ART 256 - The Arts of China

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as ASIA 256) This course covers the history of Chinese art from the Neolithic to the early 20^th century. We examine a wide array of traditional art forms such as jade, silk, porcelain, ritual bronzes, ink painting, Daoist architecture, Confucian murals, and Peking opera. We also trace the transfer of foreign elements into Chinese art and aesthetics in the wake of China’s interactions with various entities across Asia. Following in the footsteps of monks, merchants, ambassadors, and warriors, we explore the artistic innovations they helped disseminate across the Chinese empire. Why do we find Persian textiles and Roman glass in ancient Chinese tombs? How do we account for discoveries of Chinese ceramics as far as Madagascar? What was the impact of Sino-Japanese exchanges on painting and garden design? How did the arrival of Buddhism transform Chinese material culture? What changes did Chinese painting undergo under Mongol patronage? Through such inquiries, we view and discuss Chinese art in the context of an increasingly global Afro-Eurasia. Students also delve into Chinese aesthetic concepts through select readings of primary sources such as poems, decrees, diaries, legal documents, and hymns.

Prerequisite(s): ART 105 or ART 106, one Asian Studies course, or permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS