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Home , Emperor of China, Fu Sheng (Former Qin), Fu Sheng (scholar), Inkstick, Jin (Korean surname), Liang (realm)

China_008-061 10/15/08 9:58 AM Page 8

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Qin Shi Huangdi Si Wudi Cao Taizong Xuanzang Zetian Huizong Su Shi Xi Hongwu Yongle

Head with green flesh tones, , terracotta, lacquer, pigment, Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Lintong. China_008-061 10/15/08 9:58 AM Page 10

Qin Shi Huangdi

“He changed the calendar and chose as the color . . . and chose six as the basic number: seals and official hats measured tripods are among the most The earliest sources that tell of the all six inches, carts six feet” (Sima Qian) ancient ritual food vases; they Nine Legendary Tripods, cast were used for meat offerings in the during the mythical dynasty, royal tombs of the Shang epoch. date to the 6th–4th centuries BC. The tripods were said to have been handed on from dynasty to dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi symbols of the passage of political power and the right to rule.

In 221 BC, having defeated the six principal contenders for supreme First of power, the leader of the assumed the new ofShi Period Huangdi, “first august emperor,” and laid the basis for an empire Qin (221–206 BC) whose structure remained intact for more than two thousand years. To Reign increase the central power, the first emperor divided the country into 247–221 BC (reign thirty-six administrative units, the governors of which had to report to of Qin); 221–210 BC (emperor) central authorities and were supported in their tasks by generals in Family charge of military control. The laws of the individual kingdoms in or Qin force until then were replaced by a penal code destined to remain at the base of the Chinese judicial system until the threshold of the 20th cen- Zheng tury. Coins, weights, and measures, even the width of cart axles were Terms standardized; the writing forms in use were standardized, creating so- Small script (xiaozhuan) called small , making possible the codification of a unitary Related entries literary language for the empire. The first emperor undertook massive Li Si, Mandate of construction projects, building new roads and canals that eased the , Controlling movement of people and goods; existing fortresses were strengthened water, War, Great Wall, The quest for and connected to form a barrier along the northern border, the Great immortality, Xianyang Wall. Sumptuous and an immense mausoleum were built to preserve the imperial power The historian Sima Qian During the Han period it The scene depicts the moment (mid-2nd century BC) was said that Qin Shi in which the cables broke and for eternity. The lamented the loss of the Huangdi had sent thousands the men tumbled back. The enormous strain Nine Tripods and repeated of men to remove the image is thus symbolic of the legend according to tripods from the river, but at heaven’s disapproval of the Qin placed on the peo- which they had sunk in the the critical moment a government and thus legitimizes ple of China to pro- Si River near Pencheng150 had bitten through the the Han seizure of power. Ding tripod, Qin years before the unification cables, making them fall dynasty, from the pit vide the money and of the country by the Qin. back into the waves. with acrobats near the labor demanded by these tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi at Lintong, undertakings led to a gen- The Emperor Seeks the Tripods, bronze, 64 cm diam., eral insurrection and thus Chinese History Eastern , 2nd century Museum, . the end of the dynasty only a few years after AD, rubbing of a stone bas-relief, from the eastern wall of Room 2, the first emperor’s death. Wu Shrine, .

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Qin Shi Huangdi

As soon as he ascended the of The three enormous pits of the mausoleum, containing more Qin, in 246 BC, the first emperor had than seven thousand terracotta soldiers, are famous throughout work begin on his tomb at Mount Li, the world, but few know that the statues were all covered by a near the capital of Xianyang. The work natural lacquer that had been applied as an undercoat for the continued until 208 BC. layer of paint made using precious mineral pigments.

When the statues were removed from the moist soil, the layer of lacquer dried out and flaked off the surfaces, remaining The emperor arranged to stuck to the ground have himself surrounded by that had held them all the comforts that he for more than would require in the two millennia. afterlife; the two quadrigas would prove useful for the inspection trips he would take in the other world.

The horse trappings and Only in recent accessories for the carts are years, and with the decorated with inlaid gold and use of various silver. Both carts were covered chemical methods, by very thin bronze canopies. has it been possible to reattach the paint to the Carts, charioteers, and terracotta. The horses were all painted, archers were increasing the realistic restored in in effect of the quadrigas. 1999 using a procedure developed especially for the .

The two bronze single-shaft Archer, restored and carts, made to a scale of 1:2, are photographed in situ, Qin The two quadrigas as they perfectly working models that dynasty, Pit 2 of the mausoleum were found, in 1980, in the One of the quadrigas after reproduce the royal carriages of the first emperor, lacquered western area of the mausoleum its restoration, Museum of down to the smallest detail. and painted terracotta, Museum of the first emperor at Lintong, Qin Terracotta Warriors and of Qin Terracotta Warriors and , Qin dynasty. Horses, Lintong. Horses, Lintong.

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Li Si

“In the state of the intelligent ruler there is no . . . the relates The victims of this pyre of books that Li Si, promoter of a included not only the chronicles of law is the only teaching. There are no quoted sayings of the centralized state, urged the first feudal states but also Confucian early kings, the magistrates are the only instructors” (Han Fei) emperor to silence dissent by classics; only the chronicles of the means of a drastic measure: the Qin and scientific texts were spared. burning of books, an event that Li Si took place in 213 BC.

The intransigent politics of Qin Shi Huangdi received theoretical Prime minister of Qin support from the Legalist school, represented at court by Prime Shi Huangdi Minister Li Si. The oldest text related to this movement is the Period Book of Lord of Shang, the creator of which had served the Qin Qin (221–206 BC) king in the 4th century BC. The author of the principal Legalist Life BC During the years of circa 280–208 BC work, , was put to death in 233 by Li Si, following a court intrigue. In the ideal Legalist state, power is concentrated in persecution Terms Sheng had hidden a Legalism the hands of the ruler, who makes use of the “law,” inflexible and copy of the Classic (fajia, liter., “school equal for everyone with the exception of the ruler himself, and of of Documents of law”) inside the walls of Book of Lord Shang “methods,” deceptive tactics by which he maintains control of his home, and he (Shangjunshu) the state, manipulating human instincts. The Legalist state does spent the rest of his The Book of Master life, well into his Han Fei not recognize cultural differences and does not have room for nineties, teaching (Han Feizi) individual expression. This was also the ideological thinking its contents. Law (fa) Methods (shu) behind the standardization of weights and measurements and writing. Later Chinese historians credited Li Si for having created Related entries is seated Qin Shi Huangdi, the new uniform writing system, but also found fault with him cross-legged on a simple mat; on the Officials and literati, for persecuting literati and for destroying works of literature and Writing, low table in front history from earlier periods. Following the death of Qin Shi of him are the tools of a man of Huangdi, Li Si took part in the plot that brought the second letters: a pen and emperor to the throne. Later, he himself fell victim to a plot, an stone. On the floor near the shortly before the collapse of the Qin dynasty, which also marked mat is the famous the end of the supremacy of the Legalist school. book he managed to keep hidden. According to legend, in 212 BC, the year after the book burning, 460 Measurement unit Confucian scholars were buried alive with edict of the first for having defended their ideas. emperor, Qin dynasty, from Zhuguo, Zoucheng province, engraved clay, 20.5 cm diam., Shandong Provincial Museum, Portrait of Fu Sheng, Tang Shandong. dynasty, 9th century AD, ink and color on , 25.4 x 44.7 cm, Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka.

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Wudi

“We therefore direct the leaders of provinces and districts to examine officials and private citizens . . . for those able to become our generals, our ministers, our ambassadors” (Han emperor Wudi)

In 138 BC the Han General Zhang Qian The mission failed in its emperor Wudi sent was captured by the objective but was of Wudi Zhang Qian with a , and ten years fundamental importance hundred men on an passed before he to the Chinese embassy to the Yuezhi, succeeded in escaping government, which as a located in ancient Bactria and reaching the Yuezhi, result obtained its first The first of the Han dynasty had a conciliatory atti- in , to make only to find they had no eye-witness account of Emperor tude toward bordering peoples and lands, most of all the an alliance with them intention of becoming the populations of the against the powerful involved in a war with “western lands.” Period Xiongnu tribes of northern China; Wudi replaced this with an Xiongnu nomads. the Xiongnu. Western Han expansionist policy that, over the 54-year course of his reign, (206 BC–AD 8) fully doubled the size of China. In terms of domestic affairs, Reign 141–87 BC Wudi’s centralizing policies brought about a gradual decline in the local centers of power and weakened the power of merchants Family name Liu by way of the institution of state monopolies on the minting of Given name coins and the sale of salt, iron, and alcohol. China’s administra- Shizong tive units were divided into thirteen “regions,” regularly visited by inspectors directly subordinate to the central government. Emperor Wu Like his predecessors, Wudi was in constant search of educated Terms and competent officials; governors were instructed to call atten- Region (bu, then zhou) Imperial university tion to noteworthy people, who then had to take a national civil- () service examination in the capital. In 124 BC the emperor created The Five Classics (Wujing): the imperial university, where chosen candidates were given les- The Book of Changes sons in the Five Confucian Classics. These works, which col- (I Ching), Book of lected the essence of the traditions of the past, confirmed the Zhang Qian, having The implies that the true Documents (Shujing); dismounted his horse, goal of the mission was religious, but Book of Songs validity of the current social , most especially the imperial kneels before the not until the middle of the 1st century (Shijing); Record of institutions. Beginning with Wudi the empire’s cultural identity horseback emperor; AD, meaning almost two hundred Rites (Liji); and The between them, near years after the mission, do Chinese Spring and Autumn was founded on the principles of Confucianism, safeguarded by the center of the historical sources begin speaking of Annals (Chunqiu) the class of officials and literati. scene, is an any Buddhist involvement. inscription that Related entries explains the subject. Qin Shi Huangdi, Officials and literati, Confucianism, Commerce, Chang’an (Western Han), Mogao

Han Emperor Wudi Sends Zhang Qian to the Western Boar (?), Western Han Regions, , circa AD dynasty, 2nd century BC, 705–713, painting on the northern stone, 163 cm long, tomb of wall of Cave 323 at Mogao, General Huo Qubing, Xi’an. Dunhuang, .

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Wudi

“I have brought together the scattered fragments of ancient lore . . . I studied the events of history and set them down in significant order” (Sima Qian)

Dian was one of the kingdoms Despite influence from the located in the southwestern regions surrounding populations as well as of the empire that maintained their from the distant Han empire, the independence until the ascent of Dian had developed an autonomous Sima Qian Wudi to the throne of Han. and highly developed use of bronze.

The Records of the Grand Historianby Sima Qian relate the outlines Along with various types of weapons of the historical and cultural events of the ancients and do so in a real- Historian used most of all in istic and straightforward language often enlivened by dialog. The hunting and in wars Period against neighboring period covered begins with the semimythical days of the Yellow Western Han (206 BC–AD 8) The container was peoples, agricultural Emperor and ends at the period when the book was compiled, the tools have been made to hold the reign of the Han emperor Wudi. Sima Qian’s father handed on to him Life Dian unit of found along with circa 140–90 BC exchange, money- containers, musical his post as court astronomer-astrologer and also began collecting the Terms cowries. At the instruments, and material relating to the past that Sima Qian concluded by way of Records of the Grand center of the lid is a buckles. Historian gilt rider mounted careful research in the imperial archives as well as a long journey to (Shiji) on a small platform. track down witnesses. The work contributed to the further consolida- Virtue () tion of Confucian thought as the basis of political and social order Related entries This kind of wide- since it presented the historical evolution from the ethical and moral Wudi, Signs from the The ritual, musical, horned bovine with point of view of contemporary , Mandate of and warlike its muscular neck heaven, Officials and traditions of the area often appears ideology, which saw, for exam- literati, Confucianism Dian are known in the iconography ple, the succession of today through the of Dian art and is decorations related to religious as the inevitable result of the modeled on practices not yet absence of “virtue” with the containers; the understood. separate elements consequent loss of the right to were cast using the govern. The structure and “lost-wax” technique and were of the Records of the Grand then soldered to Historian, a result of the pri- the surface. vate initiative of one official, became exemplary for the offi- cial historiography of all later dynasties: after every dynastic change, the new government took upon itself the compila-

tion of a history of the preced- Container for money-cowries, Portrait of Sima Han dynasty, circa 150–50 BC, ing dynasty with the aim of Qian, , from Tomb 10 at Shizhaishan, learning from the past but also 17th century, ink and Jinning, partially gilt bronze, 50 color on silk, sine loco. cm high, Yunnan Provincial of legitimizing the present. Museum, Kunming.

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian was aware of the The stories, myths, and legends “Here is the wine! So let us sing, because life is as short as the importance of his work to evoked by Sima Qian became historiography. Although he had the source of inspiration for morning dew, and the past is so very sad” () to suffer the penalty of castration innumerable artists and artisans. for having interceded on behalf of a general who had fallen into disgrace, he kept working to bring his work to completion. Cao family

Around the end of the Western Han period the central govern- ment passed into the hands of the court eunuchs, while various Family of politicians military leaders vied for domination of the empire’s peripheral and poets zones. In AD 196, General Cao Cao, who controlled vast areas of Period End of the Eastern Han central-northern China, forced the Han emperor Xiandi to relo- (AD 9–220), beginning cate the capital to Xuchang () and then assumed all power of the period (AD 220–265) himself. In AD 200 Cao Cao defeated the soldiers of his principal rival, but his attempts to advance south of the River to Dates Cao Cao: AD 155–220, again unite the country under a single ruler were foiled, and he : AD 187–226, : AD 192–232 met final failure in AD 208, when his army was defeated by the combined forces of his two major opponents, the future Terms Jian’an style (Jian’an founders of the kingdoms of Shu (AD 221) and Wu (AD 229). fenggu) When he died, in AD 220, his son Cao Pi assumed the title of Related entries emperor of the dynasty, thus formally ending the four hun- Poetry, Novels, dred years of Han rule. Cao Cao and his sons Cao Pi and Cao Theater, Zhi were among the most highly regarded poets of the period, grouped together stylistically under the name of the last dynastic Sima Qian’s work is divided in five era of the Han, Jian’an (AD 196–220). The poetic art of the sections (annals, Jian’an style is chronological expressed in verses of tables, treatises, genealogies of five characters that noble , reflect the passage from biographies) in turn divided in earlier poetry based on 130 chapters. popular songs to the This arrangement learned poetry of the was followed by Square table with later historians. Sima Qian created some of the ideological premises that literati. It is poetry that scene of Cao Cao (see page 22), Ming have dominated Chinese often laments the pre- dynasty, 15th–16th historiography to today, first century, lacquered carious nature of life Reverse of a mirror decorated among them the idea of the wood with mother-of- with historiated scenes, Western Han cultural and political unity of and exalts wine for its pearl inserts, 52 cm dynasty, bronze, 18.6 cm diam., China from its very beginning. ability to provide high, Lee Family Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Collection, Tokyo. Institution, Washington, DC. moments of illusory joy.

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Cao family

During the period of disorder Warrior and strategist but also poet Cao Cao is one of the leading Historiography describes Cao Cao following the fall of the Han dynasty, and reformer, the figure of Cao Cao characters in the Romance of the as a brilliant strategist, but the powerful men quickly rose to power in has fascinated Chinese historians Three Kingdoms, attributed to the novel—and even more the various regions of China and struggled and literati, most of all beginning in man of letters Luo , and theatrical productions—present him to reunite the country, battling their the Song epoch. is also among the traditional as a cruel and suspicious tyrant, a rivals in large fratricidal battles. characters in the musical theater personification of evil. and opera of Beijing.

This incomplete example, today The novel, which tells of the preserved in Spain, is the only period of wars that followed the known version of this edition. fall of the Han dynasty in AD 220, The version on which Western reaches epic proportions; many The scene depicts Cao Cao, The balustrade with stone pillars translations are based dates to historical figures are endowed standing, offering defeated marks off the edge of the stone the early Qing period. with supernatural powers. general a splendid terrace that served as the base for , a famous sorrel horse, timber constructions. Top of the square table, Ming and brocaded clothing. dynasty, 15th–16th century, Double page from the Romance of lacquered wood with inserts in the Three Kingdoms, Ming dynasty, mother-of-pearl, 52 cm high, Lee Ye Fengchun edition, 1548, Real Family Collection, Tokyo. Biblioteca del Escorial, Madrid.

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Taizong

“Dynasties have always waxed and waned, but what deed of the Taizong’s cosmopolitan policies are also revealed by such kings of old could compare with the emperor of Tang returning measures as his official to life?” (Journey to the West) recognition, in AD 642, of the music from Central Asia. At Chang’an, ten orchestras were Taizong granted permission to perform.

Although he ascended the throne with a coup d’état, forcing his Emperor father, former military commander under the short Period and then founder of the Tang dynasty, to abdicate in his favor, Tang (AD 618–907) the second Tang emperor, Taizong, is described by Confucian Reign historiography as one of China’s most excellent rulers. A learned AD 626–649 man with a pragmatic approach to matters of general interest, Family name Taizong was open to criticism and new ideas. He strengthened Li the organization of the national exam system, and having under- Given name Shimin stood the value of history as a tool of moral education and polit- ical legitimization, he set up a Taizong historiography office charged Posthumous name with writing down histories of Emperor Wen preceding dynasties and mak- Terms ing records of current events. Historiography Office (shiguan) China’s growing economy was Equal-field system boosted by agrarian and fiscal (juntian) reforms that favored the well Related entries being of the common people Xuanzang, , Officials and literati, and permitted the large-scale Education and exams, expansion of the empire. With Confucianism, The bearded man is playing The two musicians, perhaps found Commerce, Chang’an the help of the military, the , a stringed instrument in the same tomb, are dressed in the (Tang) Taizong extended Chinese originally from the Near East, style of the oasis, with while the woman holds a narrow-sleeved, tight-fitting clothes domination to the areas of small drum to strike with a and ample skirts that spread out today’s Inner Mongolia and stick or by hand. around the kneeling figures. Xinjiang; diplomatic contact Vase with dragon- with bordering foreign powers shape handles, Tang dynasty, as well as with distant lands AD, glazed terracotta, contributed to China’s fame as 55 cm high, Shaanxi History Museum, the most highly evolved and Pair of musicians, Tang dynasty, Xi’an. first half 7th century AD, glazed cosmopolitan power in the terracotta, 17 cm high, Musée ancient world. Guimet, Paris.

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Taizong

The six horses were originally General Qiu Xinggong is located in the northern area of the depicted withdrawing an arrow tomb of Emperor Taizong at from the chest of an imperial Zhaoling, in the area of Chang’an. horse, wounded in battle.

The subjects are carved with a dynamic realism that displays both the details of the saddles and the muscles of the horses in movement.

The horses have fascinating , such as Purple of the Misty Dew; their manes are In AD 636 the emperor woven to form the so-called asked the famous painter “three flowers” (sanhua), to paint the six indicating they belong to the horses he had ridden during imperial stables. the military campaigns that had preceded his ascent to the throne. These portraits served as the models for the stone sculptures.

In 1914, a group of smugglers broke the reliefs while attempting to take them to the United States. Two of the six sculptures are today in Philadelphia, the others were taken to a museum in Xi’an. The six war horses of the emperor Taizong, copies from the Song epoch (AD 973) of originals dating to the Tang dynasty (circa AD 636–645), stone bas-reliefs, each circa 170 x 220 cm, Forest of Stone Tablets Museum, Xi’an, and University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia.

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Taizong

In AD 641 Emperor Taizong The princess married the king of , Emperor Taizong, depicted received an emissary from the following the “matrimonial diplomacy” larger than his retainers, sits first king of Tibet, sent to escort tradition of the Chinese emperors. The on a sedan chair carried by Princess Wencheng to Tibet. union proved very happy, but other Chinese six women; other women brides were consumed by nostalgia for home hold large fans and a parasol. in the cold tents of their nomadic husbands.

Ambassador Ludongzan, The attribution of an ancient work Most of the figures are depicted Yan Liben (attrib.), The Emperor depicted with two members of art to any one artist is almost with subtle but homogeneous Receives the Tibetan Ambassador of his retinue, wears a long always uncertain, given the habit of features; the leading figures in (painted section), Tang dynasty, 7th brocade cloak and bears a artists of reproducing famous the work are given strikingly century AD, horizontal scroll, ink letter from the king. to closely study their individual features, while the and color on silk, 38.5 x 129 cm, details and understand their essence. faces and clothes of the others , Beijing. are not differentiated.

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Xuanzang

“He is about to leave the emperor to set off for the West, with The monkey Sun is the Xuanzang’s trip inspired the man of second main character in the novel: letters Wu Cheng’en (1500?–1582) constant faith and awareness of the Great Emptiness” (Journey the playful and irreverent monkey to write the novel Journey to the to the West) had been chosen by the Buddha to West, a bestseller that still protect the monk during his trip. fascinates the world’s readers.

Xuanzang Named “Stableboy of the Heavenly Stables” by the Buddha, the monkey is While basing his government on the norms of Confucianism, still honored as the patron divinity of horses. Buddhist monk Emperor Taizong personally preferred the Daoist school and Sun Wukong, the permitted the expression of other . In consideration of “monkey king,” has also Period become part of Tang (AD 618–907) the great social importance of the Buddhist faith in China, a traditional Chinese Life large temple was built in the capital of Chang’an dedicated to theater and delights AD 602–664 audiences with his the memory of the emperor’s mother. When the Chinese Bud- ingenuity and his agile Lay name dhist monk Xuanzang returned to the capital in AD 645, after a acrobatics. Chen Yi 16-year trip to India, he was offered a position at court. When Terms Records of the Western the monk declined the position, the ruler suggested he write his Regions (Xiyuji) Record of the (completed in AD 646), which Journey to the West (Xiyouji) relates primarily the history, customs, products, geography, and Related entries climate of the countries he had visited. Xuanzang had chosen the Qin Shi Huangdi, land route across the Gobi Desert and the mountains of - Officials and literati, shan and Pamir and had found support from such powerful Confucianism, Commerce, Chang’an rulers as the king of Turfan and the great khan of the Western (Western Han), Images Turks, at the time on friendly terms with the Chinese emperor. of the Buddha He had spent years in India studying the most important centers of Buddhist knowledge and devotion. Xuanzang brought to China 657 works from the Buddhist canon, and with the sup- port of Taizong, who put the temple dedicated to his mother as his disposal, he undertook the translation of 75 of these sacred texts, an activity that occupied him until the end of his life.

The Healing of Horse Diseases by the Stableboy of the Heavenly Stables, the Monkey Sun Wukong, In the novel Xuanzang is the 20th century, New reincarnation of a disciple of the Year’s woodblock print Illustration for the novel Journey (Nianhua) produced at to the West (Xiyouji), Li Zhuowu Buddha who is escorted on his long Fengxiang, Shaanxi. xiansgheng piping Xiyouji edition, trip by three notorious monsters with Ming dynasty, early 17th century, supernatural powers and features Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. that are part animal and part human.

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Xuanzang

The monk travels on a cloud The texts brought by Xuanzang accompanied by a tiger and a small were preserved in this pagoda, built meditating Buddha seated on by the successor of Taizong. another cloud. The striding figure expresses vigor and dynamism. A small perfume holder hanging from a chain fixed to a stick swings The pagoda is over a stack of part of a written scrolls, complex apparently dedicated to the sacred texts of ruler’s mother The pilgrim’s the Buddhist called the features are canon that the Temple of almost monk carries Great Goodwill caricatural to like a backpack. (Da Ci’en Si). indicate his foreign Xuanzang was The pagoda provenance; not the first rises from its thick lips over Chinese pilgrim square base, square teeth, a on the Silk narrowing large nose, and Route: the upward floor by thick eyebrows. monk Faxian floor. The reached India building has during his long been destroyed trip, from and rebuilt 399 to 413, several times, followed in 518 with two floors by the monk Inside, a winding being added to Huisheng. wooden staircase the original five. In his left hand leads to the he holds a seventh floor. flyswatter, Beginning at a while his right small central space rests on a of each floor, four walking stick. narrow passages lead the visitor to door windows, which open on the four sides of the construction.

Itinerant Monk (detail), end The stone architraves over the Tang dynasty, 9th century, from The Big Wild Goose ground-floor doors are decorated Dunhuang, Gansu, ink and color Pagoda (Dayanta), Tang with motifs of Buddhist inspiration, on paper, 49.6 x 29.4 cm, Musée dynasty, circa AD 652, brick, which legend attributes to the Guimet, Paris. 64 m high, Xi’an, Shaanxi. famous painter Yan Liben.

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Wu Zetian

“If a wife does not serve her husband, the proper relationship Two twin stele were erected opposite the southern entrance of the combined tomb of between man and woman and the natural order of things are Gaozong and Wu Zetian: one bears 8,000 neglected and destroyed” (Ban Zhao) characters celebrating the emperor’s deeds; the other, dedicated to the empress, bears no writing. Wu Zetian The top of the stele is decorated symmetrically with carved in Formerly a concubine of the emperor Taizong, Wu Zetian man- high relief. Wife of Emperor aged to rise to the rank of principal wife of his successor, Gao- Gaozong, empress zong, who fell ill in 660 and handed over to her the reins of Period government. At Gaozong’s death, in 683, Wu Zetian accepted Tang (AD 618–907) the formal nomination of her son Zhongzong, but at his first Reign AD 690–705 sign of autonomy she replaced him with another son. In 690 she The two stele mark the began a new dynasty, the Zhou, and took the throne. The only end of the Sacred Way, Family name which leads to the Wu woman in Chinese history to assume sovereignty, Wu Zetian was sepulchral tumulus and Why did the empress is flanked by many Proper name later treated harshly by Confucian historians for having deserted leave vacant the space large human and Mei, later Zhao usually dedicated to the traditional role of a woman. A better reason for such con- zoomorphic figures the glorification of Posthumous name demnation was the cruelty with which she imposed her will, a carved fully round. the ruler? Various Empress Zetian possible explanations cruelty that did not stop even when dealing with her own family have been advanced. Terms members. Her reign did have positive aspects: Wu Zetian Great Cloud Sutra (Dayunjing) favored the ascent of a new elite by promoting the system of Related entries national exams and transferring the capital to Luoyang, thus dis- Taizong, Officials and tancing the court from the direct influence of the ancient north- literati, Education and western clans. Chinese experienced its period of Perhaps she believed exams, Confucianism, her merits could be Buddhism, Women, greatest prosperity during her reign. Temples were built through- judged only by future Commerce out the country dedicated to the Great Cloud Sutra, which con- generations, and in fact during the 10th–11th tains a prophecy concerning the reincarnation of a goddess in centuries thirteen the form of a universal sovereign. In 705 the empress fell ill and epitaphs were inscribed on the stele, although was forced to abdicate and the Tang dynasty was revived. with the passage of time they have almost disappeared.

The Sacred Way (shendao) that leads to the tomb of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian, Tang dynasty, AD 684–706, Qianling, Shaanxi. Stele without writing, Tang dynasty, AD 684–706, stone, 630 x 210 x 149 cm, Qianling, Shaanxi.

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Wu Zetian

Princess Li Yongtai was a “I sat drinking and did not notice the dusk until falling petals granddaughter of the empress Wu Zetian and favorite daughter of the filled the folds of my dress. Drunken, I rose; I walked toward unfortunate emperor Zhongzong, the moonlit stream” (Li Bai) deposed by his own mother. Li Bai A pair of ducks symbolize the The poems of one of the greatest poets of are conjugal harmony fresh and spontaneous, full of wonder and infantile playfulness, of Poet between Princess love for life and for wine. Li Bai, who was fascinated by Daoism, Period Yongtai and her speaks with the moon and meets with mountains, using all the tra- Tang (AD 618–907) husband, Wu Yanji, buried in ditional poetic genres, but giving preference to the ancient style, Life AD 701– 762 the adjacent which involves fewer restrictions in terms of the length of verses, tomb. rhythm, and the parallelism of words. His poems are often retro- Family name Li The princess spective and express nostalgia for the glorious past and melancholy died in AD 701 Proper name at Luoyang, at over the flow of time, but there are also the pleasures of idleness and Bai, also only 17, and inebriety. Parting with friends, traveling, and being far from home pronounced Po was buried definitively in are themes that Li Bai shared with many poet-officials of the period (Zi) 706, a year after who were forced to perform their duties in far-off locales. Li Bai, Taibai or Taipo the death of her however, traveled as a matter of choice and never took the national Terms On the eastern grandmother— Ancient-style poetry side of the who, according exam in order to obtain a position. Such was his fame that he was (guti shi) exterior face of to certain summoned by the emperor Xuanzong (reigned AD 712–756) to the the sarcophagus, sources, was Related entries which is responsible for Hanlin Painting Academy at Chang’an, but the position proved Officials and literati, the princess’s Poetry, Landscape engraved inside brief. Exiled because of his presumed involvement in the great An and out- with premature painting, Chang’an scenes depicting death. Lushan rebellion, which (Tang) the private life of shook the Tang empire at the princess, two servants are the middle of the 8th presented century, Li Bai was watching over an interior door as pardoned several years though it were before his death. Leg- Yongtai’s bed chamber. end has it that while out boating, and drunk, he met his death by drowning, Lid of a box, dynasty, black lacquer falling overboard in with mother-of-pearl Two servants in front of a door inserts, 27.3 x 22.2 cm, with two knockers, Tang dynasty the attempt to Lee Family Collection, AD 706, detail of the engravings on embrace the moon’s Tokyo. the sarcophagus of Li Yongtai, Qianling, Shaanxi. reflection on the water.

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Li Bai

Two maid servants are busy Li Bai’s fondness for wine was the , another great poet of the heating the wine, made of grains subject of many legends. The state period, claimed that one cup of and always served warm. of drunkenness not was deplored wine was enough for Li Bai to in China, being considered instead write one hundred poems. one of the ways to stimulate the free flow of creativity.

The emperor, although Only once did Li Bai relaxed, sits composedly and Du Fu actually meet, on a stool in the inner but Du Fu, a poet of court of the palace; the dramatically realistic Attributed in the past to Du poet, without his outer works with an innovative Dashou, The Poet Li Bai Drinking clothes, is sprawled form, was profoundly with the Emperor Minghuang, across a nearby bench. struck by the encounter. Ming dynasty, early , horizontal scroll, ink and color on silk, 29.6 x 83 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Julia Bradford Huntington James Fund, Boston.

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Li Bai

“Last night the spring wind entered my room again. I cannot bear to remember the bright moon of my lost kingdom, the marble steps and carved balustrades” () The painter Liang Kai, The seal has never been a highly esteemed deciphered, but there is academy master during no question that it was the period of the composed using the Northern Song, square Mongolian specialized in the script created by the Huizong depiction of figures, Tibetan monk Phags- landscapes, and pa circa 1269. Buddhist and Daoist Huizong, passionate connoisseur of the arts and himself a talented subjects. At the height of his fame he retired artist, gave new impulse to China’s traditional artistic disciplines Emperor and artist to private life. as well as to artisan creations. He took personal care of the wares Period made in porcelain kilns and founded a famous painting academy Northern Song (AD 960–1127) in the capital of Bianliang, today’s . Under his rule the Reign scholastic system was improved as was the structure of the The head is defined AD 1100–1126 with a few simple lines national exams, but he also found time for new subjects, such as that give a concise but Family name at the same time archaeological research and the encyclopedic collection of scien- Zhao magical image of the tific and historical information. In truth, the business of state was Given name great poet. neglected, and the court was not aware of the danger looming in the new state of , founded by the Nüzhen nomads to the north Temple name Huizong of China. The Jin pressed on the Liao, a dynasty formed by the Khitans, another nomadic people that occupied large areas in Related entries , , Free from official northern China. In the hope of finally driving the Khitans out of Landscape painting, obligations, Liang Kai Chinese territory, the Southern allied itself with the Collectors of adhered to the Chan antiquities, Buddhist sect, better Jin. The undertaking succeeded despite the poor military contribu- dynasties, Kaifeng known by its Japanese tion of the Song, but the Nüzhen then invaded China, conquering name, , and developed a spare but the capital in 1127. Huizong, who had abdicated in 1126, was also generous pictorial deported along with his successor and lived out the last eight years style. The portrait of Li Bai belongs to the of his life in prison, reduced to the status of an ordinary man. Zen phase of the painter’s work.

Emperor Huizong, Five-colored Parakeet on a Blossoming Apricot Tree, painted section, Northern Song dynasty, late 11th–early The robe the poet wears, which 12th century, ink and Liang Kai, Li Bai Reciting His covers him head to foot, is color on silk, 52 x 125 Poems, Southern Song dynasty, created with a quick gesture cm, Museum of Fine early 13th century, ink on paper, using diluted ink; shading at Arts, Boston. 81.1 x 30.5 cm, National the collar and along the bottom Museum, Tokyo. give it profondity and volume.

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Huizong

The emperor’s elegant and refined The characters are composed of The emperor took a personal The white wings of the cranes stand taste is best expressed in his sharply defined and vigorous interest in the painting academy out luminously against the blue personal calligraphic style, known strokes, making them appear he founded, sometimes instructing background without need of further as “slender gold” (shoujin). engraved rather than brushed on and correcting the painters and definition. The emperor adopted the absorbent support. often suggesting themes to work the “boneless” (mogu) style of on, including auspicious events, painting, which did without the such as this work. classic black outlines given figures.

The unusual angle of the Huizong wanted to commemorate painting reflects the emperor’s two propitious events that had respect for the private life of happened in the capital of all citizens. He once severely Kaifeng: the appearance of an criticized a painter who had auspicious cloud (white edged in The structure and proportions The emperor’s paintings are depicted scenes of daily life red) that enclosed the palaces of are perfectly balanced, and equally lucid and precise, but inside homes for having the capital, and the flight of a despite their markedly also so detailed they seem static, invaded privacy. flock of cranes across a clear sky. personal style the characters lacking the dynamic touch that are easily legible. characterizes his calligraphy. Emperor Huizong, Five-colored Huizong, Auspicious Cranes, Parakeet, calligraphic section, painted section, Northern Song Northern Song dynasty, late dynasty, late 11th–early 12th 11th–early 12th century, ink and century, ink and color on silk, color on silk, 52 x 125 cm, 51 x 138 cm, Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum, .

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Huizong

Wares from the kilns of Ru A stupendous gray-blue glaze “But do you understand the nature of water and of the moon?—he were reserved for the imperial covers the entire body of the vase, asked—The first of them flows without ever ending, the other now court and were created only including the edges and the bottom. for about twenty years under To avoid damaging the surfaces waxes, now wanes, without ever increasing or diminishing” (Su Shi) the vigilance of Emperor during firing in the kilns, these Huizong. With the fall of the ceramics were placed atop tiny capital production ended. spurs called “sesame seeds.” Su Shi

Su Shi lived during the reigns of five of the Northern Song emper- ors, and his public career, characterized by a series of highs and Man of letters lows, reflected the transitory fortunes of the two principal oppos- Period ing political trends that alternated in the rule of the country. A Northern Song (AD 960–1127) Confucian man of letters drawn to Buddhism and Daoism, Su Shi, Life best known in the West by his , Su Dongpo, was a AD 1037–1101 poet, calligrapher, painter, art critic, and essayist. He and his fel- Family name low artists, struck by the simplicity of the ancient works of art just Su then being discovered during the first archaeological excavations Given name and inspired by neo-Confucian ideas, promoted a new theory of Shi artistic creation, seen as a means for the spontaneous expression Pseudonym Su Dongpo of human nature. The “imprint of the heart” left on the page expresses the essence of the person through the means of personal Terms Imprint of the heart expression even though conditioned by taste and modesty. In that (xinyin) way art approaches the Universal Principal that exists beyond the Universal Principal (li) Running hand Huizong, an avid concrete depiction of objects. Calligraphy, particularly in the loose (xingshu) collector of but legible running-hand cursive style, and painting in ink were ancient bronze Related entries vases, introduced the expressive genres most agreeable to this concept and beginning Huizong, Zhu Xi, Education and exams, the production of in the Song period were considered superior to other genres. The ceramics in Poetry, Calligraphy, archaic shapes, literary production of Su Shi, a brilliant and candid man, is for- Landscape painting such as this tripod, mally perfect but without prejudice and never dogmatic. He was The thick network of craquelures made to imitate a was meant to favor comparison prototype dating one of the promoters of the free style in prose, and certain of his with the veining of jade while to the Han works have inspired later generations of artists. also giving the vase a more dynasty. antique appearance. Su Shi, Poetry in the Ancient Style of Li Bai, written in running- hand cursive, Northern Song dynasty, dated to 1093, ink on paper, 34.0 x 111.1 cm, Tripod vase, Northern Song Municipal Museum dynasty, product of the Ru kilns, of Art, Osaka. Henan, glazed ceramic, 12.9 cm high, Palace Museum, Beijing.

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Su Shi

Carved from a single piece, Su Shi’s has a slight hollow in the front part where the ink stick was rubbed.

Several calligraphic works by Su The rock and tree seem to have Shi have survived, but of his been made in a single circular paintings in black ink there is gesture from left to right, ending in Two characters, only this one black-and-white the short lines that suggest dried dong jing (“eastern photograph; all trace of the work branches. The effect is dynamic and source”), engraved A few drops of was lost several decades ago. at the same time balanced. on the raised edge, water are poured refer to the famous onto the stone with man of letters, who grindings from an chose “Eastern inkstick, and ink Slope” (Dongpo) as collects in the his nom de plume. hollow rear of the stone, enclosed by a raised border.

An inscription on the front side highlighted in gold leaf repeats words from Emperor Qianlong of the , thus supporting the presumed The inkstone was provenance of a very personal the stone. object and a fundamental tool to the Chinese literati, and its usefulness counted The moment of inspiration Su Shi wrote, “In the moment The composition does as much as the distinguished painter- in which you take brush in not seem copied from simple elegance literati from painter- hand, staring fixedly, what you life and corresponds of its shape. artisans, a distinction wish to paint will appear before instead to a mental created by Su Shi that your eyes, and you must get up image created by the became fundamental to in a hurry to pursue it.” artist, who had studied the history of Chinese and memorized forms to painting in later dynasties. create an ideal image.

Inkstone of Su Shi, shown top and bottom, Northern Song Su Shi, Old Pine and Rock, dynasty, 11th century, black stone, Northern Song dynasty, second 11.4 x 7.9 x 3.3 cm, National half 11th century, ink on paper, Palace Museum, . sine loco.

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Zhu Xi

“Knowledge and action always require each other, like eyes and As a result of the affirmation of neo- An excellent sense of observation, Confucianism, a trend began in the united with the careful execution of legs. Without legs, the eyes cannot walk; without eyes, the legs Song period of representing the details, distinguished the painters cannot see” (Zhu Xi) “universal principle” by way of who specialized in the depiction of intimate and simple subjects. flowers and insects. Zhu Xi

During the Song period, Confucian teaching was thoroughly reex- Philosopher amined because, unlike both Buddhism and Daoism, its moral and Period ethical teaching could not respond to metaphysical questions and Northern Song (AD it did not include a cosmology. Zhu Xi offered a synthetic arrange- 960–1127) ment of the “school of universal principles” of the so-called neo- Life AD 1030–1100 Confucians: beginning with the scrupulous analysis of Confucian texts, he identified the origin of all things in the “universal princi- Terms School of universal ple,” which was manifested in “vital force” and which in turn per- principles (lixue) meates everything, making possible the birth, evolution, and de- Neo-Confucianism (daoxue) struction of things through an alternation of yin and yang. The Universal principle (li) universal principle is reflected in humans as an innate moral prin- Vital force () Five relationships ciple, while the quality of vital force determines social role. Since (wulun) all humans are endowed with the moral principle, wisdom is not Four Books of Confucianism (Sishu): restricted to an elect few but is instead the concrete goal of every- Analects (Lunyu) one. Education and the cultiva- (Mengzi), and two chapters of the tion of the self take place Liji (Record of Rites) through the process of social- entitled The Doctrine ization based on the obligations of the Mean (Zhong Yong) and The Great made clear in the “five relation- Learning (Daxue) ships” and through the “investi- Related entries gation of things,” which is the Huizong, Su Shi, Confucianism, The study of objects and concrete The bamboo, outlined in black and A second diagonal is created five relations events. At first opposed, Zhu painted in rich tonalities of green, between the grasshopper and the creates a diagonal, accentuated by dragonfly. The center of the Xi’s concepts were soon reeval- the wasp at upper right. painting, the virtual meeting point, Liu Minshu, Portrait does not attract attention, instead of Three Literati: Cheng uated and the Four Confucian drawn first to the attractive colors Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi, Books he had chosen from , 13th–14th of the bamboo and then led to the century, ink and color on among the classic texts and had study of the insects. silk, 122.2 x 68.6 cm, written commentaries on, were Freer Gallery of Art, Wu Bing, Bamboo and Insects, Smithsonian Institution, included in the program of na- Southern Song dynasty, circa Washington, DC. 1190–1194, album leaf, ink and tional examinations beginning color on silk, 24.2 x 27 cm, in the Yuan dynasty. Cleveland Museum of Art.

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Zhu Xi

“He is a man of good stature . . . His limbs are well fleshed and modeled in due proportion. His complexion is fair and ruddy In his maturity, During the Ming Shen Zhou, one of period, a new neo- like a rose, the eyes black and handsome” (Marco Polo) the “four masters Confucian theory of the Ming broke with the dynasty,” developed concept of the an expressive style “investigation of in which he things” of the Song Kublai Khan composed paintings period to turn to with abstract meditative calligraphic effects. introspection Although he declared himself a promoter of Mongolian politics, intended to cultivate the self Kublai Khan became inserted in the tradition of Chinese civilization, Emperor and thus achieve assuming the Chinese dynastic name Yuan (“origin”) in 1271 for his Period wisdom: the Dao. empire, at the time not yet entirely conquered. To avoid being Yuan (1271–1368) absorbed by the numerically superior Chinese, the divided Reign the population in four categories kept apart by impassible social barri- 1271–1294 The clouds—the area left white ers: the Mongols paid no taxes and occupied key hereditary positions Family name Borjigin above the in the government; their Central Asian allies also enjoyed fiscal privi- foreground Given name landscape—lighten leges and were used in the administration as subordinates or as tax col- Kublai the entire lectors, when they were not involved in commerce. The third category composition and Temple name give height and was composed of the inhabitants of northern China—Chinese, Shizu depth to the Nüzhen, Khitans—and coming last were the Related entries mountains. “southerners,” the Chinese inhabitants of the Barbarian dynasties, territory of the Song dynasty in the south, dis- Theater, Beijing

An isolated criminated against and excluded from all impor- pavilion invites tant positions. The extension of the Mongol meditation in a domination, from China to the Caucasus, setting of wild beauty. and Kublai Khan’s multiethnic state organization facilitated intercontinental exchanges: firearms, paper, and hydraulic and metallurgic tech- niques traveled all the way to . Mongol inexperience in the field of rural politics, however, led to impoverish- ment, and after Kublai’s death Mongol passport (paizi), Yuan In terms of painting, the neo- there were revolts of the peas- Confucianism of the Ming dynasty, 13th was expressed by way of the ant population, forced to aban- century, iron with silver inlay, 18.1 cm subjective evocation of motifs, Shen Zhou, Clouds among don their fields to build canals high, Metropolitan Mountains and a Stream, Ming which thus replaced the and palaces and subjected to the Museum of Art, dynasty, early 16th century, ink minute description of details. New York. and color on paper, 148 x 68.2 payment of increasing . cm, Museum of Art, Hong Kong.

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Kublai Khan

The genre of portraiture of the imperial family began taking shape during the Song period and was continued during the Mongol domination, reflecting the identity of the foreigners, made clear in their facial features and clothing. Perhaps the painter intended Beginning in the to emphasize 10th century the the emperor’s representation of Mongolian the life and origin. The customs of subject of the nomadic peoples painting itself became a must have common seemed strange pictorial genre. to the Chinese, Among that but in addition genre’s favorite there is the The imperial family subjects were presence of a was careful to hunting and woman along maintain Mongol horseback sports, with men of habits and customs, pastimes the clearly foreign in part because they Chinese had extraction. were deeply tied to abandoned after them and in part to the . avoid being seen as having betrayed The painter their culture in the emphasizes eyes of the Mongol the emperor’s aristocracy. regality in every detail but presents The portraits of the him busy in Mongol emperors an informal were held in state activity in a temples dedicated to wild setting, Lamaism, which had thus breaking become the official with the of the schemes of Mongols in 1253. royal portraiture known until then.

It seems the emperor truly loved A hunting dog, a feline his consort—which did not prevent crouching behind a rider, him from frequenting concubines— and a falcon resting on the and that her death threw him into hand of a rider accompany a state of grave depression. the men during their hunt. Portrait of the Empress Zhabi, Consort of Shizu (Kublai Khan), Liu Guandao, Kublai Khan Yuan dynasty, 13th century, Hunting, Southern Song dynasty, album leaf, ink and color on silk, dated 1200, vertical scroll, ink and 61.5 x 48 cm, National Palace color on silk, 182.9 x 104.1 cm, Museum, Taipei. , Taipei.

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Kublai Khan

“We have been chosen by our people to occupy the imperial In 1298, held throne of China in the dynastic name of the ‘Great Luminosity’” prisoner of war in (Hongwu) Genoa, the Venetian Marco Polo dictated a report of his trip to the Orient and the seventeen years Hongwu spent at the court of Kublai Khan to prisoner, a Son of poverty-stricken peasants, a Buddhist monk, then leader Pisan named Rustichello. one of the many secret societies that rose in rebellion at the end Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, this future ruler triumphed over the various Period factions struggling for power then forced the Mongols to with- Ming (1368–1644) Reign Polo’s description draw to the interior of Mongolia. Known by the dynasty-era 1368–1398 of the splendors name of Hongwu, the emperor improved the lot of the poor of the court and masses with the hereditary division of the population into farm- Family name the wealth of the Zhu cities seemed so ers, soldiers, and artisans. The farmers were grouped in small incredible to Given name 14th-century autonomous administrative units, responsible for their own cen- Xingzong, later European readers sus and the collection of taxes. The soldiers were given allot- Yuanzhang that they took it ments of previously untilled land so they could provide for their Temple name for pure Taizu invention. own sustenance. The artisans worked in the imperial factories or were at least obliged to perform temporary services. Most of the Posthumous name Gao The Mongol khan tax revenue came from the pockets of the merchants, looked Era name was described upon as parasites. Hongwu, forced to depend on councilors with great respect: Hongwu the Venetian from the literati class, but Terms emphasized not highly distrustful of them, Luminosity (ming) only the Vast military (Hongwu) magnificence of eliminated all hereditary the ruler, roles and strengthened the Related entries surrounded by Eunuchs, Officials and splendid comforts, Confucian system of literati, Ceramics, but gave admiring national exams. The heads Technology and descriptions of his industries, Nanking, cosmopolitanism of ministries and other high Beijing and his efficient offices had to report administration. directly to the emperor, to the detriment of the impe- In his role of foreign The figures and settings of Portrait of the Emperor Hongwu, merchant, Marco Polo the Mongol court were of a rial chancellery. This dan- Workshop of the Boucicaut found himself in a privileged style completely unknown to Ming dynasty, end Master, Kublai Khan in a Sedan gerous concentration of position compared to the the 14th-century European 14th century, vertical Chair Carried by Elephants and power led, under his succes- scroll, ink and color on His Followers on Horseback, 1412, native Chinese, who were artist, who had certainly the victims of the hierarchy never seen an elephant and silk, 268.8 x 163.8 cm, page with miniature from the Livre sors, to the growing power National Palace of Mongolian society. who gave the Mongols des Merveilles du Monde by Marco Museum, Taipei. Polo, 14th century, Folio 42, classical European features. of the eunuchs. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

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Hongwu

Hongwu’s tomb Geomancers identified a This enormous stele is complex, built between spot in the Purple enclosed within the walls Meng was one of the 1381 and 1383, is near Mountains (Zhongshan) as of a pavilion that long ago many literati who suffered , the city that he the ideal location to erect lost its original timber harsh punishments following chose, as first emperor the tomb. The site was roof; it marks the the installation of the Ming: of the Ming dynasty, as then occupied by the Ling beginning of the Sacred imprisoned for having his capital. monastery, founded in Way that leads to the looked at paintings together the 6th century, but the tomb complex. with another man later emperor had it relocated condemned for treason, he to the north. himself died in prison. The paintings made after the foundation Last of the “Four great masters of the dynasty in of the Yuan dynasty,” Wang 1368 are dense, Meng made liberal use of almost obsessive in stylistic elements and their tendency to techniques from the entire completely cram the history of Chinese landscape surface, whereas this painting to develop his own landscape is given expressive style, admired and luminosity and imitated by later painters. breadth by its few empty spaces.

The human presence is limited to small huts located on the The famous critic edges of the composition. Dong Qichang (1555–1636) said of this painting, “Master Wang’s brushstrokes are strong enough to lift a tripod; for five hundred years there has been no one like him.”

The stele was erected by Hongwu’s The turtle is the animal of the north, son, the emperor Yongle, three symbol of long life and constancy. years after his illicit appropriation The turtles that support imperial of the throne, and it commemorates commemorative steles often have the deeds and virtues of his father. dragon-shaped heads.

Commemorative stele to the , The Qingbian emperor Hongwu, Ming dynasty, Mountains, Ming dynasty, dated 1405, stone, 8.8 m high, Xiaoling 1366, ink on paper, 141 x 42 cm, tomb complex, Sifangcheng, Nanking. Shanghai Museum.

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Hongwu

Over the course of the Yuan The underglaze technique involved “Let commerce flourish on our frontiers and foreigners from dynasty, the Jingdezhen kilns, a first firing at high temperature, located in southern China, after which the “bisque” was distant lands be welcome among us” (Yongle) developed a porcelain with a decorated and covered by a transparent underglaze painted transparent glaze and fired a second decoration that profoundly time at lower temperature. influenced ceramic production. Yongle

Like some of the greatest Chinese rulers, Yongle usurped the throne from the legitimate successor, Hongwu’s grandson, and Emperor succeeded in legitimizing his seizure of power with a farsighted Period government and large-scale territorial expansion. To more ade- Ming (1368–1644) quately protect the northern borders, he moved the capital north- Reign 1402–1424 ward from Nanjing to the former capital of the Mongols, which now took the name Beijing (“northern capital”) After the multi- Family name Zhu ethnic governments of the Yuan, the Ming dynasty, with its home- Proper name grown roots, was strongly Sino-centric, in some cases resulting in political xenophobia. Emperor Yongle, curious and tolerant in Temple name terms of religion, was able to transform nationalism into a pro- Chengzu ductive attitude. Under his rule six great maritime expeditions Posthumous name were carried out that took Chinese emissaries as far as the eastern Taizong coast of Africa, demonstrating China’s high level of technology as Name at the time Yongle well as the intense diplomatic and mercantile activity of China at Terms that time. The Yongle , compiled by more than three Perpetual happiness thousand literati in (yongle) four years of research (Yongle Dadian) and collected in Northern capital The copper-red decoration is The inside of the bowl is (Beijing) typical of the Hongwu period. decorated with peony flowers, 22,877 books, was to Its production required great while the outside is painted with contain all the scien- Related entries skill since the tonalities and the chrysanthemums. Both motifs Eunuchs, Officials and quality of the color depended on often appear often in the repertory tific knowledge of the literati, Ceramics, constant atmospheric conditions of the Ming and Qing dynasties. time as well as the Technology and during the firing in the kiln. industries, Nanjing, text of every book Beijing written in China. The manuscript, com- Sacrificial oven (for burnt offerings) at the pleted in 1408, was tomb of Emperor Bowl, Ming dynasty, Hongwu lost; fragments of a Yongle, Ming dynasty, reign, 1368–1398, porcelain with 1409–1472, glazed copper-red underglaze decoration, 16th-century copy are terracotta, wood, bricks, 15.6 cm high, 40 cm diam., Changling, Beijing. Metropolitan Museum of Art, all that remain today. New York.

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Yongle

It is not known when the Central The technique of cloisonné consists Asian technique of cloisonné was in the creation of decorative designs introduced to China, but the on a metal vessel by soldering oldest examples known today copper or bronze wires to it and Between 1414 At least date to the early 15th century. filling the areas with a colored-glass and 1433 the sixty-two paste that is then melted when the Muslim transoceanic vessel is fired at a temperature of Zheng He ships, each about 800°C. (1371–1435), nominated more than 400 admiral of the feet long with Chinese fleet by holds large the emperor enough for Yongle, led 1,500 tons, seven large- accompanied scale naval by more than expeditions, one hundred reaching India smaller ships, and Persia and carried crews going as far as numbering Africa. more than 30,000.

Lotus flowers in Emperor red, blue, yellow, Yongle clearly and white stand intended to use out against a Despite the this enormous background of diplomatic and fleet to make deep turquoise, commercial clear the glory surrounded by successes and power of volutes of green obtained by the the new China, leaves. fleet, the most which had freed modern of its itself from time, the costly foreign rule trips were only a few criticized after years earlier the death of Yongle and were ultimately suspended after Initially condemned as vulgar The metallic wire of this the final 1433 and showy, cloisonné wares plate has been gilded expedition, in For the first time were highly appreciated in the along the scalloped edges, which the direct official second half of the Ming dynasty on the two inner circles, elderly admiral contacts were as well as during the Qing. and along the entire base. died. made between the Chinese court and Zheng He returned from his first several African expedition with two giraffes, highly countries, Dish with scalloped rim, Ming Giraffe with Attendant, which sent dynasty, early 15th century, Ming dynasty, dated 1414, prized by the Chinese because they ambassadors cloisonné, 15.2 cm diam., vertical scroll, ink and color on were associated with the unicorn, a Metropolitan Museum of Art, silk, 171.5 x 53.3 cm, mythical animal that signaled the and precious New York. Philadelphia Museum of Art. presence of a wise and benevolent ruler. gifts to Beijing.

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