Chinese art - More than Ming vases

Chinese art is a domain that astounds, not only by its beauty and uniqueness, but also by its scope. A person who wishes to learn about Chinese art, its evolution and its most remarkable examples, has to devote hours upon hours to research -- or as Dr. Craig Clunas from the University of London suggests -- intensify the learning experience by traveling to China to get a first hand feel of the country's artistic atmosphere -- past and present.

One of the clichés associated with Chinese art is that its most precious and notable specimens are the Ming vases, dating from the era of the dynasty by the same name, which ruled the Empire of the Great Ming, as China was then known, from1368 to 1644. This is a false notion that Clunas wants to eradicate from people's minds. He is keen to emphasize that the evolution of Chinese art has been, as still is, a continuous process, which is not divisible into separate eras that could be clearly defined as having been marked by certain art styles or techniques. Clunas points out that the Chinese have dedicated a huge part of their literature to the study of art in their own country. He also goes on to name Oswald Siren as one of the foremost European experts on the topic.

"The Ming Dynasty is a period marked by great development in the ceramics industry and a lot of vases were made during that time. But why has the Ming vase has come to stand for something that is so rare and precious and breakable, rather than a vase from another period? It may have A Westerner, as seen by an artist from the era of imperial China (Image: Radio86)something to do with the name Ming, which is easy to pronounce in just about any European language. The Ming Dynasty also marked the period when Europe and China first really encountered one another. In the 16th century, Europeans begin to trade seriously with China and write things about China. Merchants, traders and missionaries are the first Europeans to travel to China in larger numbers. In a sense, for European culture, the Ming Dynasty stands for what China is really like, because that is what China was like when Europeans first started having contact with it. It makes it the moment of Chinese culture that everyone knows about. It is undeniably an important period because it is the beginning of the modern world and of global trade," Clunas analyzes.

Differences in Chinese and European mentalities

Clunas stresses that the Chinese people themselves do not necessarily view the Ming Dynasty as the one and only Golden Age in the development of their arts, but it just happens to be the era that every European knows because everyone has heard of Ming vases.

The development of Chinese art forms and styles cannot easily be summarized into a few lines, but in order to make a rough outline of the developments that have marked the past one thousand years, Clunas says that the Tang Dynasty can be described as an age of Buddhism and of opening up to the outside influences, the Song Dynasty was characterized by a rise of calligraphy and certain kinds of poetry, the Ming Dynasty was the great age of the novel and fiction, and the rise of the illustrated book and printing. The Qing Dynasty of the 18th century is remembered as a major era of great Chinese prosperity and power.

Ming vases in the Capital Museum in Beijing (Image: Radio86)Historically, art in China was something reserved only for the members of the elite, which has applied to cultural products all around the world. "China's imperial courts were great centers of artistic and cultural production, but they were by no means the only ones," Clunas says. Turning to the issue of who were considered great artists in imperial China, Clunas brings up a difference in the mentality of Chinese versus Europeans. "One of the distinctive features of Chinese art is that many of the most highly regarded practitioners of the arts of calligraphy and painting are technically amateurs. In the past, calligraphy was the most highly regarded art form. Many of its leading practitioners are gentlemen from the upper classes who own land, and their sustenance comes from owning land, but they are also cultural producers."

"Over the last 1000 years, the more highly regarded art is produced by amateurs. That is different from the European situation, where amateurs are not considered to be serious artists. In China, prior to this century, there has been the strong idea that a quality artist is someone who does something else as well. They are officials or simply wealthy people who do it as a cultural pursuit. Someone who produces art professionally is less considered less principled than someone who does it without expecting to receive a monetary reward for it. Of course the situation is never as simple as that, but the amateur ideal is a very strong one in China."

Contemporary art scene

Chinese contemporary art has been immensely successful internationally, so a lot of foreign money has flooded into it, Clunas says. "Many galleries in major cities are owned or bankrolled by investors and collectors from outside China. There is also a rising trend in major private collecting in China and in establishing private museums or art galleries." According to Clunas, Chinese contemporary art is characterized by a wide range of themes ranging from the traditional to political statements to addressing the physicality of human life. When asked to name some of China's biggest contemporary artists, Clunas immediately brings up Xu Bing, Huang Yongping and Cai Guo-Qiang.

Art fraud and theft have plagued all civilizations that have produced significant cultural objects, and China is not an exception. "As the art market in China gets larger, the question of forgery gets larger as well -- in the case of both, old art and contemporary art. In the art market internationally, issues of authenticity are very prominent. There is a strong incentive to manufacture things that are not quite what they seem. Since the 19th century, a lot of Chinese art has left China and archaeological material continues to leave China through illegal excavation and illegal export of objects from China -- both of which continue to a problem."

For those interested in learning about Chinese art, Clunas recommends visiting some of the museums outside of China exhibiting great collections of Chinese art, but points out that it is now easier than ever before to travel to China and see the cultural products of this ancient and unique culture in their natural setting.