Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based on or draws on Chinese culture, heritage, and history. Early "Stone Age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. After that period, Chinese art, like Chinese history, was typically classified by the succession of ruling dynasties of Chinese emperors, most of which lasted several hundred years. The Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei contains extensive collections of Chinese art.
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia with Sinosphere in whole and is extremely diverse, with customs and traditions varying greatly between counties, provinces, cities, towns. The terms 'China' and the geographical landmass of 'China' have shifted across the centuries, before the name 'China' became commonplace in modernity.
Ink wash painting ; is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses washes of black ink, such as that used in East Asian calligraphy, in different concentrations. It emerged during the Tang dynasty of China (618–907), and overturned earlier, more realistic techniques. It is typically monochrome, using only shades of black, with a great emphasis on virtuoso brushwork and conveying the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct imitation. Ink wash painting flourished from the Song dynasty in China (960–1279) onwards, as well as in Japan after it was introduced by Zen Buddhist monks in the 14th century. Some Western scholars divide Chinese painting into three periods: times of representation, times of expression, and historical Oriental art. Chinese scholars have their own views which may be different; they believe that contemporary Chinese ink wash paintings are the pluralistic continuation of multiple historical traditions.
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments.
In the Sinosphere, seals (stamps) can be applied on objects to establish personal identification. They are commonly applied on items such as personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, and art. They are used similarly to signatures in the West. Unlike in the West, where wax seals are common, Sinosphere seals are used with ink.
"Blue and white pottery" covers a wide range of white pottery and porcelain decorated under the glaze with a blue pigment, generally cobalt oxide. The decoration was commonly applied by hand, originally by brush painting, but nowadays by stencilling or by transfer-printing, though other methods of application have also been used. The cobalt pigment is one of the very few that can withstand the highest firing temperatures that are required, in particular for porcelain, which partly accounts for its long-lasting popularity. Historically, many other colours required overglaze decoration and then a second firing at a lower temperature to fix that.
The Japanese war fan, or tessen, is a Japanese hand fan used as a weapon or for signalling. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan and each had a different look and purpose.
Traditional Chinese bookbinding, also called stitched binding, is the method of bookbinding that the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese used before adopting the modern codex form.
Byōbu are Japanese folding screens made from several joined panels, bearing decorative painting and calligraphy, used to separate interiors and enclose private spaces, among other uses.
Tea utensils are the tools and utensils used in chadō, the art of Japanese tea.
A folding screen, also known as pingfeng, is a type of free-standing furniture consisting of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. They have practical and decorative uses, and can be made in a variety of designs with different kinds of materials. Folding screens originated from ancient China, eventually spreading to the rest of East Asia, and were popular amongst Europeans.
Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers along an edge with a thick needle and strong thread. One can also use loose-leaf rings, binding posts, twin-loop spine coils, plastic spiral coils, and plastic spine combs, but they last for a shorter time. Next, one encloses the bound stack of paper in a cover. Finally, one places an attractive cover onto the boards, and features the publisher's information and artistic decorations.
Hàng Trống painting is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut painting that originated from the area of Hàng Trống and Hàng Nón streets in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam. In the past, Hàng Trống painting was an essential element of the Tết Nguyên Đán holiday in Hanoi, but today this tradition almost has disappeared and authentic Hàng Trống paintings are found only in museums or fine art galleries. However, the art of making Hàng Trống paintings is always considered a symbol of traditional culture and aesthetic value of Vietnam.
An oil-paper umbrella is a type of paper umbrella that originated in China. It subsequently spread across several East, South and Southeast Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, where it has been further developed with different characteristics.
Hand fans first arrived in Europe in the 15th century from Asia and became popular in the 16th century. Several fan styles were common and a plethora of materials were used to create them. Subject matter varied greatly, from Biblical scenes to landscapes. Hand fans serve as a cooling mechanism, social instrument, and fashion accessory.
Fan print with two bugaku dancers is an ukiyo-e woodblock print dating to sometime between the mid-1820s and 1844 by celebrated Edo period artist Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Toyokuni III. This print is simultaneously an example of the uchiwa-e and aizuri-e genres. It is part of the permanent collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada.
Uchiwa-e (団扇絵) are a genre of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print, which appear on rigid, paddle-shaped hand fans known as uchiwa (団扇). Ovoid images matching the outline of uchiwa were printed on rectangular sheets of washi rice paper, then cut along the margins and pasted onto a skeletal bamboo frame.
China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects, such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porcelain, developed in 18th-century Europe. The broader term ceramic painting includes painted decoration on lead-glazed earthenware such as creamware or tin-glazed pottery such as maiolica or faience.
Hanfu accessories refers to the various form of fashion accessories and self-adornments used and worn with hanfu throughout Chinese history. Hanfu consists of many forms of miscellaneous accessories, such as jewellry, yaopei, ribbons, shawls, scarves, and hand-held accessories, etc.
Tuanshan, also called gongshan, bian mian, fan of reunion, are typically silk rigid hand fan which originated in China; they are typically circular or oval in shape. Up to the Song dynasty, the tuanshan appears to have the most common types of the fans in China. These types of fans were mostly used by women in the Tang dynasty. Tuanshan with Chinese paintings and with calligraphy became very popular by the Song dynasty among court circles and artists and even continued to be in use even by the end of the 19th century. The tuanshan was also used as part of the traditional Chinese wedding and was part of the ceremonial wedding rite. They continue to be produced and sold in present-day China and has become a common form of accessory in Hanfu.
Japanese foldable fan (sensu)
Japanese foldable fan of late Heian period (12th century)
Noh performance at Itsukushima Shrine
