The collapse of Ming Dynasty in 1644 marked the beginning of the last imperial dynasty of China - Qing. Qianlong, the son of Yongzheng Emperor and the grandson of the Kangxi emperor, was one of the most successful rulers not only under Qing, but also in entire history of China. Under his ruling, China was once the largest and richest country in the world. Qianlong’s success extended well beyond economics and politics. Through commissioning, acquiring (including confiscating), and receiving tributes, Qianlong expanded the Chinese imperial collection to an unprecedented scale. Given Qianlong’s had great passion for art and culture, these acts, however, were not solely for the purpose of enjoyment and pleasure. Qianlong Emperor sought to explore …show more content…
This again indicates the importance and powerfulness of Qianlong emperor and by eliminating other possible distractions, communicates that he is the only subject in this painting and should be focused only on. Qianlong is presented en face with neutral facial expressions. The corners of his lips seem to be in an upward direction however no other facial elements give any hint of him smiling. At first glance, the emperor appears to be making eye contact with the viewers, but as viewers come closer to the picture plane, due to the fact that the emperor is placed in the middle of the composition and the dragon throne elevates him to a higher level in the overall composition, a strong sense of distance is created. While the emperor’s gaze remains frontal, because the viewers are placed at a much lower level than the emperor, again conveys his supreme power. Viewers are forced to look up to the emperor while being unnoticed, ignored by him. The clever arrangements of this composition place every viewer in an imperial court scenario, where the emperor would be sitting in the highest position in the hall, and anyone that will be also at present will be kneeling below the …show more content…
Giuseppe Castiglione, who later adopted the Chinese name of Lang Shining, was already an accomplished painter before coming to China as a Jesuit missionary. After his arrival in China after 1715, he lived in the Forbidden City as a court artist for the rest of his life and painted for three emperors, Qianlong, Yongzheng and Kangxi. Castiglione developed the unique art style through combining western techniques subtly with Chinese traditional media of ink on silk. Qianlong had an exotic taste in art and adored this style of art and commissioned in large quantities. This resulted in this zhongxihebi（east meets west）style becoming the signature Qing court art style. The influence of western art making is evident in Portrait of Qianlong Emperor in ceremonial court robe in many ways. In terms of composition, it is symmetrical and the golden ratio (rule of thirds) is applied (the edge of the carpet is at one-third height of the entire composition), producing a sense of balance and harmony. The subtle highlight and shading technique contributed to producing a rather realistic, volumetric and three-dimensional depiction as well as an illusion of space as opposed to traditional flat Chinese paintings. For example, where Qianlong has bent his left arm to touch the beads on his ceremonial necklace, shading has been applied to show the inward creases of the soft silk material, while the highlighting depicts
Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty. In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership.
...y extraordinarily beautiful, it was also a wealth of information about the people and culture of ancient China during his reign.
I learned about many significant artwork and artist in this class. This class provided me with a better understanding of the history of the world Art, but also helped me understand the development of art style. However, among all of these precious pieces of artwork, there are two special ones that caught my attention: The Chinese Qin Terracotta Warriors and The Haniwa. Each of them represents the artist’s stylistic characteristics and cultural context. Although they represented different art of rulers, historical values, and scenes, there were visible similarities.
Timothy Brook’s book, The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China is a detailed account of the three centuries of the Ming Dynasty in China. The book allows an opportunity to view this prominent time period of Chinese history. Confusions of Pleasure not only chronicles the economic development during the Ming dynasty, but also the resulting cultural and social changes that transform the gentry and merchant class. Brook’s insights highlight the divide between the Ming dynasty’s idealized beliefs, and the realities of its economic expansion and its effects. Brook describes this gap through the use of several first hand accounts of individuals with various social statuses.
During the early Ming Dynasty, China was one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the world. As Ebrey pointed out, “Europe was not yet a force in Asia and China continued to look on the outer world in traditional terms.” China was regarded as the center of Asia at the beginning of 15th century and the idea of “Middle Kingdom” (Zhong guo) began to take off at that time. The early Ming Emperors were not interested in promoting commercial trade at all. Emperor Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, implemented the Hai jin policy which forbade maritime shipping and private foreign trade outside of the tributary system (Ebrey, p. 209). Emperor Yongle, the son of Emperor Hongwu, lifted this policy to a certain extent when he ordered his eunuch Zheng He’s voyages. However, he was only intereste...
Hung Liu is successful in creating a juxtaposing image that tells a story about the many aspects of her Chinese origins. According to the painting, not all life in China is surrounded by beauty and elegance, like many believe it to be based on the traditional historical customs. Liu makes her point using a brilliant yet subtle progression, moving from the ideal to reality. Making use of the various principles and elements of art in her work creates a careful visual composition that benefit and support the painting’s achievements as a whole. This oil painting, being approximately 13 years old now, will hold a special place in Chinese history for the rest of its existence. The ideas Hung Liu portrays in Interregnum may help reform a social movement in the country by making her viewers socially aware of the cruel conditions the Chinese are facing under Communist rule, and this is all made possible through the assimilation of the principles and
Chapter 4: China's Qing Dynasty & Its Collapse." East-Asian-History Home. Penn State. Web. 06 Apr. 2011..
Pu Yi, Henry, and Paul Kramer. The Last Manchu: The Autobiography of Henry Pu Yi, Last Emperor of China. 4th ed. New York: Skyhorse, 2010. Amazon.com. Amazon.com. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
The Great Wall of China, one of the world’s eight wonders, is one of the most famous feats of human architecture in the history of the world. This ancient marvel is not only a great spectacle, but is also significant in the shaping and molding of the China everyone knows today. The Great Wall of China allowed China to possess some of the longest lived governmental structures in the world by providing a means of protection against hostile nomadic groups and other warlike peoples. This allowed the lifespans of the dynasties-- lines of hereditary rulers who rule over a country for a long period of time-- inside the wall to be prolonged. This massive structure is therefore a key part of China’s history, influencing nearly every dynasty that ruled the region, since the rise of the first emperor.
The way the Chinese have conceived of their past, and of themselves, was profoundly shaped by the Shiji. The Shiji, or Historical Records, was a monumental work composed of 130 chapters written during the Han dynasty by Sima Qian. It presented the past from several perspectives: a chronological narrative of political events; topical accounts of key institutions; and biographies of individuals that Qian saw as important. The political narrative began with the Yellow Lord and continued through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, down to the Han dynasty and Emperor Wudi of Sima Qian's day. Chronological charts with genealogical data and information on government posts came next, such as the calendar, state ritual, the construction of waterworks, and government finance. Thirty chapters were devoted to the ruling houses of the states of the Zhou period, recounting the reigns of successive rulers. These were supplemented by seventy chapters on other important individuals, including not only great officials and generals, but also people not associated with the government, both the famous and infamous including: philosophers, poets, merchants, magicians, and even rebels. Even non-Han people along the frontiers were described in narrative accounts. The emergence of a unified empire out of the warring States of pre-Qin China, the consolidation of the former Han, and the relations between the empire and the surrounding people groups were major themes in the Shiji. Qian’s records also offer insights through his role as a historian and his attempt to resolve a life changing experience he distinguished in his own life. Equally important, Sima Qian, by writing so well on so much, had a profound impact on Chinese thinking about government, pers...
It will define that Zhang used traditional Chinese charcoal drawing aesthetic to show the subtext of his artworks in contemporary Chinese art. By tracing the traditional Chinese charcoal drawing aesthetic in Chinese Painter Zhang Xiaogang artistic development in the past two decades, his art as a whole can be interpreted in presenting his concerns of the foregone society and showing his own feelings towards the public history with a unique form of expression.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
By 1800, China’s Qing dynasty encountered several issues such as a growing population, peasant ...
"Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang." Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. .
The purpose of this paper is to tell the history of the Ming Dynasty’s impact on the Chinese Empire, and to explain why the Chinese Empire was in fact an empire.