Chinense arts - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The line patterns on unearthed pottery and bronze ware resemble ripples, fishing nets, teeth or frogs. The animal and human figures, succinct and vivid, are proofs to the innate sensitivity of the ancient artists and nature.”
The early Chinese artists were fascinated by the beauty of Nature. They held the various agents of Nature like mountains, rivers etc. in reverence and awe. The proof for this can be found in the steep cliffs in Sichuan, Guizhou in Southwes China and Yunnan. More ancient engravings and paintings can be found in Altai, and Heihe. The paintings are related to the tough living conditions of the people in those hilly tracts. Scenes of sacrificial rites, production activities and so forth can be seen. In northern China, the themes of paintings were entirely different. They mostly relate to animal grazing, hunting, wars and dancing. Paper was invented much later and the artists used silk for their paintings. The earliest silk painting was excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb which relates to Warring States Period (476-221 BC). Buddhism came from India in the 1st century and one can see carvings on grottoes and temple buildings. The religious murals came to the fore.
Chinese artists were exposed to vagaries of Nature and territorial aggrandizement of different dynasties and the unity of China as one country was put to severe test. Wars between the dynasties were the common feature during the third to sixth centuries. These developments set the Chinese artists thinking and varied themes emerged from their creative strokes. “Grotto murals, wall murals in tomb chambers, stone carvings, brick carvings and lacquer paintings flourished in a period deemed very important to the development of traditional Chinese painting The Tang Dynasty (618-907) witnessed the prosperity of figure painting, where the most outstanding painters were ...Download file to see next pagesRead More