Art in China (Oxford History of Art) and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Kindle Edition
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Art in China (Oxford History of Art)
 
 
Start reading Art in China (Oxford History of Art) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Art in China (Oxford History of Art) [Paperback]

Craig Clunas (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $12.69  
Hardcover --  
Paperback --  
There is a newer edition of this item:
Art in China (Oxford History of Art) Art in China (Oxford History of Art)
$16.05
In Stock.

Book Description

0192842072 978-0192842077 May 8, 1997 1st Published
About the Oxford History of Art Series:

"An impressively challenging and ambitious series intended to rewrite no less than the whole history of art in terms of new ideas and new scholarship."--Christopher White, Director of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

"A welcome introduction to art history for the twenty-first century....The best of the past and future."--Robert Rosenblum, New York University

The last twenty years have witnessed profound changes in art history, the greatest of which stem from the social and cultural perspectives now attached to art scholarship. Written by scholars at the forefront of new thinking, many of whom are rising stars in their fields, the Oxford History of Art series offers substantial and innovative texts that clarify, illuminate, and debate the critical issues at the heart of art history today. Providing a fresh new look at art that moves away from traditional elitist approaches, the series makes use of new research and methodologies, as well as newly accessible and non-canonical works to offer comprehensive coverage of the art world from archaic and classical Greek art to twentieth-century design and photography, from the artistry of African-American and Native North Americans to the masterpieces of Europe, Polynesia, and Micronesia. Lavishly illustrated and superbly designed, the Oxford History of Art brings new substance and verve to the exciting and ubiquitous world of art.

China boasts a history of art spanning 5,000 years and embracing a wide diversity of images and objects--from jade tablets, painted silk handscrolls and fans to ink and lacquer painting, porcelain-ware, sculpture, and calligraphy. But this rich tradition has not, until now, been fully appreciated in the West where scholars have focused their attention on sculpture, while largely ignoring those art forms most highly prized by the Chinese themselves, such as calligraphy. Now, in Art in China, Craig Clunas marks a breakthrough in the study of the subject. Taking into account all the arts practiced in China, and drawing on recent innovative scholarship, this rich text examines the production and consumption of art in its appropriate contexts. From art found in tombs to the state-controlled art of the Mao Zedong era, Art in China offers a novel look and comprehensive examination of all aspects of Chinese art.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two current overviews of Chinese art take very different approaches. Keeper of the Department of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Tregear offers a chronologically organized work that covers its topic in brief survey form, using representative examples of bronzes, painting, laquerware, ceramics, jade, and stone carving. The book is so brief and the sweep is so broad that a reader not already familiar with the general outline of Chinese history and common Chinese terms may have trouble forming a coherent picture, particularly in regard to the earliest centuries covered. Significantly, Tregear leaves out the important find of a cache of figures at Shanxingdui in 1986, which has been of enormous importance in broadening the known range of cultures in ancient China. On the other hand, she provides an excellent section on 20th-century Chinese art, an area neglected by many of the standard histories. Clunas's (history of art, Univ. of Sussex) approach, by contrast, involves a more critical, theoretical inquiry into Western notions of Chinese art. He eschews a chronological arrangement in favor of thematic chapters on art at court, in the tomb, in the temple, in the life of the elite, and in the marketplace. He makes a point of including objects that have been considered masterpieces intermixed with other less well-known works. He is concerned throughout his text with issues of the historical place of art in Chinese society and with how that society evaluated various objects. The finds at Shanxingdui are mentioned, and some attention is paid to 20th-century work, though not as much in Tregear's survey. Both of these titles have merits as overviews of Chinese art and both could be used by students as well as interested lay readers. If your library can afford only one work, Clunas's is the more up-to-date, both in approach to its material and in selection of works to discuss.?Kathryn Wekselman, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

`Elegantly designed, lavishly illustated and keenly priced ... their series has a clear intellectual agenda.' Boyd Tonkin, The Independent

`Fully and often surprisingly illustrated, carefully annotated and captioned, each combines a historical overview with a nicely opinionated individual approach.' Independent on Sunday

`a superb piece of publishing' Rupert Christiansen, Spectator

Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1st Published edition (May 8, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0192842072
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192842077
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Currently the best short introduction to art in China, January 19, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Art in China (Oxford History of Art) (Paperback)
While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.

For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.

Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).

My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable introduction to "art" in China, August 13, 1997
Reading Clunas' book is a refreshing experience forme. It surveys an amazingly broad spectrum of visual representations of Chinese culture, ranging from archaeological findings in ancient tombs to the works of comtemporary artists. And yet Clunas managed to keep the size of the book under control so that you can enjoy finishing it in a couple of days. Thus it serves well as a starting point for anyone who is interested in Chinese art to explore this vast territory. In doing so Clunas represents a common trend in the scholarly field of Chinese study for the last several decades. A big difference from other classical introductory books on Chinese art is that Clunas is more self-conscious and tries harder to avoid measuring Chinese culture completely by a Western ruler. Despite sometimes he offers opinions, which can only be regarded as conjectures because of the lack of solid evidences, about certain cultrual phenomena, he keeps an open-minded attitude and thus encourages reader to form their own theories. Two minor flaws prevent me giving it a 10. One is that it deosn't have a glossray for translation between English and Chinese, which I think is very useful, considering this book may well be very intresting to the students who are learning Chinese. And it fails to provide immediate references where several intriguing open questions are mentioned in the text. This may hamper interested readers to start their own research right away
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT!!, January 14, 2002
By 
Susan Tyree (Orlando, Fl USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Art in China (Oxford History of Art) (Paperback)
In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews




Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The way in which different meanings have been read into Chinese art objects at different periods is brought out very precisely in a jade tablet, now preserved in the National Palace Museum on Taiwan [1]. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
engraved calligraphy, drafting script, dynasty painter, hand scroll, hanging scroll, scroll showing, seal script, scholar ideal, album leaf, imperial collection, luxury crafts, court art, imperial portraits, aesthetic theorists, scholar tradition, flowering plum
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Southern Song, Northern Song, Wang Hui, Shen Zhou, Zhao Mengfu, Dong Qchang, New Year, Pure Land, Wen Zhengming, Huang Gongwang, Three Kingdoms, Wang Xizhi, Dong Qichang, Hong Kong, National Palace Museum, Northern Wei, Three Friends of the Cold, Wang Yuanqi, Warring States, Chen Hongshou, Cultural Revolution, Gao Jianfu, Guan Daosheng, Mao Zedong, Ren Xiong
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:



Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
World Views by Laurie Schneider Adams
 

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject