Chinese

CHINESE: [General] [Neo-Lith] [Bronze]  [Han] [The Six]  [Sui/Tang]   [Song]
                   8000?yago   ?-1700   200bce 220-579  589/617-907  960-1279
                              -1100bce -200ce
See also:  [Art Periods]
           [Flying Gallop] (prance image)

              [Art Periods]
              [Art Movements]
              [(art) concepts]
              [Time Line]

Chinese Art

                 [General]  (6000bce - 1279ce)
You are here --> [Neo-Lithic] (8000 years ago)  
                 [Bronze Age] Xia/Shang/Zhou (?-1700-1100bce)  
                 [Han]  (200bce-220ce) (easy #'s)
                 [The 6 dynasties (220-579)
                 [Sui/Tang] (589/617-907)
                 [Song] (960-1279)



  src (img and ff'g text):  
      http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/neolithic.html

Also note the following map from CUNY(L) -

  

  The Neolithic period began in China about 12,000 B.C. 
  However, good evidence of Neolithic settlements exists 
  from only about 4,000 B.C. The Neolithic lasted until 
  about 2,000 B.C. It is defined by a spread of settled 
  agricultural communities, but hunting and gathering 
  was still practiced. The largest concentration of 
  agriculture was below the southern bend of the 
  Yellow River and millet was the main crop. The 
  geography of Neolithic China was different from 
  today. It was much wetter, with most of Northern 
  China being lakes and marshes and central China 
  covered in an enormous lake. The climate was warm 
  and moist, rather than the colder, arid China of 
  today. The mountains were well forested and there 
  was a variety of animals.

  Silk production, for which China is famous, had 
  already been invented before this time period 
  began. The process began in Northern China. It 
  involved feeding the silkworms mulberry leaves, 
  helping them molt and spin their cocoons, and 
  finally, boiling the cocoons to produce the raw 
  silk. Pottery was also present during this time 
  period. The two main types, Painted Pottery and 
  Black Pottery, belong to the two distinct cultural 
  groups of the Neolithic, the Yangshao and the Lungshan. 

  These two types of pottery were not for everyday use, 
  rather, a plain course type of pottery was used that 
  varied between the colors gray, black, red, and white. 
  The dwellings of this time were in clusters that suggest 
  kinship was important. Clothing was made of hemp and the 
  main domesticated animals were pigs and dogs.

  The Yangshao lived in the mountainous regions of 
  northern and western China in round or rectangular 
  houses that were below ground level and surrounded 
  by little walls of earth. They created Painted Pottery 
  that had geometric designs on it. The pottery was fired 
  at 1000-1500°C, but the potters wheel was not used. 
  Axes and arrowheads were made of polished stone and 
  other tools were made of stone chips. Millet was the 
  main crop of the Yangshao. They domesticated two main 
  animals, the dog and the pig, with the pig being the 
  more important.

  The Lungshan lived on the plains of eastern China. 
  Their villages were similar to those of the Yangshao, 
  but evidence of stamped earth fortresses is found in 
  some sites. They created Black Pottery. This pottery 
  was of exceptional quality. It had a polished exterior, 
  was never painted, and is almost always without decoration. 
  This pottery may have been a direct predecessor to later 
  Chinese pottery, as the forms of the vessels are typical 
  of Chinese pottery. Firing bones for the purpose of 
  divination, which continued into the following dynasties, 
  also began during this time. The Lungshan began to bury 
  their dead facing downwards, which is how all bodies were 
  buried during the Bronze Age. They used bones for arrowheads 
  and small tools, but used polished stones for axes and sickles. 
  Their domesticated animals were the pig, dog, sheep, and ox.

Next:  The Xia Dynsasty, the Shang (Bronze age), and Zhou... 


Examples

 




Links

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