Editing Chinese art (section)

=== The Sui and Tang dynasties (581–960) ===
{{Main|Tang dynasty art}}

[[File:Li Sixun boats.jpg|thumb|200px|''Sailing Boats and a Riverside Mansion'', 7th century original by [[Li Sixun]].]]

==== Buddhist architecture and sculpture ====
Following a transition under the [[Sui dynasty]], Buddhist sculpture of the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] evolved towards a markedly lifelike expression. As a consequence of the dynasty's openness to foreign trade and influences through the [[Silk Road]], Tang dynasty Buddhist sculpture assumed a rather classical form, inspired by the Greco-Buddhist art of Central Asia.

However, foreign influences came to be negatively perceived towards the end of the Tang dynasty. In the year 845, the Tang emperor [[Emperor Wuzong of Tang|Wuzong]] outlawed all "foreign" religions (including [[Nestorian]] Christianity, [[Zoroastrianism]] and Buddhism) in order to support indigenous [[Taoism]]. He confiscated Buddhist possessions and forced the faith to go underground, therefore affecting the ulterior development of the religion and its arts in China.

Glazed or painted [[earthenware]] [[Tang dynasty tomb figures]] are famous, and well-represented in museums around the world. Most wooden Tang sculptures have not survived, though representations of the Tang international style can still be seen in [[Nara, Nara|Nara]], Japan. The longevity of stone sculpture has proved much greater. Some of the finest examples can be seen at [[Longmen Grottoes|Longmen]], near [[Luoyang]], [[Yungang]] near [[Datong]], and [[Bingling Temple]] in [[Gansu]].
One of the most famous Buddhist [[Chinese pagoda]]s is the [[Giant Wild Goose Pagoda]], built in 652 AD.

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<gallery widths="140px" heights="200px">
File:Anonymous-Bodhisattva Leading the Way.jpg|Tang dynasty painting from [[Dunhuang]].

File:T'ang Architecture in the Mo-kao Fresco 1.jpg|Fresco from [[Dunhuang]] depicting typical Tang architecture
File:Varjapani magao caves.jpg| Painting of Varjapani
File:Tang horse.jpg|A Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] tri-color [[Ceramic glaze|glaze]]d porcelain horse ({{circa}} 700 AD), using yellow, green and white colors.
File:Freer SacklerDSCF8036.JPG|Central Asian influence can be seen in the shape of this cup.
</gallery>
{{wide image|File:Xiao and Xiang rivers.jpg|1000px|dir=ltr|align-cap=center|''[[Eight Views of Xiaoxiang|Views of Xiaoxiang]]'' by [[Dong Yuan]](932-962). Dong is considered as one of the originators of [[Shan shui|landscape painting]] styles; the scales of such paintings were often huge, with minuscule yet intricate pastoralist subjects showing the relative enormity of the landscape. Zoom into the left to see a group of men engaging in [[seine fishing|seine-haul fishing]].}}

==== Painting ====
[[File:Dong Yuan Mountain Hall.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Painting by [[Dong Yuan]] ({{circa|934}}{{snd}}962).]]
Beginning in the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), the primary subject matter of painting was the landscape, known as [[shanshui]] (mountain water) painting. In these landscapes, usually monochromatic and sparse, the purpose was not to reproduce exactly the appearance of nature but rather to grasp an emotion or atmosphere so as to catch the "rhythm" of nature.

Painting in the traditional style involved essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and was done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink; oils were not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings were made were paper and silk. The finished works were then mounted on scrolls, which could be hung or rolled up. Traditional painting was also done in albums, on walls, lacquer work, and in other media.

Dong Yuan was an active painter in the Southern Tang Kingdom. He was known for both figure and landscape paintings, and exemplified the elegant style which would become the standard for brush painting in China over the next 900 years. As with many artists in China, his profession was as an official where he studied the existing styles of Li Sixun and Wang Wei. However, he added to the number of techniques, including more sophisticated perspective, use of pointillism and crosshatching to build up vivid effect.

[[Zhan Ziqian]] was a painter during the Sui dynasty. His only painting in existence is ''Strolling About In Spring'' arranged mountains perspectively. Because pure [[landscape paintings]] are hardly seen in Europe until the 17th century, ''Strolling About In Spring'' may well be the world's first landscape painting.

{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=500|caption_align=center
| align    = left
| direction =vertical
| header=
| image2   = Zhou Fang. Court Ladies Tuning the Lute (28x75) Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.jpg|thumb|left|
| caption2 = 
| image1   = Zhou Fang. Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses. (46x180) Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang..jpg
| caption1 = 
| footer=[[Zhou Fang (Tang dynasty)|Zhou Fang]] (c.730-800) is renowned for his paintings of contemporary court ladies, whose opulent figures reflected the beauty standards of the day.
}}

[[File:Palefrenier menant deux chevaux par Han Gan.jpg|250px|thumb|''A Man Herding Horses'', by [[Han Gan]] (706–783 AD), Tang dynasty original.]]

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{{Wide image|Gu Hongzhong's Night Revels 1 edit.jpg|2300px|align-cap=center|Full scroll of ''[[The Night Revels of Han Xizai]]'', first painted in the 10th century in [[Southern Tang]], later reproduced in 12th-century|dir=rtl}}

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