Art History
370/East Asian 355: Arts of China
Study Sheet
#11: The Ming Dynasty
Map marking ancient sites, modern cities and provinces
CHRONOLOGY AND HISTORY:
- The Mongols were driven
out of China in 1367 and native rule under the Ming dynasty officially began
in early 1368, under the Hongwu emperor,
who made his capital at Nanjing. Despite the resumption of bureaucratic administration,
the emperor wielded near-absolute power (a legacy of the Mongol era), and
scholar-officials enjoyed less independence and authority than under the Song.
In 1421, during the reign of the Yongle emperor (a usurper), the capital was
moved from Nanjing to Beijing. The Yangzi Delta region
became increasingly populous and prosperous in the 16th century as a commercial
economy developed.
- Following a familiar
pattern, the later Ming emperors were increasingly ineffective or inattentive,
and the government became virtually paralyzed by factionalism and corruption.
The 17th century saw numerous natural disasters and increasing social chaos.
In 1644 rebels occupied Beijing, leading the emperor to kill himself; then
the Manchus invaded China from the north and took control.
- European traders and
missionaries were active in China from the late 16th century onward.
ART & CULTURE:
- Development of a highly
estheticized "scholar's culture" of the educated and cultivated
elite (many of whom never sought office), revolving around such activities
as poetry and prose composition, art-collection & connoisseurship, painting
& calligraphy, garden design, and social gatherings to practice these
arts.
Monochrome and color woodblock-printing also developed to
high degree, particularly in the flourishing cities of the 16th century.
Painting:
- Court painters and other
professionals typically worked in revivals of Song academic styles, producing
works often intended for public display; while scholar-amateur painters took
the brush-idioms of the Late Yuan masters as their
point of departure and created works intended for more private or intimate
viewing conditions.
- Dong
Qichang formulated the theory of "Northern & Southern Schools".
- Artists:
- Court artists:
- Bian Wenjin
- The Xuande Emperor
- Other professionals:
- Scholar-amateurs:
Ceramics:
- Jingdezhen
was the imperial kiln, producing porcelain for the palace under the supervision
of a palace official. The products were decorated by incising, painting in
underglaze blue and/or overglaze
enamels, or combinations of these techniques. Starting under the Xuande
emperor (r. 1426-1435), reign-marks become customary.
Ceramics from various
kilns continue to be exported far and wide, and increasingly to Europe in
the 16th-17th centuries.
Other decorative arts:
- Many craft traditions
flourished under palace patronage until the late Ming, when urban consumer
demand became more significant.
Architecture:
