light, characteristics that no doubt account for the choice of gilded
bronze as the sculptor’s medium. In both style and iconography, this
early Buddha resembles the prototype conceived and developed at
Gandhara (FIG. 6-10). The Chinese figure recalls its presumed South
Asian models in the flat, relieflike handling of the robe’s heavy con-
centric folds, the ushnisha (cranial bump) on the head, and the cross-
legged position. So new were the icon and its meaning, however, that
the Chinese sculptor misrepresented the canonical dhyana mudra, or
meditation gesture (see “Buddhism and Buddhist Iconography,”
Chapter 6, page 161). Here, the Buddha clasps his hands across his
stomach. In South Asian art, they are turned palms upward, with
thumbs barely touching in front of the torso.
LADY FENG’S HEROISMSecular arts also flourished in the
Period of Disunity, as rulers sought calligraphers and painters to
lend prestige to their courts. The most famous early Chinese painter
with whom extant works can be associated was Gu Kaizhi(ca.
344–406). Gu was a friend of important members of the Eastern Jin
dynasty (317–420) and won renown as a calligrapher, a painter of
court portraits, and a pioneer of landscape painting. A handscroll
(see “Chinese Painting Materials and Formats,” above) attributed to
Gu Kaizhi in the 11th century is not actually by his hand, but it pro-
vides a good idea of the key elements of his art. Called Admonitions
of the Instructress to the Court Ladies,the horizontal scroll contains
painted scenes and accompanying explanatory text. Like all Chinese
handscrolls, this one was unrolled and read from right to left, with
only a small section exposed for viewing at one time.
The handscroll section illustrated here (FIG. 7-12) records a
well-known act of heroism, the Lady Feng saving her emperor’s life
by placing herself between him and an attacking bear—a perfect
model of Confucian behavior. As in many early Chinese paintings,
the artist set the figures against a blank background with only a min-
imal setting for the scene, although in other works Gu provided
landscape settings for his narratives. The figures’ poses and fluttering
drapery ribbons, in concert with individualized facial expressions,
convey a clear quality of animation. This style accords well with
painting ideals expressed in texts of the time, when representing in-
ner vitality and spirit took precedence over reproducing surface ap-
pearances (see “Xie He’s Six Canons,” page 191).7-11Shakyamuni Buddha, from Hebei Province, Later Zhao dynasty,
Period of Disunity, 338. Gilded bronze, 1 31 – 2 high. Asian Art Museum
of San Francisco, San Francisco (Avery Brundage Collection).
This earliest datable Chinese Buddha image is stylistically indebted to
Gandharan prototypes (FIG. 6-10), but the sculptor, unfamiliar with
Buddhist iconography, misrepresented the dhyana mudra.M
ural paintings in caves (FIG. 7-15) were popular in China,
as they were in South Asia (FIG. 6-15), but Chinese artists
also employed several distinctive materials and formats for their
paintings.
The basic requirements for paintings not on walls were the
same as for writing—a round tapered brush, soot-based ink, and
either silk or paper. The Chinese were masters of the brush. Some-
times Chinese painters used modulated lines for contours and inte-
rior details that elastically thicken and thin to convey depth and
mass. In other works, they used iron-wire lines (thin, unmodulated
lines with a suggestion of tensile strength) to define each individual
figure in their paintings.
Chinese painters also used richly colored minerals as pigments,
finely ground and suspended in a gluey medium, and watery washes
of mineral and vegetable dyes.The formats of Chinese paintings on silk or paper tend to be
personal and intimate, and they are usually best viewed by only one
or two people at a time. The most common types are
Hanging scrolls(FIGS. 7-1, 7-25,and 7-26). Chinese painters
often mounted pictures on, or painted directly on, unrolled ver-
tical scrolls for display on walls.
Handscrolls(FIGS. 7-12, 7-17,and 7-21). Paintings were also fre-
quently attached to or painted on long, narrow scrolls that the
viewer unrolled horizontally, section by section from right to left.
Album leaves(FIGS. 7-24and 27-14). Many Chinese artists
painted small panels on paper leaves, which were collected in
albums.
Fans (FIG. 27-13). Stiff round or arched folding fans were also
popular painting formats.Chinese Painting Materials and Formats
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES190 Chapter 7 CHINA AND KOREA TO 12791 in.