CHINA AND KOREA TO 1279 GARDINER 7-1 pp. 180-186

CHINA: NEOLITHIC TO SHANG DYNASTY China is the only continuing civilization that originated in the ancient world Chinese archeological record begins in Neolithic times -> settled village life as far back as the 7th or early 6th millennium C.E. Villages had large multifamily houses, pens for domesticated animals, kilns for pottery, pits for storage and refuse, cemeteries Artwork made of jade and clay

YANGSHAO POTTERY Yangshao Culture vases, from Gansu Province, China, mid-third millennium BCE Yangshao culture arose along the Yellow River in N. West China Neolithic Chinese artists produced vessels of diverse shapes even before the potter’s wheel Decorated the bowls and pots with abstract motifs in red and brownish- black on a cream colored ground

SHANG DYNASTY The Shang Dynasty was the first great Chinese dynasty of the Bronze Age Lasted almost 600 years -> from 1600-1050 B.C.E Shang kings ruled from a series of capitals in the Yellow River valley Warlike, highly stratified society

SANXINGDUI Standing male figure, from pit 2, Sanxingdui, China, ca. 1200-1050 BCE, bronze, 8’5” including base Excavations at Sanxingdou have revealed a Chinese civilization contemporary with the Shang but with a different artistic aesthetic Highly stylized figure with elongated proportions and large, staring eyes

SHANG BRONZE CASTING Guang, probably from Anyang, China, Shang Dynasty, 12th or 11th century BCE Shang artists perfected the casting of elaborate bronze vessels decorated with animal motifs Shang bronzes were made using piece molds -> solid clay model and then a mold around it which was then cut into pieces, fired, carved and then reattached to the model using bronze spacers Shang bronzes held wine, water, grain or meat for sacrificial rites

ZHOU AND QIN DYNASTIES Around 1050 BCE the ZHOU, who were vassals of the Shang overthrew the Shang The Zhou dynasty is the longest lasting in Chinese history Western Zhou 1050-771 BCE Eastern Zhou 770 – 256 BCE The end of the Zhou dynasty is called the WARRING STATES PERIOD 475-221 BCE The Zhou fell to the Qin in 256 BCE

ZHOU JADE Bi disk with dragons from Jincun, near Luoyang, China, Eastern Zho dynasty, fourth to third century BCE, nephrite, 6 ½ “ The Chinese first used jade/nephrite in the Neolithic period Jade is tough, hard and heavy -> became a metaphor for fortitude and moral perfection of superior persons Chinese sculptors used grinding and abrasion rather than drilling and chiseling to work on the extremely hard material

THE FIRST EMPEROR QIN SHI HUANGDI During the Warring States Period China endured two centuries of political and social turmoil Order is restored when the armies of the ruler of the state of Qin conquer all rival states between 221-210 BCE Qin Shi Huangdi = the First Emperor Builds the Great Wall to keep out the Huns Consolidates rule through centralized bureaucracy -> standardized language, wieghts, measures and coinage Repressed schools of thought other than Legalism

FLASHCARD Army of the First Emperor of Qin in pits next to his burial mound, Lintong, China, Qin dynasty, average figure 5’11” high 6,000 life-size painted terracotta figures of soldiers and horses found in pits around the tomb on the First Emperor of Qin The Lintong army was the First Emperor’s bodyguard for eternity Although produced from common molds, every figure has an individualized appearance (8-193/1) Terra cotta warriors from mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China Qin Dynasty, c. 231-209 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta

FLASHCARD (8-193/2) Terra cotta warriors from mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China Qin Dynasty c. 231-209 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta

DAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM Daoism – a Chinese philosophy which stresses an intuitive awareness nurtured by harmonious contact with nature and shunning everything artificial Daoist seek to follow the universal path or way called the Dao involving retreat from society and the cultivation of the individual Yin and yang – yang is active masculine energy and yin is passive feminine energy which Daoist seek to find a perfect balance between in themselves Confucianism – a Chinese religion based on the teaching of Confucius (551-479 BCE) which stressed social responsibility and order