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"The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology:
Celebrated Discoveries from the People's Republic of
China"
Andrew K. Y. Leung
Center for
Advanced Study in the Visual Arts
National Gallery
Washington,
DC
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"The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the
People's Republic of China" opened in the East Wing of the National
Gallery, Washington, D.C., on 19 September 1999. Organized jointly by the
National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art in Kansas City, with the cooperation of the State Administration of
Cultural Heritage and Art Exhibitions in the People's Republic of China,
this exhibition is an impressive overview that provides the American
public with a rare opportunity to view the results of many important
archaeological discoveries in China during this century. The show is
divided chronologically into four sections: Late Prehistoric China (c.
5000-2000 BC), the Bronze Age (c. 2000-771 BC), Chu
and Other Cultures (c. 770-221 BC), and Early Imperial China (221 BC-AD
924). Within each section, the exhibits are further arranged by their
respective sites and regional traditions. The majority of the artifacts on
display are newly discovered. Many have never traveled to the United
States before.
Since the 1970s, Chinese archaeology has made
tremendous strides and has greatly increased our knowledge of China's
past. The many discoveries during the last twenty-five years have
drastically altered our perception of the early development of Chinese
culture. The term "golden age" in the title of the exhibition, therefore,
refers in fact to this highly fruitful period of archaeological activity,
not to the fabulous finds themselves.
The show opens with artifacts
from various Neolithic regional traditions. Materials more familiar to the
Western viewer include painted pottery of the Yangshao
culture from the northwest, jades and pottery of the Hongshan
culture from the Northeast [see "An
Assembly of Masterpieces. . ." in this issue for a jade object
excavated from this region], and white jades of the Liangzhu
culture from the South. In stark contrast to the geometric designs of the
Yangshao pots, a unique gang
urn from Linru
depicts realistic images showing a bird holding a fish in its bill and an
axe. Another urn from the Dawenkou
culture contains a mysterious sign that may be a form of early writing.
This section ends with a more unusual group of painted pottery from the
site of Taosi
in southern Shanxi,
an offshoot of the Longshan
culture in Shandong.
The marvelous designs on these vessels appear to foretell the design
principle for Chinese decorative arts in Shang
(ca. 1600-1045 BC) and later periods.
The Bronze Age section of the
show is dominated by the fabulous bronze vessels and related materials
from Anyang,
Dayangzhou,
and Sanxingdui
(Figures 3 and 4). It is not possible to elaborate on the impact of the
Dayangzhou and Sanxingdui findings on Shang archaeology here. It has
become quite clear, however, that Anyang should no longer be seen as the
center of Shang culture. In fact, the findings from the sites of
Dayangzhou and Sanxingdui prove that Shang civilization is more diverse
and complex than previously thought. Equally intriguing are three pots
from Dadianzi,
an early Shang site in Inner Mongolia. The painted decoration on these
vessels should make specialists rethink the origin of decorative motifs on
early Shang bronzes. The exhibition also includes a number of objects from
Erlitou,
a site that some scholars believe to be from a period of Chinese
civilization whose existence has yet to be proven, the so-called preceding
Xia
dynasty (ca. 21st-16th c. BC). The Western
Zhou period (1045-771 BC) is represented by objects recovered from
sites such as Shijiazhuang,
Zhuangbai,
and the tombs at Tianma-Qucun.
Among these finds, the largest and heaviest Western Zhou bronze vessel
(226 kilograms) ever found in China and the jade ornaments recovered from
the tombs of the lords of Jin
(see Figure 5) are perhaps the most outstanding.
In the last two
parts of the exhibition, Western viewers enter more familiar ground. The
section on the Chu period (?-223 BC) features some of the finest bronzes
and lacquers from the Eastern
Zhou period (770-256 BC). A good number of these remarkable
artifacts were recovered from the tomb of Marquis
Yi of Zeng at Leigudun.
Other attractions from the same historical period include the set of
twenty-six bells from Xiasi,
textiles from Mashan, the painted lacquer coffin and other artifacts from
Baoshan,
and artifacts from Tomb 1 at Tianxingguan.
Many
of the most recognizable Chinese artifacts on display are in the last part
of the exhibition. Objects such as the terracotta figures from the
mausoleum of Qin
Shihuangdi (r. 221-209 BC) and the jade suit of Liu
Sheng from Mancheng
(Western Han, 202 BC-AD 203) are without doubt the most well-known
examples of Chinese art. Besides these "blockbuster" pieces, the show also
include a second jade suit belonging to the King of Nanyue
from Xianggang
(Figure 6), three Northern Dynasties (386-581) Buddhist sculptures from
Qingzhou
(Figures 9 and 10), and some of the finest Tang (618-907) metalwork from
the Famen
Temple. Although less well-known, the two painted marble reliefs of
female musicians from the tomb of Wang
Chuzhi at Xiyanchuan
from the Five Dynasties period (907-960) are certainly great examples of
stone relief works from China.
However, the impact of the show
weakens with this last section, almost becoming anti-climatic. This is
partly due to the number and variety of objects on display. Works with a
status equal to the earlier materials are the previously mentioned jade
suits as well as the artifacts from Famen Temple and from Qingzhou. The
rest are ordinary -- tomb figurines and similar works -- that do not
contribute significantly to the scholarship of the field.
To this
reviewer, the present exhibition provides a great service in assembling
these extraordinary works of art under one roof. Every artifact in this
show is the best representative example of its respective genre.
Furthermore, the objects on display are borrowed from thirty-seven
different museums and institutions in China. Even if one were willing to
travel to China in order to glimpse these artifacts, it would be
impossible to view them in one place. This is thus a rare treat for every
American museum-goer.
Equally importantly, this exhibition
successfully demonstrates the progress of Chinese archaeology. Many
long-accepted beliefs concerning the development of Chinese civilization
have now been overturned, especially in the first two sections of the
show, the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. With the new discoveries that must
come in the future, it will not be surprising if we see new theories
regarding the origin of Chinese civilization arise.
After closing at the National Gallery on 2 January 2000, the show travels
to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
(13 February to 7 May), then to San Francisco.
All illustrations courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston.
Click here to purchase the exhibition catalogue
Golden
Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People's
Republic of China. |
Figure 1.
Bronze jue. Shang (ca. 16th-11th c. BC). Institute of Archaeology,
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.
Figure 2. Turquoise dove. Shang (ca. 16th-11th c. BC). The Institute
of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.
Figure 3.
Bronze human head with gold leaf. Shang Dynasty (ca. 16th-11th c. BC).
Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan, Sichuan Province..
Figure 4.
Bronze mask. Shang (ca. 16th-11th c. BC). Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan,
Sichuan Province.
Figure 5.
Set of jade pei pectoral ornaments. Western Zhou (ca. 11th c.-771
BC). Shanxi Provincial Institute for Archaeology, Taiyuan.
Figure 6.
Jade shroud sewn with silk and jade objects. Western Han (206 BC-AD 24).
The Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou,
Guangdong Province.
Figure 7. Jade belt hook with
dragon and tiger heads. Western Han (206 BC-AD 24). Museum of the Western
Han Tomb of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
Figure 8. Gilt-bronze fitting for a screen (animal mask). Western
Han (206 BC-AD 24). The Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the Nanyue
King, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
Figure 9.
Painted stone standing Buddha. Northern Qi (AD 550-577). Qingzhou
Municipal Museum, Qingzhou, Shandong Province.
Figure 10.
Painted stone standing bodhisattva. Northern Qi (AD 550-577). Qingzhou
Municipal Museum, Qingzhou, Shandong Province.
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Yin Jinan
China Central Institute of Fine Arts
Nixi Cura
On the State of the Field
Scholarship in the History of Ancient Painting in the 1990s
by Xue Yongnian
Puyi's Legacy
New Discoveries of Calligraphy
and Painting from the Palace Museum's "List of Lost Works"
by Liu Jianlong
A Record-Breaking Purchase by the Palace Museum
Zhang Xian's Ten Odes
by Yang Lili
Zhang Xian's Ten Odes: Counterpoint
On the Inauthenticity of Ten
Odes by Zhang Xian of the Northern Song Dynasty
by Wu Gan
Select Bibliography on Chinese Painting
Palace Museum Exhibition
"Treasures of Painting
and Calligraphy Acquired by the Palace Museum over the Last 50 Years"
by Fu Dongguang
Palace Museum Exhibition
"Grand Exhibition
of Cultural Relics Collected over the Last 50 Years"
Palace Museum Symposium
Academic Symposium Accompanying
the "Grand
Exhibition of Cultural Relics Collected over the Last 50 Years" at the Palace
Museum
by Wang Qi
Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Museum
Holds A Symposium on Its Exhibition of Masterpieces
by Xue Yongnian
Liaoning Provincial Museum
An Assembly of Masterpieces,
Presented in Radiant Splendor: Record of the "Exhibition of Treasures from
the Ten Great Archaeological Discoveries in Liaoning"
by Ma Cheng
Important
Results from the Liao Tomb Excavation at Jarud Qi
by Tala, Yang Jie, and Dong Linxin
Three Eastern
Han Tombs with Wall Paintings at Otog
by Wang Dafang and Yang Zemeng
"Appreciation
and Analysis of the Murals Unearthed from a Song Tomb at Wang Shang Village
in Dengfeng, Henan Province
by Zhang Songlin and Zhang Deshui
"A
Breakthrough in the Interpretation of the 'Stone Carvings' at Junshan"
by Chen Xiangyuan
"Notes
on the Excavation of Han Tomb No. 1 at Huxi Mountain, Yuanling"
by Guo Weimin
"Animal
Designs and Chinese Script on the 'Five Stars of the East Favor the Central
Kingdom' Brocade"
by Li Ling
Extracts
from China Archaeology and Art Digest 3:2/3 (January 2000): Painting
and Pictorial Arts
Ding Xiyuan on Quehua
qiuse tu
Hao Junhong on Ma
Shouzhen
Shan Guoqiang on "Haipai"
Yu Hui on Yuan court artists
Macao Art Museum
"The Efflorescence of a Prosperous Age: Fine Works of Qing Dynasty Painting
and Objects of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Reigns in the Collection
of the Palace Museum"
National Gallery, Washington, DC
"The Golden
Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People's Republic
of China"
by Andrew K. Y. Leung
The
Qingming shanghe Scroll and Qingming shanghe Studies
by Wang Qi
On Qingming
shanghe Studies
by Nie Chongzheng
Chai Zejun: Collected
Works on Ancient Architecture
Fifty
Years of Archaeology in New China
Volume 1, Issue 1 (October 1999)
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