Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder-Women in Chinese Painting

China has a long history of using women as objects d'art since the Warring States and Western Han Dynasty when people painted female figures on silk.
Each time in history has its own idea of 'beauty' and from early times artists have recorded their particular version of 'beauty'. Artists in China are no different. Throughout the ages, the image of the 'ideal' beauty has been subject to the trends and politics of the times, and through their legacies we can gain a better understanding of Chinese history.
Even though paintings of women were common, women did not gain respect because of it. In the paintings women are only beautiful objects to show or admire. It is possible to link the growth of women depicted in art and a lowering of their social status.

The Tang Dynasty was the most magnificent period in feudal society. During this time the traditional Chinese depictions of beautiful women also entered a new stage. Painters paid attention to the richly colorful society, and were especially interested in displaying the idle and carefree life of aristocrat women.
Artistic trends in any given historical period are influenced by social consciousness, cultural background and the economic development at the time. In the mid-Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), after a hundred years of development, political power was stabilizing and the economy was prospering. Hedonism became increasingly popular among the ruling class.

Flower-and-Bird Paintings

Flower-and-Bird Paintings

Flower-and-Bird Paintings

Flowers and birds were favorite subjects in paintings in ancient China, offering a kind of special aesthetic interest. As an independent school of paintings, flower-and-bird works originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and matured at the end of the Tang and Five Dynasties period. Many celebrated painters emerged at the time, with Huang Quan and Xu Xi as the representative figures among them.

A painting by Huang QuanHuang was a court painter of the Five Dynasties and most of his works were of rare flowers and birds in courts. The depicted birds in his paintings were full-fledged and flowers looked luxurious under the bush. Sketch of Rare Bird Scroll -- a piece handed down from Huang -- vividly depicts many kinds of birds. Xu lived during the Five Dynasties, too, and was never involved in politics. Xu did not seek fame or wealth -- he just concentrated on painting. Xu used thick strokes and ink, drew branches and leaves plainly, and used a slight hint of color so it would not impair the ink. His works were full of wild interest. Snow Covers Bamboo was one of Xu's works that was handed down in history. Huang and Xu represented completely different styles of painting, and people of later generations named them "Luxurious Huang Quan" and "Quiescent Xu Xi". Both artists later exerted a great influence on the creation of flower-and-bird paintings.

A painting by Zhao JiZhao Ji, Emperor Song Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, was fatuous on politics. Although the destruction of the Northern Song was attributed to him to a great extent, he, nevertheless, made some contributions to the development of painting and art. The emperor was keen on paintings and collected many important works, then compiled the Xuanhe Painting Guide -- a significant work on the history of painting in ancient China. Under his advocacy, the imperial arts academy was well developed. Many skilled painters gathered there, creating many excellent works. Emperor Huizong was himself an outstanding painter, who was proficient in landscape, figure, flower-and-bird and animal paintings. His flower-and-bird paintings were most famous for their delicate style and wash-painting characteristics. Lotus and Golden Pheasant and Winter Sunset and Wild Bird were his representative works.
Xu Wei, who lived in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was an intellectual lost in a world of politics. Since his entire life was filled with frustration and poverty, Xu Wei's inner indignation was displayed through his poems and paintings. He excelled in flower-and-bird paintings, using concise strokes. Xu Wei's plain style was quite successful and had a rich connection, stressing the artistic effects of wash painting. He often used the poems that accompanied his paintings to express his inner feelings, thus perfecting the paintings. Xu Wei attained great attainments in calligraphy, as well. His poems, handwriting and paintings were unified to make a whole.

A painting by Xu XiThe literati in ancient China were fond of calyx canthus and bamboo paintings, which, to them, were tasteful and unstrained. Such paintings symbolized literati unconventionality. Although calyx canthus and bamboo were part of flower-and-bird paintings, after the Song and Yuan dynasties, when the number of artists increased by the day, the subjects broke away from flower-and-bird painting to become a school of their own. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Wen Tong, Yang Wujiu, Li Yan, Wang Mian and others were all painters famous for drawing calyx canthus and bamboo. Because of the introduction of the Stories of Scholars , Wang became familiar to every Chinese person. In fact, Wang's achievements in painting were not the lotus, which was mentioned in the Stories of Scholars , but his calyx canthus and bamboo works.
"Not for the praise of good looks, but for spreading freshness: "From these two lines of a poem, we can plainly see why the painter chose the calyx canthus as his subject -- to express feeling. Zheng Banqiao declined the honor as local official but lived by selling paintings in Yangzhou. He was good at painting orchids, bamboo, calyx canthus and stones. Both his handwriting and painting had a unique style: "I drew orchid, bamboo and stone to console the working people but not to seek pleasure," said Zheng, which also suggested that the calyx canthus and bamboo under his brush contained an exceptional thought state.

Painting on Silk

In 1949 a painting on white silk was unearthed in a tomb of the Chu Kingdom near Changsha in Hunan Province . This Human, Dragon and Phoenix Painting is the earliest traditional Chinese painting found so far. The painting was executed about 2,300 years ago on a piece of white silk used as a banner in traditional Chinese funerals. Although it is blotched and indistinct now, the outlines are still eligible.
The painting is done with smooth and strong strokes. Some parts are filled with ink washes, some painted with colors. The forms of the woman, phoenix and the dragon are all of decorative beauty. Although there is no background in the picture, its rich and moving content makes it a complete painting.

Stories about Dragon

Last touch added to a drawing
Once a famous artist Zhang Sengyou drew four dragons on the walls of the Anle Temple, Jinling, but he left the pupils of the dragons unfinished. Someone asked him the reason of the omission. In answer, he said that if he put the pupils therein the dragons would become alive and fly away. The questioner did not believe it and requested him to complete the work. The artist nodded assent. But as soon as the two dots were drawn, all of a sudden, there were thunder and lightning and the dragon became alive and instantly flew away, while the other three without pupils still remained there.
Based on this fairy tale, the last touch added to a drawing is said to be the act of adding pupils to a dragon; that is to say, the last touch in a masterpiece is the most important part of a drawing, or any other important business. And now it becomes a phrase to suggest adding a word or two to clinch the point.
Professed love of what one really fears
In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), there lived in the Chu state a person named Chu Zhuliang, who addressed himself as "Lord Ye". It is said that this Lord Ye was very fond of dragons. The walls had dragons painted on them. The beams, pillars, doors and windows were all carved with dragons. As a result, his love for dragons was spread out. When the real dragon in heaven heard of this Lord Ye, he was deeply moved. He decided to visit Lord Ye to thank him.
You might think Lord Ye would have been very happy to see a real dragon. But, in fact, at the sight of the creature, he was scared out of his wits and ran away as fast as he could.
From then on, people knew that Lord Ye only loved pictures or carvings that look like dragons, not the real thing

Dragons in the Forbidden City

The famous Forbidden City is a world of dragons. How many dragons on earth are there in the Forbidden City?
Somebody counts the dragons in the Taihe Hall and finds 12,654 dragons.
There are 19 dragons painted in gold in the throne, 79 carved in the folding screen behind the throne. Plus dragons carved in the golden table and other furnitures, there are 590 dragons in total in the hall.
There are 6 golden pillars swirled by dragons. The ceilings are painted with golden dragons all around, which amount to 3, 909. There are 40 doors in the hall and 5 wooden dragons on each door, which plus the dragons painted on the doors and windows there are 3, 504 dragons in total.
There are over 9, 000 doors in the Forbidden City. Then, how many dragons are there in the Forbidden City? They are really too many to count.

Dragon Has Nine Sons

As the legend goes, dragon has nine sons who are different from each other in terms of temperament, appearance and even jobs. In the ancient buildings and containers we can sometimes find the dragon's sons.
The eldest son looks like a turtle that always likes to carry big stonework on his back and hence is titled the turtle carrying the stonework.
The second son always likes to stand in a high place and watch afar. He is the one we see on the fastigium of palaces.
The third is very small and likes to yell a lot. We can see him on bronze bells.
The fourth looks like a tiger with great power. We can only see him at gates of jails.
The fifth likes to eat and is often seen on bronze containers for food.
The sixth likes to play with water and is often carved on bridges.
The seventh likes to kill and fight and is often carved on hilts.
The eighth is like a lion and likes firework. He can always be found on censers.
The youngest looks like a spiral shell and likes to be quiet. We can always find him on doors

Dragon Has Nine Sons

As the legend goes, dragon has nine sons who are different from each other in terms of temperament, appearance and even jobs. In the ancient buildings and containers we can sometimes find the dragon's sons.
The eldest son looks like a turtle that always likes to carry big stonework on his back and hence is titled the turtle carrying the stonework.
The second son always likes to stand in a high place and watch afar. He is the one we see on the fastigium of palaces.
The third is very small and likes to yell a lot. We can see him on bronze bells.
The fourth looks like a tiger with great power. We can only see him at gates of jails.
The fifth likes to eat and is often seen on bronze containers for food.
The sixth likes to play with water and is often carved on bridges.
The seventh likes to kill and fight and is often carved on hilts.
The eighth is like a lion and likes firework. He can always be found on censers.
The youngest looks like a spiral shell and likes to be quiet. We can always find him on doors

Folk Dragon and Royal Dragon

The largest stonework in the Forbidden City is 1.7 meters thick and weighs 250 tons. There are nine dragons playing in the clouds floating above the sea. In the feudal society, dragon was a symbol of imperial power.
Liu Bang, the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD) made up a story which said that his mother dreamed a dream that she united with a dragon and then gave birth to Liu. And it was even said that when Liu got drunk, his dragonhead would emerge. Therefore, Liu became the son of dragon. It was obvious that Liu intended to establish a high image of himself through the legend of dragon and thus to consolidate his position as an emperor. Subsequently, later emperors and those who dreamed to be emperors said that they were the sons of dragon.
After the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), dragon became the symbol of imperial power and represents the emperor. At that time, the body of the emperor was called dragon body, the face dragon face, clothes dragon robe, and even their offspring were titled dragon sons or dragon grandsons.
When it came to the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, those dragons embroidered in emperors' dragon robes and carved in the palace walls all became five-claw. The five-claw dragon was forbidden for use by common people, and those who dared to use them for decoration would be sentenced to death. The emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties lived in the Forbidden City and therefore, the walls, windows, ceilings and steps were all carved with dragons.
The common people did not like the royal dragon that stood for the imperial power. They liked another kind of dragon which could bring them good luck and happiness. In festivals, people liked to wield dragon lanterns and dance the dragon dance. In the Dragon Boat Festival, people would hold dragon boat race. There are also many beautiful folk legends about dragon, among which last touch added to a drawing and professed love of what one really fears are very popular.

Origin of Chinese Dragon（1）

Chinese dragon is of magic power. It can change the length of its body as it wishes, it can either fly or swim and it can even bring rainfalls. People in ancient China often offered sacrifices to Dragon for favorable weather and good harvest.
It has been at least 6,000 years since dragon came into being.
Dragon was one of the totem worship images in remote times when people liked to use the images of creatures or plants which they held in awe as symbols of their tribes. They believed that totem worship could bring them protection and good luck.
What does dragon come of? There are a lot of answers such as crocodile, snake, pig or even lightening. Now many experts agree on that dragon came of a totem mainly consisting of snake. It had snake's body, pig's head, deer's horns, bull's ear, goat's beard, hawk's claws and fish's squama. This view introduces a penetrating insight towards the life of ancient society: in remote times of clanship, the Huaxia Clan symbolized by snake totem in the Yellow River drainage area conquered other clans and then grew into a big clan union by integrating others together with their totems. That was how the totem of dragon came into being.
In 1987 a grave of the Yangshao Culture in 6,000 years ago was unearthed in Ziyang, Henan Province, where a dragon made of mussel shells was found beside the male dead. This was the earliest dragon we have ever known by far. A jade dragon of more than 5,000 years of history was dug out in Inner Mongolia with a slim body crooked like the alphabet C and a pig-like head.
During the Shang and Zhou dynasties 3,000 years ago, dragons often appeared on utensil made of bronze or bones. We can even find the Chinese character of dragon in the inscriptions on tortoise shells and animal bones at that time. There are over 100 styles of writing the character of dragon.
In the Warring States Period (475-221BC), dragon was often drawn in the painting on silk. And the dragon in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) looked much the same with today's dragons

Secrets of Women's Underwear in Ancient China

Bold colors
The arrangement of colors on the articles also helped to distinguish one from another. Some chose bright colors that combined to make a striking contrast - for example, red and green, yellow and blue, while adopting black, golden or silver selvage to strengthen the visual effect. Others preferred bland colors: similar hues and gradual changes in color from light to dark combined to generate an harmonious effect.
Patterns and ornaments


As in other traditional forms of art, women in ancient China decorated their underwear with almost every subject that they could imagine, including landscapes, flowers, birds, clouds, myths, legends and characters in literature. Usually the designs expressed certain ideas. For instance, the combination of a magpie on plum blossoms represented happiness, since the design reminded people of a Chinese idiom suggesting someone radiant with joy. Other designs include bats, representing good fortune, and lotus with fish, suggesting affluence.

Delicate craftsmanship
Seemingly simple, traditional Chinese underwear is painstakingly difficult to make. The making involves dozens of techniques, including embroidery, sewing, pasting, patching, embellishing and rolling. The stitch should neither be too loose nor too tight. Also, creases and cracks were never permitted. The underwear was a considered a platform to exhibit the owner's delicate craftsmanship, which was a highly valued merit for women in ancient China.
Evolution of underwear in different dynasties
Just as outer garments, women's underwear was also heavily influenced by the social beliefs and humans' understanding towards beauty in different dynasties..
Before Han Dynasty, the underwear was called "Xieyi". "Xie" in Chinese means frivolity, suggesting people's evasive attitude towards underwear at that time.
During Han Dynasty, the "Baofu" and "Xinyi" were the most common underwear. "Baofu" was a piece of cloth with laces that could be fastened together to cover the belly. While "Xinyi" had a "Dang," a sleeveless jacket at the top of a "Baofu" so that the chest could also be covered. Both "Baofu" and "Xinyi" were single-pieced underwear that exposed one's back completely. Thin silk was the main material for the underwear in the Han Dynasty. Colorful threads were embroidered with the designs suggesting love.

Secrets of Women's Underwear in Ancient China

In ancient China, where the patriarchal society left few opportunities for women to express their thoughts, the underwear became a unique channel to let out their romantic passion. Underwear revealed women's beliefs toward life, taste in beauty and appeal for love. They expressed all this through various patterns, bold colors and delicate craftsmanship.
Compared to outer garments, which were strictly governed by courtesies and ranks, ancient underwear was a private room for women to pursue their individuality. Whether well-bred women in rich families or girls of a humble birth, they all tried hard to distinguish themselves through underwear.



Ingenious designs
Ancient women's underwear visually adjusted the body shape through form designing. Whether it was square-shaped, diamond-shaped, triangular-shaped, a semi-circle or modeled after nature, underwear in different forms resulted in different visual impressions, while revealing ingenuous creativity at the same time.
From the overall design to the detailed ornaments, ancient underwear also reflected the trends and beliefs of the time, which gives these articles a deep historical essence. According to the style and structure, there were two types of underwear: double-pieced to cover both chest and back, and single-pieced to cover chest only. The most distinguishable design might come from where the lace is placed: the shoulders, the oxter, or behind the neck. Some didn't even have laces.

Chinese intangible culutre heritage Guoxue

Guoxue, of course, is the study of traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucianism. In much of the past century, it was the target of relentless criticism, something to be thrown out, bath water, baby and all. Now, it is dangerously close to being overhyped as the panacea for all social ills.
Just this week, a principal of a painting and calligraphy school in the Central China city of Zhengzhou knelt down in piety while handing out 5,000 free copies of a Confucianist booklet that is the equivalent of "Dos and Don'ts for Students".
In my mind, people like him are not showing respect for our cultural heritage, but making a travesty of it.
I understand why people of previous generations went to extreme lengths to trash Guoxue. They needed to get rid of Guoxue's constraints that had bound us for thousands of years. The country was in dire need of an injection of fresh air and new thinking. In a time of peace and prosperity like ours, we should not be cynical about Guoxue, but appreciate it for all the wealth and beauty of civilization it embodies. Our education should include mandatory teaching of a sampling of the Guoxue classics.
But, as they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Some who are recently exposed to Guoxue tend to place it on a pedestal that even normal criticism and academic analysis is seen as heresy. In essence, they want to revert to the old days when Guoxue was a force of suppression rather than a source of inspiration.
Many people get their Guoxue inklings from such channels as CCTV's Lecture Room, where eloquent speakers like Yu Dan offered a chicken-soup-for-the-soul interpretation. There is nothing wrong with this populist methodology, but hers is far from a definitive account. Instead, it is more an appetizer that should lead to a feast of the main entre, which is the original work with its complexities and subtleties that her feel-good preaching could not possibly incorporate.
This is like claiming McDonald's and KFC are the greatest American food, or Hollywood is the representative of American culture. This line of reasoning leads to the boom of rebuilding old architecture while the real thing is happily destroyed to make way for more development.
Many want the facade of reverence with the soothing spirituality and regained self-esteem. They are not unlike the proverbial Ye Gong, who prays for a dragon all his life, but when the dragon descends, would flee in panic. People who revere Guoxue as God Almighty do not really understand how civilizations evolve. They believe it is this rigid thing that must be crammed down the throat of youngsters and never accommodate their questions. Most traditional style schools (si shu) that have sprung up in recent years resort to this gorging-without-digesting approach.
Think of it, the turmoil in the past century kept many Chinese untethered from the rich heritage of our culture. Now some would use scrapes of it as a paper-weight and a refuge, so that they have a sense of belonging to something great, not something to be pounded by a newer, more aggressive culture. It has become a defense mechanism, so to speak, against uncertainties of the ever globalizing world.

The purists reject any outside influence, oblivious that many of what they consider authentically Chinese, such as the traditional musical instrument erhu, were originally imported. They want to crown the Han-style costume as the national standard, not realizing those who conquered and ruled central China have long been part of the big family of China's multiple ethnicities, therefore their way of dressing just as authentic Chinese as the Han's.
What the Guoxue fundamentalists have ignored is something preached by Confucius - understanding and tolerance.

The Xiang Opera

China intangible culture Heritage

Hunan Province is also known as 'Xiang'. . The Xiang Opera, a major local opera in Hunan Province, formed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is popular in parts of Hunan and Guangdong rovinces in southern China. The opera was based in the capital Changsha and in Xiangtan, hence the name Changsha Xiang Opera.
Kunqu Opera is one of the oldest forms of opera that still exists in China, with origins dating back to the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). It is distinguished by the virtuosity of its rhythmic patterns (called changqiang) and has exerted a dominant influence on all the more recent forms of opera in China, including Sichuan and Beijing operas.