A beautifully illustrated study of the caves at Dunhuang, exploring how this important Buddhist site has been visualized from its creation to today Situated at the crossroads of the northern and southern routes of the ancient silk routes in western China, Dunhuang is one of the richest Buddhist sites in the world, with more than 500 richly decorated cave temples constructed between the fourth and fourteenth centuries. The sculptures, murals, portable paintings, and manuscripts found in the Mogao and Yulin Caves at Dunhuang represent every aspect of Buddhism. From its earliest construction to the present, this location has been visualized by many individuals, from the architects, builders, and artists who built the caves to twentieth-century explorers, photographers, and conservators, as well as contemporary artists. Visualizing Dunhuang: Seeing, Studying, and Conserving the Caves is a paperback edition of the ninth volume of the magnificent nine-volume hardback set, and examines how the Lo Archive, a vast collection of photographs taken in the 1940s of the Mogao and Yulin Caves, inspires a broad range of scholarship. Lavishly illustrated with selected Lo Archive and modern photographs, the essays address three main areas-Dunhuang as historical record, as site, and as art and art history. Leading experts across three continents examine a wealth of topics, including expeditionary photography and cave architecture, to demonstrate the intellectual richness of Dunhuang. Diverse as they are in their subjects and methodologies, the essays represent only a fraction of what can be researched about Dunhuang. The high concentration of caves at Mogao and Yulin and their exceptional contents chronicle centuries of artistic styles, shifts in Buddhist doctrine, and patterns of political and private patronage-providing an endless source of material for future work. Contributors include Neville Agnew, Dora Ching, Jun Hu, Annette Juliano, Richard Kent, Wei-Cheng Lin, Cary Liu, Maria Menshikova, Jerome Silbergeld, Roderick Whitfield, and Zhao Shengliang. Published in association with the Tang Center for East Asian Art, Princeton University

What does it mean to say that some of the best Chinese contemporary art is made in America, by Americans? Through words and images, this book challenges the artificial and narrowly conceived definitions of Chinese contemporary art that dominate current discussion, revealing the great diversity of Chinese art today and showing just how complex and uncertain the labels "contemporary," "Chinese," and "American" have become.

This volume features contributions from six artists and eight scholars who participated in a 2009 symposium held in conjunction with the Princeton University Art Museum exhibition Outside In: Chinese ? American ? Contemporary Art. These ethnically Chinese and non-Chinese artists work or have worked in America--indeed, all of them are U.S. citizens--but they are steeped in Chinese artistic traditions in terms of style, subject matter, and philosophical outlook. Here they discuss their art and careers with rare depth and candor, addressing diversity, ethnicity, identity, and other issues. The academic contributors bring a variety of perspectives--Chinese and American, art historical and political--to bear on the common, limiting practice of classifying such art and artists as "Chinese," "American," or "Chinese American." Revealing and celebrating the fluidity of who can be considered a Chinese artist and what Chinese art might be, these artists and scholars broaden and enrich our understanding of Chinese contemporary art.

The family model has been central to patterns of social organization and cultural articulation throughout Chinese history, influencing all facets of the content and style of Chinese art. With contributors drawn from the disciplines of art history, anthropology, psychiatry, history, and literature, this volume explores the Chinese concept of family and its impact upon artistic production. In essays ranging from the depiction of children to adult portraiture, through literary constructions of gender and the psychodynamics of cinema, these authors consider the historical foundations of the family--both real and ideal--in ancient China, discuss the perpetuation of this model in later Chinese history and modern times, and analyze how family paradigms informed and intersected with art and literature.

The art world is currently enthralled with contemporary Chinese art. This thoughtful book argues, however, that American audiences have been exposed only to a narrow range of what is available-with the majority of attention having been given to "avant-garde," "experimental," or politically charged art. Outside In discusses contemporary Chinese art in a far wider range of styles and subject matter and substantially expands on our understanding of this work. The book features six artists-Arnold Chang, Michael Cherney, Zhi Lin, Liu Dan, Vannessa Tran, and Zhang Hongtu-all of whom are American citizens yet are widely diverse in age and experience as well as geographical and ethnic origins. In addition to extensive personal interviews and artists' statements, there are essays that challenge the categorization of art into such focused genres as "Chinese," "contemporary," and "American," and reexamine the factors that shape the development of "Chinese art" in America. Distributed for the Princeton University Art Museum Exhibition Schedule: Princeton University Art Museum (3/5/09 - 6/7/09)

Available in a limited print run of 1,000 sets-the stunning nine-volume presentation of the incredible Buddhist caves at Dunhuang in northwestern China Situated at an important juncture within the network of silk routes from China through central Asia, the oasis city of Dunhuang was an ancient site of Buddhist religious activity. Southeast of the city, the Mogao Caves, also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, are an astonishing group of hundreds of caves-carved in the cliffs between the fourth and fourteenth centuries-containing sculptures and paintings. Further east sit the Yulin Caves, another critical and richly decorated site. Featuring some of the finest examples of Buddhist imagery to be found anywhere in the world, these caves have enticed explorers, archaeologists, artists, scholars, and photographers since the early twentieth century. Visualizing Dunhuang: The Lo Archive Photographs of the Mogao and Yulin Caves presents for the first time in print the comprehensive photographic archive-created in the 1940s by James C. M. Lo (1902-1987) and his wife, Lucy L. Lo (b. 1920)-of the remarkable Buddhist caves at Dunhuang. This extraordinary nine-volume set features more than 3,000 of the original black-and-white photographs that provide an indispensable historical record. Invaluable for their documentary worth and artistic quality, and thorough in their coverage and clarity, the images represent a rare perspective on significant monuments, many now irretrievably changed. The Lo Archive serves as a treasure trove of historical, cultural, and artistic information for researchers, art historians, and conservators. The introductory volume includes an essay about the formation and history of the Lo Archive, as well as maps, diagrams, photographs of the Mogao site, and concordances. The central volumes contain photographs of the Mogao and Yulin Caves, collaged photographs, several hundred newly created diagrammatic plans, and English and Chinese captions. The final volume is a collection of essays that addresses the complexity and richness of the Lo Archive, and how Dunhuang has been viewed from ancient times to the present. Contributors include Neville Agnew, Dora Ching, Jun Hu, Annette Juliano, Richard Kent, Wei-Cheng Lin, Cary Liu, Maria Menshikova, Jerome Silbergeld, Roderick Whitfield, and Zhao Shengliang. Exquisitely produced, this monumental set's abundant photographs have been lavishly printed as tritones, allowing for the closest possible match to James Lo's original black-and-white photographs, and for the clearest, richest images possible. With numerous silk-screened pages and an eight-page double-sided gatefold, Visualizing Dunhuang stands as a definitive reference for scholars, collectors, and libraries in art history and Asian studies. Published in association with the Tang Center for East Asian Art, Princeton University

Wen C. Fong established America's first program in East Asian art history at Princeton University, where he taught Chinese art from 1954 to 1999. During this time, he supervised more than thirty PhD students, most of whom have gone on to hold professorships or museum positions throughout the United States, East Asia, and Europe. This two-volume book honors Professor Fong's extraordinary half-century career at Princeton and the Metropolitan Museum of Art by gathering almost forty essays on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art history, written by his students and by some of his lifelong colleagues in this field of study. These full-length essays address a wide range of subjects, building bridges in many directions, from early jades and bronzes through traditional painting and prints, to photography, cinema, and modern museum practice. The diversity, depth, and originality of these essays make this work a monumental contribution to the study of the arts of East Asia.

The book includes an interview of Professor Fong, conducted by Jerome Silbergeld, and a bibliography of Fong's work.

This in-depth study of three remarkable recent Chinese-language films-Suzhou River, The Day the Sun Turned Cold, and Good Men, Good Women--deals with the tensions of globalization and the preservation of local identity. In his compelling analyses of the films, Silbergeld discusses the impact of foreign ethical values entering the Chinese moral sphere today. As China and the West grow closer together year by year, Chinese cinema becomes increasingly Westernized and Western interest in Chinese cinema continues to grow. from Shanghai, one from Hong Kong, one from Taipei--concerned with the issues of developing globalization and the defence of local identity and culture. Superficially different, these films surprise Western audiences with their sophisticated cinematic skills and the depth of their engagement with Dostoevsky and Freud, Faulkner and Hitchcock. They employ double-characters, multiple identities, and radically nonlinear narrative structures and pay homage to film noir, individualizing psychodynamics never before seen in Chinese cinema, and increasing tension between traditional Chinese and modern Western moral values. The Day the Sun Turned Cold (Hong Kong, 1994), and Good Men, Good Women (Taiwan, 1995) in greater depth than seen in any previous study of Chinese cinema. An art historian, he explores the visuality of these films in unusual detail, taking account of the film makers' reliance on the metaphoric image in skirting Chinese film censorship. Surprising connections are drawn as Silbergeld's arguments unfold, and his ideas spiral outward in cyclical patterns that are themselves almost cinematic in scope. Witty and insightful, Silbergeld's text relates seemingly disparate elements of three films to create a new perspective on the latest and finest Chinese-language films, on the complexities of life in China's rapidly modernizing culture, and on the universal themes of politics and betrayal, honour and pity. fullcolour version of each illustration in the book. Additionally, the book is illustrated entirely with actual frames from films rather than with the publicity stills used in most publications about Chinese cinema.

In this book, leading art experts, art historians, and critics review the life, career, and artistic development of New York based Chinese artist Zhang Hongtu. A pioneer in contemporary Chinese art, Zhang created the first example of "China Pop" art, and his oeuvre is as diverse, intellectually complex, and engaging as it is entertaining. From painting and sculpture to computer generated works and multimedia projects, Zhang's art is equally rich in terms of China's history and its current events, containing profound reflections on China's oldest cultural habits and contemporary preoccupations. He provides a model of cross-cultural interaction designed to make Asian and Western audiences look more closely at each other and at themselves to recognize the beliefs they hold and the unexamined values they adhere to. From his early work in China during the Cultural Revolution to his decades as an artist in New York, Zhang reflects the complex attitudes of a scholar-artist toward modernity, as well as toward Asian and Western societies and himself. Placing Zhang in the context of his cultural milieu both in China and in the Chinese immigrant artist community in America, this volume's contributors examine his adaptations of classic art to reflect a contemporary sensibility, his relation to Cubism and Social Realism, his collaboration with the celebrated fashion designer Vivienne Tam, and his visual critique of China's current environmental crisis. Zhang's work will be on display at the Queens Museum in New York City from October 17, 2015 to March 6, 2016. Contributors: Julia F. Andrews, Alexandra Chang, Tom Finkelpearl, Michael Fitzgerald, Wu Hung, Luchia Meihua Lee, Morgan Perkins, Kui Yi Shen, Jerome Silbergeld, Eugenie Tsai, Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu, Lilly Wei Co-published by the Queens Museum and Duke University Press.

China has an age-old zoomorphic tradition. The First Emperor was famously said to have had the heart of a tiger and a wolf. The names of foreign tribes were traditionally written with characters that included animal radicals. In modern times, the communistgovernment frequently referred to Nationalists as “running dogs,” and President Xi Jinping, vowing to quell corruption at all levels, pledged to capture both “the tigers” and “the flies.” Splendidly illustrated with works ranging from Bronze Age vessels to twentieth-century conceptual pieces, this volume is a wide-ranging look at zoomorphic and anthropomorphic imagery in Chinese art. The contributors, leading scholars in Chinese art history and related fields, consider depictions of animals not as simple, one-for-one symbolic equivalents: they pursue in depth, in complexity, and in multiple dimensions the ways that Chinese have used animals from earliest times to the present day to represent and rhetorically stage complex ideas about the world around them, examining what this means about China, past and present. In each chapter, a specific example or theme based on real or mythic creatures is derived from religious, political, or other sources, providing the detailed and learned examination needed to understand the means by which such imagery was embedded in Chinese cultural life. Bronze Age taotie motifs, calendrical animals, zoomorphic modes in Tantric Buddhist art, Song dragons and their painters, animal rebuses, Heaven-sent auspicious horses and foreign-sent tribute giraffes, the fantastic specimens depicted in the Qing Manual of Sea Oddities, the weirdly indeterminate creatures found in the contemporary art of Huang Yong Ping—these and other notable examples reveal Chinese attitudes over time toward the animal realm, exploreChinese psychology and patterns of imagination, and explain some of the critical means and motives of Chinese visual culture. The Zoomorphic Imagination in Chinese Art and Culture will find a ready audience among East Asian art and visual culture specialists and those with an interest in literary or visual rhetoric.

Westerners seeking to appreciate and understand Chinese art have long felt the need of a fundamental book that explains both the technical means used by Chinese artists and the traditional stylistic modes of artistic expression. In Chinese Painting Style Jerome Silbergeld addresses this need, beginning with a discussion of basic materials and methods and continuing with in-depth studies of the complex paintings created by these methods. No other work so thoroughly or systematically describes the Chinese artistic processes, ranging from the distinctively Chinese manner of handling the brush to the blending of brushlines, wash, color, and texture into a painted composition. The final chapters examine Chinese composition in terms of naturalistic representation and of abstract expression. Throughout the book, artistic problems are set against a background of Chinese history, ideas, and geography. The illustrations include drawings that reveal the principles of Chinese brushwork, together with a broad range of Chinese paintings and calligraphy. A unique feature is the precise coding of text and illustrations, by which the reader is invited to inspect the specific turn of the brush or adjustment of composition by which the artist achieves his effects. Chinese Painting Style provides a penetrating look into the formal basis of this age-old art, and one that will be useful and engaging both to the general reader and to the serious student.