ART 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Chinese Art, Taoism, Confucianism
Document Summary
Yu, ceremonial wine vessel in form of bear or tiger swallowing a man, shang dynasty, 1766 - 1045 bce. Man squatting on feet of the tiger. Scroll-type of decoration (thunder-pattern), symbol of good luck. Mysterious why they took on these forms. Tiny pieces of jade which cover his entire body. Hills like sacred mountains and rivers sacred rivers. Immortals are figures poking up from object. Represent sacred mountains and the mist coming through. Wise people retreat to mountains to worship. Smoke from incense would come through holes and be like smoke or mist through mountains. Monochromes, three distances creates sense of space and recession. Change in scale, change in ink tone. Seals tell us of imperial pedigree of painting. Autumnal time of day, evening drawing near. How people have responded to this work. Trenches with many ceramic soldiers in them made of terracotta. Tomb where he is buried hasn"t been excavated out of respect.
