Role of Confucianism in Art in China Essay

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Han dynasty, Confucianism has been a central and defining feature of Chinese art and culture. It therefore makes sense that Confucian values and ideals would be reflected in Chinese art throughout the past several millennia. Even when Confucian principles are blended or confounded with the principles of Daoism and Buddhism, the Confucian themes of law, order, structure, and hierarchy become salient. Moral rectitude in the Confucian model means ascription to a patriarchal social order, and obedience to authority. Perhaps the most obvious way Confucian moral precepts are depicted in art is through the careful ordering of the world evident in Chinese scroll paintings. "Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies" is a horizontal scroll painting that accompanies a literary tale with themes related to "wifely virtue," a prime Confucian moral precept (Kleiner, 2016b, p. 473). Yet is more than just wifely virtue that this scroll painting shows; it is also the importance of courage and selflessness to a strong character. This painting is from the late 4th century CE. Scroll painting has remained one of the most prominent art forms in China, and in the late 12th century, Ma Yuan painted "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall." This painting not only shows how important scholarship and learning is to Confucian morality, but also how important learning is to maintaining the order and structure of the universe. A major feature of Confucian doctrine is social order and hierarchy, but that hierarchy is important insofar as it reflects the cosmic order of the universe. In "Luohan in a Garden Setting," from the Ming dynasty, the artist clearly renders human and cosmic life as an ordered hierarchy. Finally, twelve centuries after Gu's "Admonitions," Tang Yin produced "The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal," which reveals scholarly learning within the ordered framework of Confucianism.



Confucian moral precepts for behavior are evident in the faded silk scroll painting attributed to Gu Kaizhi, "Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies." In this painting, the central figure Lady Feng puts herself between her husband and a wild animal about to attack him. Her courage is displayed as a "perfect model of Confucian behavior" because of her selflessness. Lady Feng is also flanked by two guardians wearing red, whose spears are about to kill the bear. Their military "valor" and their court patronage would have been integral themes in Confucian art (Kleiner, 2016a, p. 1057). The King appears to the right side of the painting, and he is also attended by several figures to his right.

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The Confucian worldview suggests that the king or patriarch is at the top of the social order. Lady Feng respects this social hierarchy by being willing to die in order to protect the king. Her action also indicates selflessness, the willingness to sacrifice one's own interests to serve the greater good. The same is true for the guards wearing red. Both the king and Lady Feng are elite members of the society and as such, their attendants would be below them in the social order. The artist in fact renders the king and Lady Feng as taking up more space versus the attendants to signify their greater social and political status. Finally, animals are at the bottom of the order. Even though the scroll painting is not ordered vertically, as subsequent scroll paintings were, Gu Kaizhi's work exemplifies Confucian values and moral precepts.



Another aspect of Confucian moral rectitude is scholarship and learning. The Southern Song dynasty era painting, "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall" contains a direct reference to the importance of scholarship and learning to the Confucian society. Painted in the late 12th to early 13th century, "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall" shows that Confucianism had already been heavily influenced by Daoism, as the scholar contemplates nature to supplement his literate learning. The artist renders the scholar as being relatively small in comparison to the tree and the waterfall, again revealing the orderly hierarchy of the universe. No matter how much wisdom a person may attain, he or she remains relatively insignificant compared to the greater elements in the universe. Just as the bear is lesser than the person, so too is the person lesser than the grandeur of nature. In fact, the artist depicts a smaller human figure beside the scholar, showing that scholars are in fact higher on the social status scale than other people in the Confucian society. In the same way the king and Lady Feng are rendered larger than their subordinates, so too is the scholar's attendant rendered smaller than the scholar. This painting includes a large degree of empty or negative space to balance the image, which hints of the Confucian and Daoist preoccupation with harmony, too.



In "Luohan in a Garden Setting," from the Ming dynasty, the artist takes….....

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References


Kleiner, F. S. (2016a). Gardner's art through the ages: Non-western art since 1300 (15th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Kleiner, F. S. (2016b). Gardner's art through the ages: Non-western art to 1300 (15th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Ma Yuan. "Scholar Viewing a Waterfall." Image: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1973.120.9/

"Neo-Confucianism in Tang (618 -- 906) and Song (960 -- 1279) Dynasties" (n.d.). Retrieved online: http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/neo-confucianism-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties

Tang Yin (early 16th century CE). The Thatched Hut of Dreaming of an Immortal. Image: http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/chinese_highlights.asp#4

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