Traditional Value in East Asia Paintings 

Introduction to East Asian Art

East Asian art is rooted in various parts of its region, though most of its well-known art stems from countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. Prior to the popularity of paintings from East Asia, it was common for art to only be displayed for short durations of time before being put away for storage. However, with the rise of East Asian art from these three countries, artists worked to enhance their materials, increase its ability to perserve artwork, and make it so that artwork could last for long periods of time + not have to be stored away as quickly. Apart from betterment of materials, something else that is also highly valued in East Asian art is tradition. In this blog post, we will explore traditional value and materials seen in East Asia paintings.

Traditional Value + Materials seen in China

China's influence in East Asian art can be seen through their screen paintings, and its increased use in the 13th century. Chinese screen paintings consisted of using fixed screens and turning them into large-scaled, paneled paintings. Chinese fixed screen paintings, also known as bingbu, are made using paper a/o silk panels, painting them with pigmented a/o water-based inks, lacquered with water-soluble glue adhesive for perservation, & then the painting is mounted onto a wooden, decorated frame. Traditionally, China focused on practicing ancestor worship, honoring nature deities, and celebrating gratitude for the seasons to come. Confucianism was also another cultural value seen in China. Tradition in Chinese fixed screen paintings is portrayed by separating the fixed screen into multiple vertical sections (typically 7 or more, depending on size), to come together and create one grand picture. Chinese fixed screen paintings are typically used for interior design purposes. such as room dividers, windbreakers, and backdrops for celebratory events. Chinese fixed screens started to become so popular, that they began to be imported to Japan and Korea so that other East Asian countries could experiment with this art form.

Traditional Value + Materials seen in Japan

Japan's influence in East Asian art can be seen through painted fans and albums. Japanese fans are oval-shaped, made out of folded, semi-hard silk a/o paper, which is then mounted onto a bamboo stick. Japanese painted fans, also known as uchiwa (non folding) and sensu (folding) were often decorated with small-scale paintings a/o caligraphy. (Side note: Though caligraphy was invented in China, it made its way towrads both early Japan and Korea during 6th century Buddhism. Each country adopted its own form of caligraphy accordingly). In order to perserve the fans and their placed paintings for longer, sometimes the bamboo mounted stick was removed and placed onto album leaves. Japanese albums, also known as arubamu, were small square/rectangular paintings mounted onto individual pages in a book-style manner. Japanese albums are meant to be viewed from right to left, paying respect to a certain Japanese theme or tradition. Similar to China, Japan is known to have a large quantity of screen paintings as well, except they used folded screen instead of fixed screens for their artwork. Japanese folded screen paintings were created by grabbing paper a/o silk screens produced in pairs, lacquered water-soluble glue, connecting the panels through paper hinges, and mounting the artwork onto a light wooden frame, with outer black coloring. Contrary to China's fixed screen paintings, Japan's folded screen paintings would typically break their screens down to eight or less vertical panels, most commonly using six panels. Much of Japanese art gained popularity or translated onto other parts of East Asia during the Ming Dynasty, a time where China and Asia had occasional conflict trading art, traditions, and materials. 

Traditional Value + Materials seen in Korea

Korea’s influence in East Asian art can be seen through minhwa paintings. Minhwa paintings were also known as folk art painting, honoring nature, symbols of life and longevity, and many stories + legends from Korean culture. Minhwa paintings are known to be colorful and vibrant, and Korea did not invent this medium, minhwa paintings were often seen in handscrolls and hanging scrolls. Minhwa handscrolls are used for horizontal paintings, while minhwa hanging scrolls are used for vertical paintings. Each kind of scroll is made with paper a/o silk, ribbon or cordto secure the scroll, and mounted onto a wooden dowel, and is painted with ink. The concept of minhwa was introduced in Korea during 13th century Joseon dynasty, which was the longest dynasty in Korean history (500 years). Traditionally the Joseon dynasty  was considered a golden age of Korean culture and science, overseeing different political & social changes, including Neo-Confucianism and the development of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. Minhwa handscrolls and hanging scrolls can vary from country to country, in terms of which materials are placed where. 

Conclusion to East Asian Art and its paintings

Though this blog post mainly highlighted paintings from the start of East Asia, East Asia made artistic waves through other art forms and mediums as well, such as woodblock prints, shadow puppets, textile work, ceramics, and even using gold and jade for art-making. Tradition in East Asian art goes beyond than solely portraying familial and hierachal respect, and by look at paintings from China, Korea, and Japan, we can see how artistics materials reflect on each country’s traditional values & vice versa. East Asian art got its start and attention in the 13th and 14th century, with each of its countries creating and being inspired by different kinds of art from one another. Artists from East Asia haven't stopped honing into their craft, and have only continued to highlight traditional imagery, brushwork, and make an impact since.
 

Sources

" target="_blank">-https://youtu.be/6SHWosxpcuM?si=Sd9Pme8MfTJGkA0L<br> (from right image on top)

https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/painting-formats-in-east-asian-art
-" target="_blank">https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/art-japan/japanese-art/a/a-brief-history-of-the-arts-of-japan-the-jomon-to-heian-periods<br>