FA 34a Lecture 19: Song Dynasty Court Arts Lecture Notes
Document Summary
Emperor huizong"s court ladies preparing newly woven silk . It is said that the emperor copied this painting from a lost tang painting. The first scene shows court ladies pounding silk, the next threading, then fanning charcoal, so that in the final scene the silk is ironed. The colors are vibrant, especially the garments, made via fine brush painting technique. The song produced the first government issued paper money currency in the world. Images of coins on the paper denote the value. Printing was used for sutras, currency, catalogues, mechanical diagrams, and scientific/informational charts. Literati culture flourished, as scholar officials became important tastemakers in the arts. Tong"s ink bamboo chose to deliberately paint the bamboo with ink, as opposed to color. The hanging scroll uses multiple tones of grey. Spatial relationships are evident via some leaves being positioned in front or behind other leaves. The bamboo progresses diagonally from one side of the painting to the other.
