literature and arts
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Literature and Arts
Each dynastic period is known for
some type of artistic achievement
Distinctive Features of Each Period
Bronze vessels
Shang and Zhou Periods
Ritual bronze.
Inscriptions were cast to record events and report them to ancestral spirits.
Wine Vessel in the Shape of a Bull
The Orchestral Set of the Marquis Yi of Zeng
Fu (descriptive prose)- forceful and -expressiveParallel prose "Pian" is "in pairs"
Wei-Jin and Han Period
Poetry
Landscaping painting
Tang and Song
-the finest of Chinese classic poetry-a must-do for every well-educated person-written by emperors, monks, scholars, and
even by prostitutes- The most famous writers are Li Bai 李白 (Li
Taibai 李太白 ), Du Fu 杜甫 , Du Mu 杜牧 , Meng Haoran 孟浩然 , Wang Wei , Bai Juyi白居易 (Bo Juyi),
Tang Poetry
Household name in China 10 October 2012 BBC news
Li Bai and Du Fu: China's drunken superstar poets
The language has changed so little that they remain easy for modern Chinese people to read, and their themes are still relevant today - from friendship, love and landscape to the stench of political corruption.
Li Bai
He was quite a drunkard... and writing some of his best poetry apparently, while completely inebriated.
If you were to grab any kid off the street and ask him, 'What was the greatest dynasty in China's history?' nine out of 10 of them would answer the Tang.
Moonlight in front of my bed I took it for frost on the ground I lift my head, gaze at the mountain moon Lower it, and think of home.
床前明月光 疑是地上霜 举头望明月 低头思故乡
The moon in China has a special meaning. And when it's full, that represents the fullness and reunification of the family
The poem struck the deep core of my heart whenever people miss my family.
Landscaping painting
Ranked the 2nd among the most artistic achievements in Chinese history
Its technique differs greatly from painting in the West
Lack of a fixed vanishing point One-point perspective
Features of landscape painting
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/QingMingShangHeTu_Big.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_painting
Multiple-point perspective
Presents the unlimited space of nature
Constant shift of perspectives
are expressions of the mind and heart of the individual artists
To grasp an emotion or atmosphere so as to catch the "rhythm" of nature
Tang Dynasty art and literature
Combination of poem, landscaping painting, and Chinese calligraphy
This is thought to be the only surviving calligraphy of Li Bai
Practice Chinese Calligraphy
Four treasures of study
Pocerlain
Drama
political corruption social turbulences sharp class and national contradictions
Yuan Dynasty
Love story
Romance of the Western Chamber
the tragic death of a girl named Dou E. loses her mother at the age of 7 separated from her father at 10 sold as a child bride to offset the debt after she grows up and gets married, her husband dies. subjected to the bullying and humiliation of
hooligans and gangsters. wrongly accused of involvement in a murder case. Under the torture of the corrupt interrogating
officials, sentenced to death.
Injustice to Dou E
The Romance of the Three KingdomsThe Water Margin Journey to the WestStory of the StoneFour Great Classical Novels of Chinese
literature.Golden Lotus
Ming and Qing Novel
Conflict in the 3rd Century
Popular in both China and Japan
Sources for Chinese performing arts such as Beijing Opera
The Romance of the Three Kingdom
North Song time 108 bandit heroes Fought against the suppress Corruption Social class struggles surrendered to the Song government in 1121
The Water Margin
Wu SongFights the Tiger
Author:Wu Chen’enMing Dynasty
Journey to the West
Xuanzang left Chang'an in 629, crossed what are today
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, into Gandhara,
reaching India in 630 Visited and studied for 13 years
Xuanzang left India in 643 arrived back in Chang'an in 646
Tang Xuan Zang
a fictionalized account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang,
He travelled to the "Western Regions" during the Tang Dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras).
The Buddha gave this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples
They encountered various evils along the way (81 tribulations)
written in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty.
Also named: The story of the stone Dream of the red masionHong Lou Meng ( 红楼梦 )
Dream of the Red Chamber
a masterpiece of Chinese literature
Can be compared with War and Peace
Redology is the field of the study of this novel
一部《红楼》养活多少红学家 ?
is believed to be semi-autobiographical
mirroring the rise and decay of author Cao Xueqin's own family
and, by extension, of the Qing Dynasty.
Cao Xue Qin (Ts’ao Hsüeh-ch’in)
is considered to be China's greatest novelist,
Hong Lou Meng as the greatest novel in the Chinese language
His grandfather was Cao Yin, a childhood playmate of the
Emperor Kang xi
His father was Cao Zhan (Ts’ao Chan), Commissioner of Imperial Textiles
Cao Xue Qin (Ts’ao Hsüeh-ch’in)
Cao clan was rich and influential
was a host four times to the Kangxi Emperor in his six separate itinerant trips south to the Nanjing region
The emperor Kang Xi of Qing Dynasty
the clan held the office of Imperial Textile Commissioner at Jiangning for three generations
(mismanagement, careless, fiscal deficit, Kang xi ignored)
This situation changed when Kang xi died and his son Yong zheng ascended the throne
Yongzheng severely attacked the family and later confiscated their properties
The family was completely impoverished and forced to relocate to Beijing
At that time Cao xueqin was a young child
Records of his life was not much
an intelligent, highly talented man He lived in poverty throughout his life
He was an inveterate drinker
Made a living by selling his paintings
spent a decade working diligently on writing the novel
Only had a son who was very young when died from infection
Cao was so sad that he died not very long after his son’s death
His novel was written in "blood and tears”
is a vivid recreation of an illustrious family at its height and its subsequent downfall
Controversial issue: the first 80 chapters and 40 chapters
Redology scholars are still debating whether the last 40 chapters is his original work
In 1791, Cheng Weiyuan ( 程偉元 ) and Gao E ( 高鶚 )
Published the completed 120-chapter novel
Gao E is suspected to be the author of the last 40 chapters, but no one can prove it up to date.
Main characters
Chia Pau yu
Lin Dai yu (Black Jade)(cousin)
Storyline of the novel
Chia Baoyu’s grandmothe
r
daugther
son daughter
The story of the stone
Stone nu wa bu tian
Celestial plant (repay the debt of tears)
A buddhist and a daoist
The stone and the celestial plant want to experience the worldly life
They incarnated as a boy (Chia Pauyu, born with a jade in his mouth), and a girl (Lin Daiyu without a jade)
Jia was treasured and loved by his family and his maiden servants
His father was a Confucianist and wanted him to sit exam and to serve the society ( Confucianism)
Chia did not pay much attention to it, and despises men around him, but regards women as pure as water
Bao yu and daiyu love each other but Baoyu is predestined to his another cousion Xue Baochai (Precious Clasp)
Lin Daiyu (black jade) is obsessed with her orphaned state, very stubborn, wants to marry Chia, but fears of doing anything to bring about the result.
Lin’s health condition was really bad, was rejected by her grandmother
Lin died on the night Chia marries Xue Baochai (Precious Clasp) (Chia always thought that he is going to marry Lin Daiyu that night)
Xue Baochai (Precious Clasp) was a realistic person and hoped to encourage Chia to be a Confucianist and to sit the exam
She is intelligent and graceful, an ideal wife in the eyes of the family, but Chia doesn’t love her.
Chia’s family status declines graduallyChia Pauyu becomes low in his spirit after lin’s death
He gets a good result in the exam but decides to become a monk (Buddhism)
1. Offers insights into Qing society, the family, lives of women and the status of servants
2. Reflects the Confucian, Buddhist and Daoist worldview
3. Has been valued as much as a historical documentation as it has a great work of literature
Cultural and philosophical implications
The story centres on Xi Menqin, a corrupt social climber and lustful merchant
he is wealthy enough to marry a consort of six wives and concubines.
identified as pornographic and officially banned most of the time
Golden Lotus
It is however been regarded a one of the four marvellous masterpiece (together with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Journey to the West)
full of classical Chinese poetry deals with larger sociological issues—such as
the role of women in ancient Chinese society