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From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality

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From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality Schmucker Art Catalogs Schmucker Art Gallery Spring 2021 From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality Sam Arkin Gettysburg College Georgia E. Benz Gettysburg College Allie N. Beronilla Gettysburg College Hailey L. Dedrick Gettysburg College Sophia Gravenstein Gettysburg College FSeeollow next this page and for additional additional works authors at: https:/ /cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs Part of the Art and Design Commons, Asian Art and Architecture Commons, and the Chinese Studies Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Recommended Citation Arkin, Sam; Benz, Georgia E.; Beronilla, Allie N.; Dedrick, Hailey L.; Gravenstein, Sophia; Gubernick, Alyssa G.; Hobbs, Elizabeth C.; Johnson, Jennifer R.; Lashendock, Emily; Morgan, Georgia P.; Oross, Amanda J.; Sullivan, Deirdre; Sullivan, Margaret G.; Turner, Hannah C.; Winick, Lyndsey J.; and Sun, Yan, "From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality" (2021). Schmucker Art Catalogs. 36. https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/36 This open access art catalog is brought to you by The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The Cupola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality Description The Yellow Springs is a vivid metaphorical reference to the final destination of a mortal being and the dwelling place of a departed one in ancient China. In the writings of philosophers, historians, and poets during the long period of Chinese history, the Yellow Springs is not only considered as an underground physical locus where a grave is situated, but also an emotionally charged space invoke grieving, longing, and memory for the departed loved ones.The subterranean dwelling at the Yellow Springs is both a destination for a departed mortal being and an intermediary place to an ideal and imaginative realm, the land of immortality where the soul would enjoy eternity. From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality is an exhibition that highlights sixteen carefully selected artworks from Gettysburg College’s Special Collections; each object embodies the perceptions and ritual practices of the rich funerary culture in the historical period in China, ranging from the late second millennium BCE to the beginning of the early twentieth century. These artifacts represent various artistic traditions and fabrication techniques — including jade carving, bronze casting, glazed pottery making — and most importantly, offer a glimpse of how art and artifacts are employed as a means to connect the living with the soul of the departed one in the Yellow Springs. Archaeo- logical discoveries in the past four decades in China have provided rich information that helps contextualize the sixteen artworks, as well as intimate knowledge about how the objects might “perform” in the life and afterlife of the individuals in the past. The practice of burying goods alongside departed loved ones has had a long tradition in China. The artworks included in this exhibition catalogue, encompassing the major dynasties in Chinese history, epitomize such a practice from a historical point of view. The bronze jue of the Shang dynasty (mid-16th c.-1046 BCE), and the miniature bell, a replica of yong bronze bell of the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 BCE), are not only ceremonial paraphernalia used by elites in ancestral sacrifices during the Bronze Age, but also material manifestations of ritual and music, the very foundations of ancient Chinese civilization. Comparable examples found in Bronze Age tombs illustrate the idea to connect the deceased, often the owner of these ritual objects, to the ancestors in the netherworld as they themselves were transitioned into the role of ancestors through a series of funerary ceremonies. [excerpt] Keywords Yellow Springs, Death, Mourning, Funerary, Ancient China, Jade, Artwork, Gettysburg College Disciplines Art and Design | Asian Art and Architecture | Chinese Studies | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Publisher Schmucker Art Gallery, Gettysburg College Comments From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality was on exhibition at the Schmucker Art Gallery at Gettysburg College February 5th - March 6, 2021. Authors Sam Arkin, Georgia E. Benz, Allie N. Beronilla, Hailey L. Dedrick, Sophia Gravenstein, Alyssa G. Gubernick, Elizabeth C. Hobbs, Jennifer R. Johnson, Emily Lashendock, Georgia P. Morgan, Amanda J. Oross, Deirdre Sullivan, Margaret G. Sullivan, Hannah C. Turner, Lyndsey J. Winick, and Yan Sun This art catalog is available at The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ artcatalogs/36 FROM THE YELLOW SPRINGS TO THE LAND OF IMMORTALITY FROM THE YELLOW SPRINGS TO THE LAND OF IMMORTALITY CURATED BY SAMUAL M. ARKIN GEORGIA E. BENZ ALLIE N. BERONILLA HAILEY L. DEDRICK SOPHIA GRAVENSTEIN ALYSSA G. GUBERNICK ELIZABETH CARLY HOBBS JENNIFER R. JOHNSON EMILY LASHENDOCK GEORGIA P. MORGAN AMANDA J. OROSS DEIRDRE SULLIVAN MAGGIE G. SULLIVAN HANNAH C. TURNER LYNDSEY J. WINICK UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PROFESSOR YAN SUN, PhD Exhibition Plan: Yan Sun, Shannon Egan, Carolyn Sautter Collection Research Support: Carolyn Sautter, Catherine Perry, Karen Drickamer Research Library Support: Meggan Smith Exhibition Design and Installation: Shannon Egan, Sydney Gush ’17 Photography: Creekside Digital Graphic Design: Ayumi Yasuda From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality February 5 – March 6, 2021 © Schmucker Art Gallery, Gettysburg College COVER (TOP RIGHT): Jade horse, Tang dynasty, c. 700 CE, jade, (h) 5.1 cm, (w) 4.2 cm (BOTTOM RIGHT) Small neckless water pot, Tang dynasty, 618-906 CE, pottery, tricolor (sancai) glaze, (h) 6.2 cm, (dia.) 7.9 cm (LEFT) Jue (libation cup), 19th-century reproduction in the style of the Shang Dynasty (1700-1050 BCE), bronze, (h) 19.5, (w) 17.8 cm Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library Gift of Dr. Frank Kramer, class of 1914, Professor of Education BACK COVER: Scene of celebration in a pavilion (detail), Original carving by Wei Gai, Eastern Han Dynasty, ca. 147–151 C.E., ink rubbing of a stone relief, (h) 75 cm, (w) 146 cm Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library Gift of Chester N. Frazier To Karen Drickamer with respect and gratitude 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS SAMUAL M. ARKIN 10 Miniature yong bronze bell GEORGIA E. BENZ 12 Xiwangmu (Queen Mother of the West) with bird ALLIE N. BERONILLA 14 Small dish with an outward-turning mouth rim & Small spoon HAILEY L. DEDRICK 16 Cicada with dark markings SOPHIA GRAVENSTEIN 18 White jade belt clasp with openwork archaic dragons 20 ALYSSA G. GUBERNICK Cong tube 22 ELIZABETH CARLY HOBBS Green jade ge blade & Yue axe-head pendant 24 JENNIFER R. JOHNSON Male attendant tomb figurine 26 EMILY LASHENDOCK Jade horse 28 GEORGIA P. MORGAN Bi disc with rows of gu ding wen (small bumps) 30 AMANDA J. OROSS Jue (libation cup) 32 DEIRDRE SULLIVAN Scene of celebration in a pavilion 34 MAGGIE G. SULLIVAN Wellhead 36 HANNAH C. TURNER Small neckless water pot 38 LYNDSEY J. WINICK Jade sash garment hook 5 6 he Yellow Springs is a vivid metaphorical reference to the final destination of a mortal being and the dwelling place of a departed one in ancient China. In the writings of T philosophers, historians, and poets during the long period of Chinese history, the Yellow Springs is not only considered as an underground physical locus where a grave is situated, but also an emotionally charged space invoke grieving, longing, and memory for the departed loved ones.1 The subterranean dwelling at the Yellow Springs is both a destination for a departed mortal being and an intermediary place to an ideal and imaginative realm, the land of immortality where the soul would enjoy eternity. From the Yellow Springs to the Land of Immortality is an exhibition that highlights sixteen carefully selected artworks from Gettysburg College’s Special Collections; each object embodies the perceptions and ritual practices of the rich funerary culture in the historical period in China, ranging from the late second millennium BCE to the beginning of the early twentieth century. These artifacts represent various artistic traditions and fabrication techniques — including jade carving, bronze casting, glazed pottery making — and most importantly, offer a glimpse of how art and artifacts are employed as a means to connect the living with the soul of the departed one in the Yellow Springs. Archaeo- logical discoveries in the past four decades in China have provided rich information that helps contextualize the sixteen artworks, as well as intimate knowledge about how the objects might “perform” in the life and afterlife of the individuals in the past. The practice of burying goods alongside departed loved ones has had a long tradition in China. The artworks included in this exhibition catalogue, encompassing the major dynasties in Chinese history, epitomize such a practice from a historical point of view. The bronze jue of the Shang dynasty (mid-16th c.-1046 BCE), and the miniature bell, a replica of yong bronze bell of the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 BCE), are not only ceremonial paraphernalia used by elites in ancestral sacrifices during the Bronze Age, but also material manifestations of ritual and music, the very foundations of ancient Chinese civilization. Comparable examples found in Bronze Age tombs illustrate the idea to connect the deceased, often the owner of these ritual objects, to the ancestors in the netherworld as they themselves
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