Visualizing Modern China: Image, History, and Memory, 1750-Present offers a sophisticated yet accessible interpretation of modern Chinese history through visual imagery. With rich illustrations and a companion website, it is an ideal textbook for college-level courses on modern Chinese history and on modern visual culture. The introduction provides a methodological framework and historical overview, while the chronologically arranged chapters use engaging case studies to explore important themes. Topics include: Qing court ritual, rebellion and war, urban/rural relations, art and architecture, sports, the Chinese diaspora, state politics, film propaganda and censorship, youth in the Cultural Revolution, environmentalism, and Internet culture. Companion website: http://visualizingmodernchina.org

The journey of Chinese art - from mass-produced propaganda in the Mao era to modern-day market darling - mirrors China’s own momentous changes like few other disciplines. Today, in both contemporary art and contemporary Chinese society, commerce and politics coexist in a delicate balance, which some call sensible and others, selling out.

By traveling to the studios of renowned Chinese artists, hearing their rags-to-riches tales and interviewing the critics, curators, and collectors that have been around since its idealistic beginnings, author Claire van den Heever paints a picture of Chinese art’s bumpy path to commercial and critical success, and uncovers the secrets it tried to keep along the way

Clay sculpting is an ancient traditional Chinese folk art. In the hands of the artists, fine clay is transformed into colorful sculptures. Subject matters of the sculptures usually come from characters in traditional Chinese folklore, classic literatures of operas and novels. It enjoyed the height of its boom between Tongzhi and Guangxu era in the Qing dynasty. Each piece reflects more than 300 years of Chinese folk art with life-like characteristics. The colors of the sculptures are elegant, natural and harmonious. In the 1980's, due to severe economic downturn, many Chinese clay sculpture artists were forced to abandon their lifelong career for livelihood. Having witnessed the hardships the old master experienced, the next generation of apprentices were reluctant to pick up the craft. Therefore, this traditional art is not well preserved its history and works are not adequately organized, and valuable collections of clay sculptures have been largely destroyed. To avoid the complete loss of authentic craft handmade clay figures, it has been recognized and protected as a national heritage.

Science has played a crucial role in the initial stages of westerners' collecting and studying ancient Chinese artworks and archaeological materials. The relevant scientific data were quickly generated using progressively sophisticated examination techniques. But the task of integrating scientific data with archaeological and art historical resources, and developing a workable interdisciplinary study method, has lagged behind scientific endeavor. Part One of this book explores the modes and functions of the scientific resources available and their integration into interdisciplinary study methods and models; pre-war researchers particularly emphasized that their studies of Chinese artistic/archaeological materials were scientific. Improvements in precision and advanced specialization of examining instruments and techniques resulted in substantively more detailed scientific data, particularly in the post-war period. This brought with it new research dimensions and increased knowledge of targeted samples, and also greater challenges to the integration of interdisciplinary study. In Part Two, Meili Yang establishes a feasible method of interdisciplinary study in terms of five case studies related to Chinese Song ceramics. Relevant data are provided and professionally explained, resulting in critical new information related to contemporary ceramic technologies. This technology information leads us to the recognition of the uniqueness of each single artwork and the artisan's individual intention and critically, recognition of the close association with contemporary society and culture at the time of manufacture. Utilizing this new method of interdisciplinary study, modern science, ancient technology, and art and society are seen to have explicit connections. The author not only broadens scholars' and readers' perspectives regarding ancient ceramic craft, but provides a rigorous methodology applicable to interdisciplinary studies across other disciplines.

The Odyssey of China's Imperial Art Treasures traces the three-thousand-year history of the emperor's imperial collection, from the Bronze Age to the present. The tortuous story of these treasures involves a succession of dynasties, invasion and conquest, and civil war, resulting in valiant attempts to rescue and preserve the collection. Throughout history, different Chinese regimes used the imperial collection to bolster their own political legitimacy, domestically and internationally. The narrative follows the gradual formation of the Peking Palace Museum in 1925, then its hasty fragmentation as large parts of the collection were moved perilously over long distances to escape wartime destruction, and finally its formal division into what are today two Palace Museums-one in Beijing, the other in Taipei. Enlivened by the personalities of those who cared for the collection, this textured account of the imperial treasures highlights magnificent artworks and their arduous transit through politics, war, and diplomatic reconciliations. Over the years, control of the collections has been fiercely contested, from early dynasties through Mongol and Japanese invaders to Nationalist and Communist rivals- a saga that continues today. This first book-length investigation of the imperial collections will be of great interest to China scholars, historians, and Chinese art specialists. Its tales of palace intrigue will fascinate a wide variety of readers.

Clay sculpting is an ancient traditional Chinese folk art. In the hands of the artists, fine clay is transformed into colorful sculptures. Subject matters of the sculptures usually come from characters in traditional Chinese folklore, classic literatures of operas and novels.It enjoyed the height of its boom between Tongzhi and Guangxu era in the Qing dynasty. Each piece reflects more than 300 years of Chinese folk art with life-like characteristics. The color of the sculptures are elegant, natural and harmonious.In the 1980's, due to severe economic downturn, many Chinese clay sculpture artists were forced to abandon their lifelong career for livelihood. Having witnessed the hardships the old master experienced, the nest generation of apprentices were reluctant to pick up the craft. Therefore, this traditional art is no well preserved, its history and works are not adequately organized, and valuable collections of clay sculptures have been largely destroyed.To avoid the complete loss of authentic craft of handmade clay figures, it has been recognized and protected as a national heritage.

The first in-depth scholarly study in English of the Japanese performance medium kamishibai, Sharalyn Orbaugh's Propaganda Performed illuminates the vibrant street culture of 1930s Japan as well as the visual and narrative rhetoric of Japanese propaganda in World War II. Emerging from Japan's cities in the late 1920s, kamishibai rapidly transformed from a cheap amusement associated with poverty into the most popular form of juvenile entertainment, eclipsing even film and manga. By the time kamishibai died as a living medium in the 1970s it had left behind indelible influences on popular culture forms such as manga and anime, as well as on avant-garde cinema, theater, and art. From 1932 to 1945, however, kamishibai also became a vehicle for propaganda messages aimed not primarily at children, but at adults. A mixture of script, image, and performance, the medium was particularly suited to conveying populist, emotionally compelling messages to audiences of all classes, ages, and literacy levels, making it a crucial tool in the government's efforts to mobilize the domestic populace in Japan and to pacify the inhabitants of the empire's colonies and occupied territories. With seven complete translations of wartime plays, over 300 color illustrations from hard-to-access kamishibai play cards, and photographs of prewar performances, this study constitutes an archive of wartime history in addition to providing a detailed analysis of the rhetoric of political persuasion.

Purchasing this Mandala Coloring Book will reveal 40 intricate mandalas that are just waiting to be colored by you. With a variety of unique designs, these mandalas, once colored, will have calming effects and make even the most stressful days more pleasant. Coloring tools not included. Detailed mandalas recommended for adults.

InFlux: Contemporary Art in Asia brings together essays by leading critics and curators to examine modern and contemporary art practice and its discourses in Asia. Covering diverse regions spanning China, India, Thailand, Iran, West Asia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Tibet, and Cambodia, the book examines their multiple modernities and the arrival of many Asia's upon the contemporary art scene. Some centers have become celebrated in the international exhibition circuit and the art market, but there is also an Asia beyond their ambit, and the book throws light upon major and minor, established and emergent geographies of art. Asia's own internal minorities fracture any unified sense of place, and representing this diversity has become a major challenge for today's curator. What is the impact on contemporary art of state power and burgeoning economies, or the persistent stereotypes of Asian craftsmanship, exoticism, and religiosity or the new ones of terrorism and tourist paradise? The book aims to challenge some of these perceptions by viewing modern and contemporary Asian art not as a given field but as a project in flux, constantly under revision via art practice and curatorial interventions.

This early work by Louis V. Ledoux was originally published in 1927 and we are now republishing it. 'The Art of Japan' is a work that details various aspects of Japanese art and includes chapters on 'Sculpture', 'Metal Work', 'Ceramics', and other artistic mediums.

A spiritual journey in nine countries of Fareast. India, Nepal, Myanmar, Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia... Everything begins with questions; travels also... The roadmap of the traveler who starts his spiritual journey is different, his questions are also... Mysterious attractiveness of spiritual way of living from Hindu ashrams to Buddhist monasteries, from Muslim dargahs to Christian churches... Legendary atmosphere of hippies' ultimate destination, Kathmandu... Tears falling down in the cemetery of WW1 in a remote village of Northern Myanmar... Long river journeys in legendary Mekong River... Majestic Angkor Wat Temple and Killing Fields of Cambodia... Tragedy of longneck Karen women living in Northeastern Thailand... Unique piece of mind moments that loneliness and silence turns into a magnificent meditation in lovely Koh Phangan Island and mystical ceremonies in the Island of Gods, Bali... ... These are just some titles to give an idea about breath-taking manner of journey... ... Detailed information and impressive comments about all special places from UNESCO World Heritage List of nine countries of Fareast, interesting details about lifestyles, cultures, beliefs, rituals, geographical information and descriptions like a pastoral symphony of national parks, mountains, volcanoes, towns, cities, human stories from the journey and so many details for those who are waiting to be encouraged to be "on the road..". The guide of this breath-taking long journey is just dreams. Dreams draw the itinerary step by step. Dreams cross the realities, Physical journey combines with spiritual journey, and the mission is being completed. The journey attains its goal...

The present volume focuses on the uses of theory originating in non-Chinese places in the creation, curating, and criticism of contemporary Chinese visual culture. In the past two decades, contemporary Chinese art and film have attracted a great deal of media and academic attention in the West, and scholars have adopted a variety of approaches in Chinese film and visual studies. The present volume focuses on the uses and status of theory originating in non-Chinese places in the creation, curating, narration, and criticism of contemporary Chinese visual culture (broadly defined to include traditional media in the visual arts as well as cinema, installation, video, etc.). Contributors reflect on the written and, even more interestingly, the unwritten assumptions on the part of artists, critics, historians, and curators in applying or resisting Western theories. The essays in the present volume demonstrate clearly that Western theory can be useful in explicating Chinese text, as long as it is applied judiciously; the essays, taken as a whole, also suggest that cultural exchange is never a matter of one-way street. Historically, ideas from traditional Chinese aesthetics have also traveled to the West, and it is a challenge to examine what travels and what does not, as well as what makes such travel possible or impossible. The present volume thus provides us an opportunity to rethink travels of theories and texts across cultures, languages, disciplines, and media. "The authors in this volume demonstrate how theory can be deployed judiciously, and so illuminate the methodological challenges faced by scholars in a rapidly evolving field. Intellectually rigorous and yet accessible, the book is a much-needed and valuable contribution to art historical scholarship." Dr. Wenny Teo, Manuela and Iwan Wirth Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Asian Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London. "This collection of essays offers multifaceted approaches and perspectives that demonstrate forcefully how Western theories have appropriated Chinese visual texts into the discourse of English scholarship. This is a must-read book for anyone intending to read or write about contemporary Chinese art and cinema. Shu-chin Tsui, Bowdoin College, author of Women Through the Lens: Gender and Nation in a Century of Chinese Cinema . "The theories, ranging from Bakhtin's reading to Chinese Daoist/Chan Buddhist notions, and engaging with postmodern perspectives and globalization, are boldly used to prompt readers to reinterpret contemporary Chinese art and film." Haili Kong, Swarthmore College, coeditor of One Hundred Years of Chinese Cinema.

The 100 paintings in this book are based on haiku poems by Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828), who is considered to be one of the four greatest masters of the Japanese haiku tradition. Issa's short poems explore nearly all aspects of human experience with delightful brevity. The poems were translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue.