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Early Yuan Traditionalist- 13th Century 

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Early Yuan Traditionalist- 13th Century 

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Around the end of the Southern Song portion of the Song Dynasty, the Chinese were being controlled by Tartars (foreigners). In order to repel the Tartars and to regain control of China, the Chinese made the decision to form an alliance with the Mongols. After the Tartar was gone, the Mongols took control and made themselves the top class and the Chinese the lowest class. As an expression of their dissatisfaction with Mongol rule, Early Yuan Chinese artists created paintings. Such artists include Qian Xuan, a former Song loyalist. He uses nostalgia through the colors of green and blue, the colors of the Tang Dynasty (an era before the Mongols and the Song Dynasty. In this painting, in particular, Qian is imitating a technique used by an older painter named Ma Yuan- who often depicted a scholar and his assistant staring in the wilderness in a compacted corner of the painting. These aspects would be unknown to a Mongol person, but it would inspire a Chinese person who understands the subtlety of the art.

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Four Great Masters of the Yuan- 13th Century 

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Four Great Masters of the Yuan- 13th Century 

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There were four Yuan era artist who stood out during the time of the Mongol rule who would later become known as "The Great Four Masters of the Yuan". These artist included Huang Gongwang- A Daoist who is known for is use of spatial mountain landscapes, Ni Zan- A scholar who had to leave his home and sell his assets due to heavy taxes by the Mongols whose art pieces were known for compositional form and sketch-like landscapes, Wu Zhen- A hermit with a hobby for fishing who was known for his uses of different perspectives to present the mood, and Wang Meng- The grandson of Zhao Mengfu, an Early Yuan artist, who is known for his dense brush stroke and leaving little spaces to be left blank, giving everything a pattern. In the image above you see the work of Ni Zan, note his simplistic style and use of a blank space to depict water (the opposite of Wang Meng who had patterns within his water).

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 Zhe vs Wu (Ming Dynasty)- 14th to 17th century

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 Zhe vs Wu (Ming Dynasty)- 14th to 17th century

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Good news and bad news for Chinese painter of this time. Good news, The Red Turbans kick the Mongols out of Beijing and they no longer control China. Bad news, their leader, Hong Wu (peasant name: Zhu Yuanzhang), became the emperor and saw scholars of painting and poets, or literatis, as "anti-intellectual" and abolished the class. Fortunately, Hong Wu's predecessor restored the class of literatis and there were two main shcools that scholars would go to in order to become literaries. The two schools are Zhe and Wu. Zhe is a school founded by Dai Jin, and his philosphy was that artist should aspire to be like The Four Great Masters of the Yuan. You see in the image above how he reflects on Ni Zans style with it's compositionary technique and simplistic use of the empty space to portray water. Wu has a bit of a different philosophy. They more so are in the beleif that scholars should be INSPIRED by the Great Masters while creating original styles. The founders of Wu are Shen Zhou- who was known for combining the Great Masters' style into one, Wen Zhengming- known for his depiction of Juniper trees with prickly branches that can be depicted as another image, and Dong Qichang- known to be inspired by nature and encouraged other painters to be inspired by nature rather then the Great Masters of the Yuan.

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Qing Dynasty- Dissident Monks- 17th to 20th century 

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Qing Dynasty- Dissident Monks- 17th to 20th century 

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Everything seemed to be fine for the Ming dynasty until a Jurchen from the Long White Mountain named Nurhaci decided that things needed to change. He organized 8 different banners of Jurchen and Mongol troops and used it to take over regions of China that is North Korean today. After this, he died and his son Hong Taiji took over this conquest and he renamed his people "Manchus" and declared this time to be the Qing Dynasty in 1636. Unfortunately for him he died just the year the Manchus took over Beijing in 1644, which was done by the regent Dorgon with the help of the former Ming General.
There were four dissident monks from this time period who would paint in expression to their dissatisfaction with the Qing Dynasty and as well as personal expressions from the consequences of the fall of the Ming. One of which was Shiatao. Shiatao was the son of an imperial prince who was killed when Shiatao was only four years old. Sixteen years later he became a Buddhist Monk who painted in way that expresses his personality and believed that all artist should do so, as well as go out in nature to experience it. The painting above is a landscape made by Shiatao. He emphasizes the shadows of the landscapes and allows black to take many portions of the otherwise beautiful landscape. Which could represent a view that the world is beautiful and at the same time filled with darkness.

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Screenshot 2022-03-18 at 14-11-36 171 Lecture Slides Manchus and Dissident Monks - file-2 pdf

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Ming Architecture- 14th to 17th century  

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Ming Architecture- 14th to 17th century  

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Just when you thought paintings would dominate the Chinese art scene, several pieces of architecture comes into the scene. Buildings in this period often had systems and deep meanings behind every building. One of the more significant piece of construction is the Temple of Heaven complex. Built under Emperor Yongle in 1420, this temple was made to be entered only by the Emperor to perform the most significant sacrifices. There are three different places in this temple all for different purposes- The Circular Mound, Imperial Vault of Heaven, and Hall of Prayer for a prosperous year.
The Circular Mound is made for the Emperor's sacrifices to heaven, as circles were seen as the shape of heaven. The steps up the mound were made in multiples of 9 to represent the Emperor as the son of heaven
The Imperial Vault of Heaven where tablet of the God Haotian Shangdi sits and waits to be moved to the circular mound for the ceremony
Hall of Prayer for a Prosperous Year is where the Emperor would pray for good harvesting for the year to come.

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Screenshot 2022-03-18 at 13-08-11 171 Lecture Slides Ming Architecture - file-1 pdf

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Muromachi Japan: Zen Buddhism and the Arts (1412: When this was painted)

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Muromachi Japan: Zen Buddhism and the Arts (1412: When this was painted)

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China decided to make a new coupon for their trading vessels: Every purchase comes with a Zen Buddhist monk, absolutely free. And Japan took that deal and Zen Buddhism dominated the Muromachi period. Zen Buddhism has a belief in Enlightenment through dhayna, or meditation. They try to find "the truth" through two main practices, one of which is Koan (the other being Zazen which is a form of meditation), which are question exchanges with no rational answer. The painting above, drawn by Josetsu depicts a Koan, How do you catch a fish with a gourd, by becoming the fish but of course!

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Qing Dynasty- Eccentrics and Beyond (17th-20th century)

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Qing Dynasty- Eccentrics and Beyond (17th-20th century)

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The eccentrics artist of this time are by far the most unique when it comes to their style and format of painting. They painted whatever they wanted whenever they wanted and adopted an amateur-literati aesthetic that made them different from any past painters. One of which was Hua Yan. He was a scholarly painter from a poor background but he later grew up and became known as one of the "Strange Masters of Yangzhou". In this painting, there is a depiction of a forest fire with animals such as deer and a rabbit are running in long blades of grass away from a fire. This is different from all other painters in the Chinese past who often glorified nature and showed what makes it beautiful. It was unique paintings like this that distinguished himself as an eccentric.

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Screenshot 2022-03-18 at 14-48-07 171 Lecture Slides Eccentrics - file-3 pdf

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Heian Japan- Court Culture and the Tale of Genji (794-1185)

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Heian Japan- Court Culture and the Tale of Genji (794-1185)

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The first step for Japan to get to this point was to severe relations with China and to establish their own distinct culture. The Fujiwara family, appointed to rule in the emperor's name, established a culture that was rich enough to focus on arts (paintings, poetry, and music) and religious activities. One such piece of art was the Tale of Genji, created by an imperial woman in waiting named Murasaki Shikibu, a fictional story about an imperial prince who could not become an heir because his mother was not high enough ranked. This story is illustrated by painted scrolls called Emakimono. The style in these Emakimino is in onna-e, or "Woman's style", in which portrays introverted and private emotions. One of the themes in this story is mono no aware, which is sympathetic pity. The theme is portrayed right in this painting where there is noticeable space between Genji and the woman in the painting, they are both bowing their heads while facing each other, with the woman covering her face. This can be interpreted as Genji feeling sympathetic for the woman in front of him, with him wanting to face her and with her not wanting (probably can't) to face Genji.

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Screenshot 2022-03-18 at 15-29-07 171 Lecture Slides Tale of Genji - 171 Lecture Slides Tale of Genji pdf

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Kamakura Japan: Six Realms of Existence (1192)

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Kamakura Japan: Six Realms of Existence (1192)

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When the Emperor of that time, Toba, died the regent, who was the head of the Fujiwara clan, nominated Go Shirakawa to replace Toba, which he'd later regret. Go employed the Taria and Minamoto clans, but later on the Fujiwara regained the loyalty of the Minamoto clan. With Taira representing Shirakawa and Minamoto representing the Fujiwara clan, the Heiji rebellion began. The head of the Minamoto was killed, which lead to his two sons taking vengeance on the head of the Taira. Those brothers were Yoshitsune and Yoritomo, but they later decided to compete against each other for control. Yoritomo won by technicality when his brother killed himself, making him the first Shogun. This war lead to an age of pessimism in this age of Japan which lead to the creations of rokudo-e, grotesque art that serves as a warning as to where people will end up if they are not enlightened before death. This picture is from the Jigoku Zoshi, hell scrolls, and it depicts a realm of hell where humans are grinned to pieces by demons.

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In contrast to Onna-e, or women's style, otoko-e, or men's style is more extroverted style and more expressive in its forms. It does this by giving the characters in the painting their own unique expressions showing emotions and every group is represented (age, social standing, etc.). This scroll is taken from the Ban Dainagon scrolls that tells the tale of a noble who burned the imperial palace gate and accusing his court rival of being the one who did it, but he was found out in the end. Expressions such as anger and panic are seen in this sort of chase we are seeing, the characters are in copied in different parts of the scroll which makes it feel more "animated".

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Momoyama Japan: Age of the Daimyo (1573-1615)

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Momoyama Japan: Age of the Daimyo (1573-1615)

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The Onin war is nearly a 100 year war that would change Japan's government structure by having Daimyo, elite serving the Shogun as advisers. The first of which was Oda Nobunaga, who took control of the capital in 1568 but was killed 14 years later by someone else who wanted to lead the Daimyo, named Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He later died of natural causes and his five year old son to be the next Daimyo leader. Half of the other Daimyo nominated Tokugawa Ieyasu to be the next leader, and they got their way. They were also particular about their interior decorating, at least when it came to Byobu (folding screens), and fusuma (sliding door panels). They wanted decorated colors, patterns and wanted to show their wealth by adding gold to the mix. These sliding doors above were made by Kano Eitoku, who would form a school to make paintings like this in particular for the Shogunate.

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Edo Japan: The Floating World (1615-1868)

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Edo Japan: The Floating World (1615-1868)

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The sons of Tokugawa Ieyasu restructured the class system and closed off outside influences from Japan, leading to the most peaceful era Japan has seen (giving their people a very well earned break from all the wars that seem to have kept on happening). They took advantage of the peace to pursue the joys of this world, which to them is Sake, Women and theatre (to put it in the 80s way: Sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll!). The image above shows the interior of Kawarazakiza Theatre, which is a Kabuki theater. In Kabuki, all of the thespians themselves are male but some of them still play as female characters, which are called Oonagata (Tachiyaku when they play as male characters). The thespians were drawn by a man name Sharaku, without the make-up, with a frozen expression of emotion to highlight the character's emotional state, this was called "mie pose".