Monumentality in Early Chinese Art and Architecture

by Wu Hung

Chinese decorative, pictorial, and architectural forms, often approached as separate traditions, are here explained as a broad artistic movement and contextualized as part of a well-defined cultural and political tradition. The book begins with the first comprehensive explanation of "ritual art." This native genre encompasses ceremonial pottery, jades, and bronzes, which, though often small and hidden, manifest a unique sense of the monumental. The author traces the decline of this archaic tradition and the corresponding rise of palatial and funerary monuments against the background of China's transition from a network of principalities to a unified political state.
He portrays the continual reinvention of the city in China as he analyzes the history of the Western Han capital, Chang'an, and brings to life the individual motives of builder, mourner, and deceased in discussing the unprecedented construction and decoration of mortuary monuments during the Eastern Han. The book concludes by reexamining what is arguably the most important event in Chinese art the appearance of individual artists during the post-Han period and their transformation of public monumental art into a private idiom.

376 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1995

Reviews

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good archaeological references with images and well researched text. Slightly old but still relevant.

[Zexas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intro probably is the best chapter. But in general a good discussion on monumentality. It's a little bit old now (in terms of theoretical framework) but worth reading.

[Kaidi Pan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introductory material to Chinese art history.