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HOA PPT 2
HOA PPT 2
Chinese jade ornament with dragon and phoenix design, late Spring and Autumn Period (722 B.C.E.-481 B.C.E.).
Chinese art traditions are the oldest continuous art traditions in the world. Early so-called "stone age art" in China,
consisting mostly of simple pottery and sculptures, dates back to 10,000 B.C.E.. This early period was followed by a
series of dynasties, most of which lasted several hundred years. Through dynastic changes, political collapses,
Mongol and Manchurian invasions, wars, and famines, Chinese artistic traditions were preserved by scholars and
nobles and adapted by each successive dynasty. The art of each dynasty can be distinguished by its unique
characteristics and developments.
Jade carvings and cast bronzes are among the earliest treasures of Chinese art. The origins of Chinese music and
poetry can be found in the Book of Songs, containing poems composed between 1000 B.C.E. and 600 B.C.E.. The
earliest surviving examples of Chinese painting are fragments of painting on silk, stone, and lacquer items dating to
the Warring States period (481 - 221 B.C.E.). Paper, invented during the first century C.E., later replaced silk.
Beginning with the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (265–420)|, painting and calligraphy were highly
appreciated arts in court circles. Both used brushes and ink on silk or paper. The earliest paintings were figure
paintings, followed later by landscapes and bird-and-flower
paintings. Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism powerfully influenced the subjectmatter and style of Chinese art.
Neolithic pottery
Jade culture
Jade bi from the Liangzhu culture. The ritual object is a symbol of wealth and military power.
Tools such as hammer heads, ax heads and knives were made of jade nephrite during the Neolithic period (c. 12,000
– c. 2,000 B.C.E.). The Liangzhu culture, the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River delta, lasted for a period
of about 1300 years from 3400 - 2250 B.C.E. The jade from this culture is characterized by finely worked, large ritual
jades such as Cong cylinders, Bi discs, Yue axes, pendants and decorations in the form of chiseled open-work
plaques, plates and representations of small birds, turtles and fish. Liangzhu jade has a white, milky bone-like aspect
due to its origin as Tremolite rock and the influence of water-based fluids at the burial sites.
Shang Dynasty (Yin) bronze ritual wine vessel, dating to the thirteenth century B.C.E.
Bronze casting
The Bronze Age in China began with the Xia Dynasty (ca. 2100 – 1600 B.C.E.). Examples from this period have been
recovered from ruins of the Erlitou culture, in Shanxi, and include complex but unadorned utilitarian objects. In the
following Shang Dynasty (商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) (ca. 1600 - ca. 1100 B.C.E.), more elaborate objects, including
many ritual vessels, were crafted. The Shang are recognized for their bronze casting, noted for its clarity of detail.
Excavations show that Shang bronzesmiths usually worked in foundries outside the cities and made ritual vessels,
weapons and sometimes chariot fittings. The bronze vessels were receptacles for storing or serving various solids
and liquids used in the performance of sacred ceremonies. Some forms such as the ku and jue can be very graceful,
but the most powerful pieces are the ding, sometimes described as having an "air of ferocious majesty."
It is typical of the developed Shang style that all available space is decorated, most often with stylized forms of real
and imaginary animals. The most common motif is the taotie, a symmetrical zoomorphic mask, presented frontally,
with a pair of eyes and typically no lower jaw area. The early significance of taotie is not clear, but myths about it
existed around the late Zhou Dynasty (周朝; 1122 B.C.E. to 256 B.C.E.). It was considered to be variously a covetous
man banished to guard a corner of heaven against evil monsters; or a monster equipped with only a head which tries
to devour men but hurts only itself.
The function and appearance of bronzes altered gradually from the Shang to the Zhou, and they began to be used
for practical purposes as well as in religious rites. By the Warring States Period (fifth century B.C.E. to 221 B.C.E.),
bronze vessels had become objects of aesthetic enjoyment. Some were decorated with scenes of social life, such as
banquets or hunts; while others displayed abstract patterns inlaid with gold, silver, or precious and semiprecious
stones.
Shang bronzes became appreciated as works of art during the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 C.E.), when they were
collected and prized not only for their shape and design but also for the various green, blue green, and even reddish
patinas created by chemical action as they lay buried in the ground. The study of early Chinese bronze casting is a
specialized field of art history.
Qin sculpture
A gilded bronze lamp with a shutter, in the shape of a maidservant, from the Western Han Dynasty, 2nd
century B.C.E.
Two gentlemen engrossed in conversation while two others look on, a painting on a ceramic tile from a tomb near
Luoyang, Henan province, dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 C.E.)
The Terracotta Army, inside the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, consists of more than seven thousand life-size
tomb terra-cotta figures of warriors and horses buried with the self-proclaimed first Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang)
in 210–209 B.C.E..
The figures were painted before being placed into the vault. The original colors were visible when the pieces were
first unearthed, but exposure to air caused the pigments to fade. The figures are in several poses including standing
infantry and kneeling archers, as well as charioteers with horses. The head of each figure appears to be unique; the
figures exhibit a variety of facial features and expressions as well as hair styles.
Pottery
Porcelain is made from a hard paste comprised of the clay kaolin and a feldspar called petuntse, which cements the
vessel and seals any pores. The word china (chinaware) has become synonymous with high-quality porcelain. Most
china comes from the city of Jingdezhen in China's Jiangxi province. Jingdezhen, under a variety of names, has been
central to porcelain production in China since at least the early Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.).
The most noticeable difference between porcelain and other pottery clays is that it "wets" very quickly (that is,
added water has a noticeably greater effect on the plasticity of porcelain clays), and that it tends to continue to
"move" longer than other clays, requiring experience in handling to attain optimum results. Porcelain is fired at very
high temperatures and the result is a translucent quality, allowing light to penetrate the finished product.
In medieval Europe, Chinese porcelain was very expensive and much sought after for its beauty.
TLV Mirrors
Bronze mirrors, called TLV mirrors because symbols resembling the letters T, L, and V are engraved into them,
became popular during the Han Dynasty. They were produced from around the second century B.C.E. until the
second century C.E.. The dragon was an important symbol on early TLV mirrors, appearing as arabesques on early
mirrors and later as fully-fledged figures.[1] In the later part of the Western Han period, the dragons were replaced
by winged figures, monsters and immortals.
Mirrors from the Xin Dynasty (8-23 C.E.) usually have an outer band with cloud or animal motifs, and an inner circle
with a square containing a knob. The inner circle often contains a series of eight 'nipples,' and various mythological
animals and beings, including the Queen Mother of the West.[2] The central square could have an inscription, or
contain the characters of the Twelve Earthly Branches. Inscriptions placed in between the mirror's sections
frequently discuss Wang Mang and his reign.[3]
Han poetry
During, the Han Dynasty, Chu lyrics evolved into the fu (賦), a poem usually in rhymed verse except for introductory
and concluding passages that are in prose, often in the form of questions and answers.
From the Han Dynasty onwards, a process similar to the official compilation of the Shi Jing produced yue fu
(Traditional Chinese: 樂府; Simplified Chinese: 乐府; Hanyu Pinyin: yuèfǔ) poems, composed in a folk song style.
“Yue fu” literally means "music bureau," a reference to the government organization originally charged with
collecting or writing the lyrics. The lines are of uneven length, though five characters is the most common. Each
poem follows one of a series of patterns defined by the song title. Yue fu includes original folk songs, court imitations
and versions by known poets such as Li Bai).
A scene of two horseback riders from a wall painting in the tomb of Lou Rui at Taiyuan, Shanxi, Northern Qi Dynasty
(550–577)
Influence of Buddhism
Poetry
Historical records indicate Cao Cao (155 – 220), the father of the well-known poets Cao Pi (187 – 226) and Cao
Zhi (192 – 232), was himself a brilliant ruler and poet. Cao Pi is known for writing the first Chinese poem using seven
syllables per line (七言詩), the poem 燕歌行. Cao Zhi demonstrated his spontaneous wit at an early age and was a
favorite candidate for the throne; his brother Cao Pi quickly took control after their father’s death and Cao Zhi was
never allowed to enter politics. Instead, he devoted his ability to Chinese literature and poetry, and surrounded
himself with a group of poets and officials with literary interests. The poems of Cao Zhi, Cao Cao, and Cao Pi were
representative of the solemn and stirring jian'an style (建安風骨), a transition from earlier folksongs into scholarly
poetry. Lament over the ephemerality of life was a central theme of works from this period. More than 60 of the 90
poems by Cao Zhi still in existence are five-character poems (五言詩), considered to have strongly influenced the
later development of five-character poetry.
The poetry of Tao Qian (365 – 427) was an important influence on the poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Approximately 120 of his poems survive, depicting an idyllic pastoral life of farming and drinking.
Calligraphy
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, an Eastern Jin (265-420) tomb painting from Nanjing, now located in
the Shaanxi Provincial Museum.
Strolling About in Spring, by Zhan Ziqian, artist of the Sui Dynasty (581–618).
Part of the scroll for Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies, a Tang Dynasty duplication of the original
by Gu Kaizhi.
In ancient China, painting and calligraphy were the most highly appreciated arts in court circles and were produced
almost exclusively by amateurs, aristocrats and scholar-officials who had the leisure to perfect the technique and
sensibility necessary for great brushwork. Calligraphy was considered the highest and purest form of painting. The
implements were the brush pen, made of animal hair, and black inks, made from pine soot and animal glue. Writing
as well as painting was done on silk until the invention of paper in the first century. Original writings by famous
calligraphers have been greatly valued throughout China's history.
Wang Xizhi (Chinese: 王羲之, 303–361), a famous Chinese calligrapher who lived in the 4th century C.E., is known for
Lanting Xu, the preface to a collection of poems written by a number of poets who gathered at Lan Ting near the
town of Shaoxing, in Zhejiang province, to engage in a game called "qu shui liu shang."
His teacher was Wei Shuo (Simplified Chinese: 卫铄; Traditional Chinese: 衛鑠; pinyin: Wèi Shuò, 272–349),
commonly addressed as Lady Wei (衛夫人), a well-known calligrapher who established consequential rules for
Regular Script. Her works include Famous Concubine Inscription (名姬帖 Ming Ji Tie) and The Inscription of Wei-shi
He'nan (衛氏和南帖 Wei-shi He'nan Tie).
Gu Kaizhi (Traditional Chinese: 顧愷之; Simplified Chinese: 顾恺之; Hanyu Pinyin: Gù Kǎizhī; Wade-Giles: Ku K'ai-
chih) (ca. 344-406), a celebrated painter born in Wuxi, wrote three books on painting theory: On Painting (画
论), Introduction of Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晋胜流画赞) and Painting Yuntai Mountain (画云
台山记). He wrote, "In figure paintings the clothes and the appearances were not very important. The eyes were the
spirit and the decisive factor."
Three of Gu's paintings still survive: "Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies," "Nymph of the Luo River"
(洛神赋), and "Wise and Benevolent Women."
Other examples of Jin Dynasty painting have been found in tombs. Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, painted on a
brick wall of a tomb located near modern Nanjing and now found in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, depicts a
famous group of seven Daoist scholars, each labeled and shown either drinking, writing, or playing a musical
instrument. Other tomb paintings portray scenes of daily life, such as men plowing fields with teams of oxen.
A Chinese Tang Dynasty tri-color glazed porcelain horse (ca. 700 C.E.), using yellow, green and white colors.
The Tang period was considered the golden age of Chinese literature and art.
The Chinese term gushi ("old poems") refers either to the mostly anonymous shi poems, or more generally to the
poems written in the same form by later poets. Gushi are distinct from jintishi (regulated verse); the writer
of gushi was under no formal constraints other than line length and rhyme (in every second line).
Jintishi, or regulated verse, developed from the 5th century onwards. By the Tang dynasty, a series of set tonal
patterns had been developed, which were intended to ensure a balance between the four tones of classical Chinese
in each couplet: the level tone, and the three deflected tones (rising, falling and entering). The Tang dynasty was the
high point of the jintishi.
Notable poets from this era include Bai Juyi, Du Mu, Han Yu, Jia Dao, Li Qiao, Liu Zongyuan, Luo Binwang, Meng
Haoran, Wang Wei, and Zhang Jiuling.
Li Po and Du Fu
Li Po and Du Fu, regarded by many as the greatest of the Chinese poets, both lived during the Tang Dynasty.
The Leshan Giant Buddha, 71 meters tall, construction began in 713 C.E., completed 90 years later.
Over a thousand poems are attributed to Li Po, but the authenticity of many of these is uncertain. He is best known
for his intense and imaginative yue fu poems. Li Po is associated with Daoism, but his gufeng ("ancient airs") often
adopt the perspective of the Confucian moralist. He composed approximately 160 jueju (five- or seven-character
quatrains) on nature, friendship, and acute observations of life. Some poems, like Changgan xing (translated by Ezra
Pound as A River Merchant's Wife: A Letter), record the hardships or emotions of common people.
Since the Song dynasty, critics have called Du Fu the "poet historian." The most directly historical of his poems are
those commenting on military tactics or the successes and failures of the government, or the poems of advice which
he wrote to the emperor.
Tang Dynasty mural painting from Dunhuang.
One of the Du Fu's earliest surviving works, The Song of the Wagons (c. 750), gives voice to the sufferings of
a conscript soldier in the imperial army, even before the beginning of the rebellion. Du Fu mastered all the forms of
Chinese poetry and used a wide range of registers, from the direct and colloquial to the allusive and self-consciously
literary.
Painting
Song painting
During the Song dynasty (960–1279), landscapes of more subtle expression appeared; immeasurable distances were
conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic
treatment of natural phenomena. Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the painting and on the ability of
the artist to reveal the inner harmony of man and nature, as perceived according to Daoist and Buddhist concepts.
Liang Kai, a Chinese painter who lived in the thirteenth century (Song Dynasty), called himself "Madman Liang." He
spent his life drinking and painting, eventually retiring to become a Zen monk. Liang is credited with inventing the
Zen school of Chinese art.
Wen Tong, who lived in the eleventh century, was famous for ink paintings of bamboo. He could hold two brushes in
one hand and paint two different bamboos simultaneously. He did not need to look at bamboo while he painted
because he was so familiar with their appearance and character.
Zhang Zeduan is noted for his horizontal cityscape Along the River During Qingming Festival, which has been copied
many times throughout Chinese history.[9] Other famous paintings include The Night Revels of Han Xizai, originally
painted by the Southern Tang artist Gu Hongzhong in the tenth century. The best-known version of his painting is a
twelfth century copy from the Song Dynasty. The large horizontal hand scroll shows men of the gentry class being
entertained by musicians and dancers while enjoying food, beverage, and being offered wash basins by
maidservants.
Yuan drama
Chinese opera has its origins in the Tang dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong (712–755) founded the "Pear Garden" (梨园),
the first known opera troupe in China, to perform for his personal enjoyment. Chinese operatic professionals are still
referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden" (梨园子弟). In the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), forms like the Zaju (杂剧,
variety plays), in which dramas are based on rhyming schemes and incorporate specialized character roles like "Dan"
(旦, female), "Sheng" (生, male) and "Chou" (丑, Clown), were introduced into the opera.
Yuan dynasty opera exists today as Cantonese opera. It is universally accepted that Cantonese opera was imported
from the northern part of China and slowly migrated to the southern province of Guangdong in late thirteenth
century, during the late Southern Song Dynasty. In the twelfth century, there was a theatrical form called Narm
hei (南戲), or the Nanxi (Southern opera), which was performed in public theaters of Hangzhou, then capital of the
Southern Song Dynasty. When the Mongol army invaded in 1276, Emperor Gong (Gong Di (恭帝 Gōngdì)) fled from
Zhao Xian (趙顯 Zhào Xiǎn) to the province of Guangdong with hundreds of thousands of Song people. Among these
people were some narm hei artists who introduced narm hei into Guangdong where it developed into the earliest
kind of Cantonese opera.
Many well-known operas performed today, such as The Purple Hairpin and Rejuvenation of the Red Plum
Flower, originated in the Yuan Dynasty, with the lyrics and scripts in Cantonese. Until the twentieth century all the
female roles were performed by males.
Yuan painting
Wang Meng was a Chinese painter during the Yuan dynasty. One of his well-known works is Forest Grotto.
Zhao Mengfu, a Chinese scholar, painter and calligrapher during the Yuan Dynasty, rejected the refined, gentle
brushwork of his era in favor of the cruder style of the eighth century and is considered to have brought about a
revolution that resulted in modern Chinese landscape painting. Qian Xuan (1235-1305), a patriot from the Song court
who refused to serve the Mongols and instead turning to painting, revived and reproduced the vivid and detailed
Tang Dynasty style.
Late imperial China (1368-1911)
Detail of Dragon Throne used by the Qianlong Emperor of China, Forbidden City, Qing Dynasty. Artifact circulating in
U.S. museums on loan from Beijing
Ming poetry
Gao Qi (1336 – 1374) is acknowledged by many as the greatest poet of the Ming Dynasty. His style was a radical
departure from the extravagance of Yuan dynasty poetry, and led the way for three hundred years of Ming dynasty
poetry.
Ming prose
Zhang Dai (张岱; pinyin: Zhāng Dài, courtesy name: Zhongzhi (宗子), pseudonym: Tao'an (陶庵)) (1597 - 1689) is
acknowledged as the greatest essayist of the Ming dynasty.
Wen Zhenheng, (Chinese: 文震亨; pinyin: Wén Zhènhēng; Wade-Giles: Wen Chen-heng, 1585–1645) the great
grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming dynasty painter, wrote a classic on garden architecture and interior
design, Zhang Wu Zhi (On Superfluous Things).
Ming painting
Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, early seventeenth century, Ming Dynasty.
Qing drama
The best-known form of Chinese opera, Beijing opera, assumed its present form in the mid-nineteenth century and
was popular during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). It originated in the Chinese provinces of Anhui and Hubei. Its two
main melodies, Xipi and Erhuang, come from Anhui and Hubei operas, and much of the dialogue is carried out in an
archaic dialect originating partially from those regions. It is commonly believed that Beijing Opera was born when
the Four Great Anhui Troupes came to Beijing in 1790. Originally staged for the court, it later became a form of
public entertainment. In 1828, some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing, where they performed on stage with
Anhui troupes. Beijing opera's main melodies evolved from this combination. Music and arias were also absorbed
from other operas and musical arts such as the historic Qinqiang.
In Beijing Opera, traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments provide a strong rhythmic accompaniment to
the acting, in which stylized gestures, footwork, and other body movements express such actions as riding a horse,
rowing a boat, or opening a door.
Qing poetry
Yuan Mei, a well-known poet who lived during the Qing Dynasty, produced a large body of poetry, essays and
paintings. His works reflected his interest in Zen Buddhism and the supernatural, at the expense of Daoism and
institutional Buddhism—both of which he rejected. Yuan is most famous for his poetry, which has been described as
"unusually clear and elegant language." His views on poetry, elaborated on in the Suiyuan shihua (隨園詩話),
stressed the importance of personal feeling and technical perfection.
The Yongzheng Emperor Enjoying Himself During the 8th Lunar Month, by anonymous court artists, 1723-1735 C.E.,
Palace Museum, Beijing.
Bada Shanren (Template:Zh-cwl, (ca. 1626—1705), born as Zhu Da (朱耷), was a calligrapher and ink-and-wash
(shuimohua) painter. His paintings feature sharp brush strokes which are attributed to the sideways manner by
which he held his brush.
Qing fiction
Many great works of art and literature originated during the period, and the Qianlong emperor in particular
undertook huge projects to preserve important cultural texts. The novel became widely read and Dream of the Red
Chamber, by Cao Xueqin, perhaps China's most famous novel, was written in the mid-eighteenth century.
Handwritten copies of this work, consisting of 80 chapters, were in circulation in Beijing shortly after Cao's death,
before Gao Ê, who claimed to have access to the former's working papers, published a complete 120-chapter version
in 1792.
Pu Songling was a famous writer of Liaozhai Zhiyi 《聊齋志異》during the Qing dynasty. He opened a tea house and
invited his guests to tell stories, and then compiled the tales in collections such as Strange Stories from a Chinese
Studio.
Transformation
After the end of the last dynasty in China, the New Culture Movement (1917 – 1923) defied all facets of
traditionalism. A new breed of twentieth century cultural philosophers including Xiao Youmei, Cai Yuanpei, Feng
Zikai and Wang Guangqi called for Chinese culture to modernize and reflect the “New China.” The Chinese Civil
War (1927 – 1950) brought about by a split between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, and
the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 – 1945), in particular the Battle of Shanghai, threw the Chinese art and cultural
worlds into tumult. Nevertheless, several important developments of Chinese modern art took place during this
period.
Comics
The most popular form of comics, lianhuanhua, circulated as palm sized books in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and
Northern China. Comic books became one of the most affordable forms of entertainment. The famous Sanmao
character was born at this time.
Painting
In the late 1800s and 1900s, Chinese painters were increasingly exposed to the Western art, and an artistic
controversy arose over how to respond to it. Some artists who studied in Europe rejected Chinese painting; others
tried to combine the best of both traditions. Qi Baishi (Simplified Chinese: 齐白石; Traditional Chinese: 齊白
石; pinyin: Qí Báishí, also Ch'i Pai-shih) (January 1, 1864 - September 16, 1957) began life as a poor peasant and
became a great painter of flowers and small animals and is known for the whimsical, often playful style of his
watercolors.
As an extension of the New Culture Movement Chinese artists started to adopt Western painting techniques. and oil
painting was introduced to China. Some artists, including Zhang Daqian, Lin Fengmian, Pang Xunqin and Wu Zuoren,
studied or worked abroad.
Guohua
As part of the effort to Westernize and modernize China during the first half of the twentieth century, art education
in China's modern schools taught European artistic techniques, which educators considered necessary for
engineering and science. Painting in the traditional medium of ink and color on paper came to be referred to
as guohua (国画, meaning 'national' or 'native painting'), to distinguish it from Western-style oil painting, watercolor
painting, or drawing. Various groups of traditionalist painters formed to defend and reform China's heritage,
believing that innovation could be achieved within China's own cultural tradition. Some of them recognized
similarities between Western modernism and the self-expressive and formalistic qualities of guohua, and turned to
modernist oil painting. Others believed that the best qualities of Chinese civilization should never be abandoned, but
did not agree on what those qualities were.
One group of guohua painters, including Wu Changshi, Wang Zhen, Feng Zikai, Chen Hengke, and Fu Baoshi, were
influenced by similar nationalistic trends in Japan and favored simple but bold imagery. Wu Hufan, He Tianjian,
Chang Dai-chien and Zheng Yong, based their work upon a return to the highly refined classical techniques of the
Song and Yuan periods. A third group, dominated by Xu Beihong, followed the footsteps of the Lingnan school in
trying to reform Chinese ink painting by adding elements of Western realism.
Painting
Artists were encouraged to employ socialist realism. Some Soviet Union socialist realism was directly imported, and
painters were assigned subjects and expected to mass-produce paintings. This regimen was considerably relaxed in
1953, and after the Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1956–57, traditional Chinese painting experienced a significant
revival. Along with these developments in professional art circles, there was a proliferation of peasant art depicting
everyday life in the rural areas on wall murals and in open-air painting exhibitions. Notable modern Chinese painters
include Huang Binhong, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Chang Ta Chien, Pan Tianshou, Wu Changshi, Fu Baoshi, Wang Kangle
and Zhang Chongren.
Poetry
Modern Chinese poems (新詩, free verse) usually do not follow any prescribed pattern. Bei Dao is the most notable
representative of the Misty Poets, a group of Chinese poets who reacted against the restrictions of the Cultural
Revolution. The work of the Misty Poets and Bei Dao in particular were an inspiration to pro-democracy movements
in China. Most notable was his poem "Huida" ("The Answer"), which was written during the 1976 Tiananmen
demonstrations in which he participated. The poem was taken up as a defiant anthem of the pro-appeared on
posters during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
Xu Zhimo is a romantic poet who loved the poetry of the English Romantics like Keats and Shelley. He was one of the
first Chinese writers to successfully naturalize Western romantic forms into modern Chinese poetry.
Contemporary Art
Contemporary Chinese art (中国当代艺术, Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu), often referred to as Chinese avant-garde art,
has continued to develop since the 1980s, when the restrictions of the Cultural Revolution were lifted.
Contemporary Chinese art incorporates painting, film, video, photography, and performance. Until recently, art
exhibitions deemed controversial were routinely shut down by police, and performance artists in particular faced the
threat of arrest during the early 1990s. More recently there has been greater tolerance by the Chinese government,
though many internationally acclaimed artists are still restricted from media exposure at home or have their
exhibitions closed by government order. Leading contemporary visual artists include Ai Weiwei, Cai Guoqiang, Cai
Xin, Fang Lijun, Huang Yan, Huang Yong Ping, Kong Bai Ji, Lu Shengzhong, Ma Liuming, Ma Qingyun, Song Dong, Li
Wei, Christine Wang, Wang Guangyi, Wang Qingsong, Wenda Gu, Xu Bing, Yang Zhichao, Zhan Wang, Zhang Dali,
Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Huan, Zhu Yu, Yan Lei, and Zhang Yue.
Visual art
Beginning in the late 1980s younger Chinese visual artists received unprecedented exposure in the West through
Chinese museum curators based outside the country. Museum curators within China, such as Gao Minglu, and critics
such as Li Xianting (栗宪庭) have reinforced the promotion of particular newly-emerged brands of painting, and
spread the idea of art as a strong social force within Chinese culture. Critics contend that these curators are
exercising personal preferences and that the majority of avant-garde Chinese artists are alienated from Chinese
officialdom and the patronage of the Western art market.