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.
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.
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves may also be known as the Dunhuang Caves; however, this term is also used as a collective term to include other Buddhist cave sites in and around the Dunhuang area, such as the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves, Yulin Caves, and Five Temple Caves. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years.
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guó huà, meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western styles of art which became popular in China in the 20th century. It is also called danqing. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black ink or coloured pigments; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media.
Tang dynasty art refers to Chinese art created during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The period saw significant advancements in arts such as painting, sculpture, calligraphy, music, dance, and literature. During the Tang dynasty, the capital city Chang'an, was the most populous city in the known world, and the era is generally regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization and a golden age of Chinese literature and art.
Wu Daozi, also known as Daoxuan and Wu Tao Tzu, was a Chinese painter of the Tang dynasty. The British art historian Michael Sullivan considers him one of "the masters of the seventh century," Some of his works survive; many, mostly murals, have been lost.
The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. The major regions of Asia include East, Southeast, South, Central, and West Asia.
Korean arts include traditions in calligraphy, music, painting and pottery, often marked by the use of natural forms, surface decoration and bold colors or sounds.
Korean painting (Korean: 한국화) includes paintings made in Korea or by overseas Koreans on all surfaces. The earliest surviving Korean paintings are murals in the Goguryeo tombs, of which considerable numbers survive, the oldest from some 2,000 years ago, with varied scenes including dancers, hunting and spirits. It has been hypothesized the Takamatsuzuka Tomb in Japan, from the 7th-century end of the Goguryeo period, has paintings with Goguryeo influence, either done by Goguryeo artists, or Japanese one trained by Goguryeo people. Since a lot of influences came into the Korean peninsula from China during the Three Kingdoms period. Until the Joseon dynasty the primary influences came from Chinese painting though done with Korean landscapes, facial features, Buddhist topics, and an emphasis on celestial observation in keeping with the rapid development of Korean astronomy.
Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and the adaptation of imported ideas, mainly from Chinese painting, which was especially influential at a number of points; significant Western influence only comes from the 19th century onwards, beginning at the same time as Japanese art was influencing that of the West.
Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and physical objects associated with Buddhist practice, such as vajras, bells, stupas and Buddhist temple architecture. Buddhist art originated in the north of the Indian subcontinent, in modern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the earliest survivals dating from a few centuries after the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama from the 6th to 5th century BCE.
Zhang Sengyou was a Liang dynasty painter in the ink style in the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang.
Chinese influences on Islamic pottery cover a period starting from at least the 8th century CE to the 19th century. The influence of Chinese ceramics on Islamic pottery has to be viewed in the broader context of the considerable importance of Chinese culture on Islamic arts in general.
Cizhou ware or Tz'u-chou ware is a wide range of Chinese ceramics from between the late Tang dynasty and the early Ming dynasty, but especially associated with the Northern Song to Yuan period in the 11–14th century. It has been increasingly realized that a very large number of sites in northern China produced these wares, and their decoration is very variable, but most characteristically uses black and white, in a variety of techniques. For this reason Cizhou-type is often preferred as a general term. All are stoneware in Western terms, and "high-fired" or porcelain in Chinese terms. They were less high-status than other types such as celadons and Jun ware, and are regarded as "popular", though many are finely and carefully decorated.
The Tang dynasty (618-907) was one of the most prosperous dynasties in Chinese history. During this period, people from Central Asia frequently traded with people who lived in the Tang capital Chang'an through the Silk Road.
Chinese influence on Korean culture can be traced back as early as the Goguryeo period; these influences can be demonstrated in the Goguryeo tomb mural paintings. Throughout its history, Korea has been greatly influenced by Chinese culture, borrowing the written language, arts, religions, philosophy and models of government administration from China, and, in the process, transforming these borrowed traditions into distinctly Korean forms.
Viśa Īrasangä (Khotanese: Viśa Īrasangä; in traditional Chinese: 尉遲乙僧; simplified Chinese: 尉迟乙僧; pinyin: Yùchí Yǐsēng; Wade–Giles: Yü4-chʻih2 I3-sêng1; fl. 7th century) was a Khotanese painter during the Tang dynasty. He was also a Khotanese nobleman, but sometimes he is considered to be a Tocharian originated from the north of Afghanistan. His father Viśa Baysūna (尉遲跋質那; Yùchí Bázhìnà) was well known by his paintings during the Sui dynasty, he was referred to as "Yuchi the Elder" (大尉遲) by Chinese people. Thereby Īrasangä was known as "Yuchi the Younger" (小尉遲). His painting skills were often compared with Yan Liben, even the famous painter Wu Daozi was under his influence.
Qixiong ruqun, which can also be referred as Qixiong shanqun, also known as "chest-high ruqun", is a set of attire in hanfu, the traditional Chinese clothing worn by the Han Chinese. The qixiong ruqun is a unique style of ruqun, which is characterized with a high waistline qun, Chinese skirt. The qun used in the qixiong ruqun is generally tied above the bust level. It was worn by women during the Southern dynasties, Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The style was also revived in the early and middle Ming dynasty.
After the fall of the Tang dynasty, the Khitans, a branch of the Eastern Xianbei tribes, established Liao dynasty in northern China. The Liao dynasty comprised two regions: the Northern and Southern Divisions. The Northern divisions of Liao was mainly composed of tribal Khitan people while the Southern regions was composed of the Han and other sedentary groups. The rulers of the Liao dynasty adopted a clothing system which allowed the coexistence of Han and Khitan clothing.
Yingluo is a ring-shaped neck ornament or fashion jewellery of Buddhist origins in ancient China with its earliest prototypes having roots in ancient India. In China, the yingluo was first used as a Buddhist ornament in Buddhist decorative arts, including sculptures and paintings such as the Dunhuang frescoes. The yingluo depicted as decorative Buddhist art elements and was later imitated and turned into an actual elegant necklace by the Tang dynasty. It was then widely adopted as a classical necklace in Chinese society for centuries and as a head-wear. It was also used the hanfu of Chinese women where it was used as a neck ornament or jewellery, and was especially favoured by the Chinese court ladies in ancient times. The yingluo could also be used as a textile pattern which would applied on Chinese clothing. The yingluo gradually lost popularity as it lost its appeal due to the changes in people's sense of aesthetic and aesthetic needs in modern times. However, it currently continues to be worn as a common modern-day hanfu accessory by Hanfu enthusiasts since the Hanfu movement and can appear in various styles and materials.
