Keys to Understanding the Arts of China – Teaching Guide

Outline of Presentation – with Slide # and (Duration)

AP required works are highlighted.

Introduction (9 min)

• Man and His Environment: Shared Cognition in Early Times #2
• Geology, Flora and Fauna #3–⁠4

Part 1 (21 min)

Five “Keys” #5

• Material: Jade
• Ideal: Longevity
• Shape: Container
• Realm: Ruler’s Domain
• Art Form: Calligraphy

Material/Jade #6

• Jade in Prehistoric Times (inc. Jade Cong) #7–⁠10
• Enduring Value: Jade in Historic Times #11
• Jade believed to Prevent Decay #12       

Part 2.1 (16 min)

Ideal/Longevity – Mausoleum of Qin Shih Huand di #13

• Mausoleum of the First Emperor of China (Qin Shi Huang di) #14–⁠17
• Artifacts regularly found inside Elite Tombs #18
• Money, money trees, incense burners #19

Part 2.2 (14 min)

Ideal/Longevity – Tomb Pit of Lady Dai

• Lady Dai’s Pit Tomb #20–26

Part 2.3 (20 min)

Ideal/Longevity – Lasting Ideal & Imagery

• Mountains, Animals, and Humans #27–28
• Monumental Landscapes #29–30
  • Travelers among Mountains and Streams, by Fan Kuan (c. 1000)*
  • Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan (c.1969) #31–33
• Immortals #33
• Spread of Buddhist thought and architecture in Asia (maps) #34–35
  • Sutra of the Ten Kings (c. 900 CE) (handscroll format) Found inside Magao Cave, Dunhuang #36                     
  • Longmen caves, Magao Caves/Dunhuang), and Bamiyan #35, 37–40

Part 3 (15 min)                                                                                                          

Shape/Containers #41

• Prehistoric Containers #42
• Bronze Age Containers #43
• Inscriptions on Containers #44
• Evocative Forms and Surface Treatments #45–46
  • The David Vases (Yuan dynasty, 1351) White porcelain with blue underglaze #46–47
• Jingdezhen Ware and the Imperial House #47–48
  • Sunflower Seeds, by Ai Weiwei (2008) #48

Part 4 (15 min)  PowerPoint and voice of speaker only

Realm/Ruler’s Domain

• Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace, Beijing, (Ming dynasty, 15th c.) #49
• Imperial Function and Cult Location (diagram maps) #50
• Layers of Protection #51
• Public Realm vs. Private Realm #52–53
• Private World and Illusion #54–56

Part 5 (17 min)  PowerPoint and voice of speaker only

Art Form/Calligraphy & Conclusion

• Oracle Bones and Calligraphy #56–57
• Printing and Woodblock Carving #58
• Calligraphy in the Public Realm #59–60
• A Book from the Sky, by Xu Bing (1987–1991) #61–62

Resources

• Suggested Reading #63
• Map of China in East Asia #64
• Administrative Map of China #65

* See also comparison in “Keys to Understanding the Arts of Japan,” Segment #4, to Pine Trees on the Beach (with Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons), Japanese (16th c.) Slide #56