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| The Art of Calligraphy in Asia |
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“Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, was long considered the supreme art form in China, Japan, and Korea. This elevated status reflects the importance of the written word in East Asian cultures. In ancient China, early emperors asserted their power by engraving edicts or pronouncements on stone in their own calligraphic script. The elite members of society were scholar ¬officials, whose status was attained by their command of the written word. In addition to the central role played by writing in Chinese culture, the visual form of the language also contributed to the distinctiveness of the calligraphic tradition. The vast number and complexity of the characters that make up the Chinese script presented artists with a unique platform on which to explore the creative possibilities of design. The writing of Chinese characters-which was then widely adopted in Korea around the fourth century and in Japan in the mid-sixth century-was thought to be the purest visual manifestation of the writer's inner character and level of cultivation. It was the medium through which a person's thoughts, feelings, and artistry were best conveyed. In looking at a piece of calligraphy, we may admire the way a calligrapher manipulated the brush to create an object of beauty in which rhythmic energy is conveyed through strokes and dots done with ink. Changes in ink gradation, the relationship between characters, and the elegance of a single line can entice viewers regardless of the legibility of the text.
Go to Museum Resource: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/object-package/art-calligraphy-asia/104193 | |
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| Chinese Landscape Painting During the Song Dynasty |
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“Landscape painting dominated Chinese painting beginning in the tenth century. The word for landscape painting in Chinese, shan shui hua, literally means “mountain (shan) water (shui) painting (hua).” Mountains are hard and unyielding; water is soft and fluid. These opposites are an example of the concept of yin and yang—the idea that everything in nature is composed of complementary but opposing forces that interact and change. Complementary opposites is one of several core cultural concepts of the Song dynasty that are encapsulated in many of the period’s landscape paintings.”
Go to Museum Resource: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/asian-art/china/resources/landscape-painting/ | |
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| Explore a Japanese Handscroll: The Art of Hon'ami Kōetsu (Edo Period, early 1600s) |
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An excellent interactive website for exploring an Edo period handscroll by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558-1637). "In this handscroll Kōetsu transcribed ten verses from the poetry anthology Shinkokin wakashū on sheets of colored paper that are decorated on the front and back with woodblock-printed mica designs." After exploring the scroll the user can write his/her own poem (by selecting from a set of phrases) and then see this poem "written" on his/her own handscroll in the style of Kōetsu.
Go to Museum Resource: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/asian-art/japan/viewers/poem-scroll-viewer/ | |
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| Heiji Monogatari Emaki (Tale of the Heiji Rebellion) Scrolls with A Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace |
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The Heiji disturbance, which occurred late in 1159, represents a brief armed skirmish in the capital. ...The Heiji scrolls date from the thirteenth century and represent a masterpiece of "Yamato" style painting. The scene appearing here, entitled "A Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace," is the property of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, provides an excellent introduction to the genre of picture scrolls. The scrolls read from right to left, and all action flows to the left. They can be documented as being treasured artifacts in the fifteenth century, when nobles mention viewing them, but they now only survive in fragmentary form.
Go to Museum Resource: http://digital.princeton.edu/heijiscroll/ | |
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| Recarving China's Past: Art, Archeology, and Architecture of the Wu Family Shrines |
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Interactive virtual reality tour, "Explore the Wu Family Shrines"; two pdf files: "Exhibition Handout," "Recarving China's Past"; "Map of Shandong Region Han Dynasty Archaeology Sites" with labels for the Wu Family Shrine and many other archaeological sites. “An interactive model of the Wu Family Shrine – created using 3D modeling software and GPS readings – allows you to explore the foundations of one of ancient China’s richest cultural eras.”
Go to Museum Resource: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/legacy-projects/WuShrines/interactive.htm | |
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| Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions Annotated |
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This site allows you to view individual scenes depicting the Mongol Invasions of Japan. Takezaki Suenaga, a warrior who fought against the Mongols in both 1274 and 1281, commissioned scrolls recounting his actions. This unique record of the invasions, and important eyewitness account, was heavily damaged in the ensuing centuries – according to lore they were even once dropped into the ocean! By the time of their rediscovery in the eighteenth century, the scenes and text of the scrolls were scattered into separate sheets. See also the partner site: Mongol Invasions of Japan - 1274 and 1281.
Go to Museum Resource: http://digital.princeton.edu/annotatedscrolls/ | |
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| Sword Bearer Lamp (China) – 3-D image (470-422 BCE) |
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Bronze, made with piece-mold technique. ”The lamp is cast using piece-molds, and assembled from multiple pouring casts of the body and head, with cast-on components, including the chin strap ends, waist knot, sword, and the lamp pan and shaft. The body and head are cast in three successive pours, making use of different alloy compositions to achieve a polychromatic effect. The head and lower hem are cast with a darker ruddy colored bronze, while the outer tunic, waist knot, sword, and lamp dish and shaft are cast with a pale gold colored alloy. The rectangular tenon end of the lamp shaft is inserted into the hands the figure and pinned in two directions to prevent movement, and secured by lead. According to tomb inventories (qiance) this type of lamp is called zhuyon According to tomb inventories (qiance) this type of lamp is called zhuyong ("lamp-figurine"), and similar lamps have been found in Warring States and Western Han (206 B.C.–A.D. 9) burials. Such lamps may have been used in tombs to provide light during burial rituals, to guide the deceased soul on their afterlife journey, or to embody the soul in the form of an eternal flame during funerary ceremonies.
Go to Museum Resource: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/asian-art/china/models/swordbearer-lamp-model | |
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| “Tree of Heaven” Hanging Oil Lamp (Java, Indonesia) |
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14th-15th c. Bronze. “… The climbing figure may be related to figures climbing floral scrolls toward a man and woman riding a bovine found on other oil lamps of this period. This may represent an episode from a legend that has yet to be identified. The design of the present lamp could also represent a figure climbing the "tree of heaven" and reaching for the elixir of immortality.”
Go to Museum Resource: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/asian-art/southeastasia/models/tree-lamp-model | |
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