An introduction to the arts of China, designed for newcomers to the history of art or to the study of Chinese culture. Lectures will survey six millennia of Chinese art thematically and chronologically, including the burial arts of the Neolithic period through the Tang dynasty (4th M. BCE-10th C. CE), Buddhist and Daoist ritual arts, and painting and calligraphy. Lectures, readings, and discussions will introduce students to various systems of Chinese thought, modes of visual analysis, and art historical method.

This course, for which no prior experience of Chinese art or history is required, will provide an overview of developments in the visual arts of China from the Neolithic period to the present. Special attention will be devoted to relating these developments to broader changes within culture. Some of the questions we will address include: What are the conventions and limits of representing deities in art? How do we understand different notions of naturalism in painting? How did artists take on political issues? Who were the various audiences that artists addressed in their work? How do we gauge their responses? Throughout this course, we will also consider the relationship between collecting and art history, how art collecting shaped and was shaped by changing notions of “China,” and the challenges of studying artifacts that have been removed from their original contexts. Course assessment is comprised of two exams and one short writing exercise.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills