Painting in the Far East; An Introduction to the History of Pictorial Art in Asia, Especially China and Japan (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1908. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VI. THE TANG DYNASTY f ff DEGREESHE main great epochs of Chinese painting are easy to grasp and remember. After M the immense tract of time from which no painting is known to survive except the single picture by Ku K'ai-chih which we have described-- though others doubtless exist in Chinese private collections--after this long period we arrive at the T'ang dynasty, extending from A.d. 618 to 905. A short period of half a century follows, known as the Five Dynasties. Then come: The Sung dynasty, 960-1280. The Yuan or Mongol dynasty, 1280-1368. The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644; and finally The Ch'ing or Manchu dynasty, still reigning. The T'ang era stands in history for the period of China's greatest external power--the period of her greatest poetry and of her grandest and most vigorous, if not, perhaps, her most perfect, art. Buddhism now took hold on the nation as it had never done before, and its ideals pervaded the imagination of the time. China was never in such close contact with India; numbers of Indians, including three hundred Buddhist monks, actively preaching the faith, were to be found in the T'ang capital of Lo-yang. It was the T'ang age which produced the painter who by universal consent of later times ranks above all other masters of his country. Wu Tao-tzu, whom the Japanese call Godoshi, was born about the beginning of the eighth century, near the capital city of Lo-yang. He showed as a youth extraordinary powers, and the Emperor gave him a post at court. His fertility of imagination and his fiery swiftness of execution alike astounded his contemporaries. He is said to have painted over three hundred frescoes on the walls of temples alone. He was prodigal of various detail, but what chiefly impressed spectators was the overpowering reality of his