MING DYNASTY DAY 2 Unit 4: East Asia ART PAINTING

Extremely popular in Yuan dynasty (Mongols) Techniques mastered during Ming Most paintings focused on the natural world Landscape paintings became more detailed; style called shan shui Realism is not the goal All shan shui paintings contain a path, threshold, and heart Philosophical in nature  “When Chinese paintings work on shan shui painting, they do not try to present an image of what they have seen in nature, but what they have thought about nature.”

PORCELAIN

Porcelain was one of Ming China’s most profitable exports and was in high demand Status symbol for the European upper-class, especially in Britain Ming Chinese tailored porcelain production to stay in line with European tastes Pure white, and white and blue porcelain most popular

SILK

DRAMA

Hongwu emperor was extremely critical of literature and theatre, executing authors and playwrights he believed were using their work to criticize him Early Ming plays were heavily censored, and only certain styles were allowed  The early styles allowed by the Chinese censors became the popular and dominant style for much of the Ming period Ming plays were influenced by the southern regions; style called kunqu  Long, sustained notes  Elaborate dress and costumes  Acting technique was demanding, combining delicate singing with constant dance-like movements  Actresses were well-educated and trained in many different arts  Kunqu began to fall out of favor in the 1800s as the plays became longer, meaning commoners could not afford the investment of time required to attend MUSIC PIPA

Four-stringed, pear-shaped musical instrument Has been in use since the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) During the Ming dynasty, the pipa was seen as a sophisticated instrument Used in operas Wealthy often owned luxury pipas; hired pipa players to listen to

GUZHENG

21-stringed instrument that lays horizontally In use since ~500 BCE Was the most commonly played instrument in China for most of its history During the Ming dynasty, its popularity led to its reputation among the wealthy as a peasant instrument Many Ming operas use the guzheng sparingly, preferring the pipa

HUQIN

Huqin is a family of bowed string instruments including the erhu and jinghu Erhu: A two-stringed bowed instrument, sometimes called the Chinese violin  Like the pipa, the erhu has been in use since the Han  Was not hugely popular during the Ming dynasty, but was still used for opera composition  Erhu is the primary instrument used in Beijing opera in the modern day  One of the most popular instruments in modern China Jinghu: Smaller, higher-pitched version of the erhu  In modern opera, the jinghu is used to double a singer’s voice

LITERATURE JOURNEY TO THE WEST

One of China’s greatest novels, written in the Ming dynasty  ~2,000 pages long  Among the most influential Chinese literary works, even in the West Story follows a Buddhist monk on a journey to deliver sacred scrolls from Buddha to China  He is accompanied by four disciples, the most famous of which being Sun Wukong  Allegory for enlightenment Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, was born from stone and had supernatural powers  Super strength; later acquires a staff from the dragon king that weighs 17,550 lbs  Super speed and flight; flies by riding a cloud and can travel 13,468 miles in one leap  Quadruple immortality  Shapeshifting abilities (tail does not disappear)