The Art of China - Spirit and Society

266 Pages·1960·25.543 MB·English

by  Werner Speiser

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THE ART OF
CHINA
SPIRIT AND SOCIETY
WERNER
by SPEISER
GREYSTONE PRESS/NEW YORK
Translated by George Lawrence
Yang Kuei-fei, the "Madame de Pompadour" of China (718—756
A.D.), mounting a horse. Detail from a scroll by Ch'ien Hsiian
(1235 to about 1300 A.D.).
Freer Gallery ofArt, Washington. (Colours on silk, 21 inches high)
© i960 HOLLE AND CO. VERLAG, BADEN-BADEN. GERMANY
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUE CARD NUMBER
61-10700
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Chinaboastsaproudandancienttraditionofartandcivilisation,atradition PREFACE
which has never been interrupted or lost its vitality. Hergifts to the world
are many; porcelain and silk, lacquer, paper and tea, wisdom, poetry and
enlightenment. We all marvel at her and praise her, and many of us love
her, but hardly anyone realises how little we actually know about her, or
how one-sided what little knowledge we have still is. There are still im-
mense reserves of works of art and of books to be revealed. Excavations in
the last few years have greatly deepened our knowledge, but the earth yet
holds great hoards of treasures. There are many blank areas on our maps
of Chinese art history, and many gaps in our tables of historical develop-
ment. For hundreds of years, hundreds of learned men have been working
on the arthistoryof Europe and the Mediterranean lands, butsuch studies
are only just beginning in the lands outside Europe. There are indeed
introductions to the study of Chinese art, and books providing a general
surveyof the subject; and it is an everfascinating task tosketch thegeneral
picture again and help to fill it out. But there are very few really reliable
fundamental publications, from which to establish a solid basis of knowl-
edge as a foundation on which further work can be based. Even museum
catalogues are inadequate. The great number ofspecial studies of matters
that are clearly ofsubsidiary importance, give the false impression that the
main facts are often astray in a wide open sea. That is the joy and grief
for all who try to make progress in the study of art outside Europe. One
is continually faced with the unknown waiting for some discoverer to
bring it to life. So this book cannot and does not attempt to give a final
picture, or even a systematic account, of Chinese art. My endeavour is to
make the best out of what is now possible, to avoid what has often been
reproduced before, and to take advantage of coloured illustrations to call
attention to things less well-known. Such illustrations, it is hoped, will
make the beholder long to see the things themselves and handle them.
I take this opportunity to offer my sincerest thanks to all those experts,
collectors, men of learning and institutions whose friendly help has light-
ened my task. Theywill all agree —museumswere indeed foundedbecause
of this beliefand live by it — that only the original itselfcan reveal the full
value of a work ofart.
If an account of three millenia of high aesthetic achievement is to be
compressed into a few pages with a small number of illustrations, ob-
viously one must stick to restricted basic themes. Here my first care has
been to try to grasp the spirit of each successive epoch. An epoch is not
quite the same thing as a period. Its boundaries may spread over a wide
expanse of time. It begins with agenius, a thought, oran eventwhichgives
a new turn tocreative activity, and it lasts until a newepoch begins. There
arenohardandfast boundaries in thematter. Oldideas maylingeron, and
there may have been anticipations of the new before their time. But each
epoch has its own peculiar conception of reality and of tradition, and
creates its individual spirit. It can be most easily and surely understood by
looking to the state of society. Statistics, which can say nothing about in-
dividuals, are useful in measuring the state of society. Society carries art
along with it, and often destroys the artist who will not abide by the rules
of the game; afterwards it is sorry for him. This is not the place to enter
into the question of the relationship between society and the individual,
or the question whether society creates consciousness, or consciousness
society. Consciousness by itselfis notspirit, certainly not in the field ofart.
But there are hierarchies of rank in the domain of the spirit, and many
who have given their attention to this question, have come to the conclu-
sion that theChinesespiritandChineseartare themostcultivatedtowhich
humanity has yet attained. One can only touch on that question here. But
there is one undoubted lesson to be learnt from the history of China and
Chinese art; that there are not, and need never be, predestined periods in
the life of the spirit and of history. In China the spirit has been alive for
three thousand years without interruption; it has never gone under, and
does not intend to do so now. If we listen to those who, basing their
arguments on mathematical periods, would prove thatdegeneration is due
now, we blurourviewofthe futureandspoilourjoyin theartoftomorrow.
WERNER SPEISER
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ANTIQUITY Plate 97
Coloured vase '9 Tomb figure g8
Bronze vessel with handle 20 Group of horsemen 138
Vessel with T'ao-t'ieh masks 21 Hall of the Toshodaiji 139
Bronze ritual vessel 22 Scroll detail 140
Lid of a ritual vessel 23 Cinquefoil silver bowl 141
Axe for ceremonial sacrifices 24 Drawing of painted lacquer 154
Bronze ritual vase 25
Two-handled bronze cup 26 THE TIME OF WITHDRAWAL
FEUDAL TIMES Jug 142
Lohan 143
Leg of a table 43 Concert at Court 144-5
Ox-head ornament 44 A Guardian of the World 146
Tiger's head ornament 45 TheMandarins of Liou Li T'ang 163
Bronze ritual vessel 46 Running deer fresco 164
Tripod with cover 47 Lake with dragon fresco 165
Jade ornament 48
Vase 49 THE AGE OF THE ACADEMY
Lacquered round box 50
Yang Kuei-fei frontispiece
Fragment of a lute 67
Storming of a city wall 78 Parrot and apricot 106
Buffalo 167
THE UNIFIED STATE Emperor Ch'en Hou-Chu 168
Kuan-yin 1G9
Model of a house 68 Vase 170
Tomb figures 69 Gold brocade 171
Vase with inscription 70
Fragment of silk 7i THE AGE OF THE BOURGEOISIE
Round box 72
Design on bronze pipe 104-5 Tower of Yung-Lo's tomb
"Hermit in the Forest"
THE TIME OF TROUBLES Fan painting on paper 190-191
'Tomb of the Dancers' fresco 73 Round wooden box 192
Emperor Ch'en Hsiian-ti 74 Porcelain jar •93
JBoudghiwsiatthtvaacoMcaki'tsrehyeaad 9921 TWowoodepangedsisfhrom an album 212>-9143
Statue of Kasyapa 93
The Blue Rider of Astana 94 THE AGE OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Writing by Wang Hsi-Chih 117 Chrysanthemums and butterflies 211
Sitting Buddhist figures 123
Porcelain plate 214
THE CLASSICAL AGE "Studio in Autumn Wood" 215
"Graviata" vase 216
Silver box 95 Bronze vase 217
Back of a mirror 96 Chung K'uei 218
MAPS
Ancient times 60 Modern times 132
China and the West 86
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We take this opportunity of expressing our sincere thanks to all the people, museums and institutions
listed below for theirkindness inallowingus toreproduce the worksofart mentioned, and moreespecially
for their valuable assistance in correcting the proofs of the plates:
Museum of Asiatic Art Mr. S. Kawai, Kyoto
(loaned byDr. R. Flaes) 95 British Museum, London
Berlin Museum 165 Institute of Arts, Minneapolis
Museum ofFine Arts, Boston Museum of Ethnography, Munich
CityArtGallery, Bristol49> 74> i/i°' H2> 16966,, !19412 CentNreawl ADseilahni Antiquities Museum,
The Art Institute (Kate S. Buckingham V'amatoBunka Museum,Osaka
Fund Purchase), Chicago !44/5> 189 Musee Cernuschi, Paris
The Art Institute (Lily Maud Buckingham Musee Guimet, Paris 23,70,
Collection), Chicago 169 National Museum, Peking
Museum of Arts and Crafts, Hamburg University Museum, Philadelphia
171,211,216 Marquis Maeda, Tokyo
Atkins Museum (Nelson Fund), Freer GalleryofArt, Washington
Kansas City 43.48,50,68 Dr. Kurt Herberts,Wuppertal
Museum of Far Eastern Art, Cologne 19, 45, Rietberg Museum, Zurich
91, 98, 190/91, 193, 212/13', 214, 215, 216, 217-