Transcript #1

Kristine -
1. What are the characteristics of ancient Chinese art?
Early Neolithic pottery was often decorated with symbolic geometric symbols,
calligraphy was marked with thick brush strokes, and ancient paintings celebrated
nature and portraits of important individuals.

2. What influenced Chinese art?

The use of special ovens called kilns, the development of lacquer to make
pottery glazes, and advancements in creating ink for calligraphy and painting
allowed the ancient Chinese civilizations to make sophisticated artwork that has
existed for millennia.
3. Ancient Chinese art
This was the first time that humans had worked with metal, and they fashioned
bronze, a metal made of copper and tin, to create weapons, ritual vessels,
funerary items, and chariots.
4. Ancient Chinese art
Agrarian society can be defined as a society where a majority of its population
derives its income from agriculture and related activities.
5. Chinese Art History
Agricultural societies produced more sedentary living, and artisans had the time
and energy to sculpt, paint, and produce artworks. A devout faith in supernatural
powers inspired artisans to design symbolic works of beauty to appease the
Gods. Ceramics were crafted with red, black, and gray clay, creating storage
bottles and bowls for everyday use.

Frank – Dynasties
6. Dynasties
The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1050 BC)
- heralded the beginning of the Bronze Age. During this time, artisans began
working with metal as society became more aggressive and assertive and
 included a hierarchy of castes. Weapons and ceremonial bronzes were created
as objects of worship.

The pioneering development of the kiln, a special high-temperature oven that

helped fire the stoneware for pottery, made the objects stronger and more
durable. Materials used during the Shang Dynasty were bronze, ivory, bone, clay,
and jade.
The Zhou Dynasty (1050-221 BC)
- further developed the traditions of Ancient Chinese Art, continuing to make
bronze ceremonial vessels and carvings of jade. New artistic inventions included
lacquerware, goldsmithing, Chinese painting, and calligraphy. Other
developments during the Zhou Dynasty included large irrigation projects, new
roads and waterways infrastructure, and the use of chopsticks. In addition, the
use of iron during the later Zhou years created more advanced weaponry and
tools, and 600 BC became known as the Iron Age.
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)
- During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first Emperor Qin Shi Huang
commissioned a massive clay artwork known as the Terracotta Army to protect
his mausoleum and soul in the afterlife. During the Zhou and Qin dynasties, art
adhered to Confucian principles of propriety and the rule of law — good art was
judged on spiritual and warrior energy elements and was thought to grant
supernatural powers to the beholder.
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) 
- The Han Dynasty presided over a golden age of Chinese culture, which
embraced visual art as well as poetry, literature and music. In the case of
both and decorative art, a major stimulus was the revival of tomb art, which
developed significantly during both the Western and Eastern Han eras.

Kristine – Characteristics of Chinese art

7. Being realistic is the last thing Chinese art/painting ever wants to be.

Chinese painting is meant to capture the essence of the beauty the painter sees,
the spirit, the air, the ambience that really strikes the painter.

Too many details will crowd out the kind of idea/feel/air/spirit that the painter
wants to convey.

It is just a different philosophy.

 Take a look at this picture below. It is about a poem that describes how an old
man fishes in the snow alone. It is not very realistic as many details are blurred
out. But you do get the loneliness of fishing alone in the cold snowy day…

And it is more than loneliness. Imagine you are the one in the picture -
Everything is white. It is so quiet that you can even hear the sound of snow
falling on the water. There is not a soul to be seen in miles. The world just
seemed to be standing still and you were the only one left on earth… Lonely, but
you kind of like it.

That is what this picture tries to convey.

8. The idea is to capture the air/feel of the scenery. And you leave a lot of space in
the painting to allow the imagination to run. Realism actually limits people’s
imagination.
9. Well explained na yon
10. During the later years, figures of Buddha, lotus leaves, and tranquil landscape
paintings based on Taoist principles were common. Animals and objects in
nature, such as flowers, bamboo, etc., were thought to have spiritual and
philosophical qualities that artists tried to emulate.

Frank & Kristine – Chinese Art styles

11. The artwork was an essential part of daily life in China, and the numerous
Chinese art styles depict ancient human civilization in its most sophisticated and
beautiful stages.

Frank – Ceramics, Porcelain, Metallurgy

Ceramics- Chinese ceramics range from construction materials such as bricks and
tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated
Chinese porcelain wares made for the imperial court and for export. Porcelain
was a Chinese invention and is so identified with China that it is still called
"china" in everyday English usage.

Porcelain- Chinese porcelain - one of the best examples of traditional Chinese art
- is typically made from the clay mineral kaolinite, combined with pottery stone
known as petunse, feldspar and quartz. Other ingredients may include ball clay,
bone ash, glass, steatite and alabaster.
Metallurgy- Metallurgy in China has a long history, with the earliest metal
objects in China dating back to around 3,000 BCE. The majority of early metal
items found in China come from the North-Western Region (mainly Gansu and
Qinghai, 青海). China was the earliest civilization to use the blast furnace and
produce cast iron.

Kristine – Stone art, Calligraphy, Painting

Stone art- First of all the masters-stonecutters choose a suitable stone for the
job. The ancient stone-cutters’ various art works, ranging from huge statues of
deities, carved out of solid rock, to the smallest figurines, where you can see the
smallest details, which fact shows the great skill and talent of the Chinese
stonecutters have survived up to date.

- Most often these materials are used to make jewelry, such as pendants in
the form of a dragon or other mythical creatures. These pendants which
serve as charms can be found in any traditional market of China.

Calligraphy- All educated men and some court women were expected to
be proficient at it, an expectation which remained well into modern
times. Far more than mere writing,

Painting- It involves the use of a brush, ink and paint. To draw a Chinese
painting, a set of fixed rules and artistic forms are to be followed, which
are passed down from generation to generation.

- The history of Chinese painting can be traced back to the primitive

society of the Neolithic Age when colored potteries and rock
paintings made their way into the daily life of the ordinary people.
The painting techniques found in these works were quite simple,
yet demonstrated that the people back then had a basic mastery
of portrait painting. They were able to reflect the striking features
of the animals and plants to show their aspiration and wishes for
a better life.
- Deeply rooted in the cultural identity of the Chinese nation,
Chinese painting constitutes a vital part of the traditional Chinese
culture. It lays an equal emphasis on both the artistic form and
the spirit of the painted object. The use of a writing brush, ink and
rice paper contributes to a unique theoretical system of Chinese
painting. The drawings are not limited to time or space, but call
for imagination and simplicity. These unique painting techniques
not only showcase the charm of Chinese painting, but also enrich
the world’s art treasure trove.
 - Initially, Chinese paintings were created for the appreciation of
the nobility but as time elapsed, they gradually became accessible
to the ordinary folk. Accordingly, the themes also witnessed a
profound change. The painters started to focus on the reality of
the society and created a wealth of fine works that reflected the
features of their age.

Transcript #2

Kristine - Transcript in Confucianism

Candidates who passed the exams were elevated to a scholarly aristocracy in which gentlemen were
admired for their abilities in music, calligraphy, painting and the composition of poetry. The brush, ink,
paper and inkstone used in Chinese calligraphy and painting were commonly referred to as the Four
Treasures of the Study (Traditional Chinese: 文房四寶 Simplified Chinese: 文房四宝 wén fáng sì bǎo),
and many of the greatest Chinese painters were bureaucrats and members of the literati. Imperial
courts also assembled schools of professional artists to produce portraits and other paintings for official
purposes. The Confucian attitude of respect for education and reverence for the past ensured the
continuance of an educated elite who preserved artistic traditions even through violent dynastic
changes.

Frank - Transcript in Daoism

People were often portrayed as tiny figures in vast natural settings. Chinese paintings did not seek to
capture the physical likeness of a subject, but its internal characteristics and qualities. This was achieved
both through the spontaneity and ingenuity of the individual artist, and through the use of conventions
of color and style that conveyed a message of their own. Artists often painted indoors from memory,
rather than by looking at their subject. By contemplating a painting, a person was supposed to be able to
understand the power of nature.

Kristine - Transcript in Buddhism

Buddhist sculpture continued to flourish for about 600 years until the Ming dynasty. After this time
exquisite miniature sculptures were produced in jade, ivory, and glass. The architecture of Buddhist
temples resembled that of Confucian and Daoist shrines and temples. Pagodas, based on Indian stupas,
were constructed to house sacred scriptures and relics. Some pagodas had as many as 15 stories, each
with a curved, overhanging roof. About 10,000 pagodas still exist in China today.

Frank - Transcript Chinese Architecture

This structure gives the buildings a strongly horizontal influence. Interior rooms and structures are
symmetrically arranged according to Confucian principles of hierarchy, often with a central structure
flanked by two wings, and outer walls that enclose courtyards and gardens. Bright lacquer paints
protected and preserved the wood..

Kristine - Transcript Music

Chinese traditional music is played on solo instruments or in small ensembles of plucked and bowed
stringed instruments, flutes, and various cymbals, gongs, and drums. The scale has five notes. Bamboo
pipes and qin are among the oldest known musical instruments from China. Chinese orchestras
traditionally consist of bowed strings, woodwinds, plucked strings and percussion. Chinese vocal music
has traditionally been sung in a thin, non-resonant voice or in falsetto and is usually solo rather than
choral. All traditional Chinese music is melodic rather than harmonic. Chinese vocal music probably
developed from sung poems and verses accompanied by music.

Frank - Transcript Drama

Beijing opera features four main types of performers, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary
performers with elaborate and colorful costumes. On a sparsely decorated stage, the actors use
speech, song, dance, and combat skills in movements that are symbolic and suggestive, rather than
realistic. Performers adhere to a variety of stylistic conventions that help audiences navigate the plot of
the production.[4] Melodies include arias, fixed-tune melodies, and percussion patterns.[5

Kristine - Transcript Chinese folk art

Chinese folk art are artistic forms inherited from a regional or ethnic scene in China. Usually there are
some variation between provinces. Individual folk arts have a long history, and many traditions are still
practiced today. 

Frank - Transcript Paper art

Paper cutting is one of the most popular decorative Chinese handicrafts. It is popular for its low cost and
artistry. Rural women often make paper cuttings in their spare time when farming is not busy.  As a
reflection of its philosophical origins, paper cutting is as comprehensive as it is attractive. Moreover, folk
paper cutting conveys the content and nature of traditional culture with its own particular language.

Kristine - Transcript puppetry

Puppet performances of various types were popular in China. There were several forms of puppet
theater in China. It isn’t known which developed first. The Chinese puppet theaters come in four forms:
marionettes on strings or wires, rod puppets, shadow plays, and hand manipulated glove-type puppets.

Four Forms of Chinese Puppet

Marionette Theater

Marionettes on strings or wire like the old time Pinocchio or as in the picture to the right were once
popular in the China before the advent of motion pictures.

Rod Puppetry

The puppets may be small or even life-size. Performers used to wear special traditional theatric robes
with big sleeves so that the rods were somewhat hidden, but modern performers tend to let their hands
and rods show.

Shadow Puppet Theater

A simple lamp and a thin screen was all that was needed for a stage. Things like people, animals,
furniture, pagodas, walls and plants were shown on the screen by placing figurines or figures made of
cardboard or leather in front of the lamp.

Glove-type Puppet Shows

Glove-type puppets like the "Muppets" are quite familiar in the West. Glove puppets are still a common
toy there. These were also popular in China since ancient times.

Frank - Transcript Knotting

Knots are not only a simple decoration in the Chinese culture but is a very important form of art with a
long history and rich symbolism. Each kind of Chinese knot has its own special meaning, and not many
have known that the knots are originally the Ancient Chinese’s way of recording history and information
before the creation of today’s Chinese characters.