Art in Focus

Chapter 10: The Art of India, China, and Japan

Lesson Summaries-English

          From the fifth century B.C. to the fifth century A.D., the seeds were sown for modern civilization in the West and the East. The basis of Eastern culture was formed in India, China, and Japan, evolving in ways different from those of the West.

Lesson 1
The Art of India

          India was the birthplace of two great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. Both of these religions influenced the art of India. India’s first ancient civilization flourished in the Indus River Valley. The people of this region, the Harappans, erected multistoried buildings and developed a written language. They created clay works and small sculptures for worship. Harappan civilization had vanished by 1500 B.C. Invaders from the northwest known as Aryans probably destroyed it. These people controlled India for a thousand years during what is known as the Ganges civilization.

          Their religion blended over time with the Harappan beliefs to form Hinduism. The Hindu believe there are three main processes in life and in the universe: creation, preservation, and destruction. Around 500 B.C. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha. He did not pray to a higher being, but practiced meditation, the act of focusing thoughts on a single object or idea. Monasteries were built for Buddha’s followers to engage in meditation. These became elaborate chambers carved out of hillsides. In addition, stupas, small burial shrines that hold relics of the Buddha, were built over grave sites. These shrines include symbols of the Buddha to remind worshipers of his teaching. By the Gupta era, from A.D. 320 to 600, sculptures of the Buddha in human form were created. In the fifth century A.D. Hinduism was revived in India. Hindu architecture took the form of small, sculpted temples meant as residences for the god Vishnu. Hindu artists also created bronze statues of gods such as Shiva. As Buddhism spread throughout Asia, so did the forms of Indian art.

Lesson 2
The Art of China

          During China’s long history, different dynasties made contributions to art. As early as the First (Shang) Dynasty, which began in 1766 B.C., Chinese artisans became skilled at casting bronze. During the Han dynasty Buddhism arrived in China, elevating the status of the artist and encouraging new types of art. Artists made sculptures of bodhisattvas, people who had postponed death or returned to the world to comfort the living. Artists made nature and landscape paintings on scrolls, long rolls of parchment or silk.

          The Han dynasty ended in the third century A.D. and the Tang dynasty took control in A.D. 618. Sculptures from this prosperous period were mostly religious or meant to be placed in tombs. Tang-period artists developed a delicate use of line for their painting.

          The Tang dynasty collapsed in 906. China was reunified in 960 under the stable Sung dynasty. Sung-period artists refined the art of making porcelain, a fine-grained form of china. Sung porcelain vessels have beautiful, translucent surfaces. Artists continued to make sculptures with Buddhist themes, now with a more relaxed attitude. Sung landscape paintings on scrolls invite the viewer to journey through them and contemplate every detail.

          Mongols conquered the Sung dynasty in 1224, leading to the Yüan dynasty. Careful landscape paintings continued to be produced by artists such as Chao Meng-Fu.

          After the collapse of the Yüan dynasty in 1368, Chinese rulers regained power, and the Ming dynasty was founded. Artists drew on the traditions of the past and created intricate vases using a stunning cobalt-blue glaze.

          After Manchurian tribes conquered China in 1644, the Ching dynasty lasted until 1912. While painting declined in quality, the porcelain tradition remained strong until the nineteenth century.

Lesson 3
The Art of Japan

          While Japan was influenced by China and Korea for its early art, eventually it developed its own unique art traditions. During Japan’s Kofun period (A.D. 300-800), simple vessels and figures were made of red clay. Buddhism arrived from Korea in A.D. 552. Later that century, Buddhist temples were built throughout the country. Made of wood, these temples are fitted together with beautifully crafted joints. Temple complexes include pagodas, towers several stories high with roofs slightly curved upward at the edges. Temples also house many artistic treasures.

          During the Heian period, which began in 784, artists developed Yamato-e, or painting in the Japanese manner, for decorative wall paintings. The Heian period ended in 1185, and a period of military rule known as the Kamakura led to a bold, vigorous art style. New Buddhist sects were also formed, such as the Zen sect. As a result, artists created peaceful landscape paintings on folding screens. After the Kamakura period, three dictators known as shoguns created huge protective palaces. Then in 1615 Edo rule was established, beginning one of the richest eras in Japanese art. A new middle class demanded artworks that showed the life of the people. This led to the Ukiyo-e style, which means pictures of the passing world. Artists developed woodblock printing to create many images at once.. Early prints were created in black ink on white paper and then hand-colored. In the eighteenth century, a process for creating multicolored prints was developed. Japanese woodblock prints show bold figures drawn from Kabuki theater, graceful females, and powerful but delicate nature scenes.