The efflorescence of early Chinese civilization can be attributed to two long periods of political, economic and social stability in Chinese history. The first period was the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-22 ACE) which defined Chinese nationality and ethnicity by indelibly stamping upon the Chinese identity, the designation "people of Han" or ban ren 1. The second period would unquestionably belong to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 ACE) when an internally unified China started to look extensively beyond its borders, exerting a powerful on the international mercantile and political scene. This willingness to look the insular confines of the "Central Plains" would give rise to major changes in trade society, culture, religion and art.
The grandeur of the Tang Dynasty has its roots in the accomplishments of previous dynasties. With the fall of the Han Dynasty, the unified "Central Plains" disintegrated and for the next 350 years, China would be wrecked by constant warfare with the occasional period of relative stability, such as the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 ACE). China was under incredible duress and finally in 581, Wendi, the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty (581-618 ACE) brought China under the control of a single government again.
The shape of Tang history was determined by China's relationship with her neighbors. The first diplomatic exchanges with the western nations in Central Asia were established as early as the Han Dynasty, in 138 BCE, under Emperor Wudi 2, and a fragile pax sinica continued throughout the second century ACE. Chinese suzerainty over the region was however limited due to her own internal upheavals. The disunity of the Turks, which occurred in the first year of the Sui Dynasty, briefly marked the beginning of China's ascendancy in Central Asia 3.
However, in 615, following civil wars and continued threats from the Turks, the Sui Dynasty collapsed and the Tang Dynasty was established by the machinations of Li Shimin, thought to be of Toba ancestry, with the help of Turkish troops storming the capital, Changan, in 617. The establishment of the Tang Dynasty would consolidate China's presence in Central Asia even more assertively than its predecessors. From its inception it was clear that, with foreign complicity, China was going to be prominent in international affairs. By 640, Chinese control was installed over the entire Xinjiang basin. For the first time in centuries, China did not face a credible threat on her western border and was able to secure the trade routes to and from the West.
With this newfound political stability, China was experiencing profound economic growth and social change. By the end of Gaozong's reign in 683, the mention of China conjured images of splendor, luxury, brilliance, wealth, entertainment and excess. Through foreign trade, China became increasingly cosmopolitan, and foreigners started to settle in the capital, Changan, as well as in prominent trading towns such as Luoyang and Guangzhou 4, where they had complete freedom of movement, religion and dress. They interacted freely with native Chinese people, and introduced new religions, as well as artistic styles, some of which were integrated into the native traditions.
During this period, the population rose to more than forty million, with at least two million people living in Changan 5. The Tang economy was extremely robust and the annual state budget during its peak was much higher than in Han time'. Its power and prosperity are reflected in its art, which was often flamboyant, extremely colorful, made out of precious materials, and coveted not just by the Chinese, but also by nations as far-off as Rome, Persia, India and Indonesia. Representations of foreigners are typically portrayed in subordinate positions, as lowly servants, or as tribute bearers from countries paying obeisance to China, such as the jade foreign tribute bearer [cat. no. 121] who, with his slight bow and proffered box, exemplifies submission to the Chinese court.
Figurines such as the straw-glazed foreign dancer [cat. no. 401] and the seated female musician [cat. no. 291] gives some sense of the leisure and gaiety of the Tang court. such foreign entertainers, including acrobats and dwarfs, were included in informal palace entertainment during the Tang Dynasty. For example, the foreign dancer is possibly of Kunlun ancestor, from an area south of the Chinese border defined by the Kunlun Mountains 7. Foreign forms of entertainment were so well received it was said that even emperors and courtiers learnt foreign dances and played foreign musical instruments. The female musician plays an instrument called the pipa, a five-stringed lute that originated in Mesopotamia and came to China by way of Central Asia.
The one artistic development which characterizes the Tang Dynasty in all its glory is the mastering of lead glazing and the creation of sancai (three-color) glazes. The Tang potter perfected the technique of lead-glazing, and created many objects that had colorful, glassy, shiny surfaces that vividly portray the glitzy, gaudy and ostentatious character of the period. The sancai three-color glaze, in particular, was especially favored by Tang potters, accurately reflecting the flamboyance of the Tang court, and considered the hallmark of the period.
Sancai glaze was used primarily on tomb furnishings (mingqi) including ceramic vessels, but more importantly tomb figures. A large number of these tomb objects survive from the Tang Dynasty and have proven to be invaluable visual documents of social history. The tomb figures can be divided into two categories — The first comprises representations of supernatural and otherworldly figures; the second consists of realistic representations of people and animals based on everyday events.
Tomb furnishing became an expression of status, and families competed with each other to produce ever more magnificent and stunning tomb objects that were on display before burial. It is from objects such as the group of four sancai-glazed pottery figures [cat. no. 431] that we get a vibrant sense of the intense social rivalry that must have been the impetus to create such large, colorful, intricately modeled tomb protectors that were only briefly enjoyed by the living to be interred forever with the dead. The lavishness of tomb furnishings must have escalated beyond control, as new laws proscribing maximum sizes for the different classes of citizens were set in places 8. This particular group are larger than the average lokapalas and civil officials by about ten centimeters 9, and one can only imagine the social status of the deceased, as well as the family's wealth.
The tomb figures portray daily life with representations of different classes of people engaged in various activities. Court ladies on horseback, foreign merchants carrying goods, servants performing their chores, and animals, such as horses and camels, tend to be naturalistically modeled. One gets the sense that the potter keenly observed life around him and tried to replicate his observations in the most realistic manner possible.
This concern for realism is most apparent in the horses. Highly regarded by Tang society, horses in any medium were viewed with a more critical eye than any other figure 10. Frequently, the realism was at such a high level that the ceramic figures would be accurate portrayals of different breeds of horses. As a result, the ceramic horses found are most lifelike, dynamic, and spirited. The sculptor of the painted pottery prancing horse [cat. no. 32], which is in mid-motion with its knee bent and hoof in mid-air, has accurately captured the magnificent physiognomy of the beast to depict the very essence or spirit of the animal.
The brilliant sancai-glazed horse [cat. no. 42] is remarkable for its size and also its dynamism. More subdued than the pottery prancing horse [cat. no. 321] but equally striking for its vigor; the tension in its muscles, the slight strain in its neck and forelegs and flick of its short tail, all capture the vitality of the animal.
The symbiotic relationship between China and her neighbors resulted in the expansion of the Chinese artistic vocabulary. As new icons, shapes, decorations, techniques and materials started entering China, along with artisans from the West, native craftsmen were given additional stimulus to copy, adopt and assimilate the fresh influences.
The introduction of Buddhism to China resulted in the importation of new icons that eventually became an integral part of Chinese art. Buddhism first entered China towards the end of the Han Dynasty but it was only during the Tang Dynasty that the religion enjoyed a prolonged period of glory as a result of state endorsement. This support resulted in artistic innovation, and the addition of Buddhist icons, such as images of the Buddha, bodhisattvas, lokapalas, aspsaras, and lions, to the canon of Chinese art.
The very first images of the Buddha and bodhisattvas in China were valued for their similarity to those at holy sites in India or along the Silk Route, resulting in many stiff and unnatural imitations that showed a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the original intent. By the time the sandstone bodhisattva [cat. no. 21] was carved, a pleasing fusion had been formed between the Indian emphasis on plasticity and the linear style favored by the Chinese. The indianizing style of this sculpture is clearly apparent from its easy, relaxed cléhanche pose, ornate beaded jewelry, and diaphanous, gauzy garments, all convincingly portrayed by the sculptor 11.
Similarly, lions are a later addition to the Chinese repertoire, but eventually equaled in importance to the dragon and tiger, which have been part of Chinese mythology and from early times. Lions were symbols for royalty in India, Persia, Assyria and Babylonia, and en route to China, acquired additional significance as protectors of the Buddhist faith. The large marble lion [cat. no. II] conveys a sense of majestic power associated with a protector of religion; its roar symbolizes the Buddha's teaching which awakens the minds of the uninitiated 12.
The Buddhist guardian figures, lokapalas 13, occupy an important position in the canon of Buddhist imagery. These guardians secure the four entrances of buildings and are involved in all important events in the Buddha's life. By the 7th century ACE, these figures were fused with the Chinese tradition of placing guardian soldiers (zhenmuyong) in tombs.
The foreign influence in Chinese art is especially apparent in Chinese ceramic vessels combining multiple influences from ancient Greece, Persia, India and Central Asia 14. The influence may manifest itself in the vessel's shape, design, or technique for decoration. The potters attempted to recreate in clay the metal objects brought by the foreigners, and they adopted techniques that would allow them to imitate the decorations on metal vessels.
Vessels such as the sancai-glazed amphora [cat. no. 17] and stoneware amphora [cat. no. 13] are clearly by-products of Hellenistic influences. Influenced by the Chinese artistic sensibility, the two handles on either side of the amphora are in the form of dragons that extend high above the mouth, dipping downward dramatically to grip the mouth with their jaws 15, and the amphora's mouth flares outward in the shape of a cup.
The rare phoenix-headed ewer [cat. no. 15] reflects on multiple levels its history as a foreign import. Its shape, the nature of the raised decoration, as well as the imagery, are all rooted in foreign traditions. The ewer's prominent flaring foot, flattened ovoid body, slender neck and scrolled handle all carry traces of Sasanian and Central Asian influences. The relief decorations imitate western metal repoussé. The molded cartouche with a motif of a rider on horseback turned backward with his bow and arrow ("Parthian shot" motif 17), is a Persian import with roots dating back to ancient Mediterranean art. The cartouche on the other side of the ewer featuring the phoenix, and phoenix head may also have been native to Central Asia 18.
The superb sancai medallion jar [cat. no. 20], with the sharp incised line around its shoulder, attempts to replicate the contour of metal ware. The jewel-like intricacy and thin hard-edged relief lines of the appliquéd floral design is reminiscent of relief patterns created by the tracing technique in metal work.
The glazing on the very rare earthenware jar and cover with blue sancai stripes [cat. no. 181] clearly reflects the influences from textile dying techniques. The potter was able to create an intricate pattern of florets and stripes due to the newly gained knowledge of resist wax glazing, a technique that has its origins in batik cloth dying, which, in turn has foundations in Central Asia, especially in the Turfan area 19. The widespread adoption of applying white slip onto the clay body before glazing was critical in determining whether or not the wax resist method could be successfully used in ceramics. This particular jar and cover are especially interesting for its blue-glazed stripes, a color that can only be achieved by high-fired cobalt, a material that had to be imported from Persia 20.
Despite the scarcity of precious metals in China 21, silver and gold smithing also gained prominence during Tang times, reaching a level of aesthetic and technical accomplishment unprecedented in Chinese history. This achievement was partly due to China's ability to import these metals through her extensive trade relations, but more importantly, from the Tang court's extensive contact with the Sasanian royal court, which created beautiful and technically advanced silver ware 22.
The Sasanian practice of hammering out a silver sheet and shaping it to the desired form. by "raising" the sheet would have been used to create objects such as the parcel gilt silver [cat. no. 6]. The tracing and gilding techniques on this ladle and the ring matting that forms the decorative ground of the silver cup [cat. no. 51] were methods used extensively by Sasanian metal workers.
The golden period of the Tang Dynasty ended abruptly with the rebellion of An Lushan in 755, plunging the country into confusion. With the help of Uighur Turks, the Tang emperor Daizong was reinstated to his throne in 763, and the dynasty continued for another two centuries, but it was merely a shadow of its former self. In those short but tumultuous eight years, Tang politics, society and art underwent a complete change. The cosmopolitan, adventurous and colorful vitality of the early Tang vanished to be replaced by a more xenophobic and closed society that prohibited all foreign religions in 8/13, and demanded all foreigners to wear Chinese dress 23. By 879 the political instability, caused by peasant uprisings, had escalated to such a point that more than 120,000 foreign merchants lost their lives in a revolt in Canton.
Trade was disrupted as a result of the unrest; silver and gold smithing lost their popularity and the quality of production deteriorated steadily.
Demand for sancai lead glazing, which was used mainly for palace and funerary objects in the metropolitan areas of Changan and Luoyang decreased, although it was still prevalent in the Liao and Song dynasties. Just as the flamboyant colors of sancai, so representative of the spirit of the Tang, were relegated to a secondary position by the end of the ninth century, the strength of the Tang Dynasty was slowly but surely waning, coinciding with the diminishing innovation and excitement associated with earlier periods of Tang art.
1 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 68
2 Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, p. 10
3 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 172
4 Ibid. , p. 13
5 Ibid, p. 13
6 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 179
7 Schloss, Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture-from Han Through Tang
8 Scott, The Golden Age of Chinese Art: The Lively Tang Dynasty, p. 20
9 Liu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, Vol. I, p. 246-247
10 Watson, The Arts of China to AD 900, p. 234
11 Sullivan, The Arts of China, p. 131
12 Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from the Wei 7brough the Tang Dynasties, p. 176
13 Juliano and Lerner, Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures from Northwest China, p. 201-202
14 Schloss, Foreigners in Ancient Chinese Am'
15 Medley, Tang Pottery and Porcelain, p. 31
16 Juliano and Lerner, Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures from Nortbuvst China, p. 316
17 Schloss, "Foreign Influences on Chinese Ceramic Vessels" in Foreigners in Ancient Chinese Art
18 Ibid.
19 Medley, Tang Pottery and Porcelain, p. 40
20 Ibid., p. 24
21 Scott, The Golden Age of Chinese Art: The Lively Tang Dynasty, p. 22
22 Gyllensvard, Chinese Gold, Silver and porcelain, p. 11
23 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 192
]]>Throughout the long development of Chinese jade carving, the objects of each era reflect the society's philosophical outlook and political reality, as well as contemporary craftsmanship, technology, artistic styles and aesthetic taste. By looking at the shape, ornamentation, carving technique and style of each piece, we can discover the cultural, philosophic and artistic spirit of the times. We can also witness significant changes in aesthetic taste over time.
The reasons for changes in aesthetics are quite complex, having to do not only with the refinement of jade-carving technique but also with broader social and historical developments, as well as the influence of other cultures and variations in artistic style. Thus, the study of changing Chinese taste in jade is of value to both art scholarship and the understanding of Chinese culture — jade is a path towards beauty.
Generally speaking, I believe that the history of Chinese jade can be divided into five periods: the Formative Period, the Brilliant Period, the Transitional Period, the Flourishing Period, and the Period of Stable Development.
For the purposes of this essay, we will call China's Middle and Late Neolithic Ages — from around four to seven thousand years ago — the "Formative Period of Chinese Jade". Archaeological excavations have revealed particularly elegant jade.” artifacts from the five-thousand-year-old Dawenkou culture in modern-day Shandong, many exquisite jades have also been found at sites of the Liangzhu culture in Zhejiang province, which date to about four thousand years ago.
Such discoveries have made it clear that Chinese jade carving began in the Stone Age: As early man manufactured stone objects and put them to use, he discovered the even more splendid substance called “jade”. The Han etymologist Xu Zhen's definition of jade as "that stone which is beautiful"(shi zhi mei zhe) reveals the Stone Age process of recognizing jade.
Of course, Neolithic jade carvers used many different types of raw materials in their work, varying with location and culture. Though "jade" was a general term used to describe a variety of stones modern mineralogists identify only two substances as "true jade"—nephrite (ruan yu), and jadeite (ying yu). From the Han Dynasty on, nephrite, found in Hetian, Xinjiang, has been the primary material used by Chinese jade carvers.
Neolithic jades fall by and large into three major types. The first group is that of tools and weapons, including jade spades and axes, The second is that of religious and ritual objects, such as gut tablets and cong tubular beads, and thirdly there are decorative items such as jue and bi discs and awl-shaped objects (chui sing qi). Even at this early stage, jade work had reached an astonishing level of skill in the selection of materials, drilling techniques, design carving and the polishing of stone.
An outstanding example of such skill is exhibit #3, an awl-shaped ornament very similar to Neolithic fades in the collection of the Palace Museum in Taipei. Such ornaments, which come in a great wealth of types, have been excavated at the sites of the Liangzhu, Dawenkou and Shixia cultures. They show that early man already knew basic polishing techniques and moreover how to preserve the natural color and veining in the jade.
Neolithic jades such as this one are not only of cultural significance but have an important aesthetic value. Because jade apparently held such a vital position in the late Neolithic Age, some scholars have recently suggested including a "Jade Age" between the Stone and Bronze Ages on the dateline of Chinese history. This might be an appropriate means of representing this unique feature in the development of Chinese civilization.
The Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties (ca. 1850-221 BCE) hold a prominent place in Chinese history, the Confucians in particular regarded the "Three Dynasties" as the ideal model for later society. Though at present no major archaeological evidence has been recovered from the Xia, those Shang and Zhou jades that have been unearthed or handed down as heirlooms show a marked progress in carving technique, as well as a mature artistic style. Because of the advances in technique and especially because of the ever-increasing use of jade in ritual and worship, and in the social life of the time, I term this period the "Brilliant Era of Chinese Jade”.
Of the 590 jades excavated from the well-known tomb of Lady Hao of the late Shang Dynasty, more than 300 were ornaments and over 160 ritual objects, while weapons and tools accounted for only 60 pieces each. Compared to the Neolithic Age, more ritual and decorative objects appeared during the Shang, such changing taste in jades has origins deeply rooted in social history.
The distinctive features of symbol and ornament found on Shang and Zhou Jades were no doubt influenced by the exquisite bronzes for which this era is famous. Simply put, the artistic style and aesthetic tastes of the two media can be said to parallel each other.
Within this"Brilliant Era" the Spring Autumn and Warring States periods(ca.770-221 BCE) represent its apex. Techniques in jade carving developed rapidly and the available supply of mined raw jade increased.
In the realm of thought, jade acquired a cosmological significance. Eastern Zhou Confucian thinkers outlined a system of beliefs in which jade took on deep moral, religious and political meaning. In their writings, they laid out systems for the ritual use and wearing of jades and advanced a theory investing the ideal jade with supernatural properties. This theory and the ritual organization survived for more than two thousand years- through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Confucian ritual texts the Zhouli (The Rituals of Zhou) and the Liji (The Book of Rites) expound on jade at length. The Zhouli’s oft-cited set of stipulations about the use of jade— "Make from jade the six qi" (yi yu zuo liu gi and "Make from jade the six rui" (yi yu zuo liu rui)—heavily influenced jade use in ancient times. The "six qi" — bi discs, zong cylinders, gui tablets, zhang blades, buang pendants and hu animal plaques — were used in sacrifices to Heaven, Earth and the gods of the Four Directions. The shapes of these ritual objects reflect the ancient Chinese cosmology of a round heaven and square earth, as well as the philosophical belief in the harmony of nature and human being. The six rui, on the other hand, had practical significance as symbols of noble rank, with certain shapes specific and exclusive to particular ranks. Thus jade had an even more privileged role in Zhou society.
New inventions for fashioning tools in the Spring & Autumn and Warring States periods advanced jade carving techniques. Relief work and engraving were employed to a generous extent and the decoration became more meticulous, with smooth and easy lines.
The era covering the Qin, Han, and Six Dynasties might be termed the "Transitional Period of Chinese Jade". It is useful to think of this time as a connecting link between the Brilliant Period of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties and the Flourishing Period of the Tang and Song dynasties to follow. In terms of technique Han Dynasty jade work appropriated and consolidated the achievements developed before the Qin Dynasty unification of the empire. In addition during the Han, the Confucian system of jades of ritual and rank advanced one step further.
Another notable achievement of the Han is Emperor Han Wu Di's (157-87 BCE) opening of relations with the peoples to the west. Foreign trade and traffic expanded and the importation of nephrite increased, until finally this stone became the primary type of Chinese jade. This time also saw a marked increase in the number of jades produced for ornament and burial use.
As was noted earlier with regard to Shang and Zhou bronzes, different art forms in the Han mutually influenced each other. The Han is especially known for its stone sculpture done in a grand and heroic style typical are the stone animals which stand before the tomb of the Han general He Chubing in Shaanxi province. These animals have a majestic and energetic feel and are sculpted in a simple and unadorned manner.
Han jades reveal a similar style and taste, exhibit #8 being a particularly outstanding example. In this type of jade ram especially we can see a strong resemblance to stone sculpture in line and posture. Professor Na Zhiliang notes such a similarity in A Collection of Illustrative Plates of Chinese Jade, picturing a similar jade figure in illustration #298c. Professor Na comments that this seems to be the common model for stone or jade ram figures during the Han.
The period of the Six Dynasties (covering the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties) was a chaotic time. Accordingly, the development of jade carving was obstructed by war and turmoil. Thus, one rarely sees jades unearthed from Six Dynasties tombs, or even handed down from this time. Because of the scarcity of examples, some scholars have described this period as a low point in the history of Chinese jades. However, as seen in this exhibit those pieces from the Six Dynasties are just as exciting as the earlier Han Dynasty pieces.
Most of the Six Dynasties pieces known today are animal figures Accordingly, the Han and Six Dynasties animals in this exhibition provide a vivid example of the variety of aesthetic taste extant in the two periods as seen in exhibits 7, 8, 9 and 13.
The next period, comprised of the Sui, Tang Song, Liao and Jin dynasties, will be called the "Flourishing Period of Chinese Jade". The Tang Dynasty was a time of power and prosperity in Chinese history, an era when the economy developed, domestic society stabilized, foreign relations strengthened and literature and art thrived, Arts and crafts flourished during the Tang Jade carving no less than ceramics (especially sancai pottery), textiles, precious metalwork and lacquerware surpassed previous levels of artistry, technique and scale of production. Tang jade carvers pursued a realistic style.greatly influencing the further development of jade jade sign during the Song.
The Tang proved to be a momentous time in the history of changing taste in Chinese jadework. as Professor Fu Zhongmo points out:
“Tang Dynasty jade carving developed with an emphasis on realism, breaking away completely from the patterns and custom of prinitive simplicity that was the legacy of the Han, and before it the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Tang jade carving was increasingly tied to the sculpture and painting of the time, and its artistic level rose greatly.”
Such tendencies are most visible in exhibits #18, a magnificent bull's head rhylon, and #21, a playful monkey figure. Song taste is founded in this type of realism, and is characterized by emphasis on everyday life and common customs. The great change in artistic values came as jade took on a new look, one that conveyed the richness of life, as can be seen in the exhibits human figures, such as the messenger, #24, and the seated boy, #25.
From a technical point of view, Song skills in jade carving took a great leap forward. Aside from adding greater depth and detail to the ornamental engraving, Song jade carvers employed a technique sometimes called jiaozuo, or artful carving. This technique took advantage of the shape and color of the raw jade, emphasizing designs that highlight the natural beauty of the stone. Exhibit #28, a bird in white jade with brown markings, is a fine example of such ingenious work.
Of course, the word "carving" should he qualified. The process by which jade is shaped is actually one of drilling and polishing (zhuomo in Chinese)in which a number of different tools are employed. Since there is no one-word equivalent for the term zhuomo in English, I have followed J.P Palmer's example and used the word "carving". Carving here describes the artwork itself, rather than the specific technical process.
Another interesting phenomenon which should be mentioned are the archaistic jades, done in imitation of the Three Dynasties styles Accompanying the rise of Neo-Confucianism-the Song and Ming idealist reworking of Confucian philosophy -jade carvings done in the style of the ancients became popular This trend continued through the Qing Dynasty.
Finally, the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties can be described as the "Period of Stable Development in Chinese Jade." During the Ming, skills in jade carving again progressed, particularly in Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south and Beijing in the north. Jade workshops were established in these areas and others around groups of skilled craftsmen. Ming artistic style and taste on one hand continued the Song affection for the subject matter based in daily life and popular customs- many human or animal figures can be found among jade works of the period. On the other hand, Ming "carved" lines possess a new strength, with corners and edges delineated more clearly(as can be seen in the luxuriant lines of exhibit #42, a fu dog with its pup).
During the Qing, the court commissioned jades in unprecedented quantities, and the size of individual pieces reached grand proportions Technically, further progress was made in ornamentation and in the refinement of design. Qing jade carving reached its peak and maturation in the era from Qianlong's reign through the early days of the Jiaqing emperor (i.e. 1736 through the early 1800s.) Qing jade carving by and large looked to other arts such as painting, calligraphy, sculpture and craft-work for reference, Qing jade carvers were also distinguished by their study of the style and technique of jades produce abroad. particularly Hindustan(sometimes called Moghul) jades.
From this summary account we can catch a glimpse of the breadth and great length of the continuous development of Chinese jade work. a history in which each period possesses its own distinctive styles and taste The study of the historical change of aesthetic taste allows for unending pleasure, moreover, only after appreciating Chinese jade can we understand and Its place as the emblem of Chinese civilization.
Associate Professor Jixiang Peng
Director. Art Institute
Peking University
New York City
July 1994
This English translation of the Chinese scholarly article was originally published in “A Private Collection of Early Chinese Jade Carvings”, Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd, New York, 1994.
NOTES
1."Tantan dawenkou wenhua"(A Discussion of Dawenkou Culture")Wenwu. No 4, 1978, Beijing
2. Nanjing Museum. "Jiangsu Wuxian Zhanglingshan Fajue Jinbao"("A Brief Excavation Report on the Sites at Mt Zhanglinushan, Wuxian, Jiangsu").Wenwu congkan, no 6, 1982
3. Xu Shen, "Yu"("Jade "). no. 7. Shuo wen jie zi vol. 1, Zhonghua Shuju press
4. Teng Shu-p'ing, Neolithic lades in the Collection of the National Palace Museum (Zinshiql shidai yuqi tulu). Taipei: National Palace Museum, 1992, plates 61, 62, 64, 65
5. “The Tomb of Lady Hao at the Yin Site, " Kaogu Xuebao (Archaeological Report). no. 2, 1977.
6. Zhouli xinzhu xinyi (Zhouli: A New Translation and Annotation)Shiumu Wenxian Press, 1985
7. Na Zhiliang. Zhongguo guy tushi (A Collection of Illustrative Plates of Chinese jade). Taipei: Nantian Shuju Ltd, 1990. p. 438
8. Yang Boda, Zhongguo meishu quan ji (Collected Works of Chinese Art), Gongyimeishu bian 9.(Arts Crafts, & grafts, vol 9. Jade). Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1986.
9. Fu Zhongmo, Guyu jingling(The Ar of Jade Carving in Ancient China). Hong Kong: Zhonghua Shuju, 1989. p.92
10. J.P. Palmer, Jade London: Spring Books. 1967.p. 15.
]]>As the full range of Chinese art became better known in the West, museums and private collectors began to buy different kinds of works. What was valued above all was the painting, which the Chinese themselves had always ranked first, and the ancient bronzes and jades. There were, of course, various sculptures among the latter. The most sought after were the jade carvings and the animal-shaped bronze vessels from the Shang, Zhou, and Han period and from the Ming and Qing dynasty, the elaborately carved jade figures of all types and the decorative porcelains and enamels. All these were very popular with nineteenth century collectors.
Wooden Bodhisattva from the Northern Song Period (no.21)
The idea that Chinese sculpture is a major art form to be ranked among the great sculptural traditions of the world is a twentieth century phenomenon, for it was under the influence of modern art that more abstract forms became popular. The pioneer in this field was the Swedish scholar Osvald Siren who published his four volume Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth Century to the Fourteen Century in 1925 and included detailed discussions of this form in his various books on Chinese art.
Other scholars who wrote on this subject are Leigh Ashton, the author of Introduction to the Study of Chinese Sculpture, which appeared in 1924, d'Ardenne de Tizac who published La Sculpture Chinoise in 1931 and Otto Fischer whose Chinesische Plastic came out in 1948. Excellent books dealing with the great cave temples of northern China were also produced by the Japanese, most notably the monumental studies of the cave temples at Yungang, Longmen, and Xiang Tang Shan by Matsubara and Mizuno. More specialized studies were produced by the present author in his Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, and Ezekiel Schloss who devoted a lengthy study to Chinese ceramic sculptures, emphasizing the figures of the Han, Six Dynasties, and Tang period, and Alfred Salmony who wrote extensively on Chinese jade, particularly those of ancient China.
Rare Stone Stele Dated 535 (No.3)
With the growing interest in the sculptural art of China, leading museums began collecting and pushing catalogues of Chinese sculptures. Among these institutions, the most active was probably the Nelson Gallery under Laurence Sickman, who first as Oriental curator and later as director, was able to put together a large collection of superb examples of Chinese art. Many of the best pieces appear in The Art and Architecture of China, a work by Laurence Sickman and Alexander Soper which came out in 1956.
Even larger was the great collection of Chinese sculpture which Alan Priest assembled for the Metropolitan Museum in New York and in 1944 published an excellent catalogue. Less well known but also outstanding is the group collected by Horace for the University Museum in Philadelphia which was included in his catalogue of the Museum's collection of Chinese art issued in 1941.
Fine examples of Chinese sculpture are also found in the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Fogg Museum, the Cleveland Museum, the Chicago Art Institute, the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and there are also many remarkable collection in European and Japanese museums. It was probably the English critic, Roger Fry, who first drew attention to the aesthetic quality of this art and now no account of sculpture would be complete without a discussion of this remarkable tradition.
Very Rare Large Votite Stele of Seated Buddha (No. 9)
Although porcelains are still the most sought after forms of Chinese art, Chinese sculpture has become increasingly important and outstanding examples have brought very high prices. Pioneers among the dealers who featured Chinese sculpture are Giuseppe Eskenazi in London who issued major catalogues in his Chinese sculpture exhibitions in 1978, 1981, and 1990, and Michael Weisbrod in New York who has shown fine examples of Chinse sculpture in various shows, culminating in an extensive exhibition in the spring of 1992 which is accompanied by a handsome catalogue. Its emphasis is on Chinese Buddhist sculpture with outstanding examples of stone carvings from the Wei and Tang dynasties, a period which is regarded as the high point of Chinese carvings.
Noteworthy pre-Tang dynasty examples are the stele dating from 535 (no. 3) sold and now in the collection of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, a very impressive large stele of northern Qi or Sui (no. 9) (now in a private collection and available for purchase). A fine example of Tang dynasty is represented by the limestone torso of Guanyin (no. 14). But the Chinese sculpture did not limit himself to stone, and perhaps the finest piece is a wooden Bodhisattva from the Northern Song period (no.21). Of the works of clay, the loveliest is a Tang grace figure of a camel (no.32), while in the jade works, the Ming horse and monkey (no.41), is outstanding. All in all, this is a rich and varied show.
Originally authored by Dr. Hugo Munsterberg.
Published and adapted by Michael B. Weisbrod, Inc.,1992.
]]>They consist of various birds, fish, serpents, and tortoises, and, at least in one case, a dragon. Prehistoric jades in the shape of dragons have also been found in recent years. Since there was no written language at this early date, we have no texts to tell us what these animals meant to the villagers of ancient China, but since they occur not only in prehistoric China but are common in later Chinese art and legend, there is no doubt that they had some kind of sacred meaning.
While most of these symbolical animals were derived from real creatures, this was not true of the dragon, which was the most frequently used animal image in Chinese culture. The closest parallel in nature is the Komodo dragon, a large reptile found in the Komodo and Flores islands in Indonesia, but all kinds of lizards, snakes, salamanders, and crocodiles have also been suggested as the source of the myth.
The dragon of legend was supposed to be a winged creature with the body of a giant lizard or snake, claws with sharp nails and a long tail, a combination not found in nature today. Perhaps the memory of some flying lizard of prehistoric times was preserved in the collective subconscious of the human race, a memory which accounts for the fact that dragon-like creatures appear in many different mythologies.
The earliest known dragons occur in the art and mythology of ancient Mesopotamia where it was associated with water, sea and fertility. It is one of the attributes of the great god Marduk. Tiamat, the goddess of the sea, was sometimes represented in the form of a dragon. It is probably from Mesopotamia that the dragon made its way to ancient China.
A character signifying long, or dragon, was found in the oracle bone writing of Shang China (14th-11th c. BC), and dragon images appear on innumerable Shang and Zhou bronzes and jades. In fact, it was the most popular ornamental motif in early Chinese art, occurring on lacquers, jades, bone carvings, and bronze vessels; and it probably also decorated the sacred robes worn by the priests and rulers of the time as well as being painted on the walls of the temples and palaces.
Pair of Archaic Jade Dragon Pendants
That the dragon was looked upon as an auspicious and magical creature is indicated by the fact that according to legend, the ancestor of the earliest Chinese dynasty, the Xia house, is said to have transformed himself into a dragon at a sacred place.
Furthermore, the great Han historian Sima Qian reports that the first emperor of the Han, Gao Zu, was born from the union of a dragon and the Lady Liu; and a dragon was supposed to have appeared when Confucius was born. Even in historical China it was often said that the emperor had a dragon face and his throne was called the dragon throne.
In Chinese mythology, dragon is a sacred animal associated with the imperial family and the abstract deity Tian, or Heaven, on the one hand, and with clouds, rain and fertility on the other. Rivers, lakes, and seas were said to be inhabited by dragon deities, and sacrifices were still being made to them in quite recent times.
The dragon boat festival continues to be celebrated in Chinese communities throughout the world on the fifth day of the fifth month, and even today, the year of the dragon is supposed to be very auspicious and everyone born at this time is believed to be endowed with superior gifts.
The dragon is also one of the twelve lucky symbols and it was embroidered on garments as an auspicious emblem. As late as the early twentieth century, dragon robes were worn by the Emperor and his high officials as a sign of their exalted rank.
In Chinese art, no symbol has been used more frequently than the dragon. Paintings of the legendary creature are found as early as the Han period and they were especially popular during the Song and the Ming dynasties. The great Song artist Chen Rong specialized in dragon paintings and innumerable other celebrated Chinese painters depicted these mysterious creatures.
Dragons appear in decorative designs from the Shang period to the end of the Qing Dynasty and are especially common on Ming and Qing Dynasty porcelains. Ivory and jade carvings, cloisonné and lacquer vessels and various metal objects were often fashioned in the shape of dragons or had dragons as an important decorative emblem.
An Extremely Rare and Large Blue and White 'Dragon' Moonflask
That the dragon was originally a religious and magical symbol cannot be doubted since many inscriptions and legends, as well as the contexts in which the motif occurs, suggest some sacred meaning.
Although dragon deities are still worshipped in provincial temples in China and Taiwan, the dragon of later times probably lost its specific religious associations
and was regarded merely as an auspicious symbol or lucky sign without being linked to a particular deity.
However, even divorced from its religious meaning, the dragon with its long, undulating body is a magnificent creation, combining dynamic energy with the subtle use of line and form. Indeed, it is the most beautiful animal in Chinese art.
Hugo Munsterberg
New Paltz, New York
Jade is a hard stone, that ranges between 6 and 6.5 on Mohs’ scale, and therefore very difficult to work.1 Many dislike the term “carved jade” as jade must be abraded by using sand and a tool, such as a bamboo rod to slowly rub away areas of jade. However, the term “carve” will be used to describe the working of jade throughout this essay and catalogue for convenience sake. Due to the inherent difficulty in carving jade, the fine jade objects of the Liangzhu Culture reflect a stratified, technologically advanced society, where many worked to produce luxury grave goods for a powerful few.
The Liangzhu Culture produced large quantities of jade objects, but they fit into a few specific categories: ritual objects, tools or weapons, and ornaments.
JADE RITUAL OBJECT, Cong
Neolithic Period, Liangzhu Culture (ca. 3400 – ca. 2200 BCE)
Ritual objects consist of cong, or tubular prismatic forms with standard mask decoration often described as a shaman grasping a beast (fig. 2A), and bi, or discs with a hole in the middle (see cat. nos. 2B-D). Cong were indigenous to Liangzhu Culture, while bi discs appeared in other cultures but never in the same numbers or with such central importance. In Zhou Dynasty texts, cong were thought to represent the earth, while the bi disc represented the sun, however more recently scholars have rejected this theory. Elizabeth Childs-Johnson puts forth the idea that the cong “is actually related to the concept of a world delimited by four directions” and the bi is connected to sun worship.2 As Jessica Rawson states, bi discs of the Liangzhu Culture were large and thick — too large to function as personal ornament — therefore, “Discs that were assumed by later scholars to be of integral importance in all chinese rituals seem to have been fully developed only by the Liangzhu people.”3 Although we still do not know the function and meaning of these two ritual jades, we do know they were of great importance in Liangzhu tombs, often surrounding the body in the grave with the finest bi placed over the chest of the deceased.
Weapons and tools consisted of yue and fu axes (see cat. no. 2G), sometimes with jade haft fittings, as well as awls, adzes, and stepped axes (see cat. nos. 2E, 2F, 2K). The weapons and tools were not always made of jade, although jade tools seemed to hold greater importance. In Tomb 20 at Fanshan, Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, a jade yue axe was placed on the shoulder of the deceased, while twenty-four stone axes were piled at his feet.
Ornamental jades, such as plaques, bracelets, beads or fittings, (see cat. nos. 2I-N) and necklaces are numerous in Liangzhu tombs. These jades also prove mysterious in terms of how they were worn and what they signified. Bracelets seem straightforward and in Tomb 144 at Fuquanshan, the body was found with bracelets on his arms, however bell-shaped pendants (possibly like cat. no. 2I) were found suspended at the waist and beads were discovered beside the body with awl-shaped ornaments. Another tomb at 13 Fuquanshan revealed a necklace and headdress plaque (similar to cat. no. 2M) found by the right shoulder of the body. “Since the pieces were not actually on the body, it has been proposed that they may originally have adorned a wooden statue of a deity.”4 Therefore it is still difficult to state with certainty the purpose of many Liangzhu jade ornaments.
The creamy white color of many Liangzhu jades is caused by a chemical change in the stone. Because evidence of fire worship and grave fires were found at many Liangzhu tombs, it was speculated that burning could have caused Liangzhu jades to alter. It was also theorized that Liangzhu lapidaries burned jade before working it in order to soften the stone and make it slightly more pliable. A published investigation into altered Chinese jades explores the chemical phenomenon of Han Dynasty jades that have altered, however the findings should be applicable to Liangzhu jades as well. 5 The scientific examination found that jade altered under alkaline environments, causing “leaching and subsequent re-crystallization of the mineral.” The proximity to a decomposing body, according to this study, would cause jade to alter and turn a creamy white color.
Although the Liangzhu Culture seemed to die out, leaving masterworks of jade underground for millennia without passing on the symbolism so integral to the culture, small unadorned cong were produced during the Western Zhou Dynasty while the Eastern Zhou and Han dynasties saw a resurgence in the popularity of jade objects, especially the bi disc, which became lavishly carved. It is likely that during the Southern Song Dynasty, whose capital was only 18 kilometers from Liangzhu itself, archaic jades were discovered because they were copied in ceramic form, finished with subtle celadon glazes that mimicked the color of jade. Since then, cong-shaped vases have been produced, even into the Qing Dynasty, but with trigram, taking the place of the Liangzhu mask décor. In fact, the shapes of the cong and bi, archaic forms that are still mysterious in terms of their original significance and function, have come to represent the continuity of Chinese culture through their repetition and imitation.
Alexandra Tunstall
(Reprinted from Weisbrod 30 Years, 2002)
1 Jade includes more specific terms such as nephrite and jadeite. Jadeite has a glassier, translucent finish, while nephrite is more opaque. When jade is referred to in terms of the Liangzhu Culture, it is nephrite which is implied as that was the only type of jade available to that culture.
2 Childs-Johnson, p. 57–8.
3 Rawson, Mysteries of Ancient China, p. 54.
4 Huang, “Liangzhu Jades in the Shanghai Museum," p. 36.
5 Aerts, Janssens, and Adams, “A Chemical Investigation of Altered Chinese Jade Art Objects,” Orientations, November, 1995.
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Neolithic Pottery Pouring Vessel (Tripod), Neolithic Period (4500 - 2300 BCE)
A stoneware pitcher that is one of the earliest items included in this exhibition provides a clue towards how immortality themes were expressed in the Neolithic Dawenkou culture of northern China. There, as elsewhere, vessels for drink were regularly deposited in tombs, implying a common belief in an afterlife as well as the need for sustenance in the world beyond. The somewhat formal design of this vessel, the attention given to its finish, and its elegant profile, all suggest that this is not just an ordinary jug such as might be used to pour water. Rather, these carefully crafted details indicate an important vessel that probably served as the focal point in some kind of wine ceremony in which the living might honor the dead and provide a ritual equivalent to the social companionship associated with life. There is another element we should note in the decoration of this vessel; the small dot of clay, placed just at the point where the spout adjoins the mouth, looks almost like an eye and gives the vessel a playful, animal-like appearance. The hint of an animal conceit and the unusual shape of this stoneware vessel point to the future, to the time of the earliest dynasties, the Xia and the Shang, when vessels made of bronze and decorated with animal designs, or actually cast in the shape of animals, will be featured in regular sacrifices honoring the ancestors.
Vessels of many different shapes were used in ancestral ceremonies and they morphed dramatically from century to century, once-popular types giving way to new ones in keeping with the tastes of their era. A pair of wine servers (zun #3), illustrate the style of the early Western Zhou period. To better enhance our appreciation of the shape of the vessel and its elegant proportions, the decoration is restricted to a single band. The small animal heads that grace the neck of the vessel are an urbane version of the fierce animals masks which dominated in the art of the previous dynasty. The effect is quite sophisticated and an essay in good design. Interestingly enough, pairs of vessels may have been associated with owners of especially high rank.
Two other bronze vessels, each dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, a double boiler(yan/xian, #4) and a globular container whose lid might be used as a serving dish (dui, #5), document the shift away from wine vessels to those for cooking or serving food. Animal décor is still present, on the double boiler as narrow bands of intertwined dragons cast flush with the walls of the vessel, and on the serving vessel as three dimensional dragons that support the vessel and its upturned lid. Despite the differences in appearance and age, all of these vessels shared a common concern for sustaining the spirits of the departed and, in the case of the bronze vessels, it is quite clear that these vessels played a central role in the periodic sacrifice to the ancestors who represented the clan and, ultimately, the state. The emphasis then is on the corporate identity of the deceased and not just a single individual.
A bronze incense burner dating from the Former Han Dynasty offers quite a different view of immortality (boshanlu, #6). The bowl with conical lid depicted Penglai, one of the Isle of the Immortals; the intoxicating smoke of the burning incense would waft upward from the canyon-like openings between the mountains and create the illusion of this mythical landscape which was supposedly located in the Eastern Sea. The sea is partially suggested by the swirling form beneath the mountain and could be enhanced by the addition of water to the tray. Underneath this is an image of a tortoise, one of a legendary group of these creatures that surrounded Penglai and kept it in a steady position. The vessel facilitates a ceremony that is directed inward, prompting an experience that is personal and private and associated with Taoism, versus the earlier vessels that can claim a link to the Confucian tradition with its emphasis on family, clan and state.
The line between the Confucian, Taoist or Buddhist elements in the art of the later dynasties is often blurred. song Dynasty philosophers had self-consciously worked to synthesize these differing traditions. In addition, Song scholar collectors initiated fledgling studies in archaeology that would be maintained through succeeding dynasties and into modern times. This process was repeated in every succeeding dynasty, each generation contributing to the constant invigoration of the Chinese tradition. The result for the artist was an ever richer, more fully integrated repertoire of motifs from which they might choose in making a work of art. A cloisonné incense burner (#37) fashioned in the Qianlong era is a brilliant example of this process.
Technically the shape is called a ding. Initially a food vessel dating back to pre-history, the ding eventually became emblematic of the ancient Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Thus, the shape itself resonates with specific historic associations and meaning. Yet, this ding is no simple copy of an ancient one. This one has a lid, a feature never seen on the ancient examples of the type. The golden dragon handles, the elaborate knob on the lid (the latter feature that was unknown on the ancient examples), and the rich interplay of curving
surfaces, impart a baroque character to this piece that marks it indelibly as a product of the Qing Dynasty. The change in function, from food vessel to censer, can be directly traced to the Buddhist practice of burning incense as an act Of piety. And, in the choice of decorative motifs Such as the flowering peach, a symbol of longevity, or depictions of bats, which are emblems Of happiness, we may detect a subtle shift from the fantastic notion of immortality to the more attainable goal of a long and pleasant life. is not to suggest that symbols of immortality disappear in the later dynasties.
Quite the contrary. Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Taoist Immortals, is shown riding a Dragon on one of a pair of blue and white vases that date from the Kangxi Era and are featured in this exhibition (#31). Li Tieguai is always shown with his iron crutch and a gourd containing magic medicine, thus providing the compound image of an ailing person, a healer, and, since he is an Immortal, the best possible advertisement for his own work. Cranes, the airborne form which Immortals sometimes take, and deer, the frequent companions of the Immortals, may suggest the notion of immortality, but they are unconvincing as profound spiritual symbols. The anonymous person who inhaled deeply the mind bending "incense" that smoldered in the Han Dynasty boshanlu (#6) may also have taken doses of the often fatal elixirs of immortality that were concocted on a base of mercury. It is hard to imagine a Qing Dynasty incense bumer being used for anything of that sort.
Although the cloisonné tripod is unmistakably Chinese in choice of shape and decoration, the technique for making it was introduced from Europe. That should come as no surprise. Commercial intercourse, as well as missionary activity, had brought China and Europe into close contact and, in the 18th century, there was a certain sympathy between their various arts. The Qianlong Era is often compared to the reign of Louis XV and, in the courts of both monarchs, we might expect to find an interest in the arts and crafts of the other. Inevitably, this global exchange led to the production of exportable crafts, most especially Canton ware designed to satisfy foreign taste.
Art for the western market did not feature immortality themes; who there would understand them? Still, subtle symbols that were meaningful to the Chinese did slip in occasionally as on a beautifully enameled teapot decorated with both Chinese and western scenes (#40). A panel shows a gentleman, in western dress, carrying a large porcelain vase containing a single prunus branch, one the three Worthies, which, along with the pine tree and bamboo, symbolized the virtues of the Chinese scholar. Consciously or not, Chinese symbols began to enter into European art just as western motifs made their way into the art of Asia.
Dr. Robert Poor
University of Minnesota
This article was originally printed in a catalogue of Weisbrod Chinese Art. Here reprinted and adapted.
]]>- Battle by Qu Yuan (332-295 B.C.E.)1
Qu Yuan might have been recalling a mural in the tombs of his royal ancestors when he wrote the opening lines of his battle poem. No ancient murals have survived, but this spectacular inlaid hu vessel provides an insight into how those pictures might have looked.
The figural scenes inlaid in gold on this bronze vase are not paintings in a literal sense, but they are of an illustrative nature, and pictorial vessels, like the painted vases produced in classical Greece around the same time, serve as keen evidence for the development of early Chinese painting. The vessel is beautifully decorated with ornamental designs also inlaid with gold, so it has a second life as a wonderful object d'art. Lastly, it is a wine vessel (actually hard liquor), which carried a special meaning in its time.
Eastern Zhou dynasty inlaid bronze Hu and cover (cat. no.9)
The narrative matter, hunting and war, illustrates the legendary life of a warrior knight in the 5th century BCE at the very beginning of the Warring States period. The story begins on the lid with a scene that is repeated three times. A pair of figures standing between two trees center the composition and direct the action going on in the trees, which is usually identified as the gathering of mulberry leaves, the staple food of the silkworm. Traditionally that is women's work and, indeed, two of the persons in the trees sport a long shock of hair that might pass for a queue. A third, short-haired individual shown in the trees on the right may
be a man selecting a branch of wood to make a bow. Both activities are compatible for they took place in spring and each initiated the duties of the different sexes; that of women to care for the silk worm and that of men to prepare one of the basic tools of hunting and warfare. All but one of these figures wear a long, formal robe, a sign of aristocratic status, so the actions depicted are recordings of real life events but symbolic representations that summarize the communal social responsibilities of the elite in late Bronze Age China.
These "pictures" were conceived in a certain way and the "drawing" was executed according to the rules of a universal system that is as familiar in the arts of Egypt or Greece as it is in China. Little attention is paid to the scale of things; human figures may be more than half the height of a tree that is reduced to a simple formula of trunk and sparse branches. Each figure, whether standing or seated, is seen in profile in its "most extensive and therefore most informative view, and every human gesture is dramatically set at sharp angles.2 There is no hint at space or sense of a third dimension, no figure overlaps another, and no
person's arm crosses over a branch. The composition exists as an elaborate cut-out, capable of indefinite repetition. The only indication of a setting comes from the checker-board pattern on the "ground."
More complicated scenes, pictures of ceremonial feasting, hunting, the siege of a castle and a great naval engagement, appear in the inlaid registers on the body of the vessel (each scene is repeated so that both sides of the vessel look alike). The logical progression of events, from the selection of bow wood to the use of this weapon in martial activities and the accompanying escalation of violence, suggests an epic cycle celebrating the life of the warrior-knight. The feasting ceremony pictured in the register takes place in an imposing hall, so tall that birds perch on the overhanging eaves of a roof that is supported by bracketed columns and the whole erected on an elevated stone platform such as one finds in palace architecture throughout Chinese history. The building is shown in elevation similar to an architectural rendering, and the figures, all seen in profile, are neatly arranged on a base-line as they would be in an ancient Egyptian or Greek picture. Within the columns of the hall one group offers a toast to another while, directly below, an orchestra plays formal court music and cooks prepare a banquet. The scene is surprisingly lively, sustained by the vivacious posing of all figures, even though each is shown in silhouette and ranked along a base line in the manner of all early art. But what is this event?
The palatial setting, elaborate costumes, convivial toasts and banqueting suggest some kind of ceremonial affair. The orchestra, made up of bells and chimes, is suitable for formal court music rather than music for more intimate pleasure played on strings.3 One possibility is that this is a depiction of a game of touhu, or pitch-pot, a contest that entails tossing arrows into a wine pot like this one. While the competition took place, an orchestra played the "Fox Head" tune and when the game was over, the loser drank a penalty cup.4 The game is described in the Zuo Zhuan, where it is given political significance; winning the game is a portent of success in the political sphere as well.
Hunting, another kind of recreation associated with aristocratic privilege, is pictured in the upper register just to the left of the scene of ceremonial feasting. Four bowmen, two standing and two kneeling, loose arrows attached to thin lines intended to snag the birds that fly overhead. A fifth archer, standing directly above the fish filled pond, shoots at the birds without the use of a line. The discernible costume of the archers is limited to their caps but, given the aristocratic context of the entire pictorial cycle, it does not seem likely that lack of costume is a sign of lower rank. Probably, we should simply see them as stripped for action.
The birds are nicely observed and portrayed in different degrees of excitement; some walk along the shore of the pond, others escape in careful formation, and the few entrapped in archer's lines fly every which way in an effort to break free. The pond, seen from above and stocked with fish seen from the side view, suggests a marshy setting. The long-necked birds walking along the bank are shown in profile, the ones that fly overhead are drawn in a mixed view — the body from the side the wings from above. In other words, in the views that convey the most information about the intended action. Something more than sport with the bow may be implied in this scene. Skill in the hunt was easily transferable to prowess in war. Understood in that way, this hunting scene provides a natural bridge to the battle pictures that fill the lower register.
They fight by land and by sea. To the right, attackers fire arrows or ascend on narrow lines that stand for scaling ladders that reach to the top of a fortress wall. The defenders are ranked along the wall, engaged in hand to hand combat. In one instance, a defending swordsman has his opponent by the hair and swings his weapon to deliver a fatal blow; another jabs a spear into a figure falling from the wall, a third waves his arms above a decapitated body plunging to the ground. The naval engagement on the left-hand side of the register is equally violent. Two great ships drive forward almost to the point of collision, moving so swiftly their banners fly in the apparent wind. The oarsmen dig into the water while the warriors, shown above them as if standing on an upper deck, brandish their weapons. Weapon held high, the lead figure on the prow of the left-hand boat grabs his opponent in the prow of the other boat by the hair and threatens him. Other warriors have fallen into the water and swim about with the fishes.
These scenes of battle, hunting and feasting form an ambitious pictorial cycle that touches at the heart of a warrior culture, knights that were inspired with the fighting spirit of Wu.5 Such mythic tableaux must have been known as independent pictures, perhaps as wall paintings illustrating some literary epic or heroic tale. Certainly there is nothing in the prior history of bronze art in China that would have foretold the appearance of this kind of vessel with pictures. The introduction of pictorial matter was an innovation prompted by the declining status of cast bronze as a precious material.
By the fifth century BCE, when the vessel was made, the bronze masters began to embellish the surface of their wares with designs inlaid in precious metals such as those on the neck and the body of this hu. Another alternative also exploited in this piece, was to borrow a totally new kind of image from the repertoire of the painter. And so, for the first time in the history of Chinese art, the bronze masters composed extended narratives scenes on the walls of a vessel. This hu then, illustrates a particular moment in the history of Chinese art, a period of challenge and experimentation for the bronze masters, a time that also witnessed the birth of the Chinese painting tradition. Rare vessels like this one illustrate a beautiful, but short lived, experiment for production of pictorial bronzes halted as abruptly as it had begun. Vessels of this sort are the product of a single century or so in the long history of bronze casting in ancient China.
Dr Robert Poor
University of Minnesota
References
1 Waley, Arthur. Translation from the Chinese, New York, Alfred A. Kopf: 1919, 1941., p.3
2 Bachhofer, Ludwig. A short History of Chinese Art, B. T. Bats ford, Ltd, London, 1947. p. 87
3 An interesting discussion of the role of ancient Chinese music in Music in the Age of Confucius, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington. D. C., 2000. See especially the Foreword written by Milo Cleveland Beach and the chapter on Percussion Robert Bagley
4 For discussion of the game see Robert Poor, "The evolution of a Secular Vessel Type", Oriental Art, XIV, p.98-106
5 Waley, op.cit., p.4
This article was written for Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd. (Adapted)
]]>Archaic Bronze You, (one of a pair)from Weisbrod Collection. Published in “Millenia Masterpieces, Spring 2000, Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd., New York
Zhou propagandists, as part of their justification for the conquest of the older regime, promulgated the myth that the Shang rulers were morally unsound drunkards as witnessed by the prevalence of liquor vessels in Shang ritual paraphernalia. This was a dangerous argument, for the Zhou people had similar practices employing vessels that did not look so very different from those of their conquered enemies. The new Zhou order needed to establish a unique identity, which prompted a revamping of their own ritual kit. The bronze masters, working within their memory of inherited forms, were to come up with something new in vessel design.
Early Shang Dynasty Jue, 16th Century BCE
Late Shang Dynasty Jue
In that turbulent period, certain types of wine vessels that had been emblematic of the Shang dynasty, the Gu and the Jue in particular, were abandoned. Other types, like the tall You enjoyed a new found popularity. Its elongated clean-cut body was well suited to satisfy the contemporary taste for severe silhouettes complimented by the reservation of decoration to a few shape-enhancing accents on the shoulder, lid, and foot of the vessel. Every element of the design is laid out in perfect order, guided by a mathematically driven set of proportions; the height of the body is just twice the width of the vessel which, in turn, is the same as the height of the blank field between the hands of decoration. We need not be conscious of the geometric underpinning to appreciate the result, a crisp form that represents the emergence of a unique Western Zhou dynastic style.
Late Shang Dynasty Gu, 12-11th Century BCE
Innovative shapes demanded a renovation of the decoration. Powerful mask motifs (taotie) irrevocably associated with the Shang Dynasty would obviously have been out of place on a Zhou vessel in the body was simply left blank. The narrow accent bands on the shoulder, foot and lid of the tall You are ornamented with the more politically acceptable bird motifs that will triumph as the more popular motif of the Western Zhou style. The stylish long-tailed birds that decorate the shoulder of the He are the elegant descendants of more compact birds hidden under the azure patina on the neck, lid and foot of the tall You. And, like the birds seen on the earlier vessel , they are carefully arranged in a static solemn symmetry.
Eastern Zhou Dynasty He
Yet, in the treatment of the elongated spout of the He we may note a critical change, Arching up form the body of the vessel the serpentine spout culminates in an open-mounted creature poised as if ready to speak to disgorge wine. This witty animation of the spout charges the entire shape of the vessel and creates a dynamic animal conceit that shifts back and forth between sculpture and utensil, between image and practical use. This ambivalent play between structure and representation imparts a special charm to this remarkable example of Western Zhou art.
In later stages of the Zhou Dynasty He had assumed a shape with a flattened globular body, short curving spout and three splayed cabriole legs. At first glance, the shoulder of the pot and the triangular fields lower down are both distantly derived from intertwining animal motifs and cicada patterns like the ones seen on the earlier He. While the incised decoration on the body depresses any interest in animal motifs, the dragon-headed spout and the cat-like arch of the dragon handle emphasizes it. By these fixtures alone, the bronze master has transformed a teapot into an imaginary creature. The power of the conceit is so great that even the provocative rows of flanges along the handle and body seem to suggest some kind of crest or tail, the artist calls on us to complete the image. This, the final stage in the evocative design of the He, was imitated to ceramic and perpetuated in archaistic bronze interpretations made two thousand years later in the Qing Dynasty.
Whereas the two He offer a witty interplay between the shape of a vessel and the quasi representation of an animal conceit, the three images of dee approach the status of independent sculptures. But this is not quite the case, for they served as decorative supports for another object, quite possibly a drum. That, however is a mere technicality, for each of these identical pieces is a convincing depiction of this gentle animal. Since dee travel in herds, it is easy to imagine the three of them as related members of a single group. Their recumbent pose, alert turn of head, perked ears and slightly flared nostrils suggest we have come upon in their bedding from which they might bolt at any moment.
The character of the deer is so well captured in these small sculptures that one does not really miss whatever object they supported. In fact, we may be glad for the lack of any distraction. Nonetheless, these sculptured did serve a practical purposed; the square fixture rising from the left haunch of each animal served as a socket for a drum stand, while the weight of the three bronze sculptures insured a steady base for the heavily beaten drum. That the supporting sockets were painted with a later day version of the fabulous animal mask (taotie) is a sign of their ritual function, for these animals, and the drum they supported , were part of a complex ritual assembly involving the age-old and nearly universal pairing of the shaman's trademark tools; the antler and the drum. As further sign of their special nature, the horns of the deer were painted with sacred geometric figures that are quite different from the motifs used to describe the marking on their bodies. What we see, then, is a mixture of acute observation of a real animal enhances with the appropriate symbols that dedicate it as a ritual object.
The conjunction of animal symbols and ritual purpose runs like a leitmotif through the previous pages. Whether is the heraldic arrangement of sedate birds as on the tail of a You or the similarity posed birds with elegant tails as on the earlier of the two He, we may expect to see animal ornament of one kind or another on ancient Chinese ritual vessels. In the case of the handles of all three vessels, they amount to miniature sculptures that seem almost ready to break free from the constraints of the vessel design. With the three images of deer, that liberty has come to pass. Ritual context or not, these figures are first and foremost sculptures of a closely observed animal captured in a tender, expressive movement filled with life and movement.
Curiously enough, very little attention was given to the depiction of our own species during the millennium of the Zhou Dynastic rule when the vessels were cast; figures of humans are rare and most of those were made in the later centuries of the period. Thus, it may not come as a total surprise that animal symbols prevailed in the secular world of government. In one instance, an official tally used to insure the security of governmental communications took the form of a tiger. No attempt was made to portray the ferocious nature of the fierce carnivore details of its coat, or anything of that sort. For though it is a sculpture in a literal sense, the interlocking halves of its body would only be seen together when it was necessary to identify a messenger as an agent of the government agency whose name is inlaid in gold script along its spine. This small easily concealed secret token was a sculpture not meant to be seen.
Originally written by Dr. Robert Poor, professor of the Department of Art History of the University of Minnesota for Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd. (Adapted).
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The first Buddhist sculptures were serious, austere, distant, massive, and imposing even in small sizes. The Wei dynasty marble stele of a standing Bodhisattva (number 4) and (number 8) the standing marble Buddha, both reflect the Gandharan Indian tradition. The limestone relief sculpture of Buddha (number 1), polychrome limestone stele of Sakyamuni (number 3), stone relief of a horse and Bodhisattva (number 5), and the Northern Qi / Sui limestone Guanyin (number II), all display an ethereal Chinese style in which the shapeless body is concealed under loose-fitting robes.
Changes in the sculptural style from the Six Dynasties to the Tang dynasty occurred gradually. The large votive stele of a seated Buddha (number 9), depicts a figure still concealed under Gandharan style robes. This stele is embellished with musicians, dancers, donors, lions and caryatid figures, all carved around the foot of Buddha. Other motifs such as lotus petals and flames decorate the mandorla and surround the central image. Later, the seated marble Buddha on a pedestal (number 15), dated to 704, sits in a similar posture with Gandharan style robes draping over a more noticeably muscular physique. The limestone torso of a Bodhisattva, (number 14), which has been exhibited in several American museums, displays even more realism.
Large standing wooden figure of Guanyin
This realistic style was carried through to the Song dynasty, as the large standing wooden figure of Guanyin (number 21) demonstrates. This superb example, from the C.K. Chan Collection, and formerly exhibited in the National Museum of History, Taiwan, is a revival of the earlier Tang tradition. Later in the Jin, Yuan, and early Ming dynasties, the figures become less restrained and more ornately embellished. Catalogue entries number 24 to 28 demonstrate
this move toward ornamentation in the treatment of the robes, jewelry and crowns.
Development and reincarnation of styles can also be seen in the series of stone and wood heads represented in this exhibition. From different areas of China, they span a period of 900 years, from the 5th to the 15th century. Buddhist motifs are represented in stone, wood and gilt bronze figures, and are transferred to the more secular objects. At first, many of these objects maintained a religious significance because they were found in tombs. For example, the dragon handles on the glazed stoneware amphora (number 31) are reminiscent of the dragons on the mandorlas on 6th/ 7th century steles 2. A stone demon figure, one of three in the Freer Gallery, Washington, D.C., of Northern Qi date, has a face bearing an uncanny resemblance to the masks on the packs of the large painted pottery camel with monster masks (number 32). Jade beads or plaques are made with religious faces (number 29), and are sculpted softly to promote the tactile quality, as are the small jade beasts derived from Buddhist mythology (numbers 33, 34, 40, 41).
Ceramics continued the use of designs from Buddhism and probably the most frequently used motif was the lotus. Lotus flowers meander around the 14th yingqing jar (number 36) and celadon-glazed dish (number 37). The lotus, although derived from Buddhism, does not always have a religious significance when used as a decorative motif. The large celadon-glazed stoneware dish (number 39) shows the decorative quality of the lotus with an incised bouquet.
The bouquet of lotus design and other lotus motifs also decorated blue and white porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasties.3 Although used purely as decoration, the lotus flowers on the imperial taste Daoguang bowl (number 56) appear in their traditional form along with the Eight Buddhist Emblems. This blue and white bowl also bears non-Buddhist, auspicious Chinese characters, demonstrating further the assimilation of Buddhist designs.
The lotus also appears on the cloisonné tripod censer (number 55) with a dragon handle on the cover and fo-dog heads on the legs. The rectangular cloisonné censer with cover (number 53) displays a mixture of lotus and other floral designs. An elephant, bearing fruit on its back, surmounts the cover. The elephant, dragon and fo-dog are animals sacred to Buddhism. Carved in jade, a single lotus flower is held by a phoenix with wings concealing its use as a waterpot (number 45) and number 51 depicts a fish bearing a lotus branch in his mouth. A female fo-dog and two cubs appear as a fanciful Ming incense burner (number 41 more fo-dogs frolic with "cash" symbols on the wucai jar and cover (number 47) and amongst lotus flowers on the rectangular lacquer box (number 54). These playful creatures no longer appear like the earlier incarnations of the Buddhist lion.
Horses originated early in Buddhist lore as seen in number 5, the very rare limestone relief of horse and attendant which is probably from the Longmen caves, and continued to be a favorite subject of the later jade carver, as the jade horse (number 34) and the jade horse and monkey (number 41) demonstrate.
Paintings began depicting Buddhist subjects almost immediately upon the importation of the religion. Buddhist caves were carved and painted, and frescos decorated temples. Later, paintings on silk or paper depicted images for temples, shrines or homes. The Ming dynasty Painting Of an Ox (number 44) was displayed, perhaps, when its owner had some auspicious need. Becoming the Buddha (number 59) most likely expresses a yearning rather than a reality,
and Zhu Qizhan's Lotus (number 60) is a modern interpretation of the Buddhist motif in a Zen style of the late Ming, early Qing dynasties.
The second half of the exhibition has two ceramic Buddhist representations both most impressive and yet, very different. The massive glazed stoneware guardian beast (number 38), which presumably guarded a temple with a ferocious friend, is an early Ming dynasty product. These large animals, although rarely seen, carry on a tradition of guardian lions, as depicted on stele number 9, and are found in larger forms guarding the cave temples from the Six Dynasties period 4. In the Ming dynasty, large Buddhist lions are produced in stoneware5, gilt bronze 6 and cloisonné 7. Qing dynasty decorative versions were produced in porcelain, including the 19th century pair of blanc de chine fo-dogs (number 57).
Although some ceramics feature a mark reflecting the period of manufacture, a shop mark, or an apocryphal mark, very rarely is a porcelain figure signed by the potter. The sage-like enameled porcelain Lohan (number 48), sitting in his harlequin robe on a wood throne decorated with dragons, Buddhist and other precious emblems, is a most striking, early Qing example of a long-favored subject. The figure was previously exhibited in the Berlin exhibition in 1929. A brilliant decorative ensemble, the seated Lohan is based on a design originating in a foreign religion, Buddhism, which has been domesticated and assimilated into Chinese mythology and folklore.
Through the ages, Chinese artisans drew on many themes in crafting their spectacular legacy and Buddhism was one of the most preferred. The objects in this exhibition illustrate the evolution of Buddhism in China and its design and influence on Chinese art.
Footnotes:
1. d'Argence, Rene-Yvon, Editor in Charge, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture, The Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Japan: Kodansha International, 1974, number 19.
2. Michael B. Weisbrod, Inc., Religion and Ritual in Chinese Art, New York: 1987, number 17.
3. Jenyns, Soame, Ming Pottery, Porcelain, London: Faber and Faber 1953, numbers 15a: 15th century, 15b: 18th century.
4. Akiyama, Tarukazu, Matsubara, Sabaro, Arts of China, Buddhist Cave Temples, New Researches, Japan: Kodansha International, 1969, plate 1.
5. Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture, The Avery Brundage Collection, plate 171.
6. Williams. C.A.S., Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives, New York: Dover Publications, 1976, front cover.
7. Gardner, Sir Harry, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London: Faber and Faber, 1970, number 73.
The climax to the sudden deluge of jade finds from new sites in China came this past fall of 1998 when the Centre of Archaeology and Art at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, led by the archaeologist and professor Tang Chung, sponsored an international symposium titled 'East Asian Jade: Symbol of Excellence.' Although the focus of this conference was primarily on the Chinese Neolithic through Han eras, other eras and all cultures outside Of China that
were either influenced by China or influenced China were represented. Over eighty papers were presented by leading experts in the field of early Chinese jade or by archaeologists with ongoing excavations of sites of jade-working cultures. It was eye-opening to learn, for example, about the technical differences between so-called 'soft' nephrite and the harder stone, jadeite, at present known only in the ancient East Asian culture of Japan, and in the
better known Mesoamerican Olmec and Mayan cultures in the West. It was also informative to learn that nephrite from the region of Lake Baikal in Siberian Russia was independently worked as early as the Neolithic. In addition, it was learned that nephrite works of art found in northwest Gansu and Xinjiang provinces were influenced by central Chinese Longshan, Erlitou and still earlier southern Liangzhu cultures.
Perhaps most revolutionary in terms of our understanding of the unique position of jade in East Asia are the finds confirming that early China— initially the Liao and Yangtze River experienced a remarkable 'Jade Age' valleys and gradually the Yellow River valley— comparable to the later Bronze Age. These cultures include Hongshan, Dawenkou and Shandong Longshan in northeast China; Liangzhu in central-south and coastal China; and Erlitou and Shandong-Longshan in central-north China; plus peripheral cultures, such as Binan in Taiwan, Shixia in Guangdong, Sanxingdui in central Sichuan and Qijia in Gansu.
Jade, as with bronze much later in China was the most prominent material employed artistically to symbolize religious and political power during the end of the Stone Age and early historic period. The initial concentration of jade-working cultures in northeastern, coastal-central and south China is culturally impressive, as is the gradual influence of these cultures on all areas covering the present map of China and China's southern neighbor of Vietnam. Evidently rivers were significant avenues of commerce for the highly prized nephrite
jade which came to represent for early China the most significant commodity of elite display and authority.
Newly published finds, although most dramatic in documenting the precocious use of jade at the end of the Stone Age have also been important in documenting the second peak of jade-working that came during the eras of Late Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Han, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, The exquisite beauty of jades from these periods is represented by an enormously large number of recently excavated imperial and aristocratic
tombs. Finds dated to the Spring and Autumn through Warring States periods range all over the map of China: in the north, there are the Guo state cemetery at Sanmenxia and Pingliangtai burials at Huaiyang, both in Henan; the Ancient Lu city cemetery in Changzhi, Shanxi; the Zhongshan state burials in Pingshan county, Hebei and those considered southern, such as the Chu state cemeteries at Xichuan, Henan and Jiangling, Hubei; the Marquis Yi of Zeng burial in Suixian, Hubei; Yenshan burials in Wu county, Jiangsu; the Xinzhou burials at Feng county, Hunan; and the Duke Yang burial at Changfeng county, Anhui, to name just a few, it should not be surprising that the jades from these tombs are surprisingly consistent in type and quality. The three categories of jades most popular in these tombs include firstly, personal adornment in the form of mostly belt buckles and pectoral chains; secondly, fittings for weapons, mostly bronze or iron swords; and thirdly, jade body suits or parts of these.
The list of excavated sites with royal quality jades belonging to the Han, Qin and Northern and Southern Dynasties is just as long. Most attractive have been those jades from the Western Han tomb of the King of Nanyue in Guangzhou, Guangdong province that Peter Lam organized for exhibit in Hong Kong in 1991. The jades unearthed from the environs of the First Emperor of China's residence, Afang Palace in the eastern suburbs of Xian and Weiling mausoleum of Han Emperor Yuan outside Xianyang, Shanxi are equally stellar in terms of quality. The jades from royal Han tombs in many different provinces, ranging from Jiangsu, to far southwestern Guangxi; far northeastern Hebei and Shandong; and southern Hunan are also compelling. What is remarkable about these jades is the consistent high quality and similarity showing that competition in the arts kept the art at a very sophisticated level. Many more jade types belonging to the category of furniture, such as chops and seals, containers of various sorts, small-scale sculptures, furniture attachments, a few archaistic ritual forms, plus the additional three categories of jades cited above appear in larger quantities at this time in the history of Chinese jade.
Jade is literally China's crown jewel. The mastery of its manipulation did not end with the early historic imperial eras. Rather, it continued to be a major art form in all later periods, including the Tang, Liao, Jin, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Once on a roll, the deep-seated love for the properties of jade continued to be expressed, unmarred by competition from other artistic media. Most impressive is the fact that jade continued to be worked not only in small-scale proportions to decorate the ends of toggles, as functional receptacles for a scholar's desk, or as vases decorating an aristocrat's residence, but as a
work of art to be enjoyed from a strictly aesthetic point of view. From Tang times on the interest in rebuses and visual punning was prevalent in the arts.
As a consequence of this new literati interest, a whole new variety of animal and human imagery, mythical and imaginative appeared as subjects in jade. Jade also began to be carved as large-scale objects d'art during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The emphasis on aesthetics is well represented in Tang jade finds from the cache at the Hejia village outside of Xian; the royal tombs of Prince Li Jing and Li Zhen in Xian; and Southern Tang burials in Nanjing, Jiangsu; and the burial belonging to Wang Jian in Chengdu, Sichuan. Royal Northern and Southern Song, Liao and Jin dynasty jades have also been recovered from tombs in Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang provinces. The contents of the imperial mausoleum of Emperor Wanli at Dingling Beijing and the imperial collection belonging to the Manchu Qing Court collection have also recently been extensively published.
The latter publications make available documented jades of Song through Qing date that can be used for historical analysis. Jades from these later periods may now be more specifically analysed as part of a longer evolution that had its beginning around 5000BCE, during the Neolithic. Assembled here is an array of exquisite jades dating from the Neolithic through the Qing eras. Their individual characteristics highlight the superior quality and unique position of jade-working in traditional China.
Originally written by Dr. Elizabeth Childs-Johnson , and published by Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd., New York. Now published by Weisbrod Collection (Adapted).
During the Six Dynasties period (317-589), northern China was ruled by non-Chinese using Buddhism to legitimize their rule, while the fleeting elite class ruled the south. Imperial patronage of monuments enforced the stronghold of Buddhism in northern China. Translations of texts from the official language of scriptures, Sanskrit, were also supported. The commission of statues in large rock-cut caves such as the caves at Yungang and Longmer are testimonies of the ardent support of their sponsors.
As the Buddhist faith became absorbed, deities that once took on Indian, or non-Chinese appearances gradually began to change. Inevitably, the faces of the figures and their bodies were transformed to take on a Chinese interpretation. It was during the Wei Dynasty where fully sinicized models are seen, and the Longmen grottoes came to represent the style of late Northern Wei sculpture. In the late fifth - early sixth century, the massive bodied, Greco-Roman derived sculptural qualities gave way to a more willowy, flowing, and refined style of figures. As seen in the Maitreya Buddha (cat. no. 8), the body becomes sharpened and elongated with sloping shoulders. The figure is no longer seen wearing an Indian cassock but a robe with long sleeves and a sash around the waist in the manner of Chinese scholars.The robes and sashes become abstract flaring waves that flow across the body. The face is sculpted with raised eyebrows, narrow eyelids, an archaic smile, and high cheekbones. The crown and usnisa are prominent and high. Figures from the Northern Wei period are permeated by a sense of linear rhythm and elegance.
Around the late 6th century, figures started to change and bodies began to expand more. There was a breakthrough in realism and an emphasis on solidity and mass of the body rather than fluttering ethereal drapery. As seen in the seated stone dated figure of a bodhisattva (cat. no. 9), the center of gravity rests firmly on both feet, the frontality affirming a solid and motionless stance. The columnar form is complemented by ornate details such as long trailing jeweled necklaces. The richness in detail coupled with austerity in body form and expression are highlights of the Zhou (557-581) and Sui (581-618) dynasties, which set the foundation for the next phase of Buddhist figural style.
In the Tang Dynasty (618-906), the Buddhist community reached an apogee of power. Monks were patronized to make pilgrimages to India who brought back with them texts as well as iconographic drawings. For example, the famous pilgrim Xuanzang (602-664) traveled to Nalanda, an important center for Buddhist studies, and in 648, Wang Xuanci (died c. 675) recorded Indian images. With fresh influences, there was a renewed interest in the fullness and roundness of Indian forms. Tang sculptors began to depart from the stylistic guidelines under the Sui in the second half of the seventh century. There was increasing attention to the structure of the body underneath the drapery and the smoothly flowing contour of line. No longer were sculptures rigid and expressions stern; there was a passion for soft fleshiness and sublimity in countenance. The marble head of a Iuohan (cat, no. 10) is a fine example of the pinnacle of achievement and aesthetic beauty that was reached in the Tang Dynasty.
The implementation of wood in creating sculptures probably existed before the Song Dynasty, but very few examples are extant. We do know, however, that carved wood Buddhist sculptures flourished especially during the tenth century onwards.
There was also growing enthusiasm for deities other than the Buddha, for example bodhisattvas, in particular Guanyin (Sanskrit: Avalokitesvara). Guanyin, taken from the Lotus sutra and the Pure Land sutra, was a deity that people were able to relate to, comparable to the saint in the Catholic religion. Relaxed and in informal pose, Guanyin was accessible to the masses whose compassion and grace toward women and children embued the deity with a feminine air. The secularization of Buddhist deities led to perhaps a more earthly appearance of Tang style figures, for example the large seated wood figure of Guanyin (cat. no. 11). While Liao (907-1125) and Song (960-1279) period sculptures maintain the Tang tendency of realism and dignity, they are also noted for their slightly more slender proportions and a variety of individualistic expressions.
In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) Dynasties, though Buddhist temples continued to spread throughout China, the religion declined in fervor and zeal with which it had once taken on the hearts of the Chinese. The production of large sculptures gave way to smaller, more portable statues in a variety of media. These types of personal shrines were created for the home or for people to earry. Guanyin continued to be the favored goddess, a subject that was embraced in porcelain, bronze, stone, and even lacquer. For example, a rare and beautifully lacquered wood figure of Guanyin dated 1475 is in our exhibition (cat. no. 12).
Today we are able to enjoy the Buddhist images that reflect the religious ardor with which the Chinese people welcomed a foreign religion as early as the first century and continued through a grand history. Each sculpture in this exhibition is a triumph of technical virtuosity and visionary inventiveness. Whether the sculptors were conscious of a native style seems almost irrelevant when one sees the spirituality embedded in the expressions produced with such an economy of means. These sculptures then perhaps become monuments of Buddhism and of the Chinese spirit of beauty and art.
Originally written by Helen Shin for Weisbrod Collection (Adapted).
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This Stele depicts a central Buddha seated cross-legged, wearing a striped long-sleeved robe falling over his entire body, with feet exposed, arms held up, with crossed hands forming a mudra against his chest, seated in a "theatrical" grotto including a tied back curtain and geometric sectional frame, each section enclosing a floret. (Historical comparative examples are discussed here).
A Boddhidatva stands behind a lion whose nose touches the knee of Buddha, on each side. Below there are two curly maned seated lions flanking a Censer on the base. Above the central grotto on each side, is a flying Apsara. Surmounting the stele are two intertwined boldly sculpted dragons writhing around a small simply peaked grotto enclosing another similarly robed, seated, cross-legged Buddha.
Stele of this type is very rare. Buddhist sites have been heavily guarded with surveillance for decades.
Occasionally objects we acquire were originally discovered in a very different era. Many clues are evident, for instance, in this Rare Stone Buddhist Stele. Old natural patination and the obsolete style of simple restoration are characteristic of Buddhist Stone Carvings from old Western Collections, removed from sites, pre People's Republic of China (1949).
From a quick examination, one can easily see the Stele is obviously very broken, into at least 8 - 9 large pieces.
Sculptures removed from important sites in the modern Chinese Era, from the early 1980s, were already known to be of some commercial value. They were cherished, not for their historic, artistic, or religious value, but for the new market value, which although still quite low in China, could be equal to several months' wages. Using modern tools the extractors were more careful and thoughtful in the removal of the carvings, as the profit would be theirs, resulting in more interest to extract the Sculpture in good condition, especially smaller carvings of manageable sizes, such as this Stele.
Pre World War II, such sculptures as this Stele, were broken either in the method of chopping the carving from a cave or tomb wall, or carelessly handling the heavy stone, dropping it, or breaking the stone so to be transported easily, similar to how large Tang Pottery figures were handled, broken and thrown in carts. Very large stone carvings were systematically cut into sections making removal from the site and shipping easier, see the Metropolitan Museum large Stele.
Barely enough pay to eat, along with primitive tools, resulted in serious damage to stones of all sizes. Evidence the stone Buddhist Sculptures displayed in many museums, worldwide, acquired from very old collections, or directly from China in the 1920s, 1930s, prior to World War II.
Also, the somewhat primitive "honest" repair - restoration here attests to an earlier era of removal from the initial site, and subsequent shipment to outside (China) Western destinations.
Other Buddhist Sculptures with similar carving, restorations, and patina include the famous large Wall Carvings, from Longmen Grottos, Luoyang, Henan Province, one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the mate in The Nelson Adkins Museum, Kansas City. (See the photos in our related post). Carved in a similar technique, from similar stone, they have a similar patina, including earth encrustation adhering to the stone, seemingly as blotches, or patches. The line carving of the fronds is very similar to the striped robes on the figures of our Stele.
Many carvings in the Northern Wei caves of the Longmen Grottos are of similar design, having similar groupings of the iconographic details.
The back of the huge Buddhist Stele in The Metropolitan Museum, New York, originally from Yungang, Datong, China, dated 489-495, has a very similarly styled framed niche, although carved from sandstone, typical of Yungang Caves.
The large Limestone Seated Buddha Triad, Northern Wei, Early 6th Century from the Worcester Art Musem, Worcester, Massachusetts, wears similarly striped robes.
Another Stele of similar size, design, and carving is in the Xian Museum, Xian, Shaanxi Province China, from the early 6th Century.
Two Gandharan Stele, one from the 1st Century, now in the Berlin Museum, and the other one from the 2nd-3rd Century are obvious inspirations for this Northern Wei Chinese Buddhist Stele.
One much smaller Stele, 33 cm. high, with no decipherable inscription, or large intertwined dragons, is a very good market reference. It sold many years ago, for U.S.$116,500 in a much lower market for Buddhist Sculpture.
A much smaller limestone Votive Stele, 31 cm. high, of a similar seated Buddha, of the Northern We Dynasty, formerly in the Sakamoto Collection, sold recently at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, lot 149, July 12, 2020, for HKD 2,000,000.
Our Stele, attached, displays many similarities in design to some of the above-mentioned references. The style of the actual carving, and patina, including the earth encrustation and adhesions, are very similar to the above mentioned Longmen Wall Panels.
The inscription although not completely deciphered, has been authenticated by an expert in early calligraphy, retired from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, now a consultant to Museums and Auctions in Beijing. Especially learned in early calligraphy, including inscriptions in stone, he verifies the inscription as typically Northern Wei Dynasty, and dated fourth year of Zhengshi, of the Northern Wei Dynasty, corresponding to 507.
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