Professor Yuhang Li will be teaching ART HIST 307/776 From Tomb to Temple: Ancient Chinese Art and Religion in Transition TR 11:00AM–12:15 PM during the Fall 2024 semester. Sophomore Standing | Humanities Breadth | L&S Credit. Enroll here.
Description: How did ancient Chinese create an underground space for the afterlife? Why was jade used as a medium to prolong human life or transcend the finite world? How was Buddhist art reappropriated in China? Why did calligraphy emerge as the highest artistic form of self-expression? What is the art of the silk-road?
This course will introduce art forms and concepts that developed in China from remote antiquity to the mid-10th century. The artworks that survive from this long period were created primarily in the contexts of funerary culture and religion, while knowledge of art made for other purposes is based on texts. Organized chronologically, the course will examine the materials, techniques, and functions of the most important artistic media in each period. These media will include jade-carving, metalwork, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, painting, textile and architecture. We will also consider the aesthetic concepts and social groups associated with the various art forms.