cookie jarring
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:56 pminnovative Arts in China
The Song Dynasty saw the beginnings of a sustained trend toward commercialization and specialization in textile production. New divisions of labor brought about the progressive marginalization of women's real and perceived contribution to this economic sector. personal credit card debt was slow, complicated,cutting-edge, And thick, But by the end of the Ming weaving of all but subsistence homespuns had in effect become a male task. What did it mean for women to lose their status as primary producers and as the databases of an important field of technical knowledge and skills?1
Textiles have played a large part in the structuring of Chinese societies, Specifically in regards to gender divisions and the separation of inner and outer social spheres. Through an analytical look at visual culture I wish to explore how textiles were represented in the arts and get the job done feminine aesthetic originally connected to textile production was also prominent in the arts. As my case studies I can be at four images from the Yuan, Ming but also Qing dynasties: The Ming paint Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Qin Ying (1494 1552), Chen Hongshou's portrait Female Immortals (1598 1652) from the Late Ming/Early Qing period, The Yuan empire (1279 1368) Tapestry After Cui Bo's conserving "Swallows and Apricot forest, And the Qing art Pine and Fungi by Empress Dowager Cixi (1897). I will argue that the way in which China's inner and outer social spheres differ from the european private and public space dichotomy promoted an environment that fostered the creation of non gendered art; in this way, The social structure shift in the Late Imperial Period did not affect gendered aesthetics related textiles.
"Men proper, most wives Weave, Is an established saying that persisted in Chinese society until the Song dynasty by which time the original meaning of the phrase had been lost. Early Imperial China was an agriculturally based humankind. Men works in the fields while the women remained out of the fields creating cloth. Textile production was not easy, Nor was it regarded as such by Chinese society. The attribution of the specialist knowledge and skills involved in textile production were the exclusive domain of women into the Song dynasty.2
The gendered spatial distinction between inner and outer spheres in Imperial China is not parallel to the eu conception of private and public spheres. Instead of considering inner and outer spheres as exclusive domains determined by gender it is more apt to consider this dichotomy as boundaries shifting along a continuum. "Women's work in China was typically defined as the making of textiles; The inner quarters were identified not as a zone of dependence but as a site of essential dynamic activity, Tying your family into the polity,3 Women were not thought inferior in their contribution to the household's income. Their work in textiles was equally important to that of the men in the field. moreover, Great thinkers of the time felt that the roots of correct government lie in the women's quarters. One such personalized, Lan Dingyuan, pronounced that "The grapes of nugong, the items of inner chambers, involved women into networks that connected inner and outer worlds,4
Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Qin Ying is a scroll representing many aspects of courtly life including sericulture practices. the final composition of the hand scroll is inspired from the story of Zhao jun.5
Records from the Western Han dynasty relate the story of a portrait that was crowned the focus of [Spring day in the Han Palace] Since the emperor depended upon portraits options to select from the many women of his harem, The ladies bribed the artists to create lovelier than life resemblances all the ladies, however, Except the gorgeous Zhao jun. Mao's portrait of her was correspondingly unflattering and she was missed by her sovereign. When a northern Xiong nu6 chieftain wanted to wed a beauty from the Han harem, The emperor only agreed to be too glad to call forth Zhao jun, Who to his dismay in the real world was not as she appeared in the painting. The tale of the wonder thus "condemned" To live out her life among the northern tribes was thought about for over a thousand years 7
Qin Ying in Spring Morning in the Han Palace has chosen to depict multiple female beauties attired in lusciously patterned fabrics filling the entire hand scroll on top of the story of Zhao jun. The important issue is regardless of whether Qin Ying depicts women in idealized form or if he depicts them in a more realistic manner. For the sake of clarity in my visual analysis I will target the depiction of textiles primarily in one section from the scroll.8
Female figures in Spring Morning are depicted with minimal differences in facial features and body language. The attire of each female such as her garment, look of your hair, And precious hair adornments elevates between figures. In the detail of Spring Morning the two outer figures in the top half of the scene are draped in excessive quantities of fabric. you can at least five layers of fabric adorning the figure on the left. On the right the figure is encumbered by fabric to the point that her hands and feet are not visible and she appears incapable of exercise.
In the lower half of the detail the middle figure is enrobed in massive quantities of fabric while two assistants flanking her are clothed in simpler garments. The way Qin Ying represents the textures and patterns of the information are clearer in this middle figure. countless fabrics are exemplars of embroidered, Self designed, And resist dyed models.9 Decorative patterning of fabric is utilized by Qin Ying to enhance the body gesture of the figure. The patterns wrap around the form of the body and conform to the rippling and folding commonalities of the fabric.
These textile traits are not reserved exclusively for the females in the composition. At the far left of the scroll are five male physiques: The artist sitting inside what is apparently a scholar's studio as he paints Zhao jun's portrait; Two males standing as they converse just away from studio; And two men outside the wall on the very edge of the scroll involved in exercise. the male figures are also wrapped in multiple layers of fabrics creating a rounded, practically languid, Body pose. The garments of the artist figure are the easiest to ascertain how numerous patterns produced by textile techniques are depicted. The accuracy of the pattern is sacrificed for choose illustrating the flimsy and flowing nature of the silk. Qin Ying does not alter his method of representing textiles when they are adorning a male figure the depicted materials used to wrap the female figures are conceptually no different from those wrapping the male figures.
It is difficult to reconcile this visual depiction of women wrapped in textiles with Bray's argument concerning the relationship between the production of textiles by women and the networking in the political sphere it created. It is imperative to know that Ming artists such as Qin Ying had agendas other than using visual art as an instructional medium to show how society should function. One analysis of the driving force behind Ming art that used women or beauties as the subject is as follows: "Ming artists in their paintings of women inherited the brush proficiencies of their Tang and Song predecessors, An inheritance that became augmented by the literati tastes that belongs to them time. This artistic infusion saw the introduction of novel10 types of subject matter and stylistic form,11 Expression was in many ways the real topic of literati paintings. The social meaning of the image was secondary; The story was merely the automobile for the tradition of amateur painting expression.
To clarify the issue concerning whether or not the wrapping of women in textiles is an act of objectification (on the part of the male artist) I will take Chen Hongshou's Female Immortals.12 Female Immortals consists of two women waiting in a desolate environment. Spatially, The formula is defined by the organic shaped rocks, Which mimic the curve of the standing figures, Focusing the eye on the central part of the painting. it is sometimes complicated to identify the specific women represented, but there's a strong argument for identifying the prominent figure in the foreground as Magu. "Supporting an personality [together with figure] As Magu are lengthy, Talon like finger nails, The branch of booming plum her name is also given as "Plum flower Girl" additionally the garlands of cloth,13 This is likely a painting of the goddess Magu that was probably presented to a couple on their silver or golden loved-one's birthday.14 unlike the Qin Ying painting, These two immortal women are not wrapped in fabric so much as they are obscured by it.
Whereas Spring Morning balances expression and naturalism of the there female form in art, The stylistic conventions in Female Immortals reject a naturalistic reading of the scene providing instead a harsh sturdiness or firm advantage to the female form that is absent from Spring Morning. Chen Hongshou appropriates his line utilisation of the from the past. His technique interlaces strong line work with large areas pattern that are more idiosyncratic than realistic when carried out on figure paintings. One list of his work considers his figure paintings as compilations of "high, Somewhat distorted shapes tinged with prepared archaism [your guy] Drew his paintings of women into a realm of highly subjective artistic expression,15 The solidity or weightiness of his female figures is made through his method of depicting textiles. Garments in Female Immortals look as if a piece of patterned fabric had been cut to the correct shape, Glued toward the scroll, And any line work added by Chen Hongshou.
here is your chance in firm, Virtually unmodulated lineament lends an air of stiffness and angularity to the figures which suggests that they as opposed to the rocks are composed of adamantine substance [then] The textile patterns are arranged irrespective of the natural fall of the cloth and hence, acquiring flat, Visually deny the substantiality of the figures their particular own.16
The pattern of the textile itself has become similar to the surface of one of the organic rock forms phone. The pattern is painted on the garment without thought on the cloth's characteristics. irrespective of the natural fall of the material, The garment remains in a flat geometric plane in advance of Magu. moving forward with in this vein of analysis, you could potentially make an argument asserting that Chen Hongshou's approach to representation ultimately imbues the female figure with attributes of a hard, buff organic object like jadeite. Due to the duration of this paper I cannot explore this view further. then again, As the argument for my paper is focused on femininity connected with textiles, Such a reading as this doesn't contradict my conclusions.
it is crucial to ascertain what aesthetic effect wrapping a female figure with an inflexible [-censured-=https://www.bestbrides.net/how-to-know-if-a-chinese-lady-likes-you/]how to tell if a chinese woman likes you[/-censured-] and impenetrable shield like textile produces. One quite possible reading is that since Magu was an immortal, She was invulnerable to earthly threats to her health. Another view is to consider the inflexible cloth wrapper as a rejection of a female figure being defined by the textiles she is presented in. it appears like the textile itself is being given its own agency within the image. This tension concerning the fairly naturalistic figure and the flat, Rock like closet is jarring to the viewer. head shot Chen Hongshou's intent, His method of which represent patterned textiles in Female Immortals separates the fabric from the female form. The associations of wrapping the figure in fleshy silk to create an aesthetically feminine object of pleasure are negated through this style of advice.
Up to this point I have focused on painted representations of textiles to discern whether or not there is an intrinsic femininity pertaining to objects of sericulture. I will end my argument with legal representative of two art objects: A Yuan tapestry copy of a great master painting; And a Late Qing painting of similar intended theme by a female artist. in this fashion I will evaluate the association of an intrinsic feminine aesthetic with textiles from a physical looking at textiles as the medium rather than purely visual perspective. I have chosen these art objects for an additional reasons: The art objects are segregated by more than five centuries; The model is similar; And the styles of manifestation have important relationships to address.
There is a strong tradition of reverence in nature, in addition to gardens, In Chinese modern society. All aspects of the garden are used as the subject of literature in the forms of treatises, Short reviews, fiction, Memoirs, then narratives.17 In Late Imperial China the genre of flower and plant paintings were known as inferior to landscape painting. Yet women and men often painted such images. The reason for painting this genre was the same for both genders. It usually centered on consumer demands or the specialty of the family or school the artist was in. as an example, in the Qing dynasty, Although thought inferior, The genre of flower and plant painting was hugely popular.18
The large separation of time between the creation of After Cui Bo's "Swallows and Apricot tree" And Pine and Fungi denotes two end points of a medieval timeline; These two artwork represent the initial and final stages of the shift from female to male dominance in sericulture. Women to make certain period were also transitioning into the art world. Women of this period participated in activities Westerners often consider the exclusive domain of males. Letters from the Ming and Qing period authored by women to family and social contacts provide a more complete picture of how a woman's duties, insights, And methods were woven together in her life. the "Letters tell us that Ming and Qing women in elite families also enjoyed reading and commenting on historical works and classical books; They were skilled in calligraphy and painting on which they did not hesitate to offer comments,19 Any conclusions concerning feminine aesthetics affiliated with textiles in these images will be in some way reflective of the social environment in which the art was created.
Chinese art possesses many cases of cross media influences, especially designs with plant and birds were easily adaptable into textile works. My final two images fall within this genre of flower and plant subject matter. subsequently, after Cui Bo's "Swallows and Apricot hardwood" Is a tapestry propagation of Cui Bo's original painting from the Song dynasty. This tapestry was made in the Yuan when women's roles in sericulture and Chinese society were beginning change. The image is of a blossoming apricot tree behind an organically shaped rock. Two swallows are depicted flying around us around the tree limbs. Pine and fungus by Empress Dowager Cixi (1897) Is a late Qing painting like a pro. The Empress Dowager was known for bold gestures and obvious messages in both her calligraphy and painting. It depicts an image of a pine covered in fungi painted in a contorted shape.
Embroidered reproductions of great master paintings were popular in the Qing dynasty along with Song dynasty. Although textile works were classically valued below paintings, The literati established the skill required to create tapestries. Works such as After Cui Bo were highly recommended for their aesthetic beauty. The great Ming dynasty painter Dong Qichang said of embroideries in his lineup:
The needlework of Song embelleshment is fine and tight, Using just one or two strands of floss and needles as thin as hair. use of color is exquisite and delicate, With a splendour that dazzles the eye. The landscapes differentiate far and near; The towers and pavilions obtain a real your life in space; The human figures all give the of life like movement seen from afar; And the flowers and birds have an awfully mild, super-hero [?] air. The best examples can beat painting.20
however After Cui Bo is a Yuan tapestry, The method of textile work is similar to that of the Song dynasty. It is easy to see in a visual analysis After Cui Bo attribute expressed in this Dong Qichang quote. The outlines which define the apricot blossoms are created by a single strand of floss making it difficult to differentiate between the setting and the blossoms. Veins in the plants at the base of the tree and the hints of barely visible grasses in cream floss are subtle details which have an immense impact upon the composition. When with the black brushstroke like lines which define the ground plane, These delicate details of plant matter obtain a real existence in space enhancing the otherwise flat blocks of greenish color. The two swallows are depicted in extreme detail. Although the threads creating the swallows are integrated into the physical structure of the textile, The swallows do not appear tied to the background. The feathering of red wings and the thin grey line which defines the lower bird's chest gives an airy feel to the swallows.
Dong Qichang's assertion that some textile works can be more advanced than painting deserves attention. His quote looks like attributing superior qualities to bright colors, Strong compositions, And life like renderings that are finalized through understated means. Empress Dowager Cixi's Pine and Fungi is not an especially impressive work in the eyes of most modern scholars. To them the decline of court art using the Empress Dowager's lifetime "Paralleled the wear and tear of the political situation,21 yet, there are many similarities in Pine and Fungi to those attributes Dong Qichang elevated. The brushwork used to represent the pine needles is quite thin. It is applied in two colors a pale gray green and a brown green to create the illusion of space. Space within the composition is also addressed at the foot of the pine. in comparison with the similar area in After Cui Bo22 the size and direction of strokes achieve the same visual effect. Large blocks of color used to delineate the contorted organic shaped rock and the knobby tree limbs in the tapestry are echoed in the fungi and twigs of the pine. Though much like ink washes, areas of red, red-colored orange, And white-colored orange in the fungi do not completely blend. They remain separate as style a thin line dividing the areas. It creates the same aesthetic affect as the varying bluish areas of color in the tapestry which blend optically but are created using the physical intermeshing of individual threads.23
It is remember the context of this final comparison: It is of a male composition created through a usually female medium, With a painting involving a female artist. The intended theme, Though not exact same, Is of the same genre so gender difference cannot be made on this basis. regarding stylistic divisions between medium, I defer to Dong Qichang's price. As an advocate for literati ideas for painting, I find his assertion that embroidery can surpass painting as a medium suggests a place which cultivates non gendered art.
From my discussion I conclude that there is no specifically feminine aesthetic associated textiles in Chinese art. on the other hand, I do know that my case studies are far from comprehensive of the centuries they cover. I feel it is valid to assert from my research presented above that while there was cross over between the mediums of textiles and painting, The gender traditionally for this production of the medium does not create a gendered perception of that medium i.
The Song Dynasty saw the beginnings of a sustained trend toward commercialization and specialization in textile production. New divisions of labor brought about the progressive marginalization of women's real and perceived contribution to this economic sector. personal credit card debt was slow, complicated,cutting-edge, And thick, But by the end of the Ming weaving of all but subsistence homespuns had in effect become a male task. What did it mean for women to lose their status as primary producers and as the databases of an important field of technical knowledge and skills?1
Textiles have played a large part in the structuring of Chinese societies, Specifically in regards to gender divisions and the separation of inner and outer social spheres. Through an analytical look at visual culture I wish to explore how textiles were represented in the arts and get the job done feminine aesthetic originally connected to textile production was also prominent in the arts. As my case studies I can be at four images from the Yuan, Ming but also Qing dynasties: The Ming paint Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Qin Ying (1494 1552), Chen Hongshou's portrait Female Immortals (1598 1652) from the Late Ming/Early Qing period, The Yuan empire (1279 1368) Tapestry After Cui Bo's conserving "Swallows and Apricot forest, And the Qing art Pine and Fungi by Empress Dowager Cixi (1897). I will argue that the way in which China's inner and outer social spheres differ from the european private and public space dichotomy promoted an environment that fostered the creation of non gendered art; in this way, The social structure shift in the Late Imperial Period did not affect gendered aesthetics related textiles.
"Men proper, most wives Weave, Is an established saying that persisted in Chinese society until the Song dynasty by which time the original meaning of the phrase had been lost. Early Imperial China was an agriculturally based humankind. Men works in the fields while the women remained out of the fields creating cloth. Textile production was not easy, Nor was it regarded as such by Chinese society. The attribution of the specialist knowledge and skills involved in textile production were the exclusive domain of women into the Song dynasty.2
The gendered spatial distinction between inner and outer spheres in Imperial China is not parallel to the eu conception of private and public spheres. Instead of considering inner and outer spheres as exclusive domains determined by gender it is more apt to consider this dichotomy as boundaries shifting along a continuum. "Women's work in China was typically defined as the making of textiles; The inner quarters were identified not as a zone of dependence but as a site of essential dynamic activity, Tying your family into the polity,3 Women were not thought inferior in their contribution to the household's income. Their work in textiles was equally important to that of the men in the field. moreover, Great thinkers of the time felt that the roots of correct government lie in the women's quarters. One such personalized, Lan Dingyuan, pronounced that "The grapes of nugong, the items of inner chambers, involved women into networks that connected inner and outer worlds,4
Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Qin Ying is a scroll representing many aspects of courtly life including sericulture practices. the final composition of the hand scroll is inspired from the story of Zhao jun.5
Records from the Western Han dynasty relate the story of a portrait that was crowned the focus of [Spring day in the Han Palace] Since the emperor depended upon portraits options to select from the many women of his harem, The ladies bribed the artists to create lovelier than life resemblances all the ladies, however, Except the gorgeous Zhao jun. Mao's portrait of her was correspondingly unflattering and she was missed by her sovereign. When a northern Xiong nu6 chieftain wanted to wed a beauty from the Han harem, The emperor only agreed to be too glad to call forth Zhao jun, Who to his dismay in the real world was not as she appeared in the painting. The tale of the wonder thus "condemned" To live out her life among the northern tribes was thought about for over a thousand years 7
Qin Ying in Spring Morning in the Han Palace has chosen to depict multiple female beauties attired in lusciously patterned fabrics filling the entire hand scroll on top of the story of Zhao jun. The important issue is regardless of whether Qin Ying depicts women in idealized form or if he depicts them in a more realistic manner. For the sake of clarity in my visual analysis I will target the depiction of textiles primarily in one section from the scroll.8
Female figures in Spring Morning are depicted with minimal differences in facial features and body language. The attire of each female such as her garment, look of your hair, And precious hair adornments elevates between figures. In the detail of Spring Morning the two outer figures in the top half of the scene are draped in excessive quantities of fabric. you can at least five layers of fabric adorning the figure on the left. On the right the figure is encumbered by fabric to the point that her hands and feet are not visible and she appears incapable of exercise.
In the lower half of the detail the middle figure is enrobed in massive quantities of fabric while two assistants flanking her are clothed in simpler garments. The way Qin Ying represents the textures and patterns of the information are clearer in this middle figure. countless fabrics are exemplars of embroidered, Self designed, And resist dyed models.9 Decorative patterning of fabric is utilized by Qin Ying to enhance the body gesture of the figure. The patterns wrap around the form of the body and conform to the rippling and folding commonalities of the fabric.
These textile traits are not reserved exclusively for the females in the composition. At the far left of the scroll are five male physiques: The artist sitting inside what is apparently a scholar's studio as he paints Zhao jun's portrait; Two males standing as they converse just away from studio; And two men outside the wall on the very edge of the scroll involved in exercise. the male figures are also wrapped in multiple layers of fabrics creating a rounded, practically languid, Body pose. The garments of the artist figure are the easiest to ascertain how numerous patterns produced by textile techniques are depicted. The accuracy of the pattern is sacrificed for choose illustrating the flimsy and flowing nature of the silk. Qin Ying does not alter his method of representing textiles when they are adorning a male figure the depicted materials used to wrap the female figures are conceptually no different from those wrapping the male figures.
It is difficult to reconcile this visual depiction of women wrapped in textiles with Bray's argument concerning the relationship between the production of textiles by women and the networking in the political sphere it created. It is imperative to know that Ming artists such as Qin Ying had agendas other than using visual art as an instructional medium to show how society should function. One analysis of the driving force behind Ming art that used women or beauties as the subject is as follows: "Ming artists in their paintings of women inherited the brush proficiencies of their Tang and Song predecessors, An inheritance that became augmented by the literati tastes that belongs to them time. This artistic infusion saw the introduction of novel10 types of subject matter and stylistic form,11 Expression was in many ways the real topic of literati paintings. The social meaning of the image was secondary; The story was merely the automobile for the tradition of amateur painting expression.
To clarify the issue concerning whether or not the wrapping of women in textiles is an act of objectification (on the part of the male artist) I will take Chen Hongshou's Female Immortals.12 Female Immortals consists of two women waiting in a desolate environment. Spatially, The formula is defined by the organic shaped rocks, Which mimic the curve of the standing figures, Focusing the eye on the central part of the painting. it is sometimes complicated to identify the specific women represented, but there's a strong argument for identifying the prominent figure in the foreground as Magu. "Supporting an personality [together with figure] As Magu are lengthy, Talon like finger nails, The branch of booming plum her name is also given as "Plum flower Girl" additionally the garlands of cloth,13 This is likely a painting of the goddess Magu that was probably presented to a couple on their silver or golden loved-one's birthday.14 unlike the Qin Ying painting, These two immortal women are not wrapped in fabric so much as they are obscured by it.
Whereas Spring Morning balances expression and naturalism of the there female form in art, The stylistic conventions in Female Immortals reject a naturalistic reading of the scene providing instead a harsh sturdiness or firm advantage to the female form that is absent from Spring Morning. Chen Hongshou appropriates his line utilisation of the from the past. His technique interlaces strong line work with large areas pattern that are more idiosyncratic than realistic when carried out on figure paintings. One list of his work considers his figure paintings as compilations of "high, Somewhat distorted shapes tinged with prepared archaism [your guy] Drew his paintings of women into a realm of highly subjective artistic expression,15 The solidity or weightiness of his female figures is made through his method of depicting textiles. Garments in Female Immortals look as if a piece of patterned fabric had been cut to the correct shape, Glued toward the scroll, And any line work added by Chen Hongshou.
here is your chance in firm, Virtually unmodulated lineament lends an air of stiffness and angularity to the figures which suggests that they as opposed to the rocks are composed of adamantine substance [then] The textile patterns are arranged irrespective of the natural fall of the cloth and hence, acquiring flat, Visually deny the substantiality of the figures their particular own.16
The pattern of the textile itself has become similar to the surface of one of the organic rock forms phone. The pattern is painted on the garment without thought on the cloth's characteristics. irrespective of the natural fall of the material, The garment remains in a flat geometric plane in advance of Magu. moving forward with in this vein of analysis, you could potentially make an argument asserting that Chen Hongshou's approach to representation ultimately imbues the female figure with attributes of a hard, buff organic object like jadeite. Due to the duration of this paper I cannot explore this view further. then again, As the argument for my paper is focused on femininity connected with textiles, Such a reading as this doesn't contradict my conclusions.
it is crucial to ascertain what aesthetic effect wrapping a female figure with an inflexible [-censured-=https://www.bestbrides.net/how-to-know-if-a-chinese-lady-likes-you/]how to tell if a chinese woman likes you[/-censured-] and impenetrable shield like textile produces. One quite possible reading is that since Magu was an immortal, She was invulnerable to earthly threats to her health. Another view is to consider the inflexible cloth wrapper as a rejection of a female figure being defined by the textiles she is presented in. it appears like the textile itself is being given its own agency within the image. This tension concerning the fairly naturalistic figure and the flat, Rock like closet is jarring to the viewer. head shot Chen Hongshou's intent, His method of which represent patterned textiles in Female Immortals separates the fabric from the female form. The associations of wrapping the figure in fleshy silk to create an aesthetically feminine object of pleasure are negated through this style of advice.
Up to this point I have focused on painted representations of textiles to discern whether or not there is an intrinsic femininity pertaining to objects of sericulture. I will end my argument with legal representative of two art objects: A Yuan tapestry copy of a great master painting; And a Late Qing painting of similar intended theme by a female artist. in this fashion I will evaluate the association of an intrinsic feminine aesthetic with textiles from a physical looking at textiles as the medium rather than purely visual perspective. I have chosen these art objects for an additional reasons: The art objects are segregated by more than five centuries; The model is similar; And the styles of manifestation have important relationships to address.
There is a strong tradition of reverence in nature, in addition to gardens, In Chinese modern society. All aspects of the garden are used as the subject of literature in the forms of treatises, Short reviews, fiction, Memoirs, then narratives.17 In Late Imperial China the genre of flower and plant paintings were known as inferior to landscape painting. Yet women and men often painted such images. The reason for painting this genre was the same for both genders. It usually centered on consumer demands or the specialty of the family or school the artist was in. as an example, in the Qing dynasty, Although thought inferior, The genre of flower and plant painting was hugely popular.18
The large separation of time between the creation of After Cui Bo's "Swallows and Apricot tree" And Pine and Fungi denotes two end points of a medieval timeline; These two artwork represent the initial and final stages of the shift from female to male dominance in sericulture. Women to make certain period were also transitioning into the art world. Women of this period participated in activities Westerners often consider the exclusive domain of males. Letters from the Ming and Qing period authored by women to family and social contacts provide a more complete picture of how a woman's duties, insights, And methods were woven together in her life. the "Letters tell us that Ming and Qing women in elite families also enjoyed reading and commenting on historical works and classical books; They were skilled in calligraphy and painting on which they did not hesitate to offer comments,19 Any conclusions concerning feminine aesthetics affiliated with textiles in these images will be in some way reflective of the social environment in which the art was created.
Chinese art possesses many cases of cross media influences, especially designs with plant and birds were easily adaptable into textile works. My final two images fall within this genre of flower and plant subject matter. subsequently, after Cui Bo's "Swallows and Apricot hardwood" Is a tapestry propagation of Cui Bo's original painting from the Song dynasty. This tapestry was made in the Yuan when women's roles in sericulture and Chinese society were beginning change. The image is of a blossoming apricot tree behind an organically shaped rock. Two swallows are depicted flying around us around the tree limbs. Pine and fungus by Empress Dowager Cixi (1897) Is a late Qing painting like a pro. The Empress Dowager was known for bold gestures and obvious messages in both her calligraphy and painting. It depicts an image of a pine covered in fungi painted in a contorted shape.
Embroidered reproductions of great master paintings were popular in the Qing dynasty along with Song dynasty. Although textile works were classically valued below paintings, The literati established the skill required to create tapestries. Works such as After Cui Bo were highly recommended for their aesthetic beauty. The great Ming dynasty painter Dong Qichang said of embroideries in his lineup:
The needlework of Song embelleshment is fine and tight, Using just one or two strands of floss and needles as thin as hair. use of color is exquisite and delicate, With a splendour that dazzles the eye. The landscapes differentiate far and near; The towers and pavilions obtain a real your life in space; The human figures all give the of life like movement seen from afar; And the flowers and birds have an awfully mild, super-hero [?] air. The best examples can beat painting.20
however After Cui Bo is a Yuan tapestry, The method of textile work is similar to that of the Song dynasty. It is easy to see in a visual analysis After Cui Bo attribute expressed in this Dong Qichang quote. The outlines which define the apricot blossoms are created by a single strand of floss making it difficult to differentiate between the setting and the blossoms. Veins in the plants at the base of the tree and the hints of barely visible grasses in cream floss are subtle details which have an immense impact upon the composition. When with the black brushstroke like lines which define the ground plane, These delicate details of plant matter obtain a real existence in space enhancing the otherwise flat blocks of greenish color. The two swallows are depicted in extreme detail. Although the threads creating the swallows are integrated into the physical structure of the textile, The swallows do not appear tied to the background. The feathering of red wings and the thin grey line which defines the lower bird's chest gives an airy feel to the swallows.
Dong Qichang's assertion that some textile works can be more advanced than painting deserves attention. His quote looks like attributing superior qualities to bright colors, Strong compositions, And life like renderings that are finalized through understated means. Empress Dowager Cixi's Pine and Fungi is not an especially impressive work in the eyes of most modern scholars. To them the decline of court art using the Empress Dowager's lifetime "Paralleled the wear and tear of the political situation,21 yet, there are many similarities in Pine and Fungi to those attributes Dong Qichang elevated. The brushwork used to represent the pine needles is quite thin. It is applied in two colors a pale gray green and a brown green to create the illusion of space. Space within the composition is also addressed at the foot of the pine. in comparison with the similar area in After Cui Bo22 the size and direction of strokes achieve the same visual effect. Large blocks of color used to delineate the contorted organic shaped rock and the knobby tree limbs in the tapestry are echoed in the fungi and twigs of the pine. Though much like ink washes, areas of red, red-colored orange, And white-colored orange in the fungi do not completely blend. They remain separate as style a thin line dividing the areas. It creates the same aesthetic affect as the varying bluish areas of color in the tapestry which blend optically but are created using the physical intermeshing of individual threads.23
It is remember the context of this final comparison: It is of a male composition created through a usually female medium, With a painting involving a female artist. The intended theme, Though not exact same, Is of the same genre so gender difference cannot be made on this basis. regarding stylistic divisions between medium, I defer to Dong Qichang's price. As an advocate for literati ideas for painting, I find his assertion that embroidery can surpass painting as a medium suggests a place which cultivates non gendered art.
From my discussion I conclude that there is no specifically feminine aesthetic associated textiles in Chinese art. on the other hand, I do know that my case studies are far from comprehensive of the centuries they cover. I feel it is valid to assert from my research presented above that while there was cross over between the mediums of textiles and painting, The gender traditionally for this production of the medium does not create a gendered perception of that medium i.