The Paradise Of Maitreya By Zhu Haogu And Zhang Boyuan

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China is arguably one of the oldest civilisation to ever exist on this earth, offering a rich amount of historical and artistic expression in their culture. Chinese art has wide range of history that showcases many different events and influences that the art has had over time. One of the most art changing influences in Chinese history occurred in was the Yuen dynasty, which was 1280 to 1365. The Yuen dynasty was a period in which china was conquered by Genghis Khan and his descendants that formed the Mongolian empire. The Mongolian invasion caused many scholars to leave their public life to pursue their own personal and artistic cultivation under the guidance of Buddhist religion, adopting spirituality in their culture and belief of enlightenment of oneself …show more content…

Painters no longer took truth to nature as their goal, but rather used painting as a tool for self-expression and expressing community identity in their work. The painting The Paradise of Maitreya by Zhu Haogu and Zhang Boyuan is a prime example of an art object that express community identity. The wall painting was made in 1298 and showcases community identity through clothing, religion and status of the figures in the painting. When looking at the clothing that was worn in ancient China and the clothing that is worn in the modern day China, there is obviously a huge change that can be seen. China’s traditional clothing consisted robes and long blouse, but the quality of the clothing was determined by social class. Only the rich could wear silk clothes that were light soft with shimmering quality. The Paradise of Maitreya showcases two figures in bottom left and right who are royalty, one on the left being the queen and the right being the king. When taking a closer look at the clothing which the king is wearing, he is wearing a red silky robe with two gold strips going down the middle. The king is also wearing gold earrings on both ears and gold necklace underneath his

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