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China
2008 ©a.wagenvoorde
Terracotta Army of Xi'an
Subjects:
Art in China, introduction - the Terracotta Army - Painting Exhibition 100-years Railway and China Railway Construction, 2008
Chinese art, conceived by man's
intelligence, given physical form by man's hands, is for man. It
portrays his image, delineates his aspirations, and exists to express
his holistic wordly experience. In our estimation, this art must be
taken down from museum shelves and walls, and out of books and websites,
and reassembled in the only permissible way - as it relates to the
realities of life at the time it was created.
A hanging scroll on a wall may very well be the only surviving remnant
of a tryptych ( a picture on three panels fixed side by side), a fact
one should remember when considering the quality of it's composition, or
choice of colours. Neolithic painted pottery of the Yang-shao culture is
only decorated from the shoulder up, because the vessels were meant to
be seen from above surrounding the dead. Roof ornaments glimmering over
the treetops beckon pilgrims to come to the temple. They are not
meant to be seen in an exhibition case at eye level, let alone as a
picture on a website.
Even as we relate paintings to walls, sculptures to buildings, or
ceramics, lacquers, and jades to furnitures and furnishings, there is
still the question of how they fit with the architecture: tombs, houses,
palaces, gardens and temples.
Chinese self awareness, has attuned him to his surroundings, in which he
sees order in the physical world. This order is reflected in his art.
The ancient Chinese saw their world without ambiguity: The universe is
considered as a time-space continuum. There is top (= heaven), bottom (=
earth), and there are four directions (east, south, west and north),
plus the past, the present and a future.
In texts of the Chou period (1050 - 256 BC.) inscribed on jars, the four
borders (of this square world) are symbolized, or guarded, by four
fantastic animals: the Blue Dragon of Spring - the beginning of
life for the east, the Red Bird of Summer - the zenith of life for the
south, the White Tiger of Autumn - the harvest and death for the west;
and most intruigingly, not ending with death, a black intertwined form
of a snake and a turtle - two hibernating animals, representing Winter
and the preparation for the life of the next beginning.
Man, the most fantastic animal
of them all, is in the center, facing the Red Bird, fully aware of all
the other animals around him.
Chinese cities often adopt the names of these fantastic animals for
their gates.
When a visual image is full of symbolism, it is like a written page,
transmitting a quantity of information about itself and its maker. The
ceremonial function of ritual bronzes of the Shang and Chou dynasties
indicates that their role in ancestral worship and in spiritual
communication was an important one. Fortunately, these ideograms are
frequently found inscribed on the ritual bronzes themselves. The
composite animal forms seem to represent the combined powers of the
animals depicted. They present themselves as supernatural beings or,
more likely, supernatural powers or forces. It would be naïve to see
these designs of great imagination and visual strength as the simple
composition of animal parts. As these vessels were used in ceremonies
that provided communication between the living and the dead, the motifs
and designs found on these food or wine containers, as well as on
ceremonial weapons, were probably not only for decorative purposes.
The composite animals of the Shang and early Chou periods transitioned
to the Han dynasty (about 200 BC - 220) guardian beasts of the four
directions and even to common animals, domestic and wild. At this time,
plant forms also begin to appear as symbols in art. No longer are human
figures hidden beneath the guise of animal features seeking protection
from the mythical forces. This is the time of the philosophers and a
time of changing psychological outlook. Logical thinking, keen
observation, and analytical attitude toward factual information all help
to reduce fear of the unknown and dim the luster of the mythical symbols.
The concepts
and manifestations of religious India are soon to be introduced to
Chinese man and hisworld, via the vehicle of Buddhism. The
difference between the Indian self-image and that of the Chinese is
considerable, and therefore not easy to combine. In India there was the
concept of god, and the aspiration heavenward. The universe is circular,
requiring the central figure to face all directions. Around this center,
the Indians are lifelong pilgrims forever circumambulating it. In
China, the buddha is enthroned in a palace hall. And the domestic house
transforms itself into a holy place of worship.
The development of figure sculpture and painting under Buddhism was a
glorious page in the history of Chinese art. The sensitivity to relative
positions of objects in a visual composition and the expressive use of
lines are but two prominent examples of this achievement.
The Chinese had not formulated an organized church before the challenge
of Buddhism. Later, in the tenth century, a new visual tradition was
developed to satisfy these spiritual needs. The painting of godlike
mountains in the vigorous landscape traditions of China has its humble
beginnings in the simple backgrounds in Buddhist narrative scenes. It is
an art having roots in China, that enriches the Chinese spiritual
experience; at the same time reinforcing the rational world view, it's
recognition of nature with all its moods and mysteries. As the Chinese
opens his back door to nature, with it's artistic landscape paintings
and garden design, he yearns to provide an arena to express his
intellectual energies. Chinese painting and calligraphy are closely
related. Their objective is not to define, i.e. to describe a flower in
an analytical sense, but instead, it is an attempt to convey 'flowerness'.
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From the very First Emperor to
political leader Mao Zedong in 1976, the mausoleums built for the rulers
played an important role in Chinese society and ancient Chinese
architecture. The landscape around the city of Xi'an, in the province of
Shaanxi, is characterized by many old burial mounds that bear witness to
the link with empires from a distant past: they mark the underworld of
the ancient emperors. In an almost literal sense these emperors took
their worldly realm with them to the afterlife. A mausoleum was a palace
for eternity that had to be laid out with rooms and objects that were
worthy of this function, and enabling it in practical terms. The
mausoleum of the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, is an example
of a tomb from the late 3rd century BC where terracotta figures
and traces of human sacrifices have been found. This burial complex is
primarily known for the discovery of thousands of life-size soldiers, "a
Terracotta Army".
The Western Han dynasty (206 BC to 9 AD) witnessed a peak in imperial
enthusiasm for buildings tombs. To accompany Emperor Jingdi to the
afterlife, more than forty thousand terracotta statues formed his
terracotta army and court. Livestock and other animals are also
represented.
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September 2008
In memory of the 30th
anniversary of reform and opening-up, and the 60 anniversary of the
establishment of China's Railway Construction Corporation, the 14th
Highway Painting Exhibition, with the theme of "China Railway
Construction and China railways" was held in the National Art Museum of
China on September 2008. The following is an excerpt from the museum's
description of this event.
"Works of this exhibition will show overwhelming development history
of China's railways in a century comprehensively and systematically
through three main periods of 'the past, the prersent, and the future'.
Wherein, works with a thick feeling of history created with themes of
influential events and persons from starting railway construction in our
country to the end of the 20th Century is 1/5 of 'the past' period.
Works of 'the present' period, which cover 3/5 of all the works, are
created focusing on the themes of construction of high speed railways,
the Olympic Project and key projects both at home and abroad in 30 years
since the reform and opening-up. The works of 'the future' period, which
cover 1/5 of all the works, mainly take expectation of developing
direction of railway construction in the future show future development
of railway construction in China in looking forward, with modern
representing way."
As all the further information was in Chinese, we can't inform you about the painter or the title of the painting. All information is welcome!
One of our primary goals at Cedar Gallery is to provide a public forum for both unknown and established artists to showcase their works. We particularly encourage contributions from aspiring modern artists, but are happy to consider all submissions.
Please, send your contributions to: cedars.letters@live.nl , mentioning 'China, art and culture'.
