(描绘北宋汴京的清明上河图) 5 min read Along the River during the Qingming Festival (清明上河图) is one of the most celebrated masterpieces of traditional Chinese painting. Created during the Northern Song dynasty (北宋) and presented to Emperor Huizong (宋徽宗) in the early 12th century, this monumental handscroll measures 25 × 529 cm. It presents a sweeping panorama […]
Along the River during the Qingming Festival Read More »
(山水画中的 “自然模仿艺术”) 4 min read In Chinese art, landscapes (shanshui, 山水, “mountain and water”) express the artist’s inner mind and cultivated spirit rather than literal depictions of specific places. They are valued not only for their beauty but also for their cultural and philosophical depth. The following masterpieces illustrate how landscape art shaped China’s
“Nature Imitates Art” in Chinese Landscape Read More »
(云冈石窟) 5 min read After meeting my good friend and travel companion at Beijing Railway Station, we set off for Datong in Shanxi Province (山西大同). There, we were awed by the Yungang Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its breathtaking grandeur. Carved into a sandstone cliff in the 5th century by the
Time Travel in Yungang Grottoes Read More »
(佛教艺术的宝库—敦煌) 5 min read From the 4th to the 14th centuries CE, the city of Dunhuang (敦煌), in northwest China, stood at a critical junction on the ancient Silk Road—a network of trade routes connecting China with Central and West Asia. To the east, the Silk Road led more than 1,500 kilometers to China’s
Dunhuang—the Crown Jewel of Buddhist Art Read More »
(年画的魅力) 3 min read One of the traditional practices for celebrating the Chinese New Year is decorating one’s home with New Year woodblock prints known as nianhua (年画). Blending folk art, popular belief, and cultural symbolism, nianhua has remained popular for more than a millennium and continues to be appreciated today. Symbolic motifs
The Charm of New Year Woodblock Paintings Read More »
(画里的秘密) 3 min read The painting Night Revelry of Han Xizai (韩熙载夜宴图) is set in the waning years of the Southern Tang dynasty (937–975), a time of political instability and impending crisis. It was commissioned by Li Yu (李煜, 937–978), ruler of the Southern Tang, who considered appointing Han Xizai (韩熙载) chancellor after ascending
The Painting with a Secret Plot Read More »
(魏晋墓砖画的生活写照) 4 min read In the vast desert 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Jiayuguan (嘉峪关)—which shares its name with the western terminus of the Great Wall—lies a complex of more than 1,400 underground tombs decorated with painted bricks from the Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晋), dating from the 3rd to the 5th
A Window into the Daily Life in the Wei-Jin Period Read More »
(永乐宫传世之宝) 4 min read Construction of the Yongle Palace (永乐宫), a Daoist temple (道观), started in 1247 during the early Yuan Dynasty to worship Lü Dongbin (吕洞宾, born 796), one of Daosim’s Eight Immortals (八仙). The construction, including the creation of the murals inside the temple, took a total of 110 years and the
Timeless Treasures of the Yongle Palace Read More »
(中国古代佛窟) 4 min read According to a national survey, China has 2,155 cave-temple sites, most of which are Buddhist, though some are Daoist. Buddhist cave art constitutes a major component of traditional Chinese sculpture and painting. The construction of these cave temples was not driven primarily by artistic self-expression, but by karma—the Buddhist belief
Ancient Cave Temples of China Read More »
