Preview test - 2

Listen to a discussion in an art history class.

W: Hello, Class. This week, we’ve spent some time talking about art in China.

We covered the history of art in Chinese society and went over the Chinese um… aesthetic tradition.

Anyway, as an extension of those topics, for today’s discussion, I thought it could be helpful to talk about some common themes and symbols in Chinese art. Who can start us off?

M: Well, if you don’t mind me kind of dodging your question, something that really caught my eye. Is the lack of certain themes that are so prevalent in a lot of Western art. I mean like, war or death is almost never depicted in Chinese art. I thought that was interesting.

W: Good observation. Other themes that would never find their way into Chinese art are violence, nudity, or martyrdom. All big topics in Western art.

Why don’t we examine these themes, themes that would not be featured on a Chinese canvas, and explore why they’re excluded. What do you think?

M: I would imagine it has to do with the way that the Chinese considered art.

It wasn’t the same as in Rome or Athens.

For the Chinese, art had to have some kind of function, whether it be morel, social, or whatever.

They wouldn’t just paint anything. It had to make the artist and the viewer better people somehow.

W: That absolutely right. So, in a broader sense, what is it about themes like war or death that made them unsuitable for Chinese artists?

M: I think the biggest problem is that it doesn’t really give the artist room for symbolic representation. I guess I just mean that most Chinese art is symbolic.

It seems to me that depicting a war doesn’t afford the artist with the opportunity to paint symbols that represent some kind of bigger understanding about life, or death, or anything really.

Does that make sense?

W: I think that’s a good point. It has to do with the way the Chinese conceive art, and you really hit it right on the head when you mentioned symbolism.

See, you might have also noticed that Chinese artists don’t really preoccupy themselves with aesthetic notions like perspective or shading.

For example, if you look at any early Chinese painting, you’ll see that they couldn’t have cared less about painting realistic-looking scenes.

The reason for this is because they were primarily concerned with expressing harmony.

This is why Chinese art looked so different from Western art.

Are we all still on the same page?

M: So… what was the function of using so many symbols again?

W: Well, think of it this way: in using a lot of symbols, the artist depicts his or her more complete understanding of something that isn’t really obvious and can’t really be explained.

And yet, they are completely aware of it. It’s that intuitive aspect of using symbols that leaves no room for outright, realistic depictions.

M: It’s true. You can even see that aspect in their portraits.

You’d expect a portrait to be a realistic rendition of the person who paid to have it made, and yet, Chinese artists would always portray more than a person.

They would show the person’s social ranking or even their personality somehow.

I think that the intuitive symbolism in Chinese art is precisely what makes it so expressive, and yet so difficult to interpret at times.

W: That right. And now to get back to our original question, can you give some example of themes or symbols that are frequently used in Chinese art?

M: I noticed that human relationships seem to be a pretty common theme. Chinese artists seem to enjoy depicting how people relate, or the reactions between them in different situations.

W: Good, that’s absolutely right. And how about symbols?

M: They use a lot of symbols over and over again. Like bamboo shows up a lot, and that’s supposed to be related to the spirit of the scholar.

7) What aspect of Chinese art does the class mainly discuss?

8) How could early Chinese art be described?

9) Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.

W: Anyway, as an extension of those topics, for today’s discussion, I thought it could be helpful to talk about some common themes and symbols in Chinese art. Who can start us off?

M: Well, if you don’t mind me kind of dodging your question, something that really caught my eye. Is the lack of certain themes that are so prevalent in a lot of Western art. I mean like, war or death is almost never depicted in Chinese art. I thought that was interesting.

What can be inferred from the student’s response?

10) Listen again to part of the discussion. I think that the intuitive symbolism in Chinese art is precisely what makes it so expressive, and yet so difficult to interpret at times.

What is the student’s opinion of Chinese art?

11) What can be inferred about theme selection in Chinese art?