Print this page 8,000 Years of Chinese Traditional Art

This visually rich course offers a chronological journey through the major traditions of Chinese art, from prehistoric cultures to the final imperial era of the Qing dynasty. Set against the backdrop of China’s vast geography and long history of cultural exchange, it reveals both continuity and transformation across the centuries.

You’ll explore how materials such as pottery, stone, bronze, silk, paper and ink shaped artistic practice, and how art reflected wider patterns of social and cultural life. An excellent introduction for anyone interested in Chinese history, visual culture and the long arc of artistic tradition.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Sullivan, Michael, Vainker, Shelagh, 2018, The Arts of China (6th edition), University of California Press. ISBN-10 ‏: ‎ 9780520294806
• Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman, 2019, Chinese Architecture: A History, Princeton University Press. ISBN: 978-0-691-19197-3
• Clunas, Craig, 2009, Art in China (2nd edition), Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 9780300094473
• Fong, Wen C. (ed.), 1980, The Great Bronze Age of China: An Exhibition from the People’s Republic of China, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN: 0-87099-226-0
• Tsien, Tsuen-Hsuin, 1985, Paper and Printing. Volume 5, Part I of Science and Civilisation in China, ed. Joseph Needham, Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521086141
• Rawson, Jessica, 1987, Chinese Bronzes: Art and Ritual, British Museum Press. ISBN: 9780714114462
• Thorp, Robert L., Richard Ellis Vinograd, 2001, Chinese Art and Culture, Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780131833646

COURSE OUTLINE

• Neolithic Age (6000-1500BC) – Painted and incised pottery; sacred jade carving dragons and Chinese faces
• Bronze Age: Shang & Zhou (ca. 1600-256 BCE) - Peak age of ritual bronze vessels
• The First Empires: Qin (221-206 BCE) & Han (206 BCE-220 CE) - Life-size terracotta warriors; emerge of painting on silk
• The Age of Disunion (Crisis of 3 Centuries): Six Dynasties (3 kingdoms, Jin, North & South Dynasties 220-589 CE) - Confucianist ideal painting, Peak age of calligraphy and Buddhist sculpture
• The Second Empires: Sui (581-618) & Tang (618-907) - First golden age of painting on paper; cosmopolitan style at its peak
• The Half Century Crisis: Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms (907-960) - Peak age of portrait realism, and Proto-literati shan-shui landscapes painting
• The Third Empires: Song (960-1279) & Yuan (1271-1368) - Peak age of Ancient Modern landscape painting with literati ideal
• The Fourth Empires: Ming (1368-1644) & Qing (1644-1911) - Peak age of Buddhist & Daoist painting, as well as professional, urban realism

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Ability to evaluate how natural resources, political institutions, and cross-cultural exchanges had shaped the development of Chinese art (painting and sculpture in particular) over different Chinese historical periods.
2. Identify and interpret key works of traditional Chinese art, demonstrating knowledge of their historical context, material composition, and cultural significance from the Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty.
3. Demonstrate visual and contextual literacy by using maps, artifacts, and visual materials to trace the evolution of aesthetic preferences, social values, and ideological themes in Chinese art history.