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

2. 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

3. 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

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

5. SANXINGDUI
Standing male figure, from pit 2, Sanxingdui, China, ca 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

6. 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

7. 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 BCE
Eastern Zhou 770 – 256 BCE
The end of the Zhou dynasty is called the WARRING STATES PERIOD BCE
The Zhou fell to the Qin in 256 BCE

8. 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

9. 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 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

10. 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 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta

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

12. 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 ( BCE) which stressed social responsibility and order