EALC 200: Approaches to the Study of East Asian Cultures (HC/BMC) Spring 2017: China

Surveys the full spectrum of the visual arts in China, ranging from the Neolithic period to the art scene of the early 21st century.

Often used as a textbook for a survey course. Check the bibliography to lead you to more specialized works.

This work is the first in a three volume series that surveys China's wealth of art, architecture and artefacts from prehistoric times to the 20th century. It investigates the beginnings of the traditions on which much of the art rests, moving from Neolithic and Bronze Age China to the era of the Tang Dynasty around AD 900.

Book 2 in a 3 volume collection, covering the period of time between 900 and 1620.

Book 3 covering the Ming and Qing periods.

The two short essays at the beginning of the book ("Approaches to Chinese Painting") should be required reading. Other useful features of this heavily illustrated book are its glossary (page 365); the listing of artists by period (page 371); and the suggestions for further reading (page 385).

Chinese art, particularly painting, makes use of negative space in unique ways. This is especially noticeable in the combined mastery of calligraphy (often portraying poems) and painting as extensions of each other.

Explores the history of calligraphy, the theory behind it, and its importance in Chinese culture.

Provides an anthology and summation of the work of one of the world's leading historians of Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Chinese calligraphy has been an independent visual art form for thousands of years. Its wonderful aesthetics has inspired the art of Chinese painting since the second century B.C. Before pen and pencil were introduced to China, millions practiced the art of writing in ink. In the twentieth century, the art of calligraphy has not only fascinated modern Chinese who are part of this continuous tradition, but has also captured the interest and imagination of the world. This is the first proper history of Chinese calligraphy in English.

Covers the Paleolithic era thousands of years ago to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911.

This book examines the complex relationship between art and politics in the People's Republic of China between 1949 and 1984.

Comprehensive book on Chinese sculpture, covering around 7,000 years.