UC Riverside Relationship Between Buddhism Tradition and Chinese Art Questions

6A
During the period covered in this lesson, Buddhism gained a firm foothold in China, sometimes even flourishing under imperial patronage. As Buddhism made its way along the silk road to China, it was transformed by the various places it passed through, and in China, it was further transformed. Buddhist art had a similar transformation. While certain aspects of both the religion and the faith remained constant, others were shaped by local customs, beliefs, and aesthetic preferences.

For your assignment this week, choose two works of Buddhist religious art, one from China from any time between the Six Dynasties and Tang Period (3rd through 907 CE) and one from the Indian Subcontinent from around the same era. Compare and contrast the two works with a focus on how the Chinese work reflects the Buddhist traditions that came out of India and how it reflects distinctively Chinese qualities.

The works you choose should not come from the lectures or a previous assignment. Find them by browsing the Asian art collections on museum websites (recommended museums include the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Links to an external site.), LACMA (Links to an external site.), and the Freer and Sackler Museums (Links to an external site.), but there are many, many more!)

Do not choose two works at random. They will be easier and more worthwhile to discuss if you choose two works that have fundamental similarities, such as the same subject matter so that you are analyzing meaningful differences. For example, it would be good to compare two paintings of bodhisattvas or two sculptures of buddhas, but a sculpture of buddha would be a poor choice to compare with a narrative painting of a jataka tale.

(at least 300 words)

Reflection 1

What are your thoughts on the practice of owners and viewers of admired paintings leaving their seals and commentaries on them? Why did they do this? Do you feel that this practice enhances the work or detracts from it?

Reflection 2

We have focused on calligraphy a few times at this point, including watching Arabic and Chinese calligraphy demonstrations. Clearly the art of beautiful writing plays an important role in both Chinese and Islamic cultures. Can you think of comparable examples in the Western context?

Cai Xiang, Letter, 11th century

Do you think calligraphy has held the same importance in Western cultures as in the East Asian and Islamic contexts? Why or why not? Consider what kinds of cultural factors might lead to the elevation of writing as a visual art form.