few of his works survive although hi works influenced many & were often copied.
BELOW- Dong Qichang (1555–1636) "Landscapes in the Manner of Old Masters" (Wang Wei).
The use of line in painting became much more calligraphic than in the early period. The theory of painting also developed, and Buddhism, Taoism, and traditional literature were absorbed and combined into painting. Paintings on architectural structures, such as murals, ceiling paintings, cave paintings, and tomb paintings, were very popular. BELOW An example are the paintings in the Mogao Caves in Xinjiang during this period.
LEFT-Bodhisattva Leading the Way, colour on silk, Dun Huang in the "1000 Buddha cave". The bodhisattva is leading a woman to the Pure Land on the golden cloud in the upper left corner. His right hand contains an incense burner. His left hand contains a lotus flower. Dated circa 875 AD