Editing Chinese art (section)

===Late imperial China (1368–1912)===

==== Ming painting ====
{{Main|Ming dynasty painting}}
Under the [[Ming dynasty]], Chinese culture bloomed. Narrative painting, with a wider color range and a much busier composition than the Song paintings, was immensely popular during the time.

[[Wen Zhengming]] (1470–1559) developed the style of the Wu school in [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]], which dominated Chinese painting during the 16th century.<ref>Capon and Pang, pg. 42</ref>

[[Dong Qichang]] (1555–1636) further influenced [[East Asia]]n art history by absorbing [[Chan Buddhism]] ideas and putting forward the "Southern and Northern Schools" theory.<ref name="fuqiumeng">{{cite web|url = https://fuqiumeng.com/viewing-room/31-transcultural-dialogues-the-journey-of-east-asian-art/|title = Transcultural Dialogues: The Journey of East Asian Art to The West|publisher = Fu Qiumeng|access-date = 2024-11-25}}</ref>

European culture began to make an impact on Chinese art during this period. The Jesuit priest [[Matteo Ricci]] visited Nanjing with many Western artworks, which were influential in showing different techniques of perspective and shading.<ref>Capon and Pang, pg. 120</ref>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="200px">
File:Bian Jingzhao-Birds Flocking at Flowers and Bamboo.jpg|[[Bian Jingzhao]]'s intricate [[Gongbi]] took after the styles of Song, whilst incorporating other artistic styles
File:Bian Wenjin, Three Friends and a Hundred Birds.jpg|''Three Friends and a Hundred Birds'', zoom in to see the details.
File:Empress crown, NMC, 2016-09-09 01.jpg|Ming Empress phoenix crown, decorated with [[Tian-tsui]].
File:T'ang Yin 003.jpg| [[Tang Yin]]'s ''A Fisher in Autumn''
File:Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, Freer Gallery of Art.jpg|Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, early 17th century, Ming dynasty.
File:Bian Jingzhao-Snow Plum and Twin Cranes.jpg|[[Bian Jingzhao]]'s ''Snow Plum and Twin Cranes'' incorporating the [[Gonbi]] style, 15th century.
File:Emperor Shenzong and Empress Xiaoduan.jpg|Emperor Shenzong and Empress Xiaoduan
File:明 佚名 鳥販圖 軸-Bird peddler MET DT271148.jpg|''Bird Peddler'', 16th century. The prosperity of the Ming-era inspired a renaissance in art depicting common life. 
file:Paintings from Baoning Temple, No.R31.jpg|[[Shuilu ritual paintings|Shuilu ritual painting]] of [[Canshen]] and the [[Wen Shen|Five Demons of Pestilence]], Baoning Temple, Ming dynasty
File:Chen Hongshou, leaf album painting.jpg|''Magnolia and Erect Rock'' (玉堂柱石圖) 
File:Portrait assis de l'empereur Ming Xuanzong.jpg|Ming portraiture also took after Song styles, however it shed its adherence to plainness and austerity.
File:Detail of The Emperor's Approach, Xuande period.jpg|Detail of ''The Emperor's Approach'' showing the [[Wanli Emperor]]'s royal carriage being pulled by elephants and escorted by cavalry ([[:File:Departure Herald-Ming Dynasty.jpg|full panoramic painting here]])
</gallery>

==== Early Qing painting ====
The early Qing dynasty developed in two main strands: the Orthodox school, and the Individualist painters, both of which followed the theories of Dong Qichang, but emphasizing very different aspects.<ref>Capon and Pang, pg. 90, 91</ref> Court painting of the Qing dynasty was also greatly influenced by Western artists such as [[Jean Denis Attiret]] (1702–1768) and [[Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit painter)|Giuseppe Castiglione]] (1688–1766).<ref name="fuqiumeng" />

The "[[Four Wangs]]", including [[Wang Jian (17th-century painter)|Wang Jian]] (1598–1677) and [[Wang Shimin]] (1592–1680), were particularly renowned in the [[Six Masters of the early Qing period|Orthodox school]], and sought inspiration in recreating the past styles, especially the technical skills in brushstrokes and calligraphy of ancient masters. The younger [[Wang Yuanqi]] (1642–1715) ritualized the approach of engaging with and drawing inspiration from a work of an ancient master. His own works were often annotated with his theories of how his painting relates to the master's model.<ref>Capon and Pang, pg. 90</ref>

The Individualist painters included [[Bada Shanren]] (1626–1705) and [[Shitao]] (1641–1707). They drew more from the revolutionary ideas of transcending the tradition to achieve an original individualistic styles; in this way they were more faithfully following the way of Dong Qichang than the Orthodox school (who were his official direct followers.)<ref>Capon and Pang, pg. 91</ref>

Painters outside of the literati-scholar and aristocratic traditions also gained renown, with some artists creating paintings to sell for money. These included [[Ma Quan]] (late 17th–18th century), who depicted common flowers, birds, and insects that were not typical subject matter among scholars. Such painters were, however, not separated from formal schools of painting, but were usually well-versed in artistic styles and techniques. Ma Quan, for example, modelled her brushwork on Song dynasty examples.<ref name=zhao>{{citation|last=Zhao |first=Yanqing 赵燕青|title=浅议马荃的花鸟画风 |trans-title=Discussion of Ma Quan's bird and flower paintings style|language=zh|journal=Dazhong Wenyi (Lilun)|date=2009 | issue=3|page=44}}</ref> Simultaneously, the boneless technique ({{lang-zh|c=沒骨畫}}), thought to have originated as a preparatory step when painting gold-line images during the Tang, was continued by painters like [[Yun Shouping]] (1633–1690) and his descendant [[Yun Bing]].<ref name=briessen>{{citation |title=The Way of the Brush: Painting Techniques of China and Japan|last=van Briessen|first=Fritz|place=Vermont|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|date=1998|chapter=3}}</ref>

As the techniques of color printing were perfected, illustrated manuals on the art of painting began to be published. ''[[Jieziyuan Huazhuan]]'' (Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden), a five-volume work first published in 1679, has been in use as a technical textbook for artists and students ever since.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Portraits of the Yongzheng Emperor Enjoying Himself during the 8th lunar month.jpg|''The [[Yongzheng Emperor]] Enjoying Himself During the 8th Lunar Month'', by anonymous court artists, 1723–1735 AD, [[Palace Museum]], Beijing, showing the use of [[linear perspective]].
File:MET DP153920.jpg|''Album Leaf'', [[Yun Bing]], 17th century, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York, showing the "boneless" technique.
File:K'un-ts'an 001.jpg|Chinese painting from 1664 by Qing dynasty painter [[Kun Can]]
</gallery>

==== Late Qing art ====
[[Nianhua]] were a form of colored woodblock prints in China, depicting images for decoration during the [[Chinese New Year]]. In the 19th century Nianhua were used as news mediums.

==== Shanghai School ====
The [[Shanghai School]] is a very important Chinese school of traditional arts during the [[Qing dynasty]] and the 20th century. Under efforts of masters from this school, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of Chinese painting (中國畫), or ''guohua'' (國畫) for short. The Shanghai School challenged and broke the literati tradition of Chinese art, while also paying technical homage to the ancient masters and improving on existing traditional techniques. Members of this school were themselves educated literati who had come to question their very status and the purpose of art, and had anticipated the impending modernization of Chinese society. In an era of rapid social change, works from the Shanghai School were widely innovative and diverse, and often contained thoughtful yet subtle social commentary. The best known figures from this school are [[Ren Xiong]], [[Ren Bonian]], [[Zhao Zhiqian]], [[Wu Changshuo]], [[Sha Menghai]], [[Pan Tianshou]], [[Fu Baoshi]], [[He Tianjian]], and [[Xie Zhiliu]]. Other well-known painters include [[Wang Zhen (painter)|Wang Zhen]], [[Xugu]], [[Zhang Xiong (painter)|Zhang Xiong]], [[Hu Yuan]], and [[Yang Borun]].