Chinese History and Political Science - Essay Example

History and Political Science Introduction Art is defined as an activity that man does and uses to create images and objects in certain fields that include painting, printmaking, photography and making of sculptures. With the existence of art, there is a symbolic meaning that is imprinted on each art piece. Art is a skill and requires the use of imagination in order to create certain objects or images that can relate to other people. It is an artistic work that has existed over the years and has been used in various states to symbolize various things.

The Chinese landscape painting is a painting that is most treasured and is kept at high regards by the people of China since it represents a lot (Sullivan, 73). Throughout the world of art, this piece of painting is symbolic and has symbolism that relates to the Chinese culture in various ways. In terms of nature and art, the paintings’ name; landscape, is a combination of two characters namely; water and mountains (Sullivan, 140). With such imprinted in the painting, it is safe to say that nature and art go hand in hand.

They have a connection in that both can be represented as one. Water and mountains are natures’ products; they appear naturally and as such certain mountains and rivers are only present in specific places. When this is incorporated into art, then an exquisite piece is generated; one which combines both nature and art to bring out the desired effect onto the art lovers (Sullivan, 165). In terms of tradition, paintings in the Chinese tradition are painted by artists with creative minds in that they imagine what to draw.

What they imagine is idealized into landscapes, and this includes mountains (Sullivan, 182). In the Chinese culture, mountains are a blessing, and they are considered good to a persons’ soul. It is this belief that makes the Chinese people love mountains since they are viewed to reach up to the heavens. Colors used also signify something, especially that of water. When green is used, it signifies spring time while jade is summer, blue is autumn and black means winter. Chinese landscape paintings are painted with consideration and significance to the village, seasons, event, age, relationships and taste (Sullivan, 203).

The Japanese court painting is a painting that symbolizes the tradition and culture of the Japanese people also in a number of ways (Mason and Donald, 124). The painting dates back to when Buddhism and Taoism had influence over certain denominations. It came to be known as the Heian period, where art signified art and its courts. The painting represents a time in history that was significant to the Japanese people (Mason and Donald, 178). It is a painting that is related to the time when the Japanese people came to have their own self identity and became a nation.

Before this, the Japanese people did not venture much into art and literature (Mason and Donald, 198). The Yamato-e is an extremely valuable piece of painting to the Japanese people. It shows certain pivotal events that brought about the suffering that people underwent. The painting is a show of the key events and in particularly war. The painting is also given the name Japanese picture for it shows and symbolizes the suffering that the people underwent through in order to have their own true identity (Mason and Donald, 234).

Conclusion With art, there is the stimulation of thoughts, emotions, ideas and even beliefs that exist in a certain culture or that mean something to a particular individual. To explain further, this essay has focused on the Chinese landscape painting and the Japanese court painting that symbolizes the tradition and the culture of these people. Works Cited Sullivan, Michael. The Arts of China. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 1999. Print. Mason, Penelope E, and Donald Dinwiddie.

 History of Japanese Art. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.