Sui Dynasty Chinese Art
Sui Dynasty clay camel, ca. 600-650 AD
In the Three Kingdoms period, Chinese artists had learned a lot about Indian and West Asian sculptural styles. Now in the Sui Dynasty, artists transformed what they had learned and mixed it with Chinese styles to create a new, unified, uniquely Chinese style in sculpture. And they used the same style all over China, as if to emphasize that all of China was again under one Emperor.
Sui Dynasty scene from one
of the earlier incarnations of the Buddha
(both Musee Guimet, Paris)
In painting, too, artists developed a more unified system of painting during the Sui Dynasty. They were especially interested in how to show that one thing was nearer than another, or farther away but larger.
Sui Dynasty cup (Musee Guimet, Paris)
This was also a time of developing pottery styles. In the Sui Dynasty, for the first time, we see recognizable beginnings of the great Chinese porcelain industry of the future (that's why we call it "china"!).
To find out more about Sui Dynasty art, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
The British Museum Book of Chinese Art, by Jessica Rawson and others (1996). Rawson is a curator at the British Museum, and she uses the collection of the British Museum to illustrate this book. Library Journal calls it "easily the best introductory overview of Chinese art to appear in years".
Art in China (Oxford History of Art Series), by Craig Clunas (1997). Not specifically for kids, but a good introduction to the spirit of Chinese art. Warning: this one is not arranged in chronological order. Instead, it has chapters on sculpture, calligraphy, and so on.
Why did people want to punch Socrates?
Where did Egyptians bury your liver?
How old are the Rocky Mountains?
What does a half-timbered house look like?
How do you spin wool?
(a project)
T'ang Dynasty art
Sui Dynasty China
Ancient China home
Kidipede home
