Art in China

by Craig Clunas

China boasts a history of art stretching over 5,000 years and embracing a vast array of forms--objects of jade, lacquer and porcelain, painted scrolls and fans, sculptures in stone, bronze and wood, and murals. With more than 130 halftone illustrations, including almost eighty in full color, this new edition of Art in China presents the finest one-volume introduction to all forms of Chinese art. The book examines Chinese art in a variety of contexts--as it has been designed for tombs, commissioned by rulers, displayed in temples, created by the men and women of the educated elite, and bought and sold in the marketplace. Drawing on recent innovative scholarship--and newly accessible studies in China itself--Craig Clunas surveys the full spectrum of the visual arts. This updated edition contains expanded coverage of modern and contemporary art, from the fall of the empire in 1911 to the contemporary video art scene.

Genres: Art, China, History, Nonfiction, Art History, Art Design, Reference

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[v · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can find it used for cheap like I did, the Oxford History of Art's Art in China is easy to recommend as a solid beginner's survey. Craig Clunas includes an enormous further reading section, useful maps and tables, and, of course, full-color reproductions that tie the package together. Clunas' approach, generally speaking, is an analysis of art as material culture, and the book's arrangement into chapters on spheres of artistic production and consumption (the temple, the court, the market-place, etc.) is effective and demonstrates, among other things, how an aesthetic appreciation of art objects emerged in China as well as theories of representation and subject matter. Architecture is excluded entirely, which is understandable but unfortunate. I feel, though, that intro art books like this can show and teach the reader a lot but articulate very little about what makes art powerful even when you're looking at little pictures of the most astonishing creations that one of the world's great civilizations has to offer.

The surviving [calligraphic] pieces attributed to Wang Xizhi include the small change of elite social intercourse: comments on the weather, and a note dashed off to accompany a gift of oranges, as well as longer Daoist religious texts and prose pieces commemorating social gatherings. But their very personal nature was felt in later centuries to bring the viewer and the writer closer, and it was this ideal of 'communion of spirit' with a past figure which lay at the heart of calligraphic practice.

[Stephanie Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads too much like a museum guide.

[Natalie Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to jog my memory about the Chinese art historical timeline. I appreciate Clunas' way of dividing the book into sections that revolve around the arts' purpose of creation. For a survey class, I think this book is very effective in helping students understand the environment that stimulated various forms of art and craft, as opposed to a long, wieldy chronological timeline based on dynasties. For the complete novice or student that's taking a Chinese art history course simply to fulfill a GE, sometimes the syntax in this book comes off as overly erudite, which can make for a more difficult read.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A survey of Chinese art, mostly pictorial, extending up to the early 2000s, it has decent illustrations and serves as a good introduction to the topic.

[Monica St. Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

fifty two book club 2022: read a book involving the art world

[Dylan Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and broad study of Chinese art from the Stone Age to the Contemporary . My one criticism would be while great in detail, its limited number pages made me long for more .

[Ana Basualdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

No lo leí completo

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and interesting overview of Chines art from prehistory to the modern day. Highly accessible for all types of readers, and written in a lively manner.

[Stamen Parushev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book