This week we centered around the Four Great Masters. Four well-known artists that lived during the Yuan Dynasty and created artwork during this time. They each had their own art style. The first Master was Huang Gongwang. He was greatly known for a 30 foot scroll he completed in the span of 3 years. His work focused on his retreating to the mountainside to find peace. The next master, Ni Zan, painted mostly on scrolls that hung above the ground. He was described as arrogant and his paintings reflected his lonesome and sad emotions during this time. The third master, Wu Zhen, was very smart and yet refused the workplace setting. He decided to escape the city and the Mongols, becoming elusive and not well known. He eventually became recognized by art critics. One thing he liked to paint was fishermen from different perspectives. The last master, Wang Meng, wanted to follow after his father, the famous painter Zhao Mengfu, through taking a role in the public workplace, however, through the Yuan dynasty, he became imprisoned. His artwork had a lot of texture and he used densely packed brush strokes, leaving little to no blank spaces.  

Week 5 focused on architecture during the Ming dynasty and the art behind buildings in China that are still there today. there are many different ways that colors and numbers are used to symbolize different things in Chinese culture that were used for certain buildings because it was believed that these colors and numbers would bring what they symbolized. For example, the color red symbolizes good fortune and joy and black and white symbolize the Yin and Yang. Building structures were also important and the most used system of building was called the modular system. Perfectly interlocking parts made of timber were pre-cut and pre-sized. Buildings made using this system are resistant to 8.5 magnitude earthquakes, are easy to reconstruct if parts rot or are damaged, and expand and contract in warm and cold weather. Buildings were also made specifically for things such as praying, remembrance of the deceased, and for emperors' sacrifices and worship. An example of this is the Emperor's circular mound temple, where each part of the temple is used for something different. The circular mound was a site where the emperor performed sacrifices to heaven for the winter solstice, the imperial vault of heaven was to store the stele with the name of the heavenly deity, and the hall of prayer for a prosperous year was where the emperor prayed for a good harvest. We also discussed the Forbidden city and how its layout is important for its functions. A city similar to the forbidden city was modeled and the plan looked like the Forbidden City with halls on a north-south axis with courtyards in between. The color palette and decoration used at this site were similar too. The difference between them was the function of the halls. The plan was dedicated to sacrifices or the celebration of the deceased's spirit. 

After the Manchus invasion, eccentric painters who were amateur - literati painters became sellers of their artworks and never really followed the traditional ways of Chinese painting. They had a different sort of individuality that is easily recognizable with the use of colors, brushstrokes (or fingerpainting as seen by Gao Qipei), and what was called "painting from the heart," similar to how Shitao referred to his painting process after becoming a monk. 
Gao Qipei lived from 1672 - 1732 and  his career as an eccentric painter was his fingerpainting technique, using his hands, fingers, and nails to create artwork that was different from what we've seen in the past Chinese paintings.  

During week 8, we started talking more about Japanese art and China's influence on Japan. The introduction was about stories written and told by Japanese ladies-in-waiting, and how they have been passed down through handscrolls. The world's oldest novel, "The Tale of Gengi" was created using handscrolls, and in English translates to about 1000 pages long. The novel is said to be written and painted by 5 teams of artists. The novel's artistic style is very minimalist, and the characters have little facial features and more focus on backgrounds. The style of which they were painted is called emakimono painting. The two styles recorded are men's painting (otoko-e) and women's painting (onna-e). The tale of Gengi was recorded in women's style. It depicts a lot of emotion and sympathetic pity, with the notion of karma being a large focus in the storytelling.

Week 9 was about the Otoko-e style in Japanese art during the Heian period in modern-day Kyoto. This week we discussed Pure Land Buddhism, The Tale of Gengi, and the differences between Onna-e and Otoko-e scrolls from this period. Firstly, Pure Land Buddhism focused on the idea that individuals couldn't achieve enlightenment by themselves, no matter what they did. The only way to achieve enlightenment during this time was to "Hail Amida Buddha" to get into the "Western Paradise". We moved on to the Tale of Gengi to further discuss the differences in the styles depicted in the scrolls and other stories of that time.

This week we learned about Zen Buddhism and Japanese beliefs related to it. Zen Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China through the opening of trade during the Muromachi period in Japan. Someone important to the practice of Zen Buddhism is the Bodhidharma, who was a Buddhist monk credited with introducing Buddhism to China and later, Japan. The goal of Zen in Japanese Zen Buddhism is to achieve the truth of life and death through zazen and koan. Zazen is described as meditation sitting with legs crossed with a straight back. Koan are irrational questions with irrational answers, the teaching of Koan is thought to break rational thought processes to become more enlightened. Art during this period focused on variations of Chinese ink painting brought to Japan known as Haboku. The Muromachi period was highlighted by the idea of achieving Zen and artwork similar to Chinese art of the time. 

The Daimyo period in Momoyama Japan was characterized by new innovative architecture to the culture; castles for samurai. The military was important at this time, so the Samurai had begun to create castles and other dwelling structures to train themselves, meditate with zen Buddhism, and show their wealthy status with decor. Daimyo were Japanese lords who overlooked shoguns. Art during this time period was large, bold, and flashy under the Kano School of painters' ideals. The paintings were very decorative, complex, and large. Something else that was important during this period was tea and tea ceremonies. Matcha was introduced and a specific type of tea bowl called Raku ware was popular. Raku ware was characterized by long and low temperature kiln flaming of the pottery that was glazed and then flamed, taken out while hot and let sit. The glazes on these pieces would behave in many different ways, creating unexpected patterns.

The Edo period created a new class system, made Japan a more peaceful place, and was centered around feudalism and court nobility. The new Edo class system was ranked hierarchically from highest to lowest: Shogun, Samurai, Peasant, Artisan, Merchant. Chonin or city dwellers became the wealthiest of the country and samurai fell, becoming poor. New styles of writing and art were developed to cater to chonin people, instead of noble figures. Art during this time was stylized with a 'floating' perspective based on theatre and tea houses. The capital of Edo was what is modern-day Tokyo. One well-known artist from the Edo period is Kitagawa Utamaro, whose art was centered around women who were considered beautiful. He focused on the facial features and expressions of these women. The women he painted were often seen doing everyday things, which can also be described as similar to the Otoko-e style of the Heian period. His art has a shimmery pigment in the background, which was mica powder washes.