Resources

Sun Joo Kim, Harvard-Yenching Professor of Korean history in the department of East Asian languages and civilizations and Director of Korea Institute, Harvard University, gives a talk on the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) in conjunction with the exhibition, In Grand Style: Celebrations in Korean Art During the Joseon Dynasty at the Asian Art Museum.

Prior to the Edo period (1615–1868), many painters and sculptors remained anonymous, occupying relatively equal status to carpenters and other artisans. The position of the artist during the Edo period changed, as artists became more successful financially, and better educated. Some of them began to be seen as celebrities, arbiters of taste with eccentric personalities. Although many still worked for low wages in obscurity, the Edo period marks the emergence of the artist as individual, as the genius creator in Japan. Learn more.

Archaeology is the study of the material remains of humanity’s past. Excavated materials, along with other historical objects and text records, form the primary source material on Ancient China.

Explore the ancient kingdom of Angkor, which was one of the most powerful states in Southeast Asia from the 800s to the 1300s. A succession of kings built huge temples that remain in Cambodia today as some of the world’s greatest religious monuments.

Buddhism was introduced into Tibet from India and China beginning in the 600s. Over the succeeding centuries, Buddhism became the dominant cultural form in Tibet, exerting a powerful influence not only over religion, but also over politics, the arts, and other aspects of society. Tibetan Buddhism eventually spread into Mongolia and Nepal, as well as into China, where it received imperial patronage especially during the Yuan (1260–1368) and Qing (1368–1644) dynasties.

A True Picture of the Steamship Powhatan; A Ship Generally Called a Steam Frigate…, from the Black Ship Scroll, Edo period (1615-1868); approx. 1854. Japan. Handscroll segment mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper. Museum purchase with assistance from the Japan Society of Northern California, 2012.60.2.

A guardian king, Heian period (794–1185), approx. 900–1000. Japan. Wood. The Avery Brundage Collection, B67S1.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Jeff Byers, tells the legend of Bokuden, a famous samurai.

A host may spend weeks planning for a tea gathering, including making decisions about which group of utensils to use. The assemblage of objects will reflect the season, complement and contrast with each other, and, ideally, create a theme or context that the host and guest will explore together during the course of the tea gathering. Learn more.