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| Ancient Chinese Bronzes - Lesson Plan |
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Chinese civilization made great advances as it emerged from the Neolithic period and entered the Bronze Age. One factor in this change was the ability to locate and extract natural deposits of copper and tin for making bronze. Foundries capable of heating the ores to high enough temperatures for mixing and casting metal were established in northern areas of China around 1700 BCE. One of the largest and most impressive early foundries was at Anyang, the capital of the late Shang dynasty from about 1300 to 1050 BCE. For more on the bronzes at the Smithsonian and how they were cast, see also Ancient Chinese Bronzes.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/ancient-chinese-bronzes/ | |
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| Ancient Chinese Jades |
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Poetically described two thousand years ago in China as the "fairest of stones," jade actually refers to two different minerals, nephrite and jadeite. All of the true jades found at ancient Chinese sites are made of fine-grained nephrite. In its purest state nephrite lacks color; impurities create the variations of yellow, green, brown, and black. See also Jades for Life and Death.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/ancient-chinese-jades/ | |
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| The Art and Archeology of Ancient China: A Teacher's Guide [PDF] |
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An illustrated 106-page teacher's guide that can be downloaded in .pdf format, in three parts. Go to middle of HTML page and select Part I, Part II, and Part III to download the guide. Includes historical background from China's Late Neolithic Period (BCE ca. 5000-2000) to the Han Dynasty (BCE 206-220 CE), plus a timeline, vocabulary list, pronunciation guide, four lesson plans, plus featured object studies on 1) Clothing and Personal Adornment (Silk and Jade); 2) Food Preparation and Utensils; 3) Transportation; 4) Ceremonies (Music); 5) Writing (Chinese Characters); 6) Industry (Bronze Casting); 7) Building. Also a special chapter on Ancestor Worship, then and today.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Art-and-Archaeology-of-Ancient-C... | |
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| The Art of Buddhism |
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Buddhism arose in an area bordering present-day India and Nepal. As it spread across Asia, the religion both influenced and was influenced by the religious, cultural, and artistic life of the regions it touched. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery house a major collection of Buddhist art, selections of which are on public display. This guide briefly introduces a few key points about Buddhism in India, Tibet, China, and Japan and presents examples of the majestic holdings of Buddhist art in the Freer and Sackler galleries. See also The Art of Buddhism: a Teacher's Guide [PDF].
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/buddhism/default.htm | |
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| The Art of Sotatsu |
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Discover Tawaraya Sōtatsu, one of the most influential yet elusive figures in the history of Japanese visual culture. Sōtatsu: Making Waves is the first exhibition outside Japan to tell his story—a once-in-a lifetime experience in which two of the artist’s most important paintings, the Freer’s Waves at Matsushima and Dragons and Clouds, were on view. Also see their Sōtatsu Pinterest page and Sotatsu’s Waves at Matsushima (Teaching poster) [PDF] - Tawaraya Sōtatsu (act. ca. 1600–40). Japan, early 1600s. Pair of six-panel folding screens. Ink, color, gold, and silver on paper.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/sotatsu-making-waves/ | |
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| Arts of China: Painting |
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Appreciating Chinese art is often described with the term du hua, “to read a painting.” Here in their Pinterest page, the Freer Sackler Education Department introduces Chinese paintings from the museum’s permanent collection. These albums, handscrolls, and hanging scrolls portray traditional Chinese subjects, such as landscapes, animals, flowers, and bamboo. To view detailed images and download them in high resolution, visit our online collection.
Go to Museum Resource: https://www.pinterest.com/freersackler/educators-arts-of-china-painting/ | |
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| Bronze Age Casting |
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The ability to make bronze tools, weapons, and ritual vessels was such a significant advancement in world civilization that it lends its name to an entire era: the Bronze Age. The skill and resources needed to fabricate bronze were in place in ancient China by 1700 BCE, over a thousand years later than in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India. The earliest Chinese bronze artifacts have been traced to the Erlitou culture in Henan province. Their discovery confirms foundries for smelting and casting metal were active in northern China between 1300 and 900 BCE, a highpoint of early Chinese casting.
Making bronze requires two things: copper and tin ores, sometimes mixed with lead; and intense heat for refining and casting. Chinese founders made their metal objects using clay for both models and removable section molds. (This differs from the Mediterranean and European practice of casting objects using wax-covered models.)
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/ancient-chinese-bronzes/bronze-age-casting/ | |
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| Cai Guo-Qiang: "Traveler" |
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Website documenting two site-specific installations at the Sackler Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum created by the contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957), an artist who "integrates aspects of Eastern history into contemporary contexts." With photographs and descriptions of installations and the transcript from a 2004 interview with the artist. Uses Flash.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/cai/traveler.htm | |
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| Cave as Canvas: Hidden Images of Worship Along the Ancient Silk Routes |
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Buddhist Cave Temples in Chinese Central Asia. Buddhism reached Chinese Central Asia (modern Xinjiang) from India around the first century A.D., brought by missionaries via the ancient Silk Routes. By the third century A.D., this new religion was flourishing in all the oasis kingdoms in the Tarim Basin (the Taklamakan Desert), also known as eastern Turkestan. As the Buddhist religion took hold and piety increased, the Indian tradition of excavating caves to serve as Buddhist sanctuaries proliferated in this region. In many of the Central Asian states, monasteries and temples were hewn out of the cliffs in secluded river valleys. With the patronage of local rulers, the elite, and wealthy merchants, these institutions gradually became major Buddhist centers. They continued to grow and prosper until the advent of Islam. Today, such Buddhist rock-cut cave complexes are some of the finest, if little known, monuments preserved in Chinese Central Asia.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/cave/default.htm | |
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| China's Calligraphic Arts |
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Six major scripts have developed over the course of more than three thousand years for writing Chinese characters, and all are still used in "artistic writing" (calligraphy) today. Each of these styles of writing—oracle bone, seal, clerical, cursive, running, and standard—has distinct differences in appearance.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/chinas-calligraphic-arts/ | |
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| Chinese Art Collection: Overview |
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The Freer and Sackler Galleries boast one of the finest museum collections of Chinese art outside of China, with more than ten thousand objects dating from Neolithic times (ca. 7000–ca. 2000 BCE) to the present. While the sheer number of items is impressive, it is their variety and quality that is truly remarkable, with nearly every medium and category of Chinese art represented. Explore their past exhibits on Chinese Art.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibitions/chinese-art/ | |
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| Chinese Arts of the Brush |
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"Long before the Chinese invented paper in the first century B.C.E., they devised the round brush, which is used for both writing and painting." The unique versatility of the Chinese brush lies in its tapered tip, which is composed of a careful grouping of chosen animal hairs. Through this resilient tip flow the ever-changing linear qualities of the twin arts of the brush: calligraphy and painting. An historical overview of the "twin arts" of calligraphy and painting in Chinese art.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/gallery-guide-chinese-arts-of-the-brush/ | |
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| Designing with Numbers |
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Students will look closely at a Qing dynasty court robe known as a chaofu. They will learn about the beliefs in Chinese numerology and its relationship to language. After counting the symbols, they will learn why specific numbers of special images appear on the robe. Several related math problems are included.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/les... | |
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| Digging Deeper into Buddhism: Mapping the Buddhist Cosmos |
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Students already familiar with Siddhartha Gautama, or Shakyamuni, the Historical Buddha, will deepen their understanding of Buddhist beliefs and artwork. They will analyze and interpret works of art that reveal how people live around the world and what they value. They will identify how works of art reflect times, places, cultures, and beliefs. See also Reading the Cosmic Buddha interactive on Google Arts & Culture.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/les... | |
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| Diving Deeper into Buddhism – Guanyin |
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Students who are already familiar with Siddhartha Gautama, or Shakyamuni, the Historical Buddha, will deepen their understanding of Buddhist beliefs and artwork. They will analyze and interpret works of art that reveal how people live around the world and what they value. They will identify how works of art reflect times, places, cultures, and beliefs.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/les... | |
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| Diving Deeper into Buddhism – Western Paradise |
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Students already familiar with Siddhartha Gautama, the Historical Buddha, will deepen their understanding of Buddhist beliefs and artwork. They will analyze and interpret works of art that reveal how people around the world live and what they value. They will identify how works of art reflect times, places, cultures, and beliefs.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/les... | |
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| Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia |
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Buddhism—and the art it inspired—helped shape the cultures of Asia. Today, its extraordinary art is a source of beauty and contemplation for audiences across the world.Encountering the Buddha brings together more than two hundred artworks, spanning two millennia, to explore Asia’s rich Buddhist heritage. They represent diverse schools that arose from the Buddha’s teachings.Throughout the exhibition and the website, we explore how Buddhist artworks are endowed with sacred power. We ask, why were they created? How did Buddhists engage with them? And how do Buddhist understandings of such objects differ from those of art museums?
Go to Museum Resource: https://www.freersackler.si.edu/exhibition/encountering-the-buddha-art-and-prac... | |
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| Exploring Art Made for the Afterlife |
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Students will learn that objects found in tombs provide information about Chinese civilization, including beliefs about the afterlife, aspects of daily life, social hierarchies, and the importance of horses for trade. Students will be able to explain how tombs show how people lived, traveled, and ate, and what they wore in the past. Finally, they will create their own tomb figure inspired by their favorite mode of transportation.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/les... | |
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| Finding Mount Fuji |
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See their Mount Fuji collection, and also their Mount Fuji Pinterest page, compiled by the Education Department at the Freer Sackler. We hope that these works of art inspire study and provoke thought. You can compare and contrast different depictions of Mount Fuji, see how the images changed over time, and analyze works for specific elements. The artworks are a great starting point for visual analysis, historical content, and other research.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/subject/mount-fuji/ | |
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| Hokusai: Mad About Painting |
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Animated examination of works by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). This excellent interactive website features an introduction to Hokusai's life, plus an examination of his work, organized into the following categories: COLOR (Hokusai's innovative use of color); BRUSH & BLOCK (the range of Hokusai's creativity, and comparisons of painting and printing techniques); COMPOSITION; and SUBJECT. Uses Flash.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/hokusai/launch.htm | |
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| How to “Read” a Chinese Scroll: More than Just "Right to Left" [PDF] |
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For hundreds of years Chinese painting took three major formats: hand scrolls, hanging scrolls, and album leaves. Important hand scrolls are stored in special boxes and are carefully unrolled and rerolled for viewing a portion at a time by only a few people. Looking at the poetry, painting, and calligraphy on a scroll is like reading a chapter in a book. A Chinese hand scroll is “read” from right to left, the same way classical Chinese writing is read.
Go to Museum Resource: https://www.freersackler.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/chinese-scroll-lesso... | |
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| Illusion, Allegories, and Artwork – Monkeys Grasp for the Moon |
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Students will describe the visual qualities and content of works of art as well as the meanings communicated and feelings evoked by works of art. They will compare and contrast different forms, techniques, and meanings in artwork. Additionally, they will analyze the concept of allegory in storytelling and art as they recount stories from diverse cultures and determine the central message, lesson, or moral using key details in the text.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/les... | |
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| India: Shiva Nataraja (Lord of the Dance) |
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"Nataraja is one of the most important, visually thrilling forms of the Hindu god Shiva... Ta-dum, ta-dum, ta-dum..." beats the drum in Nataraja's hand, as he shakes it, giving rhythm to his dancing feet and sound to his image. Shiva, the auspicious one, is manifest here as the Lord of the Dance, a form he has taken not to entertain but perform cosmic work. Shiva Nataraja is crushing ignorance, presented by the sculptor as a demon under his feet who looks up benevolently at the god, even as his own ruin is in progress..."
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/india-shiva-nataraja-lord-of-the-dance/ | |
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| Iraq and China: Ceramics, Trade, and Innovation |
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"Influenced by sea trade with China, Iraqi pottery was transformed in the 9th century. These innovations, in turn, inspired ceramic arts across the region." With two topics related to technique ("Blue & White" and "Luster") and one related to trade ("Spread of Innovation"); the latter discusses the dissemination of techniques to Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, and England. Uses Flash.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/iraqChina/default.htm | |
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| Isamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics Interactive |
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Two interactives follow Noguchi's three journeys to Japan and introduce the Japanese ceramic artists with whom he interacted. Noguchi's international acclaim admitted him to diverse spheres of the art world in postwar Japan. The Japanese ceramic artists with whom Noguchi associated were also pursuing profound questions of personal and artistic identity in the aftermath of war, although they chose varying paths to do so. Uses Flash.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/noguchi/default.htm | |
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| A Journey to Xiangtangshan |
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Carved into the mountains of northern China, the Buddhist cave temples of Xiangtangshan ("Shahng-tahng-shahn") were the crowning cultural achievement of the Northern Qi ("Chee") dynasty (550-77). The name Xiangtangshan translates to "Mountain of Echoing Halls." It refers to two groups of caves: northern Xiangtangshan and southern Xiangtangshan, located about nine miles apart in Hebei province. Commissioned by devout Buddhist emperors and courtiers, the manmade caves represent the power and prestige of the throne and an eternal appeal for divine protection. They also reflect a long tradition, begun in India, of situating holy places within the earth's mantle.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/explore/china/xiangtangshan/ | |
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| Korean Art: Overview |
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The simple forms, spare decoration, and monochrome glazes of the Joseon period (1392–1910) Korean tea bowls used in Japan first attracted Charles Lang Freer to Korean ceramics. He expanded his collection to include celadon ceramics from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), which had once adorned palaces, Buddhist temples, and private residences of the aristocracy. Explore their past exhibits on Korean art.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibitions/korean-art/ | |
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| Luxury Arts of the Silk Route Empires |
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"Two thousand years before today's "global economy," an exchange network linked the continent of Asia via the Silk Route. Between the first and eighth centuries of the common era, the empires and states of Asia often came into conflict as they competed for territory and other resources or sought to dominate their neighbors in religious and political arenas." A brief illustrated guide, focused mostly on metalwork and pottery.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/gallery-guide-luxury-arts-of-the-silk-route-empi... | |
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| Puja: Expressions of Hindu Devotion |
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"Hindu worship known as puja is the act of showing reverence to a god or to aspects of the divine. This online guide for educators offers background information, activities, a bibliography and a resource list about puja." Chapter 2 (Background Information) includes an excellent general guide to Hinduism, including information about the origins of Hinduism, Hindu beliefs, gods and goddesses, places of worship, and more. See also, the video Puja: Expressions of Hindu Devotion.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/puja-expressions-of-hindu-devotion/ | |
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| Return of the Buddha: The Qingzhou Discoveries |
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"In 1996 a chance discovery in Qingzhou ... in the northeastern province of Shangdong, brought to light an incredible buried treasure. Workers leveling a school sports field stumbled upon a pit brimming with hundreds of broken, but otherwise well-preserved, sixth-century Buddhist statues." Content organized into five topics -- Discovery (about the excavation), Color, Styles, Gallery (featuring 9 sculptures), and Resources (links to related websites).
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/returnofbuddha/base.html | |
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| The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India |
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Online presentation of a 2003 exhibition of South Indian bronzes produced under the reign of the Chola dynasty (ca. 860-1279). The website features four sections: 1) a guide to the various Hindu saints depicted in the sculptures (Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Uma, and others); 2) a step-by-step guide to how bronze sculptures of this type were produced; 3) a guide to how the sculptures would be used in religious practice; 4) a brief introduction to the Chola dynasty.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/chola/chola.htm | |
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| Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy |
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"Presented here in text and image are eighty-five works of Song and Yuan dynasty painting and calligraphy in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. The works are arranged in five thematic groups: secular figure painting (17 examples); landscape painting (29 examples); religious figure painting (25 examples); natural subjects (11 examples); calligraphy and rubbings (3 examples). Each group is further subdivided into topical categories arranged in rough chronological order. Some groups contain contemporary paintings created in border regions beyond the control of Song and Yuan authorities as well as a small number of Ming dynasty works that continue Yuan styles. Every work is fully documented through images and related text. Labels, frontispieces, inscriptions, colophons, and seals have been transcribed, and texts of art historical relevance are accompanied by annotated English translations."
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/publications/songyuan/ | |
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| South Asian and Himalayas Art: Overview |
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The arts of South Asia and the Himalayas are closely intertwined with the subcontinent's many religious traditions. This region, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, is the birthplace of three major religions: Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The Islamic kingdoms that were established in South Asia in the twelfth century brought new visual traditions to the subcontinent. Explore their past exhibits on South Asian and Himalayan art.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibitions/south-asian-and-himalayan-art/ | |
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| Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia [PDF] |
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"Taking Shape presents the two basic types of ceramics produced in Southeast Asia -- soft, porous earthenware and high–fired stoneware. ... Taking Shape also illuminates the dimensions of international trade that brought southern Chinese ceramics into mainland Southeast Asia." See right-hand column for a short video (showing potters making earthenware and stoneware in northeast Thailand) and eGallery of all ceramics featured in this exhibition (with descriptive text).
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Connections0108.pdf | |
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| Teaching China with the Smithsonian |
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This teaching resource developed in 2020 supports educators everywhere in engaging and inspiring students through the exploration of Chinese art, history, and culture. Focusing on artworks that can highlight key curricular themes, the materials are searchable by object, dynasty, and theme. With supporting lesson plans, videos and interactive maps and charts. The individual lesson plans are included throughout OMuERAA, but teachers can find a work of art that enhances their history lessons by using the “dynasty” search function on this site.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/ | |
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| Understanding South Asian Art |
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The Indian subcontinent, known today as South Asia, extends as an inverted triangle from the snowbound Himalayan ranges toward the equator and includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. Extending some eighteen hundred miles from north to south, and almost the same distance from east to west, the area is home to an ancient and varied group of cultures. India, the largest single nation within South Asia, displays a cultural diversity comparable to that seen among the nations of Europe. An illustrated online guide to South Asian sculpture and painting (especially the illustrated manuscript), with brief discussions of the importance of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam.
Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/gallery-guide-understanding-south-asian-art/ | |
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| Word Play: Contemporary Art by Xu Bing |
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Interactive website designed to complement a 2001 exhibition of works by contemporary artist Xu Bing, who is known for his "bold, teasingly thought-provoking works of art (that) challenge preconceptions about written communication." Includes audio interviews with the artist and interactive explorations of three works from the exhibition. Uses Flash.
Go to Museum Resource: https://archive.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/xubing/default.html | |
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