Introduction:
Art as a lens of history has often been discredited due to its seemingly frivolous nature and our society’s value in the arts. Yet when taking ancient Chinese art in review one sees the depth and wealth of information gleaned. The fashions of the different periods serve as an indicator of ancient China’s socio-political condition. Fashion serves as a subliminal, and effective medium of communication. While assessing the Tang dynasty, there was much growth in women’s fashion, from clothing, textiles, make-up trends, and hairstyles. The growth of self-expression indicates the rulership (introduction of Buddhist beliefs and the reign of Empress Wu Zetian). Similarly, the Dunhuang Caves provide rich information on not only the silk road trades, but the cultures, beliefs, and different peoples who interacted. The Yuan dynasty came under the rule of Kublai Khan and as such, the art of this period reflects Mongol culture and its integration.
Outline:
- Tang fashion: fashion as a means of communicating and representing societal values/morals and providing context
- Chen, Buyun. 2019. Empire of Style : Silk and Fashion in Tang China. Seattle: University of Washington Press. INSERT-MISSING-URL.
- Dunhuang caves: diversity of chinese art
- Unique intersection of cultures, ethnicities, and religious beliefs/practices
- While the Tang Dynasty as a whole shows this manifestation in their fashion and art– it is most prominent and obvious in the Dunhuang caves due to it’s positionality within the silk road trade route.
- Buddhism, introduction of other cultures and how it is integrated into Chinese art
- Whitfield, Roderick, Neville Agnew, Susan Whitfield, and Neville Agnew. 2000. Cave Temples of Mogao : Art and History on the Silk Road. Conservation and Cultural Heritage. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Getty Museum.
- https://muhlenberg.on.worldcat.org/search/detail/44270411?queryString=dunhuang%20caves&databaseList=638%2C1708&clusterResults=true&groupVariantRecords=false&stickyFacetsChecked=true&baseScope=&sortKey=LIBRARY&scope=
- The transition from Tang dynasty→ Song, and the conquering/transitional period into the Yuan dynasty
- Change in art, fashion, etc.
- Yuan dynasty: Kublai Khan, how major political and social changes impact art. Change of the ruling head and how this is manifested in art.
- Introduction of Mongolian fashions (Queen Chabi, court ladies, and their clothing)
- Watt, James C. Y, Maxwell K Hearn, Maxwell K Hearn, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), and Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). 2010. The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- https://muhlenberg.on.worldcat.org/search/detail/606786260?queryString=chinese%20art&databaseList=638%2C1708&clusterResults=true&groupVariantRecords=false&stickyFacetsChecked=true&baseScope=&sortKey=LIBRARY&scope=
