History and Development
Some 6,000 to 7,000 years ago when China was in the Neolithic period, the Chinese people began to practice the art of painting on pottery vessels. Large number of pottery utensils with painted designs of birds, fish, animals, rivers and mountains reflect the hunting and gathering as well as fishing activities of the time with much liveliness and imagination. Neolithic is distinctive and expressive. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), extravagant burial was very popular. The concept of “living again after death” dominated the minds of many people. They engraved on the tombs wall whatever they used, loved and respected during their lifetime, so that they could still enjoy them in their afterlife. The matter of those Han dynasty's relievo originated from the real life, such as plowing, hunting, music and dance and the daily life of the noble. Before paper was invented, the art of silk painting had been developing. The earliest silk painting was excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb in central China of the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). Silk painting reached its artistic peak in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD25).Following the introduction of Buddhism to China during the first century from India, and the carvings on grottoes and temple building that ensued, the art of painting religious murals gradually gained prominence.
During the Wei (220-265), Jin (265-420) and Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) periods, the concept of art of its own intrinsic beauty gradually developed. To a certain degree, figure painting of this period tends to be unbridled and assertive. Under the influence of Taoism and Confucianism, artists turned their attention to the description of landscape in painting. Great painter of this period was Gu Kaizhi. He was the first to advocate the idea that in creating a painting, what matters most is the reproduction of feeling.
Subject matter in painting expanded during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. Figure paintings at this time flourished and reached one of its high points in the history of Chinese painting. Wu Daozi is one of the most famous artists, who specialized in figure paintings. Outstanding examples of figure painting are the large number of murals discovered in the tombs of Prince Yi De, Prince Zhang Huai and Princess Yong Tai.
The shift of interest from man to nature had already begun in the 9th century. During the late Tang and Five Dynasties (907-960) periods, bird, flower and animal painting also developed to an unprecedented level of excellence. In the Sung dynasty (960–1279) landscape painting reached its greatest expression. A vast yet orderly scheme of nature was conceived, reflecting contemporary Taoist and Confucian views. During the Sung dynasty the monumental detail began to emerge. A single bamboo shoot, flower, or bird provided the subject for a painting.
With the ascendance of the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368) painting reached a new level of achievement, and under Mongol rule many aspects cultivated in Sung art were brought to culmination. The surface of the paintings, especially the style and variety of brushstrokes, became important. Still-life compositions came into greater prominence, especially bamboo painting. During this time, much painting was produced by the literati, gentlemen scholars who painted for their own enjoyment and self-improvement. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) the "Four Great Painters" -- Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan, Wei Zhen and Wang Meng -- represented the highest level of landscape painting. Their works immensely influenced landscape painting of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Yang Zhou was home to the "Eight Eccentrics" - the eight painters all with strong characters, proud and aloof, who refused to follow orthodoxy in the mid of the Qing Dynasty.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Shanghai gave birth to the Shanghai Painting School. Following the spirit of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, the Shanghai School played a vital role in the transition of Chinese traditional painting from a classical art form to a modern one. The May 4th Movement of 1919, or the New Culture Movement, inspired the Chinese to learn from western art and introduce it to China. Many outstanding painters, led by Xu Beihong, emerged, whose paintings recognized a perfect merging of the merits of both Chinese and Western styles, absorbing western classicism, romanticism and impressionism.
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