Resources

Daoism is an indigenous Chinese religion. Tao is often translated as “way” or “path.” The teachings of Daoism advocate following the Way and integrating with the natural world.

Cup with high handle, approx. 2500–1900 BCE. China; Shandong province. Neolithic period, Longshan culture (approx. 2500-1900 BCE). Gift of Bruce and Terese Bartholomew, 1998.30.

Hear the inscriptions on this rare drinking cup in white jade from the Timurid period (1370-1507) read aloud. The first inscription is in Arabic and the second is in Persian.

Learn more about crossbows and the crossbow trigger mechanism on view in the exhibition, China’s Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor’s Legacy (at the Asian Art Museum from February 22–May 27, 2013).

Covered ritual wine vessel (gong), approx. 1050–900 BCE. China; Western Zhou dynasty (1050–771 BCE). Bronze. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B1004.

Michael Knight, Senior Curator of Chinese Art at the Asian Art Museum, and Jerry Yang, Collector and Co-founder of Yahoo!, discuss collecting Chinese calligraphy in conjunction with the exhibition, Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy (on view at the Asian Art Museum from October 5, 2012–February 13, 2013).

Dr. Sanford Tom explores Huangshan (or the Yellow Mountain), which is often considered the most beautiful as well as the strangest mountain in China.

Asian Art Museum Docent, Linda Lei, gives a talk to teachers on the symbols associated with Chinese Lunar New Year at the Asian Art Museum on May 15, 2014.

A demon (buta), 1993, by Duyeh. Indonesia; Cibiru, West Java. Wood, cloth, and mixed media. From the Mimi and John Herbert Collection, F2000.86.121.

The religious fervor and opulence of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) can be seen in the intricately hand-copied sutras (the teachings of the Buddha) that date to this period. Korean monk-scribes were commissioned by royals, aristocrats, and individual high-ranking monks to write the sacred words of the Buddha by applying pigments of ground gold and silver to deep indigo–dyed mulberry paper. They began by pictorially narrating the sermons of the Buddha with key episodes within the sutra chapter on the frontispiece (first four sutra panels). The rest of the sutra comprised flowing calligraphy translating the Buddha’s teachings.