China

• Ensure that you have completed the assigned textbook reading for this unit.
• Choose one of the following topics for your essay:

1. Comparing the teachings of Confucius with the art of his time
2. Comparing Daoism, Chinese art, and Feng Shui
3. Examining Xie He’s aesthetic canon
4. The technical and artistic history of Chinese porcelain

Prompt

• Respond to the appropriate prompt according to the topic you have chosen:

1. Are the teachings of Confucius, which reflect many social and political ideas of ancient China, the same ideals expressed in the art of the time period?

• Discuss his contributions to the humanities by explaining his concept of moral rectitude and its impact on art.
• Do we find a direct relationship between his words and visual images?
• Explain this using four different works of art, one from four different time periods of Chinese history, from your assigned textbook readings, in your answer.

1. Please discuss Daoism’s principal of natural order (which is that it is often described as the most eloquent expression of the natural order as it relates to humankind) as first established in ancient Chinese philosophy.

• How does this philosophy conform to the basic aesthetic of Chinese art and to the philosophy of Feng Shui?
• Imagine that you’ve been hired by a boutique hotel in Guthrie, Medicine Park, Ardmore, Bartlesville, or Tulsa to incorporate Feng Shui in the building. What will you do? What will you add? (The boutique hotel can be real or imaginary). Please add four examples in your answer from your assigned textbook readings, each from different media (such as painting, jade, porcelain, architecture, etc.). You may also use museum websites.

1. Discuss the aesthetic canon as explained by Xie He in the fifth century.

• Can you apply his ideas to Chinese art from different time periods?
• Please look at four examples of painting and calligraphy from your assigned textbook readings from four different time periods to answer this question.

1. Imagine that you have been hired to put together an exhibit of Chinese porcelain. Please select five representative pieces from your collection, share the images, and describe them. As you do so, please discuss the technical and artistic history of Chinese porcelain.

• Remember that porcelain was likely invented in China, and Chinese porcelain is some of the highest quality ceramic-ware in history.
• Be sure to include four examples from your assigned textbook readings that span four different time periods in Chinese history. Be aware that pottery and stoneware techniques that led to the development of porcelain may be included in your overview. You may also use museum websites.

Procedure

• Write a 5-page essay (roughly 1250 words).
• Include an APA-formatted title page and reference page in Word format.
• Paste your images at the end of your essay, after the reference page.
• All images included should have typed under the image the following information: Title, artist, date, medium, and location. Each artwork you describe should have an image included.
• See the for general writing requirements.
• Consider the grading rubric when planning your assignment.

Texts and Materials: Kleiner, F. S. (2016). Gardner’s Art through the Ages: Backpack Edition, Book C, Non-Western Art to 1300 (15th ed.). Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781285838007 ISBN10: 1285838009 Kleiner, F. S. (2016). Gardner’s Art through the Ages: Backpack Edition, Book F, Non-Western Art Since 1300 (15th ed.). Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781285838151 ISBN10: 1285838157