China

Over the centuries, two main branches of Buddhism emerged: a transmission that traveled to Southeast Asia, and a transmission that evolved in East Asia. A further offshoot of the northern transmission also developed. All three branches began in India, and developed further as they moved across Asia.

Magnolia and quince, from the Flowers of the Twelve Months: March, approx. 1670-1710, by Yun Bing (1670-1710). China; Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The Avery Brundage Collection, B65D49.d.

Students will diagram the influences and legacy of the First Emperor and create a 21st century genome of a local legacy based on similar concepts of influences and inspiration.

Magnolia and Sparrow, 1971, by Wong Luisang (born 1928). China. Lingnan Style; ink and colors on paper. Gift of Shirley E. Lovely, 2010.38.

Students compare and contrast the different ways in which people commemorate the passing of a year by interviewing their families, creating a tablescape, and sharing their traditions with their classmates.

When one thinks of Chinese painting one might think of hanging scrolls and handscrolls. Wall paintings were an early form of painting, preserved today in cave temples, temple buildings, and tombs. Written records describe paintings on palace walls and in humbler dwellings. One of the first advocates of landscape painting, Zong Bing, wrote in the 5th century about the joys of having landscape paintings on the walls of his house so he could imagine himself in the untrammeled world of mountains and streams, mists, trees, and rocks. Hanging scrolls of silk provided wall decoration that could be changed or removed. Handscrolls, primarily used for written documents, became vehicles for the illustrations of paragons of virtue or of supernatural spirits as well as panoramic landscapes, and bird and flower paintings.

As it pertains to China, the designation “Bronze Age” refers to the period beginning around 2000 to 1750 BCE and continuing until around 500 BCE. What were the primary uses for bronze during China’s early Bronze Age? How did the use of bronze in China differ from that of other cultures? What has been learned about early Chinese culture by studying bronzes and other Bronze Age archeological materials?

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Nigeria and Ontario, Howie Tsui’s influences include ghost stories, Buddhist hell scrolls, Japanese monster culture, and Hong Kong vampire films. As part of his Horror Fables series, Tsui contributes to Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past (on view at the Asian Art Museum from May 18-September 2, 2012) intricately drawn human-monster hybrids that combine imagery from traditional Asian folklore with contemporary pop culture.

Hexagonal vase with phoenixes, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Reign of the Longqing Emperor (1567–1572). China; Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt and overglaze monochrome decoration. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P2349.

The stone pagoda structure is called the Great Wild Goose Pagoda enclosed within the Ci’en (Temple of Mercy) monastery in present-day Xi’an. It was erected in 652 to commemorate the return of the temple’s abbott, the celebrated monk Xuanzang. This heroic figure to Chinese Buddhist history traveled west across the Silk Road and throughout India for sixteen years, exploring the homeland of Buddhism before returning with hundreds of sutras (Buddhist texts).