Video
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.
Video
Master Chinese calligrapher Cai Xingyi writes the poem Ascending the Heron Tower by Poet Wang Zhihuan (688-742) in cursive script. See more in the exhibition, Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy (on view at the Asian Art Museum from Oct. 5, 2012–Jan. 13, 2013).
Artwork
Seated Buddha, 200–300. Pakistan; perhaps Jamalgarhi, Peshawar valley, ancient region of Gandhara. Schist. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60S393.
Background Information
Rituals and traditions of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Background Information
Artwork
Haniwa in the form of a warrior, approx. 300–552. Japan; excavated at Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture. Kofun period (300–552). Earthenware. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60S204.
Artwork
The Buddha triumphing over Mara, 900–1000. India; probably Kurkihar, Bihar state. Stone. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60S598.
Lesson
Objective: Students gain an appreciation and understanding of art and culture, and build language skills by reading; developing scripts; making choices about gesture, voice, and expression; and performing traditional stories alongside art objects in the Asian Art Museum’s collection galleries.
Duration: One class period over the course of 1 week
Background Information
The Arabic saying, “Purity of writing is purity of the soul” vividly describes the status of the master calligrapher in Islamic society. It was believed that only a person of spiritual devotion and clear thought could achieve the skill required for this supreme art.
